Music Review: Satyagraha

T Series Lyrics by Prasoon Joshi Music by Salim-Sulaiman, Aadesh Shrivastava Rating: * * * ? Music, if one may call the average soundtrack of today by that reverent term, has encountered a revival of sorts this year. So far we have heard three movie soundtracks in 2013 that have made us sit up and pay attention. A R Rahman’s Raanjhanaa, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and now Satyagraha. First things first. Let’s acknowledge without reservation that Prasoon Joshi is today by far the finest wordsmith operating in the chequered and choppy realm of Hindi film music. I’ve always called him a blend of Gulzar and Javed Akhtar. There is an intoxicating blend of poetry and pragmatism in Prasoon’s lyrics. Nowhere is this element of lyricism and purpose more forcefully put forward than in the title song of Satyagraha. A powerful jolting and inspiring clarion call for a national awakening Prasoon writes: Raghupati raghav raja ram/Uth kar karne hain kuch kaam/Ab tak dheeraj manga ttha/Prabhu ab dheeraj mat dena/Sehte jayen sehte jayen /Aisa bhi mat dena/Uthkar karne hain kuch kaam/Raghupati raghav raja ram/Tum karuna saagar/ Tum paalan karta/Par jo zulm hai karta/Wohkahan tum se darta?...” Where, indeed. We haven’t heard a more inspiring song in recent times. Salim-Sulaiman have composed the lyrics with an adrenaline-pumping immediacy. The vocals by Shivam Pathak and Shweta Pandit get the point of the lyrics. The little boy by Rajiv Sunderam who opens and closes the song moved me to tears with the pristine innocence in his vocals. We asked Prasoon what brought out the angry lyrics of protest. Prasoon said, “The apathy and brazenness with which corruption and all kinds of injustice is rampant in our country and silent acceptance and a sort of resignation we all have adopted, prompted me to question the status quo and use the traditional lines Raghupati Raghav which have pacified us for decades. But the need of the hour is to act.” We are afraid the rest of the album pales into insignificance, except for the sensuously sung and deftly composed love song Raske bhare tore nain. Shafqat Amanat Ali embraces Prasoon Joshi’s erotic lyrics like a lover cooling his limbs around a beautiful beloved. There is an interesting political satire Janta rocks composed and rendered by Meet Bros Anjjan. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics about my-scam-is-bigger-than-your takes pungent potshots at our political system. Indian Ocean’s Hum bhole the hum bhale hain is again an interestingly packaged potshot at present day politics. Both the numbers by Meet Bros and Indian Ocean take the situational anti-corruption numbers to a point of ample curiosity for listeners. Again, Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics help to keep us listening to the end. To sum up: this movie soundtrack picks out painful facts about contemporary corruption and alchemizes them into engaging poetry and music. No mean achievement. But that extra ? star in the rating is only for Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics.