Filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar has an eclectic choice in music. His films ‘Shaitaan’ and ‘David’ had music which was very different from what Bollywood usually churns out but the soundtracks gave Hindi film music buffs something interesting to sink their teeth into. ‘Wazir’, his third film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari and Neil Nitin Mukesh, has been produced and co-written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and one expects his sensibilities to seep in the soundtrack as well.
A saccharine sweet love song is what the album of this seemingly dark thriller offers. Shantanu Moitra, who has scored the music for several of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s productions, composes “Tere Bin”, a semi-classical romantic duet sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal. The track is reminiscent of “Piyu Bole” (‘Parineeta’) which had the same composer-singer/s team. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s lyrics are simple and predictable at times, but conflate well with the tune. Instruments like tabla, flute, violin, guitar and piano have been used well to create a soothing ambience around the tune.
It does not take one long to notice the similarities between Ankit Tiwari’s “Tu Mere Paas” and few of the other songs the singer-composer has composed in the past. Ankit takes bits and pieces from his earlier hits like “Tu Hai Ki Nahin” (‘Roy’), “Tu Jo Hain”, “Shaad Shukrana” (‘Mr. X’) and puts it all together in this tedious song that makes you wonder when will he stop making replicas of his own songs. The fact that he sings the song himself makes the similarities even more obvious. The electronic and violin led arrangements are nice.
Though Javed Ali has sung songs belonging to a variety of genres, the one style of music which seems to have become synonymous with his name is qawalli. The singer has lent his voice to several qawallis in the past and his voice I heard in one in this soundtrack too. Right from the arrangements to the lyrics, there is barely anything in “Maula” that boasts of freshness. However, this Shantanu Moitra composed number is tuneful enough to warrant a few hearings.
Advaita, a popular band, makes a rather unconventional debut with “Khel Khel Mein”, a four minute long track, in which they create a bevy of sounds as Amitabh Bachchan recites a few dialogues from the film in his deep throated baritone. The techno background intersperses seamlessly with drums and sarangi to create an atmosphere which is haunting as well as pulsating.
Gagan Baderiya’s brooding voice and a dark setting sets the tone for “Tere Liye”, composed by Prashant Pillai. Even though the song has a prayer like vibe to it, the arrangements lend a haunting feel to it. The song starts off promisingly but the tune gets disengaging after a while. Faintly reminding one of “Ya Hussain”, the Lucky Ali sung number from the director’s last film ‘David’, “Tere Liye” works moderately because of its goose bump inducing sound and not the lacklustre tune.
Taking forward the gloomy tenor carried by the last two tracks is the Gaurav Godkhindi composed “Wazir Theme”. It starts off with an insidious sound and slowly snowballs into a high octane track which lends a sense of urgency to the proceedings. The theme track makes for a compelling hear and also gives one an insight into the dark and gritty subtext of the film.
The soundtrack of ‘Wazir’ is a mix of traditional and experimental sounds that seem to adhere to the film. While some tracks do elate you, there are a few which does not really excite you as a listener. While Shantanu Moitra’s “Tere Bin” and “Maula” are likely to be promoted aggressively because of the popular appeal they have, Ankit Tiwari’s “Tu Mere Paas” does not work because of a stale tune. The rest of the tracks which are much more experimental in nature should work as interesting pieces in the film while carrying the story forward.
Rating: 2.5/5
