Bollywood music: remix, retro and reminiscence dominate 2018

The year in Hindi film tracks was less sound and more fury, says P. Manorama

Dancing queen: A still from the song ‘ Suraiyya’ from Thugs of Hindostan

If there was one word to define our relationship with Hindi film music in 2018 it would have to be abusive. We abused nostalgia and churned out noise through recreated mixes of Punjabi pop, indie pop, old Hindi songs and shockingly, even qawwalis . Good original creations were silenced in the dissonance.

Refreshingly retro

Here’s a funny thing: Almost all the remixes this year that made the most noise—‘

Aankh Maarey ’ from

Simmba , ‘

Aashiq Banaya Aapne ’ from

Hate Story 4 , ‘

Dilbar ’ from

Satyamev Jayate , ‘

Morni Banke ’ from

Badhaai Ho , ‘

Sanu Ek Pal Chain ’ from

Raid —were all done by Tanishk Bagchi for T-series. Rival label Zee Music got Bagchi for an actual retro-style song rather than the remix of a retro—‘

Monobina ’ from

Gold . This incredibly innovative song was barely heard, and thus, Bagchi’s most original creation this year was drowned out by his own sea of mediocre work.

Speaking of retro-style music this year, Sneha Khanwalkar, came back after a hiatus, to tell us how it is refreshingly done in Manto. She respected retro even while adding a contemporary twist in the arrangement. Evocative and layered, the four-track album was one of the best this year. Retro with a quirk and jazz was also explored by another female composer in another top album this year – Rachita Arora in ‘Chhipkali’ track from Mukkabaaz.

The 30s style music was also neatly done in Sanju’s ‘Mai Badhiya Tu Badhiya’ track, marking the assured debut of composers Rohan & Rohan in Hindi, after working extensively in Marathi. The other native Marathi composer duo, Ajay and Atul, were among the most sought after this year for big films like Dhadak, Tumbbad, Thugs of Hindostan and Zero. They swung the retro too—in the dance number ‘Surraiyya’ from Thugs of Hindostan... However, amidst their trademark grand orchestral songs from the other films, the folk inspired haunting title track of Tumbbad stood out as their best work this year.

Stay original, stay memorable

After their rediscovery post- Sairat and now with two Khan films in their kitty, Ajay-Atul have cemented their top position in Hindi film music too. Here is hoping they stay, despite them walking the thin line now between signature style and repetitiveness. It’s tough. Just ask Amit Trivedi. He has been accused of sounding the same in all the nine albums he composed this year. It’s the part of perils of being an original composer.

Indulging in reminiscences is not a bad thing, repetitiveness is. Trivedi falls for both. Rajkumar Gupta and Vikramaditya Motwane, his previous best collaborators, should feel cheated for being at the receiving end of the most hardly memorable soundtracks, in Raid and Bhavesh Joshi Superhero . Trivedi did a retro-inspired melody ‘ Naina Da Kya Kasoor ’ as a tribute in an overall sweet soundtrack for Andhadhun , not quite losing his stamp. He saved a fuzzy, warm ballad for another old-time collaborator Abhishek Kapoor in Kedarnath ’s ‘ Qaafirana ’. But, it took Anurag Kashyap yet again to rescue him: the 14 colourful Punjabi rap-laden tracks for Manmarziyaan goes straight up as one of the best.

New innings

Manmarziyaan , despite being strongly reminiscent of Trivedi’s own Udta Punjab , largely belonged to the same soundscape that Trivedi and Kashyap invented in Dev D . Sudhir Mishra attempted the Devdas story too this year and delivered a really interesting multi-composer soundtrack in Daas Dev , which also welcomed a debutante composer Anupama Raag. Her ambient composition, ‘ Azaad Kar ’, was led by Swanand Kirkire’s rousing vocals. A must hear. Mishra’s old friend Sandesh Shandilya made an appearance too. With his folksy tune and electronic arrangement in ‘ Challa Chaap Chunariya ’ (sung by Rekha Bhardwaj), Shandilya threw us back to his best work, which was with Mishra again, Chameli (2003). Now that’s nostalgia that’s worth savouring.

In between remixes, retro and reminiscent soundtracks, we need to acknowledge and appreciate the real clutter-breakers. Jasleen Royal bagged her solo film album this year— Hichki . It saw some excellent production, catchy tunes and new sounds. But the album that dared to change the soundscape this year was Laila Majnu , by Joi Barua and Niladri Kumar. When everyone was looking at old songs, the duo looked at the oldest love story to produce what was undoubtedly the freshest album of the year.