Over the past month, two new Vishal Bhardwaj soundtracks have been released on the OTT platform circuit. Both are for films he has directed. While he has written all lyrics for the Agatha Christie-inspired Sony LIV murder mystery series Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley, lyrics are primarily written by Gulzar for the Netflix spy film Khufiya, with one song by Bhardwaj and traditional work by Sant Rahim and Kabir.
Bhardwaj isn’t new to OTT. He composed two songs in the Netflix film Darlings, the soundtrack for the YouTube short film Fursat and one song (Raat Bhar) in the multi-director series Modern Love: Mumbai. But the release of two full-length soundtracks in quick succession points to another big screen composer turning to OTT, others being Amit Trivedi (Qala, Jubilee) and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Bandish Bandits).
Let’s look at both scores. Charlie Chopra seems more consistent, in this writer’s opinion. Bhardwaj has stuck to the ghazal and light classical format, beginning with Jee Ki Ghatariya. “Main to naahin kholoon jee ki gathariya, peed jiya ki kaa se na boloon”, sings Rekha Bhardwaj in this light number, embellished by Mysore Harish Pandav’s saxophone.
Rekha also sings the soothing ghazal Yun Mere Sang, which has a reprise version Madhubanti Bagchi. Papon’s Dhundh and Sunidhi Chauhan’s Kohra are haunting, and Sudeep Banerji’s Dil Todne Waale has marvellous lines like, “Humko bade aziz hain dil todne waale, kaagaz ki naav paaniyon pe chhodne waale”. Finally, Dr Roshan Bharti sings Yeh Zameen, a philosophical love song which has the stunning line “Vasl ki raat mukhtasar kyon thi, hijr ki raat beqaraan kyon hai? (why was the night of union so short, why is the night of separation so endless?).”
Each song on Charlie Chopra has a charm of its own, making it one of the best OTT albums in the recent past. In contrast, despite a few strong areas, the music of Khufiya is erratic.
The positive parts come from Mat Aana, sung by Rekha Bhardwaj and written by Vishal Bhardwaj, who uses the lines, “Jaana tumko jaana ho toh mat aana, humko aur rulana ho toh mat aana”. The song has a lullaby-like tune, with short bursts of Niladri Kumar’s sitar. Rahul Ram, frontman of fusion-rock band Indian Ocean, sings and appears on Mann Na Rangawe, which uses Kabir’s poetry, and is joined by singer Jyoti Nooran on Bujhee Bujhee, which has lines by Sant Rahim. Though written by Gulzar, the other songs have predictable melodies. While the Rekha Bhardwaj and Rahul songs fit into the film’s narrative, the others seem to have been created just to fill up an album or create promos.
Interestingly, different launch strategies were used. Khufiya went the traditional way, beginning with an event featuring live performances and getting media coverage. The music was released on September 26 and the film made it to Netflix on October 5. In contrast, Sony LIV began by showing a pilot episode on June 30 but put out the rest of Charlie Chopra only on September 26. One couldn’t find the songs on the streaming platforms for some time, but suddenly the album appeared on October 6, without making any noise for people to know.
If Khufiya intended to create some awareness about its music, the hype vanished the moment the film was released, when the attention moved to the film and the cast, led by Tabu and Wamiqa Gabbi. In the case of Charlie Chopra, which had Gabbi in the main role, the music release seemed more like an afterthought to continue drawing attention.
Significantly, the soundtracks of both films haven’t got the response one expected. But this isn’t something new. Good music in OTT series like Mukhbir and Taali, and web films like Haddi, have been forgotten a few weeks after release. Even the songs of Pagglait, Jubilee and Qala, which were very popular for a limited period, seem to have taken a backseat in the public mind. It’s time the platforms consider this area with new seriousness.
