Gulabo Sitabo (soundtrack)

Gulabo Sitabo is the soundtrack to the 2020 Hindi-language comedy-drama film of the same name directed by Shoojit Sircar and written by Juhi Chaturvedi. The film's music was composed by Shantanu Moitra, Abhishek Arora and Anuj Garg with lyrics written by Puneet Sharma, Dinesh Pant and Vinod Dubey. Shanthanu Moitra also composed the film score. It was released by Zee Music Company on 22 May 2020.[1][2]

Gulabo Sitabo
Soundtrack album by
Shantanu Moitra, Abhishek Arora and Anuj Garg
Released22 May 2020[1]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length30:45
LanguageHindi
LabelZee Music Company
External audio
audio icon Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

Background

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The 10-track soundtrack album has a running time of 30 minutes and it features ten tunes; eight songs, reprised versions of two tracks from the original songs, and two themes. Shantanu Moitra composed four tracks, including the themes, while also taking charge of the background score.[2][3] Abhishek Arora composed one track – "Jootam Phenk", while Anuj Garg composed three songs – "Madari Ka Bandar", "Do Din Ka Ye Mela", "Budhau" and the reprised versions of the latter two.[4] All tracks are sung by Tochi Raina, Piyush Mishra, Mika Singh, Vinod Dubey, Anuj Garg, Bhanwari Devi, Rahul Ram and Bobby Cash. All the tracks are fused with folk genre, with diversely ranging from Baul, Rajasthani and Uttar Pradeshi folk, to rock and country music.[5] It used wide range of instruments from guitar, clarinet, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and other stringed instruments.[6]

While the entire soundtrack was released earlier, on 27 May, the video song of "Jootam Phenk" was released through YouTube,[7] while the second video song "Madari Ka Bandar" released on 3 June 2020.[8]

Reception

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The music received highly positive response from critics. Vipin Nair, a music critic, whose reviews about the soundtrack, were published in his website Music Aloud and in the English-language Indian newspaper The Hindu, which appeared first, stated it as the "best soundtrack that has featured in Shoojit Sircar and Ayushmann Khurrana's films in a very long time" and stated it as an "earthy earworm through".[9][10] In his review for The Indian Express, Suanshu Khurana gave 3.5 stars and stated it as "an excellent example of theme-based music, producing the kind of tracks not usual in mainstream Bollywood music scene". He further stated the score of the film as "tender and edgy, which looks at life’s spiritual journey through melodic structures that are quirky and full of nuance".[11] Devarshi Ghosh of Scroll.in stated the soundtrack as "different from the music of Hindi movies this year. That's not just because all its tracks are original compositions, but also because it works as a standalone concept album, wherein a specific musical vocabulary and thematic concerns in the lyrics are to be found across all the songs. You can’t pluck any one track and put it in any stock situation."[5] In addition to the review, Ghosh listed it in Best of 2020: Hindi music in films and television, a year-ender article for Scroll.in.[12]

Critic based as Musicplus gave 8/10 to the soundtrack and further praised the "uniformity in sound and theme" despite having three composers, while also appreciating the choice of singers, instrumentation and fusion of genres.[13] Joginder Tuteja, however criticised the soundtrack, saying it as "forgettable".[14] A reviewer from The Humming Heart gave the soundtrack 7.5 out of 10 and stated: "The length of the Gulabo Sitabo album made one wonder if the film will be overloaded with music. However, Sircar, who has historically been pretty judicious with the usage of music onscreen, demonstrates a full-length album can be used with a modern approach in a featured film. With the entire look and feel of Gulabo Sitabo centring around the old and lost riches of what was once a grand and opulent Awadh, the music really finds resonance."[15] Pallabi Dey Puryakastha of The Times of India, gave 3.5 stars to the film's music saying "Shantanu Moitra's original score and the soundtrack earns some brownie points for its quirky tunes that come with deep, meaningful and honest lyrics by Dinesh Pant, Puneet Sharma and Vinod Dubey".[16] The film's soundtrack was also mentioned in Mixtape 2020, an article for Film Companion's Year Ender Special,[17] and in another article written by Amit Gurbaxani about Indian film music in 2020 for Firstpost.[18]

Track listing

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No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Madari Ka Bandar"Dinesh PantAnuj GargTochi Raina, Anuj Garg4:10
2."Jootam Phenk"Puneet SharmaAbhishek AroraPiyush Mishra2:07
3."Kanjoos"Puneet SharmaShantanu MoitraMika Singh2:50
4."Kya Leke Aayo Jagme"Vinod DubeyShantanu MoitraVinod Dubey3:01
5."Do Din Ka Ye Mela" (Reprise)Dinesh PantAnuj GargTochi Raina3:33
6."Budhau" (Reprise)Dinesh PantAnuj GargBhanwari Devi3:15
7."Do Din Ka Ye Mela"Dinesh PantAnuj GargRahul Ram3:33
8."Budhau"Dinesh PantAnuj GargBobby Cash3:38
9."Gulabo Sitabo Theme"Shantanu Moitra3:41
10."Gulabo Sitabo Clarinet Theme"Shantanu Moitra0:56
Total length:30:45

References

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  1. ^ a b "Gulabo Sitabo - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn. 27 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Zee Music to release soundtracks of Gulabo Sitabo, Gunjan Saxena & Shakuntala Devi". Exchange4media. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  3. ^ M, Athira (31 July 2020). "Whatever I create has to have an innocence: Shantanu Moitra". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Everything you should know about Shoojit Sircar's Gulabo Sitabo". The Indian Express. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Ghosh, Devarsi (2 June 2020). "'Gulabo Sitabo' music review: A first-rate album merges folk-pop with metaphysical themes". Scroll.in. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  6. ^ "All You Need to Know About Bachchan, Khurrana's Gulabo Sitabo". NDTV Gadgets 360. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Gulabo Sitabo Song Jootam Phenk: Amitabh Bachchan Vs Ayushmann Khurrana In ROFL Clash". NDTV.com. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Gulabo Sitabo new song Madari Ka Bandar sees Amitabh Bachchan trying hard to evict his tenant, Ayushmann Khurrana". Firstpost. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  9. ^ Nair, Vipin (29 May 2020). "'Gulabo Sitabo' music review: Folk for the win". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Gulabo Sitabo – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack)". Music Aloud. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Gulabo Sitabo music review: Let's break the rules". The Indian Express. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  12. ^ Ghosh, Devarsi (28 December 2020). "2020 yearender: More originals and fewer remixes in films and web series". Scroll.in. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Gulabo Sitabo: Album Review". Musicplus. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  14. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (1 June 2020). "Gulabo Sitabo Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  15. ^ "REVIEW | Gulabo Sitabo OST". A Humming Heart. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Gulabo Sitabo Movie Review: A well-crafted satire that evokes a riot of emotions", The Times of India, retrieved 6 November 2021
  17. ^ Ghosh, Sankhayan (7 December 2020). "Mixtape 2020: The Best of Music in Hindi Film (And TV)". Film Companion. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  18. ^ "2020, a year in Indian music charts: A reflection of how life came to a halt after the COVID-19 lockdown". Firstpost. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.