Gulaab Gang will see two legends of Indian Cinema coming together in this female focused film. Featuring Madhuri Dixit Nene and Juhi Chawla in the foremost roles, the film is based on a group of women in rural India who fight against social prejudice. Gulaab Gang will see Madhuri as the lead and Juhi as the antagonist, which makes the film all the more attractive to watch. Directed by Soumik Sen, it is scheduled for release on 7 March 2014.
The music to Gulaab Gang has also been composed by Soumik Sen and has also written the lyrics for the song ‘Teri Jai Ho.’ Additional lyricists who have also contributed to the album include Shreya Narayan and Neha Saraf. My initial expectation of the film is that it is a theme-based saga enthused from real life events, and the music has to be unconventional, with a rustic touch. Your typical stylish party songs cannot feature here. The soundtrack here is multifaceted and there is a lot of raag-daari – a strong and essential hint of folk. The orchestration is brilliantly apt with the right dhol-based percussion, choral refrains and rich sound. The star of the show is Malabika Brahma noted Baul and classical singer, whose scorching vocals embellish ‘Gulabi’ with Shilpa Rao, ‘Dheemi Dheemi Si’ with Kaushiki Chakraborty and ‘Sharm Laaj’ with Pavni Pandey, dwarfing her co-singers completely as she takes on the vociferous, inspiring mood and lyrics of all these numbers with a rare vocal effectiveness. ‘Ankhiyaan’ by Kaushiki Chakraborty which sounds somewhat in the Rahman mould but is quite evocative, thanks to Kaushiki’s inspired and spirited rendition. Kaushiki is the next best thing in the score as she helms the most vibrant track, ‘Rang Se Hui Rangeeli Re Chidiya’. She glides through the song with a rural charm lending extra virtue to what appears to be a Holi song but has a deeper magnitude.
The simple lyrics add to the effortless allure of the song. Here is a song that would have been a best-seller back in the acoustic-era with the same instruments . ‘Rangi Saari Gulabi’ is a humble traditional number that boasts of two unusual singers the leading lady Madhuri Dixit and her mother Snehalata Dixit who opens the song. Madhuri, as in her thumri ‘Kaahe chhed mujhe’ in Devdas (2002), shines in the singing, seeing that she is not a professional singer . The shehnai flows through the under-layer of the song with rare evocativeness for a film song, and boosts the song to a higher level. Soumik Sen’s self-rendered ‘Teri Jai Ho’ (which he also writes) tries to be poignant, and succeeds only partially. The Western feel brings down the appeal, though Sen brings in a lot of emotion to the subdued words. The lyrics of the score in general are more than comprehensible, a rare product in today’s times that must be praised, recognised and cherished.
The soundtrack is faultless for the film. As the director is also the composer, he understands the deepest needs of the subject. His title-song and a traditional track apart, the film’s lyricists are also women. This is a soundtrack where the film’s success will carry the music rather than the other way round.My picks are ‘Gulaabi’, ‘Sharm Laaj’, ‘Rang Se Hui’, ‘Rang Sari Gulaabi’ The Bollywood Tempest awards the music of Gulaab Gang an 8/10!