Bombay Talkies (soundtrack)

Bombay Talkies
Soundtrack album to Bombay Talkies by
Amit Trivedi
Released29 March 2013
Recorded2012–2013
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length23:30
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
ProducerAmit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi chronology
Kai Po Che!
(2013) 		Bombay Talkies
(2013) 		Ghanchakkar
(2013)

Bombay Talkies is the soundtrack album to the 2013 anthology film of the same name which consisted of four short films directed by Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap.[1][2] The film's soundtrack was composed by Amit Trivedi with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Swanand Kirkire and was released under the T-Series label on 29 March 2013.

Development

Amit Trivedi worked on the film's soundtrack since late 2012.[3] He described working on the music as a challenging process, stating "every score for me has been like a board examination. But this one is like a civil-services examination" as he not only had to align with the musical sensibilities of the four directors, but also curate the soundscape that is faithful to the era that each filmmaker recreates in the short films.[4] While Johar's short film had few lip-sync songs, the rest of the film did not need much, only focusing on the background score with each film having its significant flavor and requirement.[5] He worked on nearly four to five months, on utilizing the correct soundscape; this prompted him to forgo his offers for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and Subhash Ghai's Kaanchi (2014).[4]

Trivedi was assigned to compose a song that would depict the evolution of Hindi cinema from the 1930s to the early 2010s thereby capturing different musical landscapes. To incorporate such changes in styles and differences in the melodic structure, he kept the tune "neutral" so that it could fit the various styles in different eras without compromising its essence and central theme.[5] The song "Apna Bombay Talkies" featured veteran singers Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, who collaborated with other prominent singers from the new generation to pay tribute to the centennial anniversary of the Hindi cinema; all those singers would lend their vocals to the respective actors. Trivedi took nearly three months to co-ordinate with the singers, as they had a couple of lines.[5]

Marketing and release

The soundtrack was released under the T-Series label on 29 March 2013.[6] A four-minute video of "Apna Bombay Talkies" directed and choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant was released through YouTube on 2 May 2013.[7][8][9] The video is originally eight-minutes long and was seen in theatres.[10][11]

Reception

A reviewer from The Times of India wrote "all tracks in this album (and particularly the lyrics) seem to be intimately married to their picturisation and their cinematic context."[12] Another reviewer based at Indo-Asian News Service wrote "Bombay Talkies songs are high on emotions. If you have an ear for classic music, then this is a must album for you. It tells a story that other musical tracks have missed out so far."[13] Sankhayan Ghosh of The Indian Express wrote "The set of three excellent songs are weighed down by a couple of ordinary ones, but on the whole, Bombay Talkies stands above an average Bollywood album."[14] Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog called it as a "curious side project from Amit Trivedi".[15]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Bachchan"Amitabh BhattacharyaSukhwinder Singh4:06
2."Akkad Bakkad"Swanand KirkireMohit Chauhan5:03
3."Murabba" (Duet)Amitabh BhattacharyaAmit Trivedi, Kavita Seth3:12
4."Bombay Talkies"Swanand KirkireKailash Kher, Richa Sharma4:13
5."Murabba" (Solo)Amitabh BhattacharyaJaved Bashir3:42
6."Apna Bombay Talkies"Swanand KirkireUdit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Sadhana Sargam, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Kavita Krishnamurthy, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, KK, Sukhwinder Singh, Shilpa Rao, Mohit Chauhan, Sonu Nigam4:16

References

  1. ^ "Bollywood directors join hands to pay homage to Indian cinema". The Times of India. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  2. ^ Dubey, Bharati (25 January 2012). "Film industry to mark Phalke centenary". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  3. ^ Singh, Nirmika (8 February 2014). "We work like donkeys: Amit Trivedi". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b K. Jha, Subhash (12 October 2012). "'Bombay Talkies' gives Amit Trivedi sleepless nights". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Bombay Talkies was the biggest challenge: Amit Trivedi". Radio and Music. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Bombay Talkies (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 29 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Kareena, Vidya, Priyanka and 17 more A-listers come together for Bombay Talkies". Hindustan Times. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Shah Rukh, Aamir, Priyanka, Ranbir, Vidya and Bollywood celebs in 'Bombay Talkies' song". The Indian Express. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Bollywood stars unite for 'Bombay Talkies' song 'Apna Bombay Talkies'". Digital Spy. 26 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Yesteryear stars come alive with 'Bombay Talkies'". Bollywood Hungama. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  11. ^ Shalvi Mangaokar (2 May 2013). "'Apna Bombay Talkies took four months to create'". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Bombay Talkies: Music Review". The Times of India. 13 May 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Music Review: 'Bombay Talkies' album high on emotions, celebrations". India TV News. Indo-Asian News Service. 27 April 2013. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  14. ^ Ghosh, Sankhayan (26 April 2013). "Music Review: Bombay Talkies". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  15. ^ Srinivasan, Karthik (29 March 2013). "Bombay Talkies (Music review), Hindi – Amit Trivedi". Milliblog. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2025.