Dil Bechara is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, to the 2020 Hindi film of the same name, directed by Mukesh Chhabra and produced by Fox Star Studios, starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi. The soundtrack album incorporates various genres. The title track served as a promotional single and the album was released on 10 July 2020 through Sony Music India. Upon release, the album received mixed reviews from music critics, who praised its orchestration, duet collaborations, and harmonies, but pointed out unusual lyrics and musical overproduction.
Development
A. R. Rahman was reportedly signed in to compose music for the Indian adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars in March 2018 (earlier titled as Kizie Aur Manny),[1][2] and formally announced his association with the film and record label Sony Music Entertainment in September 2018.[3] In February 2019, the film was renamed to Dil Bechara as Rahman recorded the track incorporating lyrics titled "Dil Bechara". Rucha Pathak, the CCO of Fox Star Studios, stated that the title track was a "vibrant and fun number", suitable to the film's theme.[4] According to an interview with Faridoon Shahyr at Bollywood Hungama, Chhabra was the casting director for 99 Songs (also scored by Rahman), where he narrated the script of "Dil Bechara". Rahman loved the idea and Chhabra's honesty on the film and agreed within five minutes to compose the score and soundtrack.
While Rahman began conceptualizing the soundtrack, he was assisted by Hriday Gattani, who served as music supervisor.[5] Within two weeks, Rahman was ready with melodies. "Main Tumhara" was amongst the first songs recorded and "Maskhari" was the last.[5] By June 2019, 5 to 6 songs had been composed.[6] On 19 October 2019, Rahman, through his official twitter handle, tweeted about the mixing of the album in progress.[7] In July 2019, Udit Narayan recorded a track for the soundtrack album,[8] but it was not chosen in the final soundtrack. In an interview with The Indian Express, singer Poorvi Koutish stated that she had recorded the vocals on the title track and the song "Mera Naam Kizzie".[9][10]
According to Rahman, the whole album was curated to symbolize feelings of the heart and would be associated with memories of the late actor.[11] The track "Dil Bechara" is a song describing the celebration of life's ups and downs. The track "Khulke Jeene Ka" is an adaptation of Rahman's unreleased Tamil composition "Kannil Oru Thali". The director was quoted as saying, "The music album is an emotional rollercoaster of romance, friendship and the odds pitted against two young people in love."[12] The song "Taare Ginn" presents 'thrill experienced by lead characters at the beginning of love.'[13]
While interacting through his Twitter account, a Rahman's fan pointed out on a song used in the film score. It was titled "Never Say Goodbye", and appeared as part of the end credits. In response to the fan's tweet, Rahman agreed to complete the track.[14] Rahman wrote the English lyrics on the song that was sung by A. R. Ameen. It was released on 2 September 2020.[15] Referencing the demise of the actor, Ameen expressed, "Goodbyes are never easy. But they also mark new beginnings. You heard a part of this song in Dil Bechara and showered us with so much love that we had to complete it and present it to you all."[16]
Track listing
The track listing was released by A. R. Rahman through his official Twitter account on 6 July 2020.[17]
The title track served as the lead single from the album.[18] It was released on 10 July 2020, on the same day as the rest of the soundtrack.[19]The Indian Express hailed the song "a signature Rahman appeal".[20][19] The songs "Taare Ginn" and "Khulke Jeene Ka" were released as singles on 17 July[21] and 19 July 2020.[22] On 22 July 2020,[23] a 13-minute tribute to the film's late lead actor in the form of a virtual concert on Disney+ Hotstar and also the official YouTube channel of Sony Music India.[24] The musical ensemble apart from the respective original track singers were A. R. Ameen and Raheema Rahman.[25] A bonus single track "Never Say Goodbye" was released on 2 September 2020.[26][27]
Reception
Music critic Umesh Panwani of Koimoi rated the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating "All said and done, the lyric department in most of the songs struggles to match the wonder orchestrated by AR Rahman."[28] Uday Bhatia of Mint opined that the soundtrack has something like a healing touch, an enveloping warmth of melody, harmony, and familiarity, calling it Rahman's warmest soundtrack.[29] In her review for Scroll.in, Devarsi Ghosh titled the album review: "Lovable and catchy tunes with a ring of pathos"; however, she called some of the compositions bogged down by overproduction.[30] Srinivas Ramanujam of The Hindu stated: "AR Rahman delivers a rousing swansong to Sushant Singh Rajput [...] with an album that strikes a chord during the first listen, a slightly unusual phenomenon for a composer whose works are usually known to 'grow on you'".[31] Sankhayan Ghosh of Film Companion magazine stated: "An AR Rahman Album that Hits the Sweet Spot Between 'What Works' and 'Something New’ [...] presenting exquisite duets."[32] In his review for Zoom TV, Gaurang Chauhan assigned the album 3.5 score (out of 5), calling it "soulful, melodious and novel. Props to AR Rahman and Amitabh Bhattacharya."[33]
On the contrary, Rohit Mehrotra of Bloomberg Quint stated: "Rahman again fails to impress with 'Dil Bechara' [...] while some songs of the film hit the right notes, some don't." He compared the album's lacking to Rahman's previous Lekar Hum Deewana Dil.[34]
