Rangoon (soundtrack)
| Rangoon | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 18 January 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016–2017 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 48:06 | |||
| Language | Hindi | |||
| Label | T-Series | |||
| Producer |
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| Vishal Bhardwaj chronology | ||||
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Rangoon is the soundtrack album to the 2017 Hindi-language film of the same name directed, co-produced and composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, starring Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut in the lead roles. The album featured 12 tracks composed by Bhardwaj with lyrics written by his recurrent songwriter Gulzar and Lekha Washington, who also contributed two tracks. The album was released on 18 January 2017 through the T-Series label.
Background
Vishal Bhardwaj composed the film soundtrack and score, with lyrics written by his norm lyricist Gulzar.[1] To make the film realistic, Bhardwaj used a live orchestra in recording the songs instead of using junior artists playing musicians.[2][3] The film score was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.[4] Actress Lekha Washington had written lyrics for two English songs, "Be Still" and "Shimmy Shake", in her maiden songwriting stint.[1]
Release
The album was preceded by the song "Bloody Hell", which was released in a music video format on 11 January 2017.[5][6] The soundtrack was released through T-Series on 18 January.[1]
Reception
Vipin Nair of The Hindu noted that Bhardwaj and Gulzar's collaboration had "always reserved its best for [the latter] own movies" and felt Rangoon to be "another such work of brilliance".[7] Manish Gaekwad of Scroll.in noted that the soundtrack "bear[s] Bhardwaj’s indelible stamp" with him experimenting with several musical styles and genres as well as Gulzar aiding him through the lyrics which are "equally dazzling and overwhelming at times". He concluded that the album "requires repeat listening to catch up with the composer-lyricist duo who stridently march to their own beats."[8]
Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog reviewed, "Vishal at his usual, unorthodox best in Rangoon."[9] Ashwin Vinayan of Deccan Chronicle wrote "Vishal has reiterated once again, why he’s amongst the best musicians the industry has hosted" calling the album "worth savouring".[10] Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama noted that though it takes time to get used to the period-era soundscape, it becomes immersive when listened on loop further adding that "this one is set to find greater appreciation after it has been seen and heard in the film."[11]
Swetha Ramakrishnan of Firstpost added that the soundtrack "has something for every kind of listener" and would work for avid listeners of Bhardwaj's music.[12] However, Suanshu Khurana of The Indian Express felt that the music "lack[ed] the gloriousness the past records by this lyricist-composer duo has had" which led to the album being "acceptable, just not edgy enough".[13] Uday Bhatia of Mint wrote "The music, by Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Gulzar, has old-timey touches but makes no real effort to sound as if it’s from that era".[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bloody Hell" | Gulzar | Sunidhi Chauhan | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Yeh Ishq Hai" | Gulzar | Arijit Singh | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Mere Miyan Gaye England" | Gulzar | Rekha Bhardwaj | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Tippa" | Gulzar | Sukhwinder Singh, Rekha Bhardwaj, Sunidhi Chauhan | 5:44 |
| 5. | "Ek Dooni Do" | Gulzar | Rekha Bhardwaj | 3:57 |
| 6. | "Alvida" | Gulzar | Arijit Singh | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Julia" | Gulzar | Sukhwinder Singh, K.K, Kunal Ganjawala | 5:52 |
| 8. | "Chori Chori" | Gulzar | Rekha Bhardwaj | 2:53 |
| 9. | "Yeh Ishq Hai (Female Version)" | Gulzar | Rekha Bhardwaj | 4:44 |
| 10. | "Rangoon Theme" | Instrumental | 1:31 | |
| 11. | "Be Still" | Lekha Washington | Dominique Cerejo | 3:08 |
| 12. | "Shimmy Shake" | Lekha Washington | Vivienne Pocha | 2:26 |
| Total length: | 48:06 | |||
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Awards | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirchi Music Awards | 28 January 2018 | Best Song Producer (Programming & Arranging) | Clinton Cerejo and Hitesh Sonik — "Hawayein" | Won | [15] [16] |
| Best Background Score | Vishal Bhardwaj | Won |
Personnel
Credits adapted from T-Series:[17]
- Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
- Music producer: Ketan Sodha, Clinton Cerejo, Hitesh Sonik, Dipanjan Guha
- Music assistant: Mayukh Sarkar
- Recording: Salman Khan Afridi (Studio Satya, Mumbai); Chris Parker (Angel Recording Studios, London)
- Mixing: Salman Khan Afridi (Studio Satya, Mumbai); Steve Fiztmaurice (The Pierce Room, London)
- Mixing assistance: Charles Wong
- Mastering: Christian Wright (Abbey Road Studios, Mumbai)
- Musicians
- Choir: Neisha Mascarenhas, Marianne D’cruz Aiman, Shazneen Arethna, Rishikesh Kamerkar, Suhas Sawant, Vikas Joshi, Rajiv Sundaresan, Deepti Rege, Mayuri Patwardhan, Archana Gore, Pragati Joshi, Aditi Prabhudesai, Aparna Ullal, Arun Ingle, R. N. Iyer, Mandar Apte, Nitin Karandikar, Vivienne Pocha, Neuman Pinto, Bianca Pinto, Crystal Sequeira, Thomson Andrews, François Casstellino, Asif Ali Baig, Mahesh Kumar Rao, Nazim Khan, Subhan Sultani, Sonu Khan
- Choir arrangements: Rajiv Sundaresan, Neuman Pinto
- Guitars: Ankur Mukherjee
- Acoustic guitar: Mayukh Sarkar
- Flute: Ashwin Srinivasan
- Viola, violin: Suresh Lalwani
- Strokes: Tapas Roy
- Saxophone: I. D. Rao
- Harmonium: Firoz Shah
- Shehnai: Sanjeev Shankar
- Dholak: Mohd. Yusuf, Hafeez Khan Sharafat Khan, Raju Sardar, Navin Sharma
- Tabla: Musharraf Khan, Sanjiv Sen, Navin Sharma
- Rhythm arrangements: Sanjiv Sen
- Orchestra
- Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
- Orchestra conductor: Simon Hale
- Orchestra leader: Perry Montague-Mason
- Orchestra contractor: Isobel Griffiths
- Assistant orchestra contractor: Lucy Whalley
- Violins: Natalia Bonner, Emil Chakalov, Frances Dewar, Alison Dods, Jonathan Evans-Jones, Lousia Fuller, Richard George, Ian Humphries, Patrick Kieman, Boguslaw Kosteeki, Jenny Lewisohn, Perry Montague-Mason, Steve Morris, Tom Pigott-Smith, Warren Zielinski
- Violas: Max Baillie, Nick Barr, Bruce White
- Cellos: Ian Burdge, Nick Cooper, Martin Loveday, Chirs Worsey
- Double bass: Richard Pryee, Chris Laurence
- Trumpets: John Barclav, Tom Rees-Roberts
- French Horns: Richard Bissill, Philip Eastop, Martin Owen, Laurence Davies
- Tuba: Owen Slade
- Tenor trombones: Richard Edwards, Ed Tarrant
- Bass trombone: Roger Argente
References
- ^ a b c "Rangoon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Vishal Bhardwaj on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 19 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ Mathur, Megha (14 February 2017). "Bhardwaj Uses Live Orchestra to Give 'Rangoon' a Touch of Realism". TheQuint. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Vishal Bharadwaj adds live orchestra in 'Rangoon'". The New Indian Express. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Gauri, Gayatri (24 February 2017). "Rangoon is a love story, but of a heightened, melodramatic nature: Director Vishal Bhardwaj". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Jain, Arushi (12 January 2017). "Rangoon song Bloody Hell: Kangana Ranaut is the hunterwali". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ^ "Watch: Kangana impresses with her Hunterwali' act in Rangoon's Bloody Hell". Deccan Chronicle. 12 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Nair, Vipin (22 January 2017). "Bhardwaj at his best". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Gaekwad, Manish (27 January 2017). "Soundtrack review: 'Rangoon' is an eclectic and often dazzling mix of old and new musical styles". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Srinivasan, Karthik (20 January 2017). "Rangoon (Music review), Hindi – Vishal Bhardwaj". Milliblog. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Vinayan, Ashwin (20 January 2017). "Rangoon music review: Vishal Bhardwaj creates another gem of a soundtrack". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Tuteja, Joginder (24 February 2017). "Rangoon Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, Swetha (24 January 2017). "Rangoon music review: The Vishal Bhardwaj, Gulzar combo strikes gold again". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Khurana, Suanshu (10 February 2017). "Rangoon music review: Gulzar-Vishal Bhardwaj revives sounds of the past". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Bhatia, Uday (24 February 2017). "Film Review: Rangoon". Mint Lounge. Mint. Archived from the original on 7 November 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ "Nominations – Mirchi Music Awards 2017". Mirchi Music Awards. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Winners – Mirchi Music Awards 2017". Mirchi Music Awards. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ Rangoon Full Songs (Audio) | Saif Ali Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor | Audio Jukebox. T-Series. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2026 – via YouTube.