Striker (soundtrack)

Striker
Soundtrack album by
Released12 January 2010 (2010-01-12)
Recorded2009
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length39:35
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
Producer
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Striker is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film of the same name directed by Chandan Arora starring Siddharth, Usha Jadhav, and Padmapriya. The soundtrack accompanied eight songs composed by an assortment of musicians, which included Vishal Bhardwaj, Amit Trivedi, Yuvan Shankar Raja (in his Hindi film debut), Blaaze, Swanand Kirkire and Shailendra Barve with lyrics contributed by Gulzar, Nitin Raikwar, Prashant Ingole, Jeetendra Joshi, Kirkire and Blaaze themselves. The album was released on 12 January 2010 under the T-Series label.[1]

Background and development

Chandan Arora stated that he and Siddharth wanted to create music which was quite different from the conventional mainstream cinema by curating an ensemble soundtrack, and were clear on the kind of music they envisioned. Considering it an intense film, the team decided to refrain lip-syncing songs to make it realistic. Hence most of the songs appear as montages throughout the film. The team had recorded two of the songs with composer Shailendra Barve, even before filming began. However, they decided to work on the rest of the songs during the post-production phase.[2]

Arora assembled a wishlist of multiple composers whom they wanted to come onboard. He considered it to be "lucky" as most of the noted names in film music scene—lyricist Gulzar and Swanand Kirkire, musicians Vishal Bhardwaj, Amit Trivedi, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Blaaze—had agreed to be onboard after watching the film, and planned to compose one track each for the film, which they really enjoyed.[3][4] Though two songs did not feature in the film, the rest of the songs appear in crucial points of the narrative. Shri Shriam (credited as Shri) composed the original score.[5]

Siddharth who produced the album had also sung two songs "Bombay Bombay" and "Haq Se". Siddharth stated that Arora had convinced him to sing those two songs, as he had also sung for Telugu and Hindi films as well. However, unlike his previous films, he considered his vocals in those songs "more raw and edgy" as he had embodied the character. Arora considered the song "Bombay Bombay" as perfect tribute to Mumbai where the film is based.[6]

Track listing

Tracklist
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Aim Lagaa"Nitin Raikwar, BlaazeBlaazeBlaaze3:07
2."Aim Lagaa - Ricksha Mix"Nitin Raikwar, BlaazeBlaazeBlaaze3:19
3."Bombay Bombay"Prashant IngoleAmit TrivediSiddharth5:07
4."Cham Cham"Jeetendra JoshiShailendra BarveSonu Nigam7:12
5."Haq Se"Nitin RaikwarYuvan Shankar RajaSiddharth, Yuvan Shankar Raja5:43
6."Maula"Swanand KirkireSwanand KirkireSwanand Kirkire4:52
7."Pia Saanvara"Jeetendra JoshiShailendra BarveSunidhi Chauhan5:05
8."Yun Hua"GulzarVishal BhardwajVishal Bhardwaj5:10
Total length:39:35

Reception

According to music critic Karthik Srinivasan, in his column for Bangalore Mirror, he stated "Six composers in a soundtrack is a sure-shot recipe for disaster, but in Striker, Chandan Arora gets them to produce a heady mélange".[7] Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama stated "Nothing wrong with being unconventional but then if an album has to make an impression commercially, it requires an adequate backing as well; something which is completely missing in case of Striker."[8]

Vipin Nair of Music Aloud called it "a very interesting album, coming from a good mix of musicians, all of whom, we can look forward to in the future."[9] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com called it an "eclectic soundtrack".[10] Sanjukta Sharma of Mint stated that "Arora uses music effectively, lending the film a mood that matches the precariously balanced lives at stake here" and called "Yun Hua" as her favorite from the album.[11] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express and Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times called the music "soothing" and "evocative".[12][13]

References

  1. ^ "Striker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 12 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. ^ Ramsubramaniam, Nikhil (2 February 2010). ""Striker is not a sports film" – Chandan Arora". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  3. ^ "The flick with six composers". Hindustan Times. 14 January 2010. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  4. ^ Hasan, Sheeba (13 January 2010). "Six music directors for seven songs in Striker". Masala.com. Indo-Asian News Service. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Striker Cast & Crew". Bollywood Hungama. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  6. ^ N, Patcy (27 January 2010). "No films excited me as Rang De Basanti did". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  7. ^ Srinivasan, Karthik (22 January 2010). "Striker : Heady mélange!". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 11 April 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (16 January 2010). "Striker Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 12 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ Nair, Vipin (27 January 2010). "Striker-Music Review". Music Aloud. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  10. ^ Verma, Sukanya (5 February 2010). "Review: Striker is Siddharth's game". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  11. ^ Sharma, Sanjukta (5 February 2010). "Film Review | Striker: The Mumbai of Malvani". Mint. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  12. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (6 February 2010). "Striker". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  13. ^ Shekhar, Mayank (5 February 2010). "Mayank Shekhar's Review: Striker". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2026.