Inkaar Movie Review

Producer: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
Director: Sudhir Mishra
Starring: Arjun Rampal, Chitrangada Singh, Vipin Sharma
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire
Singers: Swanand Kirkire, Shantanu Moitra, Papon, Shahid Mallya, Suraj Jagan, K.Mohan, Monali Thakur
Number of Songs: 7
Album Released on: December 2012

Movie Rating: ***1/2 (3 1/2 Start)

There’s something special about Shantanu Moitra’s music but perhaps his music is only appreciated by a niche audience. That’s why Sudhir Mishra has always preferred him as music director for his films. Well I’m delighted to say that after a longish hiatus Moitra returns to give us the soundtrack to Mishra’s forthcoming thriller Inkaar. On top of that the lines are penned by Moitra's favorite lyricist, Swanand Kirkire. Together these two have produced some of the finest songs in the last 10 years…let’s see if we can pick out any more gems?

The purity of “Darmiyan” has Moitra written all over! The relaxed but playful music is a rendezvous to his brilliant soundtrack Khoya Khoya Chand(2007) that supported a setting from the 1960s era. So guitars and drums are the focus of attention during the early part of the song but later Moitra introduces a tabla to create a beautiful melody. Swanand Kirkire’s dulcet tone suits this song really well and he must have enjoyed the experience having written some meaningful lines once again. This song is heaven for Moitra fans!

The music in “Maula Tu Malik Hai” serves a different purpose to the opener and moves a lot faster particularly during the chorus section so it requires a different mood to appreciate. Moitra uses peppy beats here to create a foot-tapping melody but listen closely and you will still catch some fantastic instruments in the interlude such as a saxophone. Both Moitra and Kirkire join forces to sing here and do a solid job. Very enjoyable.

The lines in “Zindagi Ka Karobar” get a little too film-related so it’s difficult to appreciate without seeing it on screen first. The soft rock music is clearly aimed as a background song to the film so doesn’t ever explode into life but K Mohan sings with gusto and does his career no harm…alas the song is too short! However fear not as Moitra brings in the electric guitars for the next song, the more hardcore sounding “Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai”. Again the lyrics are clearly written for the film’s narrative but the music in tandem with the singing by Suraj Jagan is simply mind-blowing! If you like your rock music then check this out for sure, you will not be disappointed!

Moitra’s soundtrack ends with a lovely instrumental “Inkaar (Alaap)” where Monali Thakur provides a haunting alaap. Again this one is for those who can spot the beauty in the detail.

Unusually for Sudhir Mishra and probably a first concerning a Moitra soundtrack, he felt the need to add another theme song for his film so he asked another composer to help out. But who can stand up to the challenge? Well here it fell to Shamir Tandon and he produces the song of his career for “Inkaar Theme (Hindi)” . Using a very simple acoustic guitar he weaves magic into the song alongside drums and later a haunting viola…The pathos is amplified by the superb singing where Papon provides low octaves against the backdrop of strong feelings stirred by Shahid Mallya's highs. The effect is rich and full of emotions. The song is so touching and heartfelt that Sudhir himself decided to pen some English lines for an alternative version “Inkaar Theme (English)” where Papon is replaced by Monica Dogra. It too works extremely well.

In a soundtrack like Inkaar, it’s hard to fathom how Moitra is outdone by a fellow composer but the title track by Shamir Tandon is so good you just have to give credit where it’s due! It’s all courtesy of Sudhir Mishra’s vision and taste for quality. Inkaar oozes that ingredient but sadly is likely to be ignored by all except the discerning listener