The September 16 release Pink features Taapsee Pannu as a victim of sexual violence and Amitabh Bachchan as the lawyer who defends her. Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s drama has a multi-composer soundtrack with contributions by Anupam Roy, Faiza Mujahid and Shantanu Moitra. Lyricists Tanveer Ghazi and Irshad Kamil have written a song each.
Faiza Mujahid, the Pakistani pop musician, sings Jeenay De Mujhe, about a woman demanding her rights in a world run by men. “Jeene de mujhe tu jeene de, zindagi ka jaam tu peene de” (Let me live, let me drink the intoxicant of life), she declares in the rock anthem that she has also written and composed. The lyrics are banal, emphasising on the rhyme of the words “jeene de” with “peene de” and “rehne de”, which comes off as more inebriated than a heartfelt cry for emancipation.
In the Shantanu Moitra composition Kaari Kaari, written by Tanveer Ghazi, Pakistani sensation Quratulain Balouch sings wistfully, brooding over a gloomy world. A lovely veena interlude precedes the song’s midway outburst into a rock number.
This is the first time Balouch has sung for an Indian film. Her debut Woh Hamsafar Tha, the title track for the Pakistani television show Humsafar (2011), made her hugely popular. Balouch has featured regularly on the music show Coke Studio. Her improvised rendition of Ankhiyaan Nu Rehn De, originally sung by folk singer Reshma, cemented her credentials as a versatile singer with the ability to combine powerful vocals with rock sounds. Her latest single, Saiyaan, based on the traditional lyrics by Bulleh Shah, is a Sufi rock ballad that is further proof of her calibre. Balouch comes closest to defining the angst-ridden mood of the album with her soulful singing in Kaari Kaari, in which the poetic lyrics are in sync with the sombre tune.
Anupam Roy writes, composes and sings the upbeat Tujhse Hi Hai Roshni, backed by a groovy rock sound. The title track Pink is written by lyricist Irshad Kamil, composed by Roy and sung by Jonita Gandhi with rapper EPR Iyer. The celebratory refrain of “My world goes pink” doesn’t quite make its mark.
Except Kaari Kaari, the pop sounds of the tracks are rudimentary and could fit into any other film about young people in peril. The album misses out on many other shades of music by sticking to its genre.