Johnny Gaddaar (soundtrack)
Encyclopedia
Johnny Gaddaar is the soundtrack album to Sriram Raghavan
's 2007 Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar
, starring Neil Nitin Mukesh and Dharmendra
. The film has fifteen songs and two remixes composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy (soundtrack) and Daniel B George (score), with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni
. The Album was met with high critical acclaim upon its release.
for the film. As they were discussing, Ehsaan
came up with a riff which Sriram felt fits the theme of the movie, which then turned out to be the title song "Johnny Gaddaar". Then they decided to go for another song, which was to be picturized in a club
setting. Sriram wanted it to have an early 70's feel, along the lines of the famous R.D. Burman song, "Duniya Main". Hence they jammed and came up with the second track, the rich and vibrant "Dhoka". Sriram had seen rapper Hard Kaur
on TV and was impressed with her. So he asked her and the trio to jam together, and they came up with the final song of the album, "Move Your Body
". The album includes Tamil
and Telugu
versions of the tracks "Johnny Gaddaar" and "Move Your Body
"
, Wadala, Mumbai
. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
, Dharmendra
, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sriram Raghavan
were present at the launch among others.
gave the album a three-and-a-half stars, stating, "In 'Johnny Gaddaar', don't even expect the kind of soundtrack that you hear in a conventional Bollywood film. Instead expect to get on a rhythmic ride which would hardly give you a breather throughout 11 tracks. The music of 'Johnny Gaddaar' isn't anything that you have heard before in a mainstream Hindi film before. And this is where it's strength lies!". Atta Khan of Planet Bollywood in his 9 star review, praised the soundtrack "Every once in a while a soundtrack comes along that leaves you in awe at it’s sheer audacity and pizzazz. Not to mention style, inspiration, variety, innovation and all round brilliance! In this reviewer’s opinion, Johnny Gaddaar is such a soundtrack. The whole package here including the instrumentals is an integral USP of the movie giving it a (dark but hip) character that many soundtracks only dream of achieving. Yet at the same time it is a great stand alone audio product too. It’s unconventional approach challenges every listener to expand their listening horizon and it’s an offer everyone should wholeheartedly accept."
The soundtrack featured in the "Top 10 music Albums of the year" list by Rediff, which said Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy get it right again with twisted, unorthodox productions like Johnny Gaddaar. It also got featured in the "Top 15 albums of the year" list of Planetbollywood, who remarked that "SEL have succeed in re-defining themselves and maintaining the edge over their counterparts."
Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screen writer. He is notable for producing a 45-minute documentary on Indian serial killer Raman Raghav and 2004 Hindi feature film Ek Hasina Thi produced by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan. His second feature film was...
's 2007 Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar
Johnny Gaddaar
Johnny Gaddaar , is a 2007 Indian crime thriller noir film written and directed by Sriram Raghavan; produced under the banner Adlabs...
, starring Neil Nitin Mukesh and Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
. The film has fifteen songs and two remixes composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy (soundtrack) and Daniel B George (score), with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter, songwriter and producer, most known for screenplays of films like, Company , Khosla Ka Ghosla and Chak De! India . He is currently on contract with Yash Raj Films...
. The Album was met with high critical acclaim upon its release.
Production
The soundtrack was co produced by composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Adlabs, which is first of its kind in the history of bollywood.Development
Director Sriram Raghavan approached S-E-L to score a singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for the film. As they were discussing, Ehsaan
Ehsaan Noorani
Ehsaan Noorani is the Ehsaan of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio which consist of Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa and himself. He is a famous music composer and a guitarist. He was the guitarist for many music directors before he started composing music. Ehsaan has also studied music with Mr...
came up with a riff which Sriram felt fits the theme of the movie, which then turned out to be the title song "Johnny Gaddaar". Then they decided to go for another song, which was to be picturized in a club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
setting. Sriram wanted it to have an early 70's feel, along the lines of the famous R.D. Burman song, "Duniya Main". Hence they jammed and came up with the second track, the rich and vibrant "Dhoka". Sriram had seen rapper Hard Kaur
Hard Kaur
Hard Kaur , also known as Hardkaur, is an Indian rapper and hip hop singer, as well as playback singer in Hindi films; she is the first female Indian rapper -Early life:...
on TV and was impressed with her. So he asked her and the trio to jam together, and they came up with the final song of the album, "Move Your Body
Move Your Body (Johnny Gaddaar song)
"Move Your Body" is a hindi song featured in the 2007 Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar. The song was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while the rap lyrics are penned by Hard Kaur and hindi lyrics by the band Des-C...
". The album includes Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
versions of the tracks "Johnny Gaddaar" and "Move Your Body
Move Your Body (Johnny Gaddaar song)
"Move Your Body" is a hindi song featured in the 2007 Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar. The song was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while the rap lyrics are penned by Hard Kaur and hindi lyrics by the band Des-C...
"
Tracks
Release
The album was released on 13 September 2007 at IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
, Wadala, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy are an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. Record producers, musicians and multi-instrumentalists, they have composed music for over fifty soundtrack across four languages...
, Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screen writer. He is notable for producing a 45-minute documentary on Indian serial killer Raman Raghav and 2004 Hindi feature film Ek Hasina Thi produced by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan. His second feature film was...
were present at the launch among others.
Reception
The album was met with high praise from critics upon release. Raja Sen of Rediff, who awarded the soundtrack four and a half stars was ecstatic about the soundtrack, "Johnny Gaddaar is a delightfully harebrained work showing off extreme musical maturity. This is the soundtrack that breaks all the rules, the three buddies reveling in the recklessness director Sriram Raghavan gives them. This is what Modesty Blaise would dance to, an album of lunatic retro genius.". Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood HungamaBollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
gave the album a three-and-a-half stars, stating, "In 'Johnny Gaddaar', don't even expect the kind of soundtrack that you hear in a conventional Bollywood film. Instead expect to get on a rhythmic ride which would hardly give you a breather throughout 11 tracks. The music of 'Johnny Gaddaar' isn't anything that you have heard before in a mainstream Hindi film before. And this is where it's strength lies!". Atta Khan of Planet Bollywood in his 9 star review, praised the soundtrack "Every once in a while a soundtrack comes along that leaves you in awe at it’s sheer audacity and pizzazz. Not to mention style, inspiration, variety, innovation and all round brilliance! In this reviewer’s opinion, Johnny Gaddaar is such a soundtrack. The whole package here including the instrumentals is an integral USP of the movie giving it a (dark but hip) character that many soundtracks only dream of achieving. Yet at the same time it is a great stand alone audio product too. It’s unconventional approach challenges every listener to expand their listening horizon and it’s an offer everyone should wholeheartedly accept."
The soundtrack featured in the "Top 10 music Albums of the year" list by Rediff, which said Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy get it right again with twisted, unorthodox productions like Johnny Gaddaar. It also got featured in the "Top 15 albums of the year" list of Planetbollywood, who remarked that "SEL have succeed in re-defining themselves and maintaining the edge over their counterparts."
Awards
- Stardust Award
- Nominated - Stardust Award for New Musical Sensation – Female - Hard KaurHard KaurHard Kaur , also known as Hardkaur, is an Indian rapper and hip hop singer, as well as playback singer in Hindi films; she is the first female Indian rapper -Early life:...
- "Move Your BodyMove Your Body"Move Your Body" is a 1999 song recorded by the Italian band Eiffel 65. It was released as the second single from their album Europop, on November 30, 1999. This song achieved a huge success in many countries, topping the charts of Austria, Denmark, France, Italy and Spain. The song was not a huge...
" - Nominated - Stardust Award for New Musical Sensation – Female - Akriti Kakkar - "Johnny Gadaar"