Sarkar (soundtrack)

Sarkar is the fourth collaboration of A. R. Rahman with Vijay after Udhaya, Azhagiya Tamizh Magan and Mersal.[4] The lyrics were written by Vivek, marking his second collaboration with Rahman.[2] This film also marks the second collaboration of Rahman with director A. R. Murugadoss, after composing for the Hindi film Ghajini (2008),[1] which is a remake of the 2005 Tamil film of the same name.

"Simtaangaran" begins with the local jargons such as "nickelu pickulu ma...oh thottanu thokalu ma...makkaru cookaru maa...tharala ukkaru maa..."giving one the impression that it will continue that way.  Inside of a minute the beat changes to a street molam for the lyrics "Palti Pakkura darla vudanum palthu".  Then again there is another melodious changeover for the female vocals "Mannava nee vaa vaa..."  Thereafter the delightful beat maintains its tempo till the very end with frequent changeovers in between. The song is loaded with the madras slang lyrics for the male voice with the contrasting chaste Tamil for the female side which makes it a very interesting listen for both the Isaipuyal and the Thalapathy fans. The images in the video shows the colorful night setting punctuated with lights  for the 'Simtangaaran' song with Vijay, Keerthy Suresh and Yogi Babu performing.  It sure teases a fun number that is going to push the audiences to dance modes. The Mozart of Madras has gone for a perfect fusion of thara local with melody on an easy on the ears beat that is sure to hit the right chords among all sections of the listeners.

"Oruviral Puratchi" begins with an easy swag and jumps into pure fire, in terms of composition and also the lyrics. Rahman’s blunt and thuggish voice in this track renders Vivek’s lines all the more powerful and poignant. For example consider this line: “Ezhmaiyai ozhikkavae seyada muyarchiye, ezhaiyai ozhippadhe ungalin valarchiyaa.” Vivek startles us with simple, yet piercing lyrics. And not to mention how a string portion is infused so easily before the song catches onto its beat pattern. In short: Oruviral puratchi packs much verve and revolutionary ammunition in its lines. A trending song for sure.

"OMG Ponnu" is a peppy number, sung by Sid Sriram and Jonita Gandhi and lyrics written by Vivek. We have to admit that Vivek as a lyricist shows off a vast versatility in ‘Sarkar’ album. The transition is almost unbelievable from something like ‘Simtaangaran’ to this. What you’ll learn of course is a lot of modern text short forms. The rhythmic background, electronic treatment of the song and rhyming words make this track catchy, instantly growing on you. This is not Rahman’s slow poison. Definitely on your playlist.

"Top Tucker" is an energetic number. Vivek is again in his element shapeshifting to the track’s need. And Mohit Chauhan wins with his easy exuberant voice. The way the track is arranged is itself something to behold of. The pace is fast and never wavers down in energy. And you have to give it how even short bursts of staccato strings are added to the track, almost negligible but giving the track texture. Rhythms have worked splendidly for Top Tucker. No surprises if it becomes your top tucker track for a long time.

"CEO in the House" is another energy track, seems like Rahman has gone all techno on ‘Sarkar’ album. Not that we’re complaining- CEO in the House epitomizes power, money and all that you’d find in a modern rap. Rahman has brought in Blaaze to do the rap portions and Nakul to do the lead. We love how the concoction of local, modern and techno has come out in the album. CEO in the House is fitting for Vijay’s appeal and no doubt it’s going to rule our morning playlists.[5]

The first single track "Simtaangaran" sung by Bamba Bakya, Vipin Aneja and Aparna Narayanan was released on 24 September 2018. It was launched exclusively on Sun NXT, the online service of Sun TV, 30 minutes before launching the song on YouTube on 6:00 p.m. This song received predominantly mixed response.[6][7] The audio rights of the film were acquired by Sony Music India, three days after the first single track was released. The second single track "Oru Viral Puratchi" was released on 30 September 2018. Sung by Rahman and Srinidhi Venkatesh, this song was well received.[8]

The audio launch was held on 2 October 2018 at Sai Leo Muthu Indoor Stadium, Sri Sai Ram Engineering College, Chennai.[3][9] The promotional music event featured dance performances for the songs in the background. The entire album was made available for download on the same day prior to the audio launch.[10] The audio release event of the film was conducted in a much peculiar way, where for the very first time, the audience were given the privilege of launching the music album online by the means of the production company's website.[11] The audio launch event held a live telecast aired on Sun TV, and on their exclusive paid service called SunNXT.[12] Significant crew members took turns in giving an opinion of their experience being part of the project. Celebrities such as director Atlee turned up that night, as guests. Unlike other music events, Rahman opted not to perform. Instead, trained dancers put a rendition for his beats.[13][14] The album was unofficially leaked without the team's consent, ruining the hype built up for album.[15][16]

The lyric videos of all the songs were released on the YouTube channel of Sony Music South, on the day of audio launch. The video songs were released after the film's release.

Indiaglitz gave a 4 out of 5 star rating, but cited: "Sarkar though rich in techno and electronic treatment, finds a winning combo with its amazing lyrics".[5] Behindwoods gave it 2.75 out of 5 stars and stated: "A. R. Rahman goes full-on techno for Sarkar ".[17] Firstpost stated "A. R. Rahman delivers an adequately enjoyable album in his fourth collaboration with Vijay".[18] Studioflicks gave it 3.3/5 and said "A mix of local and western flavour from AR Rahman".[19] Kolly Buzz rated it 3.8 out of 5 and quoted "AR Rahman escalates the musical platform of Vijay to next level through Sarkar".

Composer & Producer: A. R. Rahman

Lyrics: Vivek

• Discography of A. R. Rahman