Gangubai Kathiawadi (soundtrack)

Gangubai Kathiawadi is Bhansali's sixth film as a composer.^[1] Like all of his earlier films, Bhansali would curate the tunes after reading the script owing to his belief on music that would be expressed in certain moments over dialogues.^[2] The soundtrack accompanied mostly female singers except for one song, while Bhansali also introduced Janhvi Shrimankar and Archana Gore in their playback debuts as they rendered two songs for the film.^[3][4] The musical palette accompanied the use of traditional instrumentation that served the multitude of genres such as Indian folk, qawwali and Indian classical music.^[5] It was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2021 where the musicians had to work remotely. The album was arranged by Shail Hada and Raja Pandit, with music production handled by Jackie Vanjari and programmed by Sanjay Jaipurwale and Shivansh Kapil.^[6][7]

In April 2021, Bhansali had signed a long-term partnership contract with Saregama India Ltd. which allowed the label to collaborate with three projects, including Gangubai Kathiawadi.^[8] This initiative eventually marked the label's return to film music acquisition after six years, where it had paid ₹20 crore (US$2.1 million) for the music rights.^[9] Bhansali cited this as a special and personal collaboration which he attributed to listening the "golden classics of Hindi cinema" which the label's music catalogue holds, in his formative years, that had shaped his storytelling and worldbuilding.^[10]

The first single from the album "Dholida" was released on 10 February 2022.^[11][12] It is a garda dance number set in the backdrop of Navaratri festival and was choreographed by Kruti Mahesh.^[13][14] The second single "Jab Saiyaan" was released in conjunction with Valentine's Day (14 February).^[15][16][17] The album was released on 18 February 2022 in Hindi and Telugu languages. Post release, the music video of the song "Meri Jaan" was unveiled on 21 February.^[18][19] It was followed by the videos for the song, "Jhume Re Gori" on 25 February,^[20][21] and "Shikayat" on 9 March.^[22]

In his review for Film Companion, Prathyush Parasuraman summarized that "the songs of Gangubai Kathiawadi move quickly between genres of feeling. You cannot listen to it as a single mood piece neatly transitioning, like you would for his longer albums."^[5] Anish Mohanty in his review for Planet Bollywood stated that "With Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali shows some growth as a composer. Unlike the albums he has put together in the past, it consistently engaging and does not really offer a dull moment."^[23] Lakshmi Govindarajan Javeri in her review for Firstpost stated "the poignant ones are leaps ahead of the dance numbers even though the latter will command more airplay [...] Listen to the album for what Bhansali is not projecting: the underlining sensitivity of human emotions."^[24]

Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote "Meri Jaan and Jab Saiyaan are soft romantic tracks while Dholida and Jhume Re Gori let you groove to some peppy folk beats."^[25] Sneha Bengani of CNBC TV18 compared the music and score to that of Spencer (2021) that "elevates the narrative, makes it river-like—free-flowing, uncontainable, with a life of its own."^[26] Shilajit Mitra of Cinema Express wrote "'Dholia' and 'Jhume Re Gori' are nods to earlier songs, though there's much invention to the lush, entertaining 'Meri Jaan'."^[27] Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India, however wrote, "Each song is masterfully and colourfully picturised [...] but none of the songs, other than Dholida, are too memorable."^[28]

Credits adapted from Saregama:^[6][7]