Players (Music from the Motion Picture)

The film Players is a fast-paced Hindi remake of the classic heist flick The Italian Job and features a pulse-pounding soundtrack by the ambitious young Hindi composer Pritam Chakraborty. One of the most contemporary-minded composers on the Bollywood scene, Pritam has never shied away from brash cross-genre gestures that graft jet-setting Europop and radio-ready alternative rock onto traditional Indian melodies. The Players soundtrack is a collection of characteristically adventurous Pritam compositions. The set opens with the flashy “Jis Jagah Pe Khatam," a materialist’s anthem that sports a majestic horn line worthy of Morricone and a stuttering pre-programmed beat that conjures the primitive electronic percussion of early techno. Other highlights include “Jhoom Jhoom Ta Ja," a salacious dance track with a vaguely Eastern European vocal melody, and “Buddhi Do Bhagwan," a heavily Auto-Tuned fusion of hip-hop and bhangra that succeeds thanks to its insistent sarod and slinky midtempo groove.