After the worldwide musical successes of blockbuster soundtracks Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, My Name is Khan etc. Sony Music Entertainment (India), India’s largest multinational and third largest music company, is proud to release the soundtrack of one of this year’s most highly anticipated international Indian motion pictures, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, a supernatural screwball comedy which takes the phrase ‘I could murder a curry’ to hysterical new heights.
Continuing to redefine rules of music marketing, Sony Music Entertainment (India) is again at the forefront of creating a unique and scintillating musical experience for the global South Asian diaspora audiences and mainstream listeners alike.
After blockbuster hits like Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha who is best known for her Desi tinged films is back with cultural twist in It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, which centers on an Indian mother who takes her obsession with marriage into the world of serial murder. Scripted by Gurinder and Paul Mayeda Berges, the film is set in West London and boasts of highly acclaimed stars like Shabana Azmi, star of East is East and epic 2010 Jimmi Mistry, and the US-based star of Heroes Sendhil Ramamurthy; Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins, one of UK’s leading stage and television stars Zoe Wanamaker CBE, and thespian Goldy Notay among the film’s ensemble international cast.
Besides being a visual treat, the film also promises to offer audiences a complete musical feast, featuring a mix of licensed tracks, remixed tracks and original compositions. A soundtrack that spices mainstream beats such as disco and hip-hop with the Desi dhol and Bhangra, It’s A Wonderful Afterlife’s unique East meets West musical synthesis comes with a perfect balance of spooky and fun going perfectly well with the extraordinary plot of the film.
The film’s music witnesses a killer line-up of songs by popular British-Asian and Bhangra artists such as Panjabi MC and Taz of Stereo Nation. A power packed album with 14 tracks in total, the album also features two of the most renowned vocalists from the Sub-Continent including that of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Neeraj Shridhar of Bombay Vikings fame. One of the high points of the music score is the stunning makeover of the evergreen disco number by the Bee Gees, ‘Staying Alive’, re-composed by noted British-Asian DJ and music producer Bally Sagoo. Bally has given the classic song a new avatar, “Staying Alive Desified”, fusing it with traditional Bhangra beats. Given the film’s title and the director’s tribute to Frank Capra, the incredibly romantic It’s a Wonderful Life by the British band Black, will also feature in its original form on the soundtrack and in the film. Also tracks from Aaja Nachle, Dostana, Kal Ho Na Ho and Rang De Basanti are included on a bonus CD!
In commenting on the music release of the soundtrack for It’s A Wonderful Afterlife, Shridhar Subramaniam, Managing Director, Sony Music Entertainment, India says: “Every once in a while comes a path breaking and fresh album that appeals to Global Desi’s everywhere and It’s a Wonderful Afterlife is one such. We at Sony Music are extremely proud to present this amazing compilation of music and I am confident that this album will appeal to new and old fans alike.”
The music soundtrack for It’s a Wonderful Afterlife is available nationwide from local stores, Amazon.com, Play.com and downloadable from iTunes.
