Kushi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Shiva Nirvana and starring Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The film is scored by Hesham Abdul Wahab whose soundtrack featured five songs with lyrics written by Nirvana himself. Madhan Karky, Arun Alat, V. Nagendra Prasad and Raqueeb Alam wrote the lyrics for the Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi versions, respectively. The soundtrack was released under the Saregama label on 15 August 2023, preceded by three singles.

Development In March 2022, it was reported that Anirudh Ravichander would score music for the film. However, with the film's launch in April 2022, it was confirmed that Malayalam composer Hesham Abdul Wahab would score music for the film in his Telugu cinema debut. Wahab attributed that the success of his compositions for Hridayam (2022) had caught the attention of filmmakers from Telugu industry. He added that the production company Mythri Movie Makers asked on his arrival to Hyderabad so that he could compose a song for his involvement, to which Hesham agreed.

Music sessions for the film began in Kashmir. Wahab was influenced by the culture and landscape of Kashmir, which helped to conceptualize the tunes and curate them which uses an Asian soundscape. He met Kashmiri musicians which used instruments specifically for the region, including a Rababi group which performed spiritual music. Around 50 musicians have been employed in the project, with Wahab closely working with 25–30 people. He composed five tunes in a 60-hour stretch, which Wahab usually does for his previous films.

Besides directing, Nirvana wrote lyrics for all the tracks. Nirvana narrated the first few lines of the song "Na Roja Nuvve" which Wahab immediately set to tune. As he liked his work, Wahab insisted to write lyrics for all the other songs as well. Each songs were recorded within a week's time. The lyrics of "Naa Roja Nuvve" and more noticeably, the Tamil dubbed version, "En Roja Neeye", references twelve of Mani Ratnam's films owing to the protagonist's liking of the Ratnam and A. R. Rahman combo. The films are mentioned in the following order, Roja (1992), Dil Se (1998), Anjali (1990), Geethanjali (1989), Kadal (2013), Alai Payuthey (2000), Mouna Raagam (1986), Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), Iruvar (1997), Nayakan (1987), Raavanan (2010), and OK Kanmani (2015).https://telugucinema.com/news/na-roja-nuvve-from-kushi-a-tribute-to-mani-ratnam Over five demos were composed in place, before the sixth demo has been finalized for the song. The songs were mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai.

Release The music rights were acquired by Saregama. On the occasion of Deverakonda's birthday (9 May 2023), the makers unveiled the first single "Na Roja Nuvve" (in Telugu), "En Roja Neeye" (in Tamil and Malayalam), "Nanna Roja Neene" (in Kannada) and "Tu Meri Roja" (in Hindi). The second single, "Aaradhya" was released on 12 July, followed by the title track which released as the third single from the album on 28 July. A musical concert was held on 15 August, coinciding with India's Independence Day, at the HICC Conventional Centre in Hyderabad. Besides the cast and crew's attendance, the concert featured musical performances from Wahab, Sid Sriram, Javed Ali, Anurag Kulkarni, Haricharan, Chinmayi Sripada, K. S. Harisankar, Padmaja Sreenivasan, Divya S. Menon and Bhavana Isvi. The same day, the soundtrack was made available to streaming platforms in all languages.

Reception Janani K. of India Today wrote "If 'Kushi' is breezy and feel-good, the main credit should go to Hesham Abdul Wahab's soul-stirring music." Meera Venugopal of Radio Mirchi summarized "Hesham Abdul Wahab beautifully weaves songs into the larger narrative". Ram Venkat Srikar of Film Companion South wrote that Wahab's music "neatly complement Shiva Nirvana in keeping the mood pleasant and cheerful". Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India wrote "Hesham Abdul Wahab's music gels beautifully with the film." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV described the music as one of the strongest points.

Track listing

Telugu

Tamil

Malayalam

Kannada

Hindi

Accolades + Accolades for Kushi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Filmfare Awards South 3 August 2024 Best Music Director – Telugu Hesham Abdul Wahab Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu Hesham Abdul Wahab ("Kushi Title Song") Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu Chinmayi Sripada ("Aradhya") IIFA Utsavam 27 September 2024 Best Music Director – Telugu Hesham Abdul Wahab Best Lyricist – Telugu Shiva Nirvana ("Kushi Title Song") Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu Sid Sriram ("Aradhya") Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu Chinmayi Sripada ("Aradhya") South Indian International Movie Awards 14 September 2024 Best Music Director – Telugu Hesham Abdul Wahab Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu Sid Sriram ("Aradhya")

Notes

References