Ek Villain is the soundtrack to the 2014 film of the same name directed by Mohit Suri starring Riteish Deshmukh, Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor. Mithoon composed and wrote three songs for the film, while Ankit Tiwari contributed music for one song "Galliyan" with lyrics by Manoj Muntashir which also features an unplugged version. The track "Awari" is composed and penned by Adnan Dhool and Rabbi Ahmed of the Pakistani pop and Sufi band Soch. The soundtrack which consisted six songs, released on 28 May 2014 under the T-Series label, to positive reviews.
Release The soundtrack was preceded with two singles: "Galliyan" and "Banjaara" released on 9 and 14 May 2014. The remainder of the songs were released along with the album on 28 May 2014 through digital music platforms. The music video for "Awari" featuring Prachi Desai in an item number released on 11 June 2014.
Reception In his four-star review for Koimoi, Mohar Basu said "the album as a whole has a bunch of brilliant tracks which must not be missed [...] a few songs do have hiccups but Ek Villain‘s music has something canorous about it. Don't miss this one, it will emerge as one of the best albums this year." Devesh Sharma of Filmfare wrote "The OST of Ek Villain is another winner for Mohit Suri who has a knack for bringing out the best in his music directors. Go for it if you like soulful romantic tracks with loads of fusion thrown in." Joginder Tuteja rated four-stars for the soundtrack in his review for Rediff.com adding that "The music of Ek Villain meets the high expectations that one had from it."
Sankhayan Ghosh of The Indian Express wrote "Although it does have a similar melancholic vibe it's never a problem. Suri manages to pull off a balanced, melodious album for his Aashiqui 2 follow up with his assemblage of composers." Music Aloud gave 7.5 out of 10 saying it as "Another soundtrack high on the déjà vu quotient with pretty much the same people involved, but Ankit Tiwari emerges the better one this time." Kasmin Fernandes of The Times of India called it as "A soundtrack that proves the worth of harmony, melody and emotions in today's films." Karthik Srinivasan of Miliblog ranked "Galliyan" as his pick of the album, stating "Ankit Tiwari rules over this typical Mohit Suri soundtrack". In a mixed review for Bollywood Hungama, Rajiv Vijayakar wrote "The music attempts to tread Aashiqui 2's terrain. However, while most of the songs are melodious, a comparable level of lyrical depth is missing- and therein lies the vital difference."
"Galliyan" topped the list of "Bollywood music report Jan–Sept 2014" presented by The Times of India, and was further included in "The Top 10 Most Popular Songs of 2014" which was announced in the report of "Hungama.com Chart-toppers 2014". The song was placed in the fourth position of the "Top 10 songs of 2014" published by The Indian Express.
Track listing
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result BIG Star Entertainment Awards18 December 2014 Most Entertaining Song "Galliyan"Most Entertaining SingerAnkit Tiwari – "Galliyan" Most Entertaining Music Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed and Adnan DhoolFilmfare Awards31 January 2015 Best Music Director Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed and Adnan Dhool Best Playback Singer (Male) Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" Global Indian Music Academy Awards24 February 2015 Best Music Director Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed and Adnan Dhool Best Lyricist Manoj Muntashir – "Galliyan"Best Playback Singer (Male)Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" Celebrity Singer of the Year Shraddha Kapoor – "Galliyan" (Unplugged) Most Popular Song of the Year "Galliyan" Best Music Debut Shraddha Kapoor – "Galliyan" (Unplugged) Most Popular Singer of the Year Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" Best Music Arranger and Programmer Dhrubajyoti Phukan – "Awari" Best Engineer – Film Album Eric PillaiBest Film Song"Galliyan" International Indian Film Academy Awards5–7 June 2015 Best Music Director Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed and Adnan Dhool Best Lyricist Manoj Muntashir – "Galliyan" Best Playback Singer (Male) Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" Best Sound Recording Eric Pillai Mirchi Music Awards27 February 2015 Song of The Year "Galliyan" Album of The Year Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed, Adnan Dhool and Manoj Muntashir Male Vocalist of The Year Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" Music Composer of The Year Lyricist of The Year Manoj Muntashir – "Galliyan" Upcoming Female Vocalist of The Year Shraddha Kapoor – "Galliyan" (Unplugged) Upcoming Music Composer of The Year Rabbi Ahmad and Adnan Dhool – "Awari" Upcoming Lyricist of The Year Listeners' Choice Album of the Year Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed, Adnan Dhool and Manoj Muntashir Screen Awards14 January 2015 Best Music DirectorAnkit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed and Adnan Dhool Best Lyricist Mithoon – "Banjaara" Best Playback Singer (Male) Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan"Star Guild Awards12 January 2015Best Music DirectorAnkit Tiwari – "Galliyan"Best LyricistManoj Muntashir – "Galliyan"Best Playback Singer (Male)Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan"Arijit Singh – "Hamdard"Stardust Awards15 December 2014Best Music DirectorAnkit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed and Adnan DhoolBest LyricistMithoon – "Banjaara"Best Playback Singer (Male)Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan"Mohammed Irfan – "Banjaara"
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