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Viceroy's House: (A.R. Rahman) Any student of
history can testify that the British royally botched the creation of
many of the 20th century's national formations, among their empire's
dying colonial sins being the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947
during their efforts to extricate themselves from the subcontinent.
Several feature films have been made about the larger scope of the
event's political posturing and the consequent suffering due to the
largest migration in modern human history as Muslims departed India for
Pakistan. Writer and director Gurinder Chadha's 2017 film,
Viceroy's
House, alternately known as
Partition: 1947 in India (but
banned in Pakistan), studies the era through the perspective of the
final Viceroy of India, his family, and his residential servants. A love
story that develops between two of the servants, one Hindu and the other
Muslim, anchors the heart of the movie while the Viceroy and his wife
and daughter struggle to balance their desire to help of the people of
the nation with political pressures from Winston Churchill and the
British government. Despite several notable performances by the
international cast,
Viceroy's House struggles when it attempts,
in its second half, to depict a tale larger than the characters is
establishes early on. That said, the plot supplies as much of a
Hollywood ending as possible, confronting a divisive political
environment today with old-fashioned mush. There was minor controversy
involving the extent to which the story pushes the theory that the
British drew the boundaries of Pakistan simply as a buffer against the
Soviets. The film wasn't a particular success critically or financially,
but it did offer foremost Indian composer Allahrakka (A.R.) Rahman the
opportunity to further develop his dramatic chops on screen. A pop
sensation and student of classical music, Rahman initially resisted
involvement with
Viceroy's House; he had promised himself never
to work on any film about the partition. But upon seeing the movie, he
acquiesced, and in part because the production was backed by Europeans,
he cemented the director's notion that the timeless love story element
of the movie would require a heavily Western-influenced score.
Rahman, of course, is no stranger to powerhouse orchestral
music, but he remains better known as the Hans Zimmer equivalent in
contemporary India, his soundtrack endeavors popularized by dance songs
and other electronically-inclined mainstream recordings. The widely
acclaimed but overrated score for
Slumdog Millionaire opened the
door for a variety of international projects for Rahman, and he
continues to find topics well served by his knack for fusing Western
orchestral traditions and Indian instrumentation and vocals. His
techniques are a perfect match for the needs of
Viceroy's House,
and he responds with a dramatic and engaging score that highlights the
best of his trademark applications. Built upon a London orchestral
ensemble, the composer supplies regional woodwinds, led by a bansuri
flute, and sarangi fiddle, tabla percussion, the expected sitar,
dulcimer, and a few other contributors in addition to male and female
vocalizations ethnically matched with specific cultures throughout the
work. His use of male voice for the Muslim component and female voice
for the Hindu alternative is highly symbolic and effective, even if
those gender identities don't happen to match the religions of the two
lovers. Rahman's layering of vocals is always adept, and listeners
familiar with his highly overachieving music for
Couples Retreat
will recognize related applications in an admittedly different genre
here. Also figuring into the equation is a tastefully mixed synthetic
layering to the bass region at times, offering resounding depth without
sounding out of place in a historical drama. Finally, solo cello and
violin frequently represent the British aspect. Not surprisingly, Rahman
remains faithful to four themes throughout
Viceroy's House, the
highly lyrical score only deviating into non-descript passages of
suspense a few times, notably during the "Classified" cue as the British
plans are exposed. While the score on album is consistently melodic and
engaging, it must be noted that the placement of the music in the film
is haphazard at best, portions of Rahman's score simply unused or
diminished in the mix. The international album runs for only less than
45 minutes, and viewers of the movie will note that almost all of the
conversational scenes sadly lack any musical accompaniment, lengthy
passages existing without any score at all.
Listeners expecting the album presentation for
Viceroy's House to match the film will be flummoxed by the fact
that Rahman's score is far less organized on screen. The album has
consolidated several related, very brief cues into longer tracks of
related intent, and many of them are out of chronological order. This
is, therefore, one of those circumstances in which a score is far more
impactful in sum on its album than it is in context, though Rahman does
nail a few specific scenes to such an extent that the score as a whole
can still be considered a success on screen. These triumphs persist
because of the composer's thematic consistency and the emotionally
draining melodrama expressed by them. The two most consistently
referenced themes are those Rahman conjured first for
Viceroy's
House, and they form the basis of the end credits song. Obviously,
the love theme for the two servants literally torn apart by the
partition is the heart of the score, its tentative moments early in the
movie summarized in "Limerence." The bansuri performance in the middle
of that cue offers the film its first major, romantic moment,
accompanying the lovers as they hold hands framed in a sunset. The
idea's pinnacle comes in the forefront of the film's sound mix again
with bansuri during "Two Broken Hearts" as the two are forced apart, the
woman leaving with her blind father for Pakistan. Note the fabulous solo
cello contributions to this cue as well. Finally, the payoff at the
conclusion of the film comes in "Jeet Finds Alia," Rahman underplaying
the love theme here to retain the proper sadness despite the valiant
effort exercised to reunite. The theme returns in "The Cost of Freedom,"
the score's summary suite of ideas that closes out the score-only album.
The other theme reprised in the end credits song is that for the
displacement concept, summarized by the ironically misplaced
"Displacement" track early on the album and reprised multiple times with
significant impact during the movie's scenes of migration in its latter
half. On screen, the theme's first hints are smartly foreshadowed in
"Gandhi," and it is expressed with anticipatory sadness and striking
frustration by female vocals in "Ahimsa" as a physical confrontation
erupts between palace staff over the impending partition. The
"Displacement" cue is placed in the film thereafter, its opening
passages seemingly referenced multiple times on screen.
One of the most potent scenes in
Viceroy's House
is that in which the furniture, books, musical instruments, cutlery, and
other possessions of the house are divided contentiously between India
and Pakistan, and Rahman's "The Partition" cue is a literal musical
battle in and of itself. Starting with the solo string traditions of
England, he then conveys the displacement theme with the dueling male
and female voices answering each other symbolically. This cue as heard
on album is largely what exists in the film, including the remarkable
vocal and solo violin crescendo at 2:35 that highlights a calendar
showing the fast-approaching deadline of transfer of power from the
British. The displacement theme returns at the end of "The Birth of Two
Nations," a stark reminder on woodwinds of the sacrifice involved, and
in the suite of themes in "The Cost of Freedom." The third major theme
summarized in "The Cost of Freedom" is the comparatively upbeat identity
for the house itself prior to its dissolution. Heard in "Viceroy's
House" as the residence is toured in the opening scene, this idea's
performance on santoor dulcimer reminds of the best of Mychael Danna's
The Lie of Pi, and similarly lovely exuberance is reprised in
"Swearing In." The tapped percussion, plucked bass strings, and piano of
these cues, flowing rhythmically to represent the almost mechanical
efficiency of the residence's staff, flourish in "Swearing In," a cue
infectiously positive in its demeanor. Sadness occupies the theme in its
fragmented later performances during "The Partition" and "Exodus," all
the bright, orderly attraction drained from the identity. Another
highlight of "Swearing In" is the fourth theme of Rahman's score, that
of independence. You hear it at 1:01 into that cue as the house's main
hall is shown in all its glory with the staff assembly to greet the new
viceroy. The independence theme erupts with more noble stature at 0:25
into "Jinnah Meets Mountbatten" and at 1:18 into "The Birth of Two
Nations," the last of these three accompanied by choral tones for the
glory of the political event. Some of the exuberance of the house's
theme follows in "The Birth of Two Nations," but it is understandably
tinged with restraint. One final singular motif is offered by Rahman to
the score, and it exists in "Pamela and Alia Bond" as the daughter of
the viceroy and the lead female servant share a conversational moment;
the split between the solo violin for the Englishwoman and ethnic flute
for the servant is poignant.
The score-only album for
Viceroy's House does
combine these themes into a partial chronological order, but there are a
few points of interest involving the score on screen that need
discussed. The "Exodus" cue, with its tastefully mournful male vocals
for the Muslim element, is devastating at the forefront of desperate
migration scenes. The independence theme in "Jinnah Meets Mountbatten"
is very badly truncated artificially during its newsreel sequence, and
the latter half of this cue actually accompanies the viceroy servants'
previous, humorous attempts to dress him in uniform. Another ominous
newsreel sequence, a Churchill recording, is represented in "Dickie is
the Man," though the source fanfare music for that scene is not included
on the album. Interestingly, the riot-related newsreel scene earlier in
the film is the only one for which a notable musical crescendo is
missing from that album. The product does not include any of the British
or Indian source cues for various party and dance scenes; some were
released separately via download, primarily in the India market. The two
source pieces for the Indian scenes involve traditional tunes simply
remixed by Rahman for this film. The absence of the end credits song is
the score album's greatest detriment, a major omission. The composer
took the love and displacement themes (he claims there's a third one in
there, but that doesn't seem to be the case) and alternates them between
the voices of Shreya Ghoshal and Hariharan, the former, female voice for
India and the latter, male one for Pakistan, in "Do Dilon Ke." This
Hindi music video bait isn't really a traditional song, as it simply
expresses prolonged interplay between the two themes in vocalized,
score-like mode. The voice of Hariharan, an Indian fusion music pioneer,
is popularly common to Rahman's songs, though. Overall, it's tough to
supply a rating to
Viceroy's House, because Rahman's intentions
for the score are damn near perfect. The music won't blow you out of
your seat like
Muhammad: The Messenger of God, the composer's
mammoth religious epic of 2015, but it will earn its keep with its
absolute sincerity and remarkable blend of Western and regional musical
elements. Still, the score underwhelms in the film because of its lack
of placement for lengthy passages and its low mix in scenes that could
have used greater musical impact. The album, meanwhile, is assembled
well as a listening experience but is missing the "Do Dilon Ke" song. A
CD version of the album was belatedly released, and this crystal clear
presentation is highly recommended for such a highly engaging,
ethnically beautiful work of passion.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
