Pardesiya is the name of the latest song from the soundtrack of upcoming film Soorma. Apart from the entire song, a video has also been released on YouTube, which goes on to chronicle the journey of Diljit Dosanjh’s character towards recovery after an accidental gunshot paralyzes his lower body.
But the song itself is not about that. It’s a poignant call for love from the lead character to someone who has gone far away from him. More than anything, Pardesiya is great poetry given justice by a great tune. And that’s no surprise, given the fact that the song is made up of words written by Gulzar and music composed by the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
At the start of Pardesiya’s music video, we are once again reminded of its main plot when a voice proclaims, “Sandeep Singh kamar ke neeche se paralyze ho gaye hai. Dobara hockey field par kadam nahi rakh payenge.” The sound of violins then enters the fray, juxtaposed with visuals of Tapsee (the Pardesiya in this case) and Diljit’s characters breaking down at his plight.
The song begins with a chorus which is a call to the beloved with lines that go, “Tere bin jeena dhokha lagda ae. Tere bin jeena aukha lagda ae. Aundiyan yaadan jandiyan nai. Dil di peeda jandiyan ni. Zindagi nu kivein manawan. Pardesiya, pardesiya.” The first verse however, makes Gulzar’s excellent touch visible. The lines, “Zindagi se loota tha jo mila bhi nahi. Door se jo dekhe koyi gila bhi nahi. Chhod de akela mujhe meri tanhayi mein. Daag na aaye tujh par meri ruswayi mein” render a grim picture to create compassion for the lead character.
The second verse is where the Gulzar magic doesn’t seem to have worked. In a pretty straightforward reverential tone, the song declares, “Thakur man ki shakti de de. Bhagat nahi main, bhakti de de. Wahe Guru, allah tero naam. Wahe Guru, allah tero naam. Humko bhi sampatti de de.” Such upfront non-layered lyrics are something we don’t expect from a lyricist of his calibre.
The song Pardesiya gets a pretty simple composition with little experimentation. But it does manage to effectively convey the plight of the main character to the listeners, and that’s what matters. Sahil Akhtar is the main singer here, however, it’s the additional vocals by Ehsaan Noorani, Shankar Mahadevan, Hemant Brijwasi and Shehnaz Akhtar give the track a full texture.
Directed by Shaad Ali, Soorma hits theatres on July 13.
