Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 24, 2019)

A sleeper hit at the box office, Vicky Kaushal’s Uri: The Surgical Strike is being celebrated for its strong narrative and promising performances.

Interestingly, the background score of the military drama too has caught the audience’s attention. So much so that the makers have now decided to release it officially. Composer Shashwat Sachdev tells midday, “Fans would reach out to Vicky, the producers or even me inquiring where they could listen to the background score. So, the makers decided to release it on various music platforms. It should be available by this weekend.”

Of its 80-minute-plus background music, Sachdev points out that the Uri theme was the most significant as it had to enhance a crucial sequence in the Aditya Dhar-directed film — the drum-heavy composition plays out on screen when Kaushal’s character decides to avenge his brother-in-law’s death. “I wanted it to sound original yet contemporary, so I added a hip hop feel to it. I got a modular synthesiser from Germany to put together a hybrid score,” says Sachdev.

He adds that his favourite is the score that accompanies the action sequence which sees Kaushal take on terrorists in the North east. “Fans are using it as their caller tunes,” he exclaims.

Indicating the toil he put into these pieces, Sachdev adds that another composition had him record a live symphonic orchestra with over 60 musicians at the famous Synchron stage in Vienna.