My favourite soundtrack in a web series is the Alokananda Dasgupta-directed title track of Sacred Games. Based on the 2006 book of the same name, seasons 1 and 2 of the web series were directed by Anurag Kashyap, Vikram Motwane and Neeraj Ghaywan.
Its story revolves around the badlands of the Bombay docks, landfills and slums, et al. From here, the series takes us to rural Maharashtra, to the blurred boundaries of the good and bad, personal tragedies, vendetta and to the evil residing within us all and the mind games played by organised religion. To bring this into focus, the introductory music begins with the wailing of the dock sirens and goes on to incorporate the musical chaos of Ganapati puja, a few strains of a classical tod and the exuberance of cricket fans at a stadium. Throughout the opening theme, there is a breathless and plaintive rhythm which lets us into the complex world created by the Netflix series.
Another favourite is Panchayat. An innocent, linear story about an MBA aspirant who lands a job in the panchayat office of a remote village. Sung by Anurag Saikia, it is evocative of village life with its dusty tracks, kuchcha houses and wide expanses of green fields. (My favourite soundtrack in a web series is... December 4)
Pampa Paul
To me, the title track of Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side, is very thrilling and sombre, especially the voice of the masked man. The Sanskrit mantras take us to a mythological world. Its tone is hypnotic and, at the same time, makes you philosophical.
The title track of Only Murders in the Building, which has completed three seasons is so interesting and pleasing and I never skip the intro. The most interesting part of this web series is its background, setting and its theme of a podcast show relating to murder mysteries. The trio of Charles, Oliver and Mabel investigate the murders and reveal them in their podcast show with attractive voices.
Moubani Paul
As far as soundtracks go, nothing beats the popularity or the iconicity of the Game of Thrones main title theme, along with the rest of the scores used in the series — all of them created by the Iranian-German musician Ramin Djawadi. The series’ soundtracks for different seasons of the show have won many awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in 2018 and 2019. Djawadi was also nominated for the Grammy Awards thrice for his work. The compositions are mostly non-diegetic and instrumental. According to Djawadi, he had focused on the journey motif while making the title theme, using the cello for a “darker sound” that suited the general mood of the series.
The title theme not only serves as a scintillating mood-setter at the beginning of each episode, it also returns to combine with other scores at climactic moments in the show.
Another incredible musical feat in Game of Thrones is its Dragon Theme, awe-inspiring in its admixture of grandeur and danger. There are also some notable pieces of diegetic music in the series, such as the songs The Rains of Castamere and The Bear and the Maiden Fair — admirable modern ballads that represent the best of a microgenre now known as Bardcore.
Dhee Sankar
The soundtrack of the period drama Jubilee is overwhelming. It is a beautiful musical journey in the golden era of Hindi films. Lyricist Kausar Munir with composer Amit Trivedi gifted us soulful melodious songs that stayed on our minds for a long time. The background score by Alokananda Dasgupta enhanced the flavour of the olden days gracefully. The singing style and voice modulation of each singer, especially by Mohammed Irfan and Vaishali Made in the song Udankhatole, was remarkably good. The Western influence in songs like Nahin ji nahin was nice. This flirtatious romantic song is a favourite. Saare ke saare akele was another beautiful experience. Each song of this series has been placed perfectly and reminds us about some of our favourite songs from the past. With this retro-flavoured album, Amit Trivedi paid tribute to the past giants of the Hindi film music industry.
Sarbani Banerjee
My favourite soundtrack of all time is from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. The soundtrack of the series is always very close to my heart. It reminds me of my childhood days when life was simple and fun. The soundtrack I’ll Be There for You by The Rembrandts will always be special to me. The series, now on Prime Video, will never get old, and neither will its amazing soundtrack.
Debojit Swarnaker
According to me, the popular British teen series Sex Education (2019-2023) and the sensational Indian musical romantic drama Bandish Bandits (2020) top the list of the most incredible soundtracks. Set in the mesmerising backdrop of Rajasthan, Bandish Bandits celebrates the passion for music infused in the hearts of two aspiring musicians hailing from two contrasting worlds of music. Apart from the hard-hitting dialogues and gestures of romance, the show also delights music buffs with fresh and innovative music ranging from classical ragas to pop music as observed in the song Sajan bin. Kudos to the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for composing this outstanding album.
Moving on to Sex Education, this immensely popular series not only enlightens the young audience about sexual intimacy, but also entertains them with a playlist of retro disco-rock music incorporating the elements of American culture. The climax scene in Season 3, where Maeve bids a tearful farewell to Otis followed by the Ballad of El Goodo by Big Star playing slowly in the background beautifully symbolises their bottled-up emotions yearning to enjoy every moment of their lives together.
Aayman Anwar Ali
My favourite soundtrack in a web series is the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy chartbuster Sajan bin from the popular Prime Video series Bandish Bandits. The melodious number was sung by Shivam Mahadevan and Jonita Gandhi beautifully. I just love the track and have listened to it innumerable times.
Sourish Misra
