Amid Empuraan’s mixed music reception, does BGM hold the power to lift a film’s soul?

When ‘L2: Empuraan’ stormed theaters on March 27, 2025, it didn’t just shatter box office records with a staggering Rs 229 crore worldwide—it sparked a debate: Has the music composed by Deepak Dev turned out to be a major letdown? This has also led to an interesting topic among the netizens on whether a movie’s background score can elevate a normal scene to a magnificent one or whether BGM plays a side role in lifting the soul of a film sequence.“Prithviraj wanted a Hollywood feel to the music.” - Deepak DevIn an interview with Originals, the ‘Empuraan’ music composer Deepak Dev responded to the criticisms. He said that after the music in the film got negative responses from the audiences, he brought it to Prithviraj Sukumaran’s attention, and the ‘Empuraan’ director told him to not pay attention to those trolls. The composer explained that Prithviraj envisioned a Hollywood-like feel for the music, favoring live orchestra recordings over standard beats achievable with a high-end keyboard. While Deepak adhered to this approach for most of the film, he incorporated familiar background music in select moments of elevation to resonate with the audience.“There was no room for mixing the two.”Deepak Dev further said that the music for ‘Empuraan’ was based on how Prithviraj wanted the film to sound. “Prithviraj had me remove all of that. He insisted that we either stick to Khureshi’s black avatar-style music or Stephen Nedumpally’s—there was no room for mixing the two,” said Deepak Dev.Can music elevate a sequence?So this takes us to the real question. Can music elevate a sequence, or is it just a supporting character that helps to balance the emotions of a scene and convey it to the audiences?Taking the example of the Hollywood film ‘Interstellar,’ the most famous ‘docking scene’ is surely an intense and dramatic one. Hans Zimmer’s score highlights the scene and takes it to another level. But did music only play a pivotal role in lifting the soul of the scene? No. It’s surely since Christopher Nolan has executed it with precise detailing and tension, and this is further enhanced due to the music.This comes to our next question. Then how is the Tamil music composer Anirudh lifting a normal scene to its next level with the use of music? Taking the case of Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer,’ there are several factors like star power, a good screenplay, and others that make the film an entertainer. Above all of this, it’s surely Anirudh’s BGM that shines.“I believe in the magic of music.” - KS ChithraEarlier, in an exclusive interview with us, the veteran singer KS Chithra opened up about the impact of music. She said, “Music has a soothing effect on all of us. Even at a point where you're burning the candle at both ends, music will help to wind down. I believe in the magic of music.”The legend further said, “Paying attention to the lyrics and finding out the emotion and situation where the song is placed is all I do. When you are doing something you are madly passionate about, everything just falls into place.”Anything too much is bad.Yes, music undoubtedly enhances the soul of a film or a particular movie sequence, but if it overpowers the content, it can become quite distracting. Take the case of Suriya’s film Kanguva—many audience members complained about how loud the movie was, and later, it was trolled by netizens for its ‘wild music,’ which even caused headaches.In conclusion, when a music composer collaborates effectively with the director, and both understand the soul of a sequence or a film, then—as KS Chithra beautifully put it—“Music will be magical.” Otherwise, it will simply be noise.