The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (soundtrack)

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Thomas Newman and various artists
Released	16 February 2015
Recorded	2014–2015
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre	Film soundtrack film score
Length	61:11
Label	Sony Classical
Producer	Thomas Newman Bill Bernstein
Thomas Newman chronology
The Judge (2014) The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) He Named Me Malala (2015)

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2015 film The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel directed by John Madden, which is the sequel to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011). The soundtrack features original score composed by Thomas Newman and songs from popular Bollywood films. It was released through Sony Classical Records on 16 February 2015.

Background

Thomas Newman who composed the score for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel returned for the sequel. He also worked with John Madden in this film and The Debt (2011). ^[1] Like the first film, the musical score accompanied Indian players and vocal soloists to bring a "musical and cultural synthesis" which was "atmospheric, surprising, thrilling, funny, haunting and entirely sui generis", according to Madden. ^[1] The film's soundtrack was announced on 28 January 2015 and was released in the United Kingdom on 16 February and in United States on 3 March. ^{[2] [3]}

Reception

James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is every bit as good as the first one was and it’s great to hear this wonderful composer excel once again, showing that just because it’s lighter fare it doesn’t mean it can’t be very satisfying.  It’s music that’s just full of sparkling life and it’s wonderful." ^[4] AllMusic wrote "At times moving, whimsical, or celebratory, Thomas Newman's score for the second in the Marigold Hotel film series mixes Eastern and Western influences, blending Indian scales, rhythms, and instruments with a Western orchestra—to varying degrees". ^[5]

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote "Thomas Newman's dreamy score wraps us in its shimmery pashmina". ^[6] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote "Thomas Newman’s score works, elbowing its way in to boost the energy at any moment we might want to catch our breath, while also supporting two full-blown Bollywood-style dance numbers." ^[7] Adam Lubitow of City called it an "effective score from Thomas Newman, add to the polished feel." ^[8] A reviewer based at The Copenhagen Post wrote "Thomas Newman’s score is surprisingly rich and understated". ^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Thomas Newman, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Discretion"				0:38
2.	"Second Best Exotic"				3:05
3.	"Knees Then Names"				1:56
4.	"Chai"				1:28
5.	"Catnip"				1:49
6.	"Ye Ishq Hai" (from Jab We Met )	Irshad Kamil	Pritam	Shreya Ghoshal	3:55
7.	"Busy Pensioner Bee"				1:14
8.	"Nimish & Abhilash"				1:27
9.	"Roll Call"				1:24
10.	"Already Gone"				1:16
11.	"Soft Hiss of Treachery"				1:12
12.	"Completely Lethal"				1:40
13.	"Balma" (from Khiladi 786 )	Sameer Anjaan	Himesh Reshammiya	Shreya Ghoshal, Shriram Iyer	3:48
14.	"The Fun Never Starts"				1:39
15.	"Sagai"				1:27
16.	"Mumbai"				2:16
17.	"Unreasonable Behavior"				2:01
18.	"The Brilliant bits"				2:43
19.	"Aaina"				1:00
20.	"Bringer of New Things"				0:34
21.	"Aila Re Aila" (from Khatta Meetha )	Nitin Raikwar	Pritam	Daler Mehndi, Kalpana Patowary	3:14
22.	"Scorpions"				2:00
23.	"Shaadi"				1:26
24.	"Reservoirs of Affection"				1:23
25.	"Wedding"				4:21
26.	"Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" (from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom )	Gulzar	Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy	KK Mahalakshmi Iyer Shankar Mahadevan Sukhwinder Singh	3:36
27.	"Life Piled on Life"				1:06
28.	"Map of the World (End Title)"				4:42
Total length:					61:11

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes: ^[10]

• Music composer and conductor – Thomas Newman
• Producer – Bill Bernstein, Thomas Newman
• Soloists – George Doering, Jagannathan Ramamoorthy, John Beasley, Steve Tavaglione
• Vocals – Hariharan, Suchismita
• Orchestrators – J. A. C. Redford, Simon Rhodes
• Contractor – Isobel Griffiths, Leslie Morris
• Engineer – Gordon Davidson
• Recording – Simon Rhodes, Larry Mah, Shinnosuke Miyazawa
• Mixing – Simon Rhodes
• Mastering – Dave Collins
• Score editor – Bill Bernstein, James Bellamy, Tony Lewis
• Coordinator – George Doering
• Music supervisor – Rebecca Morellato
• Liner notes – John Madden
• Booklet editor and design – WLP Ltd.

Accolades

Newman's score was shortlisted as one among the 112 original scores to be considered for the 88th Academy Awards but was not nominated. ^{[11] [12]}

Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
International Film Music Critics Association	Best Original Score for a Comedy Film	Thomas Newman	Nominated	[13]

References

1. McCue, Michelle (18 February 2015). "Sony Classical To Release Soundtrack To Thomas Newman's THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL". We Are Movie Geeks. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
2. "'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
3. "'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Soundtrack Preview". Film Music Reporter. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
4. Southall, James (23 February 2015). "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel soundtrack review | Thomas Newman". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
5. "Review: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
6. Lawson, Richard (6 March 2015). "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: An Improbable Second Visit That's Well Worth It". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
7. Debruge, Peter (17 February 2015). "Film Review: 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'". Variety . Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
8. Lubitow, Adam (3 March 2015). "Film Review: "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"". City . Archived from the original on 19 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
9. admin (19 March 2015). "Film Review: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". The Copenhagen Post . Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
10. Thomas Newman. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Sony Classical.
11. Newman, Melinda (16 December 2015). "Oscars: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Among the 112 Films Eligible in Original Score Category". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
12. Pedersen, Erik (17 December 2015). "Oscars: 112 Original Scores Cued Up For Consideration". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
13. IFMCA (2016). "2015 IFMCA Awards". IFMCA. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2020.