Ek Tha Tiger (soundtrack)

A. R. Rahman was initially approached to score music for the film but left the project due to schedule conflicts.^[1] Later Pritam was roped in to compose the film score, and was credited for the music on the film's first digital poster.^[2] However, he dropped out following scheduling conflicts with Dhoom 3 (2013).^[3][4] Sohail Sen replaced Pritam as the composer. Sen had previously scored Mere Brother Ki Dulhan for Yash Raj Films, and upon Aditya Chopra's insistence, he was brought in to score the film.^[5] Julius Packiam composed the film's background score, who had been frequently collaborated with Khan Kabul Express (2006) and New York (2009).^[4]

Recording for the soundtrack began in 2011–2012.^[6] Sen and Kabir had several discussions regarding the film's music where the latter instructed him on the songs should have a feel of the place where they have been shot.^[6] He influenced Middle Eastern and Irish instrumentation and soundscapes in the song "Mashallah" and Latin American sounds in "Laapata".^[7] For the latter, Sen went to Cuba for recording the instrumentation and chorus to have an authentic touch.^[7]

In late-2011, the song "Jaaniyan", which was recorded by Pakistani singer Bilawal Baloch was leaked, and reported to be included on the soundtrack. Yash Raj Films denied the song was to be on the soundtrack and increased security measures to prevent leaks.^[8]

The soundtrack received positive reviews. Indo-Asian News Service posting on CNN-IBN also rated the album a 4 out of 5, noting it "offers the listener the romantic and action of the [film], with an entertaining array of sounds".^[9][10] Purva Desai of The Times of India and Devesh Sharma of Filmfare also gave the soundtrack a 4 out of 5, noting it as an improvement over the soundtracks of Salman Khan and Kabir Khan's previous films.^[11] They also praised the composers for their contemporary focus.^[12]

Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the album 3.5/5 and wrote "[it] is good, though one expected it to have gone all the way. [Nothing] puts you off, but the overall sound of the album remains more or less consistent".^[13] Shivi of Koimoi gave 3 out of 5, summarizing that "a couple of more chartbusters would have done further wonders to the album".^[14] In contrast, Vipin Nair of Music Aloud described it as a "middling score" and rated 5.5 out of 10.^[15] Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog criticised the soundtrack saying "this is not a tiger – only a cat".^[16]

The film's theme song, "Mashallah" topped several music charts throughout August and continued ten weeks till the end of its theatrical run.^[17] The song won the People's Choice Awards for Favourite Song of 2012.^[18]