सोन मछरी

Son Machchri (सोन मछरी) is a short, spoken-poem interlude from the 2023 Hindi drama 8 A.M. Metro, written by veteran lyricist-poet Gulzar and set to music by Mark K. Robin. Rather than a conventionally sung song, it is one of several poems Gulzar wrote for the film that are recited on-screen — here narrated by lead actress Saiyami Kher, with co-star Gulshan Devaiah appearing in the accompanying visuals. Released as part of the 8 A.M. Metro (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Sony Music India on 19 May 2023, alongside the film's theatrical release, the piece runs under a minute and imagines a golden fish submerged at the bottom of a lake, yearning for a moon-like presence to break its solitude — a metaphor that mirrors the emotional isolation of the film's protagonist, Iravati, a housewife navigating anxiety and an unexpected connection during a journey to Hyderabad. The track is one of several such Gulzar poem-songs woven into the film (alongside 'Akele Toh Nahi Ho' and 'Pehli Dafaa'), reflecting director Raj Rachakonda's use of spoken verse as a narrative device rather than conventional playback singing.

Mark K. Robin, composing his first major Hindi film soundtrack after work in Telugu cinema, keeps Son Machchri's musical bed minimal and atmospheric, letting Gulzar's spoken verse carry the piece rather than a conventional melody. Saiyami Kher's narration is unhurried and intimate, closer to a voiceover than a sung performance, which suits the poem's brief, reflective nature — the track runs under a minute, functioning more as a mood-setting interlude within the film than a standalone song in the traditional sense.

Gulzar's verse builds on one of his recurring poetic devices — an ordinary creature (here, a fish) transformed into a vessel for longing. The golden fish (son machchri) lying submerged at a lake's depths becomes a stand-in for buried, unspoken feeling, while the imagined moon arriving on the water's surface offers a fleeting, unreachable companionship. The imagery of light breaking into a dark home extends the metaphor beyond the lake itself, tying the poem's private ache to the emotional isolation at the heart of the film's story.

8 A.M. Metro, written and directed by Raj Rachakonda and inspired by Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy's novel Andhamaina Jeevitham, follows Iravati (Saiyami Kher), a 29-year-old housewife from Nanded whose life is upended when she must travel to Hyderabad to care for her pregnant sister. Battling recurring panic attacks on the journey, she finds an unlikely companion in Preetam (Gulshan Devaiah), a banker with his own hidden depths, and the two share a series of train and metro journeys that quietly reshape both their lives. Gulzar's poems — including Son Machchri — are used through the film as interior reflections of Iravati's emotional state, distributed by Platoon and released theatrically on 19 May 2023.

As a brief interlude poem rather than a chart-driving single, Son Machchri did not chase commercial metrics — its official YouTube upload has drawn a modest but steady audience in the tens of thousands of views. Its significance lies instead in being part of Gulzar's continuing body of spoken-poem work in Hindi cinema, and in 8 A.M. Metro's critical reception, which praised the film's writing and Saiyami Kher's performance; the film holds a notably strong audience rating on aggregator sites for a limited-release drama.