सोजा चंदा रे

Soja Chanda Re (सोजा चंदा रे) is the lullaby track from Ardh (2022), the ZEE5 drama in which Rajpal Yadav plays Shiva, a struggling theatre actor who disguises himself as a transgender woman to survive in Mumbai, alongside his wife played by debutante Rubina Dilaik. Both composed and written by Palash Muchhal — who also directed the film — the song is sung by Dilaik herself, marking a rare instance of a lead actress lending her own voice to her character's on-screen lullaby. Released by Zee Music Company as part of the film's soundtrack around its 10 June 2022 premiere, Soja Chanda Re draws on the traditional Hindi 'lori' (lullaby) form — addressing the moon directly and reassuring a sleeping loved one that the stars keep watch — a gentler, quieter counterpoint to the soundtrack's more prominent ballad, Zindagi.

Palash Muchhal composes Soja Chanda Re in the gentle, rocking cadence typical of the Hindi film lori tradition — a simple, repetitive melodic phrase built to soothe rather than showcase vocal range, with minimal instrumentation keeping the focus on Rubina Dilaik's warm, understated vocal delivery. As both composer and lyricist on this track, Muchhal keeps the arrangement deliberately sparse, allowing the lullaby form's inherent tenderness to carry the song rather than layering in dramatic orchestration.

Written by Palash Muchhal himself, the lyric follows the classic lori template — addressing the moon ('chanda') directly, offering the reassurance that the stars stand guard through the night so the listener can sleep undisturbed until dawn. The Urdu-origin word 'hifaazat' (protection) lends the simple verse a slightly formal, tender register common to Hindi-Urdu lullabies passed down through generations of film music.

Ardh follows Shiva (Rajpal Yadav), a talented small-town theatre actor who moves to Mumbai in pursuit of a film career, only to find survival so difficult that he adopts the guise of a transgender woman, Parvati, seeking money at signals and in local trains — supported throughout by his wife, played by Rubina Dilaik in her feature-film debut. Directed and scored by Palash Muchhal for a 10 June 2022 ZEE5 premiere, Soja Chanda Re likely underscores a domestic, tender interlude in the couple's difficult journey, its lullaby form offering a moment of quiet respite within the film's otherwise hard-edged survival narrative.

Soja Chanda Re did not achieve the reach of Ardh's more prominent tracks, drawing a comparatively modest few hundred thousand YouTube views and streams, but it holds a distinct place in the soundtrack as the one song sung directly by the film's leading actress, Rubina Dilaik, rather than a professional playback singer — a notable credit for an artist making her feature-film debut. Its lullaby form also gives it a quieter, ongoing life on lori/lullaby playlists distinct from the film's other, more dramatic songs.