Originally featured in The Hindu.

Kohila – Ko 2 (Tamil – Leon James)
Leon James, long-time A R Rahman associate, Noel James’ son (Noel… Leon!) seems to be a on a sequel mission, composing for sequels. His debut was Kanchana 2, and now, Ko 2. Young Leon proves that his debut was not a flash in the pan, producing superb music all through his second outing. Kohila‘s tune is instantly likeable and pleasant; Leon’s music sounds like an significantly spruced-up version of early-Rahman, particularly the veena usage and the Kohila call-out reminding one of Jeans’ Columbus! Leon, despite the quivering voice, sings it largely well too, along with a superbly in-form Neeti Mohan.

Haal-e-dil – Ananthaal (Indipop)
Ananthaal is Clinton Cerejo, Vijay Prakash and Bianca Gomes. Their debut pop album demonstrates what Indipop can really be, without aping film music and producing fusion that is genuinely interesting and different. The inventive fusion comes alive best in Haal-e-dil that’s headlined by with Clinton and Pozy’s guitar work and Gino’s drums, as much as it does with Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics. The trio use the title hook in a thoroughly endearing way, while Vijay’s classical interludes, possibly touching Reetigowlai raaga, are fantastic.
Listen to Haal-e-dil on Saavn.

Ee gulaalu – Boxer (Kannada – V.Harikrishna)
It is totally pardonable if, while listening to this song, you assume that this is composed by Ilayaraja. Harikrishna, along with D.Imman and Vidyasagar, seem to have imbibed that Ilayaraja-gene so well and are producing faux-Raja melodies that work both as tributes and as Raja 2.0 versions! Just listen to the guitar work in the song, the flute-led first interlude and the unhurried, indulgent and lush melody beautifully sung by Santosh Venky and Priya Himesh to bring back pleasant memories of Raja’s 80s form! (The song is marked wrongly in the YouTube jukebox. Start at 11:05 for this song)

Unbreakable – Janet Jackson (Album: Unbreakable)
Unbreakable is Janet Jackson’s first album since her iconic brother’s death and there are so many cues to Michael Jackson all through the album which sees Janet reunite with her 80s and 90s R7B producers, Jimmy Jam and Timmy Lewis. She even eerily sounds like MJ in The Great Forever. The title song is the pick of the album though, sounding almost like it’s 1989 again, with Janet even announcing ‘Side 1’ to start the song, in the era of singles, iTunes and Spotify! It’s cool, laid-back R&B at its best, all over again.

Hey Akhil – Akhil (Telugu – Anup Rubens)
In Hey Akhil, Anup Rubens (and guest composer Thaman, in one song) try the kind of sound that Hip Hop Tamizha (the duo, Aadhi and Jeeva) produced very well in Aambala – big, busy and anthemic sound with a lot of happening. Every song sounds like a lot of people are singing it together in a stadium. Hey Akhil is one good example of this grand sound, with very catchy hooks and rhythm.

Originally featured in The Hindu.

Kalakkattu kannaala – Kathukutty (Tamil – Aruldev)
Beyond the simple lilt Aruldev loads in the song, and even beside the Raja’ish flute he employs, the song works for one very simple reason – Hamir Kalyani raaga (or Kedar, in Hindustani)! As a result, invoking everything from Hum ko mann ki shakti dena, to Viswanathan-Ramamurthy’s Karnan classic, En uyir thozhi, to MSV’s Chandradhayam oru pennaanadho… to Rahman’s Malargale malargale, the raaga comes alive yet again, in another package. That’s also the function of the raaga anyway, to be used again and again in newer variants. And Aruldev, first by selection of the raaga and eventually by packaging it in a simple and elegant way, has a clear winner here.

Laychalo – Bruce Lee (Telugu – Thaman)
If you replaced the lyrics of Laychalo with say, Arabic lines, it would seem perfectly in sync. The tune isn’t entirely new – Thaman has produced such easily catchy and likeable tunes in the past and this one has faint echoes of his own superlative Tamil song, Paniye, from Ayyanar, as far as the tune goes. But Thaman loads it with a steady stream of pleasant sounds, including a prominent whistle-like interlude and also uses digital effects on his own and Megha’s vocals, both, to great effect.

Dil ki tapish – Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (Marathi – Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
The trio seem to be producing impeccably beautiful classical melodies for their Marathi debut. After Shankar’s spellbinding rendition in Sur niragas ho, they pick Rahul Deshpande, grandson of renowned Hindustani classical singer Vasantrao Deshpande, to render Dil ki tapish. The song, in what seems most likely to be based on raaga keeravani, is immediately affecting, thanks also to Rahul’s phenomenally accomplished singing. He moves through the nuances wonderfully and it is only Sachin Pilgaonkar’s heavy-duty shenanigans on-screen that distract the proceedings to some extent.

Neeyum naanum – Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (Tamil – Anirudh)
Anirudh’s recent repertoire—including Maari, Kakki Sattai, Kaththi and Maan Karate—had decent enough music, but he seemed to have getting stuck into a groove. In Naanum Rowdy Dhaan he strikes back and how! The 5-song soundtrack (with another song to be added, if rumors are to be believed, after the film’s release) is a master-class in making enjoyable mainstream film music. The melody is gobsmackingly beautiful, and as if not content with that, Anirudh loads it with so much more, including Neeti Mohan’s fantastic vocals, a catchy chorus by himself that layers wonderfully over Neeti’s lines, a superb mix of piano (by Anirudh and Leon James), Manonmani’s sarangi, and even a brilliant kanjira phrase, by Swaminathan Selvaganesh.

Mora saiyyaa – Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (Tamil – Amrit)
Debutant Amrit is no stranger to music, given that he’s also the lead vocalist in the band, Live Banned. He produces pretty noteworthy music in his debut that covers a wide range of genres. The highlight is easily Mora saiyya (Yeno mounam) that has a mighty interest set of sounds, ranging from a sufi’s start to the tune, using Shruti Kamath’s sitar to a lovely effect, and using unusual breakbeats to accompany the tune all through. Vijay Prakash and Shaktishree Gopalan croon the song confidently, even as Amrit’s layering of pulsating techno elements along with the Mora saiyyaa call-out is fantastic.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Uyir nadhi – Vedalam (Tamil – Anirudh)
Anirudh is in form, and how! After Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, he manages to produce a very commercial and likeable soundtrack for Vedalam! For the pathos situation (having an unshaven Ajith mope around hopelessly?) in Uyir nadhi, Anirudh seems to be using a mix of Charukesi and Vasantha raagas, and roping in Ravishankar to deliver it in style. The raagas’ innate sadness is endearing, but Anirudh goes way beyond staying with that – he layers the melody with a superbly ambient orchestration, an immersive chorus and veena’ish guitar for the interludes and the somber ending!

Jalte diye – Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Hindi – Himesh Reshammiya)
Himesh Reshammiya seems to be a surprising choice to compose music for Rajshri films’ Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, considering Sooraj Barjatya’s steady history with composers like Ravindra Jain and Raamlaxman, with only Anu Malik being the odd one out for Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon. It’s also odd given Himesh’s acting aspirations and limited musical output in recent times. The man does offer a sprawling 10 song soundtrack, of which the one song that stands out is Jalte diye. Right from the jadhi-based, catchy vocalized rhythm to fantastic use of singers like Harshdeep Kaur, Anwesha, Shadab Sabri and Vineet Singh who seems to have been roped in exclusively to sound like Sonu Nigam, Himesh gets everything right in this lovely tune.

Lola – Mellisai (Tamil – Sam C.S.)
Sam C.S. (Sam Riyas), who debuted with a couple of songs in the creature-film, Ambuli 3D, gets his first solo soundtrack in Mellisai. He does very well, topping the album with a very Bond’esque (if James Bond theme tunes were a genre – there is something connecting them, after all, beyond silhouettes of shapely women caressing a gun!) Lola. Maria Kavitha Thomas, who sings Lola with the necessary feel beautifully rolls the name ‘Lola’ and seems like a fantastic choice to croon this one.

Tham tham – Pasanga 2 (Tamil – Arrol Corelli)
Arul Murugan, who composed decent-enough, but unheard music in Anba Azhaga, made a mighty impressive re-debut (!) in Mysskin’s Pisasu, now named after an Italian violinist of the baroque era, though his new name is most likely to remind most Indians of a brand of ceramic dish-ware! In Pasanga 2, he produces music that is so, so reminiscent of Ilayaraja. Considering this is a film involving/featuring children, he produces, like Anjali, music that doesn’t appeal to children alone, but also to adults. The Western Classical base in Tham tham makes it a great listen, even invoking shades of Rimsky’s Flight of the Bumblebee. Anand Halve sings it wonderfully well, though the maudlin anupallavi tune is the only minor let-down.

Wat wat wat – Tamasha (Hindi – A R Rahman)
Given director Imtiaz Ali’s history with A R Rahman (Rockstar, Highway), it is only natural to expect the moon out of Tamasha’s soundtrack. The duo subvert a lot of expectations and produce a soundtrack that feels as thrilling and exciting as catching a flight without knowing the destination. Rahman is at his innovative best in Wat wat wat, a lively, playful tune where Arijit Singh finally gets to do something dramatically different, along with Sashwat Singh. The sound is essentially Punjabi, but in true Rahman style, he coats it with a heavy fusion rhythm that adds generous dollops of fun!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Sahibaa – Anarkali (Malayalam – Vidyasagar)
Composer Vidyasagar, who continues to produce excellent music in Malayalam, seems to have lost the race in Tamil, unfortunately. In Sahibaa, he conjures a ghazal’ish tune and even gets Hariharan to sing it. Interestingly, the tune is not very different from the kind of ghazal tunes Hariharan himself composes and sings, more specifically a ghazal like Lafzon Ki Tarha, from the album Paighaam. The song even has an intriguing interlude in Lalitha raaga that brings a strong whiff of Ilayaraja’s classic Lalitha raaga compositions like Idhazhil kadhai ezhudhum (Unnaal Mudiyum Thambi) and Vana kuyile (Priyanka) instantly.

Aagaa – 144 (Tamil – Sean Roldan)
Sean Roldan is back after more than a year, given his last album was in September 2014 – Aadaama Jeichomada. His musical form seems to be stuck in that album’s middling state, though are minor solaces like Aagaa and Poove pooviname. In Aagaa, the Darbuka gives it a pronounced, exotic Middle Eastern twist and the tune too is engaging, thanks also to lyricist Vivek’s nuanced lines like, ‘Kaasukku vaayundu kaadhilla da, kathi pesum kettukka’. Hariharasudhan sings the song mighty well, and even invokes Nambiar’s diction, at places, to humorous effect!

Maskesko – Lacchimdeviki O Lekkundi (Telugu – M.M.Keeravani)
Maskesko could be a great companion piece to Devi Sri Prasad’s Aakalesthe annam pedatha, from Shankar Dada Zindabad (that song eventually morphed into a bae’s call to her boyfriend because ‘Daddy mummy veettil illa’, in Tamil and Hindi). The rhythm is heady and instantly catchy. The song’s tone is also raucous and wears its item-number ambition obviously. For a composer who has already announced his retirement date (December 8, 2016!), he seems to be going pretty strong!

Agar tum saath ho – Tamasha (Hindi – A R Rahman)
The overall orchestration and that seemingly lazy rhythm are all perfunctory, but boy… that tune! Wonderfully melodious and complex enough to let you sink into it without realizing the flow the first time, and then, again, with a better grip on the path it traverses upon which the hooks make better sense. And getting Alka Yagnik back from wherever she vanished, just for this song, is a masterstroke by Rahman, as also picking Arijit Singh to croon the impactful ‘Teri nazron mein hai’ part!

Urumbu – Thaikkudam Bridge (Malayalam)
Thaikkudam Bridge is undoubtedly one of the most promising Indian bands. Not just that, they also hold the distinction of being the most crowded band in terms of band members, that, sometimes, during live shows, it’s difficult to say where the band ends and where the audience begins. On a more serious note, the band has managed admirably the transition from a ‘covers’ band, to original songs, with a distinct sound. One of the softer songs from the album, Urumbu (Ants), where band-founder Govind Menon’s sister Dhanya Suresh, as lyricist, compares the lives of humans and ants to find common points, has a beautiful folk lilt that is so very Kerala!

Hindi

Woh toh yahin hai lekin & Ya rabba – Main Aur Charles (Vipin Patwa and Bally Grunge, Saugat Upadhaya & Subhradeep Das, respectively)
Jonita Gandhi lights up the sweeping melody of Woh toh, that’s straight out of Pritam’s material for early Mohit Suri. Ya rabba is interesting – 3 composers—Bally Grunge, Saugat Upadhaya, Subhradeep Das—get togethe to produce a Pakipop style ditty that’s competently sung by Saugat Upadhaya. Decent enough music that deserved better.

Wajah tum ho – Hate Story 3 (Baman)
Predictable tune, on expected lines from any Mohit Suri’ish film (like the one above!), but Armaan Malik’s vocals make a reasonable enough difference. Baman keeps the tune and sound simple and neat.

Khulne lagi zindagi – The Perfect Girl (Soumil, Siddharth)
The composing duo is Shankar Mahadevan’s nephew and song, respectively. They have already debuted in Marathi, and the pedigree doesn’t show in this film’s other song (Dheeme se), but this one’s very Shankar Ehsaan Loy’ish. Raman Mahadevan (not related to Shankar Mahadevan!), another SEL regular, delivers the song in his usual panache!

Jalte diye – Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Himesh Reshammiya)

Matargasthi, Tum saath ho, Safarnama & Wat wat wat – Tamasha (A R Rahman)

Tamil

The full soundtrack: Adiye azhagae, Maangalyamae, Paatta podunga ji, Yaeli yaeli & Eppo varuvaaro – Oru Naal Koothu (Justin Prabhakaran)

Vellai kanavu, Lola, Parakkiren naan & Mazhaikkulle – Mellisai (Sam C.S.)

Kalakkattu kannaala – Kathukutty (Aruldev)
Beyond the simple lilt Aruldev loads in the song, and even beside the Raja’ish flute he employs, the song works for one very simple reason – Hamir Kalyani raaga (or Kedar, in Hindustani)! As a result, invoking everything from Hum ko mann ki shakti dena, to Viswanathan-Ramamurthy’s Karnan classic, En uyir thozhi, to MSV’s Chandradhayam oru pennaanadho… to Rahman’s Malargale malargale, the raaga comes alive yet again, in another package. That’s also the function of the raaga anyway, to be used again and again in newer variants. And Aruldev, first by selection of the raaga and eventually by packaging it in a simple and elegant way, has a clear winner here.

Tham tham, Kaattukulla & Pookkalai killi vandhu – Pasanga 2 (Arrol Corelli)

Aaluma doluma, Veera Vinayaka & Uyir nadhi – Vedalam (Anirudh)

Kannaalam – Inji Iduppazhagi (M.M.Keeravani)

Poove pooviname & Aagaa – 144 (Sean Roldan)

Aala saachuputta, Kurum padame & Neeyum adi naanum – Vil Ambu (Navin)

Telugu

Crazy & Maskesko – Lacchimdeviki O Lekkundi (M.M.Keeravani)

Meghaalu lekunna – Kumari 21F (Devi Sri Prasad)

Tummeda jummanipinchaku raa & Manchu keratam – Columbus (Jithin Roshan)
Jithin Roshan, after trying his luck in Tamil, in films like Theekkulikkum Pachaimaram and Thiruttu VCD (without much success), debuts in Telugu, with Columbus and he seems to have done far better than his Tamil repertoire. Sashaa Tirupati’s voice is the highlight of the pleasant and sing-along’ish tune of Tummeda, while Haricharan rocks Manchu keratam, a soaring tune with Middle Eastern shades, orchestrated really well by Jithin.

Thoorupey – Sankarabharanam (Praveen Lakkaraju)
Lovely, lilting melody by Praveen, roping in Karthik and Ramya Behara. Very unhurried and indulgent tune!

Malayalam

Ee thanutha, Sahibaa & Vaanam – Anarkali (Vidyasagar)

Oru makaranilavay – Rani Padmini (Bijibal)
The best of an otherwise average album, by the super busy and prolific Bijibal. Chithra Arun handles the gorgeous melody beautifully, and Bijibal’s nuanced sound, including excellent use of sitar, adds generous value too.

Kayamboo niramayi – Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam (Bijibal)
Swetha Mohan delivers this absoutely wonderful Abhogi raaga based melody effortlessly. The raaga’s signature is mighty obvious and Bijibal’s use of flute to establish the raaga is a bit too conventional and familiar.

Kaattummel – Salt Mango Tree (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
Debutant composer Hesham Abdul Wahab’s own voice is a terrific choice for the fantastic tune. He employs the vocally created (most probably) sound in place of an instrument and that sounds pretty unique. The song, possibly based on Neelambari raaga, has a lovely lilt.

Kannada

Neenu banda mele – Ramleela (Anup Rubens)
If it’s Kannada, it has to be Sonu Nigam… at least for one song that the composer cherishes. So, for this Darbari Kaanada’ish song, Anup gets Sonu, along with Shravani. Predictably nice melody!

The full soundtrack: Dheem dheem, Thunta thatakiye, Tagar putti & Ee gulaalu – Boxer (V.Harikrishna)

Marathi

Sur niragas ho, Sur se saji, Man mandira, Dil ki tapish, Ghei chand (Rahul Deshpande version) & Surat piya ki – Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

Indipop

Title song, Shiva, One, Urumbu & Khwaab – Navarasam (Thaikkudam Bridge)
Listen to the songs online, on Hungama.

English/Western

Suns have gone – Album: Electronica 1 – Time Machine (Jean-Michel Jarre, featuring Moby)
Much like Giorgio Moroder’s recent comeback, featuring contemporary stars as collaborators, French electronic music pioneer from the 70s, Jean-Michel Jarre gets back into the scene after 8 years with some high-profile collaborators like Tangerine Dream, Armin van Buuren, Pete Townshend, Moby, Massive Attack, Air, Vince Clarke and John Carpenter. The sound is easily accessible, almost as if re-introducing Jarre to a new, younger audience. Suns Have Gone, featuring Moby is the pick of the album, with its bouncy sound recalling the No More Brothers Mix of Freddie Mercury’s Living on my own.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Oru makara nilavaay – Rani Padmini (Malayalam – Bijibal)
The melody seems simple enough, but Bijibal ropes in Chithra Arun to provide the song’s beautiful vocals and pays off wonderfully. Her evocative singing, combined with fantastic use of sitar and saarangi at two different places, and the overall light and dreamy sound, adds tremendous value to the song. Bijibal is really onto something in Malayalam, this year, while also being incredibly prolific.

Khulne lagi zindagi – The Perfect Girl (Hindi – Soumil, Siddharth)
When singer Raman Mahadevan goes ‘Zindagi ajnabee-eee-eee’ early into the song, you know the song has something to do with Shankar Ehsaan Loy. It has – Soumil and Siddharth are Shankar Mahadevan’s nephew and son, respectively. And Raman Mahadevan—not related to Shankar—is a regular with the trio too. Soumil and Siddharth have already composed in Marathi, but this is their Hindi debut, and the duo do a great job here, living up to the pedigree!

Kaattumel anjaru – Salt Mango Tree (Malayalam – Hesham Abdul Wahab)
Debutant composer Hesham Abdul Wahab is already popular in Kerala thanks to his 2007 stint in Asianet’s Idea Star Singer. The singer, who debuts as composer in Salt Mango Tree (the title, obviously, inspired by that iconic comedy scene featuring Mohanlal and Sreenivasan in Doore Oru Koodu Koottaam), does a phenomenal job in both departments in the song Kaattumel anjaru, a delightful tune that seems to be a mix of Neelambari and Shankarabharanam raagas. Hesham also employs mridangam and nadaswaram to great effect, to add native Kerala’ness to the song.

Annapoorne – Anil Srinivasan (Album: Touch)
Back in 2007, when Mandolin U.Rajesh released the album Into The Light, his collaborator in the fusion effort was pianist Anil Srinivasan. That album had a stellar fusion version of Muthuswamy Dikshithar’s Sama raaga based Annapoorne that had the mandolin as the more pronounced instrument. It looks like Anil and Rajesh really love this composition, given that they have chosen to redo the tune in Anil Srinivasan’s solo debut album Touch. Here, Anil offers a minute-long piano prelude before Rajesh joins. The mandolin is slower and more meditative in this version and Anil’s piano is even more prominent—understandably—and imaginative in its exposition of the beautiful raaga.
Listen to Annapoorne on Saavn.

Tummeda jummani pinchaku raa – Columbus (Telugu – Jithin Roshan)
Jithin Roshan, after trying his luck in Tamil, in films like Theekkulikkum Pachaimaram and Thiruttu VCD (without much success), debuts in Telugu, with Columbus and he seems to have done much better than his Tamil repertoire. Sashaa Tirupati’s voice is the highlight of the pleasant and sing-along’ish tune of Tummeda, where Jithin keeps the proceedings frothy and easily likeable.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Paatta podunga ji – Oru Naal Koothu (Tamil – Justin Prabhakaran)
As if Justin Prabhakaran’s Ilayaraja invocation isn’t enough—when the violins play in the first interlude of Enakkaaga porandhaaye, from his debut, Pannayaarum Padminiyum, one can almost picture Rajinikanth in white and white, with his hands in the pocket walking amidst greenery in his usual style, like in Malaayala Karayoram, from Raajadhi Raja—he composes almost a homage of sorts in Paatta podunga ji. With its chorus’ish vocals, mix of strings and rhythm, the song is a lovely throwback to Raja’s 90s music. Justin layers it further with nadaswaram, funny dialogs from radio and lyrics (by Veera), a fantastic second interlude and a amazingly harmonious tune that Karthik leads in his inimitable style.

Padded cell – Seal (Album: 7)
Much has been made out of the fact that this is Henry Samuel a.k.a Seal’s 9th album, while being titled 7. And that this is the British singer’s first full-length album since splitting from ex-wife Heidi Klum (there are signs of that split in the album, though. Like the song, ‘Half A Heart’ which starts with, ‘You took a piece of me when you left…’!). The album itself is a throwback to the times when Seal was in heavy rotation across TV and radio—the 90s—moreso because he is working with his debut producer Trevor Horn again. Songs like Padded Cell, with its gently throbbing Europop synth mix raises above the album’s familiarity and ennui.

Meghaalu lekunna – Kumari 21F (Telugu – Devi Sri Prasad)
Meghaalu lekunna sounds at best like the Telugu version of a song by the Hindi pop band Euphoria. The tune is similarly lush and folk’ish. Devi does some interesting things in the interludes – the use of violins and solo-violin in the first and second interludes, to be specific. Yasin Nizar sings it mighty well, and one should thank Devi Sri Prasad for not singing it himself.

Keep On Dancing – Ellie Goulding (Album: Delirium)
English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding’s 3rd studio album, Delirium, is decidedly more straight forward pop than her earlier album. And she works with today’s heavyweight pop producers like Max Martin. It’s an easy-on-the-ears album with the whistle-laden hooks in a song like Keep On Dancing smoothly ensuring repeated plays.

Ottathoval – Rajamma@Yahoo (Malayalam – Bijibal)
No, the film is not about Rajamma (Michael Rajamma) joining the internet giant Yahoo.com and getting his Yahoo email ID. Yahoo is just the nickname for Rajamma’s brother, Vishnu Yohannan. That @ cleared, Bijibal does what one usually expects from an Ilayaraja or a Vidyasagar – treat a raaga with reverence. In Ottathoval, it is raaga Panthuvarali, that gets a clean, deeply melodious treatment, in Ganesh Sundaram and Roopa Revathi’s vocals!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Kanjaadai – Anjala (Tamil – Gopi Sundar)
Gopi Sundar started with Malayalam, aced it and is now producing fantastic music in Telugu as well, with soundtracks like Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju and Bhale Bhale Magadivoy. His Tamil soundtrack and repertoire continue to stutter, though, for some reason. But the man does produce sparkling music even if the overall soundtrack is not up to the mark at times, and Kanjaadai is a fantastic example. There’s an easy-going charm in the catchy tune, marked by V.V.Prasanna’s exaggerated ‘O o o’ and a flow that throws a surprise at almost every turn, complete with a beautiful spot in the anupallavi where Gopi overlays Vandana’s vocals over Prasanna’s as the latter is just ending his lines.

Akkare ikkare – Thilothama (Malayalam – Deepak Dev)
Deepak uses the oft-attempted fisherman-song sound to great effect to deliver a rhythmic folk’ish song in Akkare ikkare. The repetitive nature of the tune works in its favor easily, steadily building from a spartan sound to eventually add layer by layer the song’s full rhythmic beauty that wears its Malayalee identity beautifully. Sannidhanandan’s rustic vocals is perfectly complemented by Roopa’s singing.

Kanulu kalanu piliche – Abbayitho Ammayi (Telugu – Ilayaraja)
The man is 72, for heaven’s sake! So yes, age is just a number. The song is an extremely soothing, simple waltz’y melody that Ilayaraja has explored a lot of times in his long career. It’s 2015 now and what this bring forth in a listener depends on your age. If you grew up in the 70s, 80s, the song should be a massive nostalgic trip into the best of Raja. If you are growing up now, it should be a lovely melody soaked in love, with mesmerizing interludes.

Suryudne chusoddhama – Tanu Nenu (Telugu – Sunny M.R.)
Sunny M.R., who made an outstanding debut in 2013 with Swamy Ra Ra, followed it up with great soundtracks that had a dramatically different musical sensibility than the one prevailing in Telugu films currently. With Dohchay, earlier this year, he tried going mildly ‘mass’, but that didn’t work all that well. In Tanu Nenu, he’s back to doing what he does really well – produce intimate, likeable tunes! Suryudne chusoddhama has that languorous sound that Sunny pioneered, and sounds like something Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy would produce! Along with the captivating guitar strumming it sounds so good, in Arijit, Sunny and Harshika’s vocals!

Chenthengin – Two Countries (Malayalam – Gopi Sundar)
With its easy-on-the-ears catchy lilt, the song could easily be mistaken for something by Vidyasagar. But get to the interludes and Gopi’s familiar and identifiable quasi-Middle Eastern sound makes its presence felt. Najeem Arshad, sounding a lot like Karthik, does a commendable job in handling the tune. The small nuances add tremendous value too, like that ‘Oho’ chorus that Gopi employs – it is exactly the same piece, but seems apt at the end of two very different lines, across the pallavi and anupallavi!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Jodi nilave – Thangamagan (Tamil – Anirudh)
Anirudh offers a minimum-guarantee soundtrack in Thangamagan. The standout song is Jodi nilave, sung beautifully by Shweta Mohan, and inconsistently by Dhanush. The tune and violin profusion makes it seem like Anirudh is channeling his inner Yuvan Shankar Raja, Dhanush’s earlier composing buddy, pre-Kolaveri. Even Dhanush’s off-key singing is reminiscent of Yuvan’s, though Dhanush surprises in the lyrics department, turning in lines that shimmer with hope in the choicest of words, amidst the melancholic mood.

Bhale manchi roju – Bhale Manchi Roju (Telugu – Sunny M.R.)
There is an inherent trouble in naming films after older songs. If the new film has a title song, and it is good, or becomes popular, a new generation’s memory is reformatted to erase the older song, to make way for the new one. Till last week, ‘Bhale manchi roju’ should be bringing back memories of Krishna and the Ghantasala song he lipsyncs in the film Jarigina Katha (1969). This week onwards, you have Sunny M.R’s breezy, bepop jazz’ish title song from the film of the name to recall. The composer manages to sing it darn well too, building the energy gradually, to confidently reveal and repeat his title hook.

Mohe rang do laal – Bajirao Mastani (Hindi – Sanjay Leela Bhansali)
After a song in Saawariya, and two indulgent soundtracks (Ram-Leela and Guzaarish), the composer in Sanjay Leela Bhansali seems to have got a fantastic polish, turning in a delightful soundtrack with music that is rich and resonant. The pièce de résistance is Mohe rang do laal. Shreya Ghoshal sinks into it like only she can, offering her fantastic voice around the classical tune that seems to be meandering around raags like Purvi and Puriya Dhanashri, given the tune’s allegiance to older songs like Pt.Ravi Shankar’s Karuna suno shyam mori from Meera (1979) and Laxmikant Pyarelal’s Bandhan toote na from Mome Ki Gudiya (1972). The song also has phenomenal contribution by Pt.Birju Maharaj.

Maatallo cheppaleni – Abbayitho Ammayi (Telugu – Ilayaraja)
One hearing of the song and you’d wonder why Ilayaraja doesn’t score songs like these anymore in Tamil films. Most Tamilians may start to identify the tune as something to do with Brahma’s Varudhu varudhu ilankaatru, and that may possibly to do with the tunes being close to Kalyani raaga that Ilayaraja has used extraordinarily in his rich repertoire. Karthik sings this one with a serene voice and the interludes, orchestration everything adds to the unhurried, peaceful effect.

Send My Love (To Your New Lover) – Adele (Album: 25)
In 25, Adele continues her wallowing in unrequited love, grief and heartache, and, for a 27 year old, that seems like a lot to reflect on. But she could also reflect on the fact that her new album is smashing records in every direction. As if to celebrate, Adele has at least one spritely song in her new album, Send My Love (To Your New Lover), a ‘I’m so glad you’re gone’ number that she starts confidently by ordering her studio folks, “Just the guitar!”. Swedish producers, Max Martin and Shellback keep the tune and music lively and peppy, with Adele showcasing her vocal prowess, as always.

Hindi

Deewani mastani, Mohe rang do laal, Pinga, Fitoori & Aayat – Bajirao Mastani (Sanjay Leela Bhansali)

Tamil

Jodi nilave, Oh oh & Tak bak – Thangamagan (Anirudh)

Kanjaadai – Anjala (Gopi Sundar)
Gopi Sundar started with Malayalam, aced it and is now producing fantastic music in Telugu as well, with soundtracks like Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju and Bhale Bhale Magadivoy. His Tamil soundtrack and repertoire continue to stutter, though, for some reason. But the man does produce sparkling music even if the overall soundtrack is not up to the mark at times, and Kanjaadai is a fantastic example. There’s an easy-going charm in the catchy tune, marked by V.V.Prasanna’s exaggerated ‘O o o’ and a flow that throws a surprise at almost every turn, complete with a beautiful spot in the anupallavi where Gopi overlays Vandana’s vocals over Prasanna’s as the latter is just ending his lines.

Telugu

Title song, Mila mila, Ningi needera & Evari roopo – Bhale Manchi Roju (Sunny M.R.)

Suryudne chusoddhama & Title song – Tanu Nenu (Sunny M.R.)

Reena mecareena, Edhuru choostunna, Maatallo cheppaleni & Kanulu kalanu pinche – Abbayitho Ammayi (Ilayaraja)

Malayalam

Ottathoval – Rajamma@Yahoo (Bijibal)

Akkare ikkare – Thilothama (Malayalam – Deepak Dev)
Deepak uses the oft-attempted fisherman-song sound to great effect to deliver a rhythmic folk’ish song in Akkare ikkare. The repetitive nature of the tune works in its favor easily, steadily building from a spartan sound to eventually add layer by layer the song’s full rhythmic beauty that wears its Malayalee identity beautifully. Sannidhanandan’s rustic vocals is perfectly complemented by Roopa’s singing.

Chenthengin – Two Countries (Malayalam – Gopi Sundar)
With its easy-on-the-ears catchy lilt, the song could easily be mistaken for something by Vidyasagar. But get to the interludes and Gopi’s familiar and identifiable quasi-Middle Eastern sound makes its presence felt. Najeem Arshad, sounding a lot like Karthik, does a commendable job in handling the tune. The small nuances add tremendous value too, like that ‘Oho’ chorus that Gopi employs – it is exactly the same piece, but seems apt at the end of two very different lines, across the pallavi and anupallavi!

Indipop

Annapoorne – Anil Srinivasan (Album: Touch)
Back in 2007, when Mandolin U.Rajesh released the album Into The Light, his collaborator in the fusion effort was pianist Anil Srinivasan. That album had a stellar fusion version of Muthuswamy Dikshithar’s Sama raaga based Annapoorne that had the mandolin as the more pronounced instrument. It looks like Anil and Rajesh really love this composition, given that they have chosen to redo the tune in Anil Srinivasan’s solo debut album Touch. Here, Anil offers a minute-long piano prelude before Rajesh joins. The mandolin is slower and more meditative in this version and Anil’s piano is even more prominent—understandably—and imaginative in its exposition of the beautiful raaga.
Listen to Annapoorne on Saavn.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Pularikalo – Charlie (Malayalam – Gopi Sundar)
Gopi Sundar has been in scintillating form this year, across 2 languages, at that – Telugu and Malayalam, and with the occasional brilliance in Tamil! In Pularikalo, he lets Jossy perform a minute and a half long sax prelude before the Middle Eastern chorus kicks in. And then Shakthishree swoops in with her ethereal voice, over a serene, unusually structured tune. This is Gopi at his best, using all the things one expects from him and those that he plays with very often, but he seems to have perfected the art of making them sound different every time!

Daayre – Dilwale (Hindi – Pritam)
Dilwale is the kind of film where they release one song a week as pre-release buzz and direct people to like certain types of songs. So, you have the much-publicized Gerua, Janam janam and Manma emotion. But composer Pritam, while scoring reasonably well in those 3 songs, does so much more better in the lesser heard song, Daayre. He has Arijit Singh singing his heart out on one hand, of course, but he song’s very, very Coldplay’ish touch too is fantastic. The echoing background sounds and drawling guitars are a particularly lovely touch for the melancholic tune.
Listen to the song on Saavn.

Ende maavum poothe – Adi Kapyare Kootamani (Malayalam – Shaan Rahman)
Shaan makes a heady mix of techno sounds, 80s synthpop and a highly engaging melody in Ende maavum poothe. He also sings it together with his buddy Vineeth Sreenivasan and Arun Alat, mighty well. There’s a casual coarse’ness he brings to ‘Poothu’ that makes it particularly catchy! And then there’s a fantastic rap layer by Rzee to top up the plusses in the song!

Chamma chakka – Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu (Telugu – Achu Rajamani)
Achu Rajamani’s music for Tamil films continue to trip out of circulation with alarming consistency (Urumeen being the latest), but the man produces fantastic music in Telugu with the same consistency, and seems to be eternally indebted to Mohan Babu and family given he composes for almost all their films! In Chamma chakka, Tippu and Chinmayi have a foot-tapping tune that Achu accentuates with the lilting rhythm and a generous smattering of mandolin, topping it off with a particularly fantastic second interlude. The tune is earthy, folk’ish and makes for a fantastic listen!

Ponveyil veezhave – Jo and the Boy (Malayalam – Rahul Subramanian)
Actress Remya Nambeesan’s brother, Rahul Subramanian made his composing debut with another film with an equally intriguing English title – Philip and The Monkey Pen. In Jo and the Boy, he gets Ponveyil veezhave very right, courtesy Haricharan’s dependably good singing and an easily likeable, pleasant melody that keeps flowing beyond conventional structures and ending wonderfully amidst a profusion of violins.

A version of this post was published in The Hindu.

This happens to be the 8th annual music round-up in Milliblog, in a year where Milliblog completed 10 years! This list is for soundtracks released between December 15, 2014 to December 15, 2015.

And remember, it is perfectly justifiable to have reactions like, ‘How can *that* be so high on the list?’, or ‘Where is *that* song? C’mon!’. This is one man’s list – just mine. Your list should/would vary. Because! Do let me/other readers know your favorite songs so that it presents other perspectives of best songs of 2015.

Also, YouTube has, unfortunately, removed the feature to add a start and end time in videos embedded inside a playlist. See: Google Groups discussion. As a result, some of the additions in the playlists below are full jukeboxes without the ability to make them play just one song that I had in mind.

Hindi

The Hindi film music scene in 2015 chugged along without any transformative innovation. If I was to point to a specific trend, it may be about the minor resurgence of jazz, or filmy-jazz, to be specific. There’s the entire Bombay Velvet soundtrack by Amit Trivedi, Old school girl in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Drishyam’s Kya pata (by Vishal Bhardwaj), Margarita With A Straw’s I need a man (by Mikey McCleary) and Dil Dhadakne Do’s Girls like to swing (by Shankar Ehsaan Loy) to account for this trend.

Amit’s labor of love, Bombay Velvet, got the short end of the stick courtesy the film’s fortunes, which in turn was connected to how loudly it was promoted. But, as a soundtrack, it delivered and how! The variety of tunes recreating the Bombay (Bollywood, to be precise) of yore demonstrated aptly about the kind of ambition Amit set for himself, and he got some phenomenal singers to deliver the tunes for him. Krsna had produced stellar music in Tanu Weds Manu. For the film’s sequel, he created a fitting follow-up that was musically very Indian and rich. Rounding off the top 3 is Rahman’s Tamasha, a thematic soundtrack that so beautifully weaves through Imtiaz’s narrative.

Ilayaraja, Balki’s regular (and only) composer made a grand comeback in Hindi this year with Shamitabh. Ignore the film’s fate and you hear a fantastic, and often nostalgic, tapestry of sounds from the veteran. Prolific Pritam was less active this year, though he had some delightful tunes across Phantom, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dilwale. Anupam Roy’s long-awaited Hindi debut, Piku, was a welcome note, while the trio, Shankar Ehsaan Loy produced better output in Marathi (Katyar Kaljat Ghusli) than in Hindi, though their music was very-Zoya in Dil Dhadakne Do. Amaal Malik takes the top honors in the songs list though, with his incredibly infectious and enthusiastic techno sound in Sooraj dooba hai! Sanjay Leela Bhansali finally got his musical tuning right in Bajirao Mastani, while Ram Sampath and Sachin-Jigar continue to produce genuinely interesting new-age music with films like Bangistan and Badlapur, respectively.

Hindi composer of the year: Amit Trivedi

Top 3 Hindi soundtracks of 2015
01. Bombay Velvet (Amit Trivedi)

02. Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Krsna)

03. Tamasha (A R Rahman)

Top 10 Hindi songs of 2015
01. Sooraj dooba hai – Roy (Amaal Malik)
02. Piddly si baatein – Shamitabh (Ilayaraja)
03. O sathi mere – Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Krsna)
04. Mohabbat buri bimari – Bombay Velvet (Amit Trivedi)
05. Afghan jalebi – Phantom (Pritam)
06. Gulaabo – Shaandaar (Amit Trivedi)
07. Wat wat wat – Tamasha (A R Rahman)
08. Pehli baar – Dil Dhadakne Do (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
09. Zindagi kuch toh bata (Jubin Nautiyal) – Bajrangi Bhaijan (Pritam)
10. Jee karda – Badlapur (Sachin-Jigar)

Top 11-20 Hindi songs of 2015
11. Saturday night – Bangistan (Ram Sampath)
12. Sun saathiya – ABCD2 (Sachin Jigar)
13. Bezubaan – Piku (Anupam Roy)
14. Mohe rang do laal – Bajirao Mastani (Sanjay Leela Bhansali)
15. Matargasthi – Tamasha (A R Rahman)
16. Ho gaya hai pyar tumse – Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Krsna)
17. Sapna jahan – Brothers (Ajay-Atul)
18. Kya pataa – Drishyam (Vishal Bhardwaj)
19. Tu chahiye – Bajrangi Bhaijan (Pritam)
20. Sooiyan – Guddu Rangeela (Amit Trivedi)

Top 21-30 Hindi songs of 2015
21. Raitaa phail gaya – Shaandaar (Amit Trivedi)
22. Yeh moh moh ke daage – Dum Laga Ke Haisha (Anu Malik)
23. Agar tum saath ho – Tamasha (A R Rahman)
24. Kinna sona – Bhaag Johnny (Mithoon)
25. Old school girl – Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Krsna)
26. Ishq-e-fillum – Shamitabh (Ilayaraja)
27. Jaanam – Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (Peter Cat Recording Co.)
28. Journey song – Piku (Anupam Roy)
29. Main tujhse pyar – Baby (M.M.Kreem)
30. Khulne lagi zindagi – The Perfect Girl (Soumil, Siddharth)

Tamil

For the audaciously inventive and bold musical style in Uttama Villain, Ghibran deserves the composer of the year tag. It is an attempt as ambitious as Amit Trivedi’s Bombay Velvet in Hindi, though the style and genres are vastly different. But there’s another composer who deserves that tag along with Ghibran and that is Anirudh. He produced decent stuff in Maari and Vedalam, but where he hits it out of the park is in Naanum Rowdy Dhaan – it is a mesmerizing series of superb tunes one after the other! The other young composer who gets to rank alongside these 2 to round off the top 3 soundtrack is Justin Prabhakaran. He comes on his own with a nuanced and beautiful 5-song set in Oru Naal Koothu.

The young debutant of the year, Leon James packs a good punch too, across two sequels – Kanchana 2 and Ko 2, while the Hip Hop Tamizha duo of Adhi and Jeeva produced great ear-candy in Aambala. Imman, who had a prolific output in 2013, seemed a bit muted this year too, like 2014, though he had a great album in Romeo Juliet. Rahman and Harris Jayaraj had their respective highlights in O Kadhal Kanmani and Yennai Arindhaal, while last year’s star, Santhosh Narayanan was content with just a middling 36 Vayadhinile.

Tamil composer(s) of the year: Ghibran & Anirudh

Top 3 Tamil soundtracks of 2015
01. Uttama Villain (Ghibran)

02. Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (Anirudh)

03. Oru Naal Koothu (Justin Prabhakaran)

Top 10 Tamil songs of 2015
01. Thangamey – Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (Anirudh)
02. Thoovaanam – Romeo Juliet (D.Imman)
03. Eppo varuvaaro – Oru Naal Koothu (Justin Prabhakaran)
04. Kannamma – Ko 2 (Leon James)
05. Don’u don’u – Maari (Anirudh)
06. Vaaya veera – Kanchana 2 (Leon James)
07. Uthaman arimugam + Uttaman kadhai + Mutharasan kadhai + Iranian naadagam – Uttama Villain (Ghibran)
08. Parandhu sella vaa – O Kadhal Kanmani (A R Rahman)
09. Mazhai vara pogudhae – Yennai Arindhaal (Harris Jayaraj)
10. Vaa vaa vaa vennila – Aambala (Hip Hop Tamizha)

Top 11-20 Tamil songs of 2015
11. Neeyum naanum – Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (Anirudh)
12. Adiye azhagae – Oru Naal Koothu (Justin Prabhakaran)
13. Idarkuthaane aasapattaai – Romeo Juliet (D.Imman)
14. Naanal poovai – Kirumi (K)
15. Jodi nilave – Thangamagan (Anirudh)
16. Mutham kodutha – Trisha Illana Nayanthara (G.V.Prakash Kumar)
17. Motta paiya – Kanchana 2 (Thaman S)
18. Mental manadhil – O Kadhal Kanmani (A R Rahman)
19. Unakkenna venum sollu – Yennai Arindhaal (Harris Jayaraj)
20. Kalakkattu kannaala – Kathukutty (Aruldev)

Top 21-30 Tamil songs of 2015
21. Ammanae – Ayirathil Iruvar (Bharadwaj)
22. Loveaa loveaa – Uttama Villain (Ghibran)
23. Ethanai kavignan – Savaale Samaali (Thaman S)
24. Rasathi – 36 Vayadhinile (Santhosh Narayanan)
25. Parapara – Yatchan (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
26. Neeyum adi naanum – Vil Ambu (Navin)
27. Kurunthogai – Idam Porul Yaeval (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
28. Oru vidha aasai – Maari (Anirudh)
29. Silukku marame – Paayum Puli (D.Imman)
30. Kanjaadai – Anjala (Gopi Sundar)

Telugu

It’s not often a non-Telugu composer gets 2 fantastic soundtracks in the same year. A R Rahman perhaps did it in the beginning of his career, but Malayalam composer Gopi Sundar pulls off this trick in 2015. His music in Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju take him right to the top of the pile, as composer of the year… in a year when old stars like Devi Sri Prasad and Thaman lost some of the shine, and others like Sunny M.R. gathered more steam. But the composer to swoop in the 3rd spot in the top 3 soundtracks list late in the year is none other than Ilayaraja, with a lively, youthful album for Abbayitho Ammayi!

Last year’s star, Ghibran had just one soundtrack in Telugu this year- Jil, while Keeravani’s music in Baahubali worked in tandem with the film’s historic box-office potential. Veteran Manisharma’s son, Saagar Mahati made a decent enough debut in Jaadugadu, while Keeravani’s severely under-rated brother Kalyan Koduri continues to show promise in films like Bandipotu and Hora Hori.

Telugu composer of the year: Gopi Sundar

Top 3 Telugu soundtracks of 2015
01. Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (Gopi Sundar)

02. Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Gopi Sundar)

03. Abbayitho Ammayi (Ilayaraja)

Top 10 Telugu songs of 2015
01. Bhale bhale magadivoy – Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (Gopi Sundar)
02. Kanulu kalanu pinche – Abbayitho Ammayi (Ilayaraja)
03. Varinche prema – Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Gopi Sundar)
04. Manohari – Baahubali (M.M.Keeravani)
05. Jil jil jil – Jil (Ghibran)
06. Naavaadai – Mosagallaku Mosagadu (Manikanth Kadri)
07. Punnami puvai – Rudramadevi (Ilayaraja)
08. Bhale manchi roju – Bhale Manchi Roju (Sunny M.R.)
09. Nuvve nuvve – Kick 2 (Thaman S)
10. ABC – Jaadugadu (Saagar Mahati)

Top 11-20 Telugu songs of 2015
11. Marhaba – Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Gopi Sundar)
12. Dheevara – Baahubali (M.M.Keeravani)
13. Motta madatisari – Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (Gopi Sundar)
14. Maya O Maya – Courier Boy Kalyan (Karthik)
15. Maatallo cheppaleni – Abbayitho Ammayi (Ilayaraja)
16. Suryudne chusoddhama – Tanu Nenu (Sunny M.R.)
17. Kerintha – Kerintha (Mickey J Meyer)
18. Jenda pai kapiraju – Kick 2 (Thaman S)
19. Anandham anandham – Tungabhadra (Hari Gaura)
20. Beautiful zindagi – Yevade Subramanyam (Radhan)

Top 21-30 Telugu songs of 2015
21. Yenno yenno – Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Gopi Sundar)
22. Bye bye bye – Beeruva (Thaman S)
23. Pori masala pori – Jil (Ghibran)
24. Endaro – Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (Gopi Sundar)
25. Evari roopo – Bhale Manchi Roju (Sunny M.R.)
26. Pilla nee kallakunna – Lion (Mani Sharma)
27. Vaddura mama – Tiger (Thaman S)
28. Neetho aithe – Kundanapu Bomma (M.M.Keeravani)
29. Oho sundari – Mosagallaku Mosagadu (Manikanth Kadri)
30. Edo mayalle inade – Bandipotu (Kalyan Koduri)

Malayalam

Note: The version of this list in The Hindu (for Malayalam) has the soundtrack of Ennu Ninte Moideen as the 2nd best soundtrack of 2015, because I had to send it in advance. Given the incredibly lethargic and annoyingly staggered release of all 7 of Charlie’s songs (hope that’s it and there’s no more… please!), I’m forced to bump it in place of Ennu Ninte Moideen. Because… the soundtrack (and Gopi) deserves it, simple.

Malayalam films produced some of the finest music for any film industry, in 2015. The sheer variety of music from Kerala this year was a delight! Composer Bijibal was perhaps at his prolific best, producing a bewildering array of tunes across films like 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam, Nellikka, Pathemari, Rani Padmini, Rajamma@Yahoo, Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam, She Taxi, KL10 Pathu and Jilebi, though a complete standout soundtrack eluded him. Gopi Sundar, who shares the composer of the year tag with Bijibal, also had a scattered assortment of great tunes from films like Ennu Ninte Moideen, Charlie, Oru Second Class Yathra, Mili, Ivan Maryadha Raman, Two Countries, Saaradhi, Jamna Pyari, Ivide and Lailaa O Lailaa. Unique to Malayalam soundtracks is the relatively lesser number of songs per film – usually 3 – that leads to a less rounded soundtrack. But, even with lesser number of songs, Roby Abraham’s lone soundtrack, You Too Brutus deserves the top spot in the 3 soundtracks of the year, for the kind of vibrant music it delivered.

The year’s biggest blockbuster, Premam, has a middling soundtrack at best, though much of its popularity was on the back of the film’s success. It did have the delightful, released-later song, Malare, though! The top honor in the songs easily goes to Prashant Pillai’s ear-worm from Chandrettan Evideya, Vasanthamallike! Shaan Rahman (with Oru Vadakkan Selfie and Adi Kapyare Kootamani), Govind Menon (with 100 Days of Love) and Viswajith (with Rudrasimhasanam) round off the top 10.

Malayalam composer(s) of the year: Bijibal and Gopi Sundar

Top 3 Malayalam soundtracks of 2015
01. You Too Brutus (Roby Abraham)
Listen to the songs on SoundCloud.

02. Charlie (Gopi Sundar)

03. Oru Vadakkan Selfie (Shaan Rahman)

Top 10 Malayalam songs of 2015
01. Vasanthamallike – Chandrettan Evideya (Prashant Pillai)
02. Chiriyude pinnil – You Too Brutus (Roby Abraham)
03. Ummarathe – Ivan Maryadaraman (Gopi Sundar)
04. Malare – Premam (Rajesh Murugesan)
05. Arike pozhiyum – 100 Days of Love (Govind Menon)
06. Ninnale innen – Rudrasimhasanam (Viswajith)
07. Mukkathe penne – Ennu Ninte Moideen (Gopi Sundar)
08. Enne Thallendammaava – Oru Vadakkan Selfie (Shaan Rahman)
09. Thalavara kurippu pusthakam – 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam (Bijibal)
10. Pularikalo – Charlie (Gopi Sundar)

Top 11-20 Malayalam songs of 2015
11. Ambaazham Thanalitta – Oru Second Class Yathra (Gopi Sundar)
12. Azhalinte – You Too Brutus (Roby Abraham)
13. Manjupeyume – Mili (Gopi Sundar)
14. Ee kadalinu – Mariam Mukku (Vidyasagar)
15. Swapnachirakil – Nellikka (Bijibal)
16. Malarvaga kombathu – Ennum Eppozhum (Vidyasagar)
17. Kaikkottum Kandittilla – Oru Vadakkan Selfie (Shaan Rahman)
18. Kankankalil – Madhura Naranga (Sreejith-Saachin)
19. Ee thanutha – Anarkali (Vidyasagar)
20. Hemanthamen – Kohinoor (Rahul Raj)

Top 21-30 Malayalam songs of 2015
21. Saarangiyil – You Too Brutus (Roby Abraham)
22. Choolamittu – Ivan Maryadaraman (Gopi Sundar)
23. Pulari manjin – Lavender (Deepak Dev)
24. Ende maavum poothe – Adi Kapyare Kootamani (Shaan Rahman)
25. Thumba poove sundari – Kunjiramayanam (Justin Prabhakaran)
26. Kaanal kaatte – Haram (Thaikkudam Bridge)
27. Kaattummel – Salt Mango Tree (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
28. Oru makaranilavay – Rani Padmini (Bijibal)
29. Kannondu chollanu – Ennu Ninte Moideen (M.Jayachandran)
30. Chantham thelinju – Utopiayile Rajavu (Ouseppachan)

Kannada

V.Harikrishna dominated last year’s rankings along with Arjun Janya, but in 2015 he seems to have evolved better on his own! His soundtracks for Boxer and Kendasampige easily earn him the composer of the year tag, while Manikanth Kadri rounds off the top 3 with Jaathre. Arjun seems to have lost some of his sheen this year, thanks to his style getting repetitive and predictable.

Harikrishna’s domination in the top 10 list is incredible, with 6 of the 10 songs! Mickey J Meyer, Manikanth Kadri, Arjun Janya and Anup Bhandari pick the other 4 spots. But yes, Kannada cinema lacked a big, inventive soundtrack like last year’s Ulidhavaru Kandante.

Kannada composer of the year: V.Harikrishna

Top 3 Kannada soundtracks of 2015
01. Boxer (V.Harikrishna)

02. Kendasampige (V.Harikrishna)

03. Jaathre (Manikanth Kadri)

Top 10 Kannada songs of 2015
01. Raja rani – Raate (V.Harikrishna)
02. Ee gulaalu – Boxer (V.Harikrishna)
03. Kannalle – Buguri (Mickey J Meyer)
04. Nenape nithya mallige – Kendasampige (V.Harikrishna)
05. Jeene laga – Jaathre (Manikanth Kadri)
06. Kelho haage – Minchaagi Nee Baralu (V.Harikrishna)
07. Suri suri – Rx Suri (Arjun Janya)
08. Akka pakka – Rangitaranga (Anup Bhandari)
09. Ninnalle – Endendigu (V.Harikrishna)
10. Neene neene – Ranavikrama (V.Harikrishna)

Top 11-20 Kannada songs of 2015
11. Maleye maleye – Male (Jassie Gift)
12. Neenu banda mele – Ramleela (Anup Rubens)
13. Kanasalli nadesu – Kendasampige (V.Harikrishna)
14. Kaanadaa nalividu – Plus (B.J.Bharath)
15. No problem – Vajrakaya (Arjun Janya)
16. Kareyole – Rangitaranga (Anup Bhandari)
17. Maya jinke – Jaathre (Manikanth Kadri)
18. Goli hodi – Vascodigama (Poorna Chandra Tejaswi)
19. Simply met her – Vaastu Prakara (V.Harikrishna)
20. Raktha pumpu maado – Prema Pallaki (Vineeth Raj)

Marathi

I do not listen to every soundtrack produced from the Marathi film industry, so this list is at best a snapshot. Shankar Ehsaan Loy had a stupendous and massive soundtrack in Katyar Kaljat Ghusli. It outdid anything the trio produced in Hindi! Ajay-Atul continue to enthral in soundtracks like Neelkanth Master, with gems like the Shreya Ghoshal sung Adhir mann jhale, that easily deserves to be the song of the year in Marathi. Yug Bhusal’s work in Chitrafit 3.0 is the other notable highlight of the year in my view.

Marathi composer(s) of the year: Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Top 3 Marathi soundtracks of 2015
01. Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

02. Nilkanth Master (Ajay-Atul)

03. Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar (Amit Trivedi)

Top 10 Marathi songs of 2015
01. Aadhir mann jhale – Nilkanth Master (Ajay-Atul)
02. Sur niragas ho – Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
03. Yeh dil – Chitrafit 3.0 Megapixel (Yug Bhusal)
04. Samjena – Runh (Sangeet Siddharth)
05. Kalandar – Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar (Amit Trivedi)
06. Dil ki tapish – Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
07. Partuni yena – Nilkanth Master (Ajay-Atul)
08. Jai malhari – Chitrafit 3.0 Megapixel (Yug Bhusal)
09. Man mandira – Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
10. Sobane soyanire – Carry On Maratha (Shail-Pritesh)

Indipop/Non-film

Top Indipop albums of 2015
01. The Music Room – Sonu Nigam and Bickram Ghosh (Listen)
02. Shukriya & Malanga – Gulraj Singh (Listen + Listen)
03. Filament – Shankar Tucker (Listen)
04. Navarasam – Thaikkudam Bridge (Listen)
05. And A Half – Arka (Listen)
06. Silence Is Bliss – Naveen Kumar (Listen)
07. Ananthaal – Clinton Cerejo, Bianca Gomes & Vijay Prakash (Listen)
08. Indosoul – Karthick Iyer Live (Listen)

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Originally published in The Hindu.

Kaadhal oru sathurangam – Azhagu Kutti Chellam (Tamil – Ved Shanker Sugavanam)
Ved’s tune for Kaadhal oru sathurangam is so soft and velvety that when Chinmayi sings Na.Muthukumar’s imaginative lines briefly comparing love with chess, her voice exudes a certain care, as if the song may feel the pain if she sang any more forcefully. Then there is a generous smattering of a solo violin that beautifully enhances the melody during the interludes. The anupallavi and charanam structures are also reasonably complex that it feels good to unwrap them into familiarity, slowly.

Tere bin – Wazir (Hindi – Shantanu Moitra)
Despite moving into his favorite waltzy territory eventually, Shantanu Moitra does have a winner of a melody in Tere bin. He gets the best duo to sing it—Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam—and they rarely go wrong with a tune like this. The composer also has a lovely ghazal’ish middle portion that goes well with the feel of the song. The only impediment, however, is that the song sounds alarmingly like a rather obscure Malayalam non-film song called, ‘Oru naal arukil’ from the album Oru Naal (2012), with music by Afzal Yusuf.

Masti masti – Nenu Sailaja (Telugu – Devi Sri Prasad)
When Sooraj Santhosh and Shweta Mohan start the anupallavi in Masti masti, it feels like walking into into Ilayaraja’s stellar recent soundtrack for Abbayitho Ammayi (which, incidentally, released alongside this film and was mauled by critics and filmgoers). And there’s that beautiful, short piano note before the anupallavi too! The rest is Devi Sri Prasad, however – a simple, lilting tune with masti written all over it. Devi has a way of using catchy, repetitive sounds that he inserts ad nauseam, and here it’s a whistle like hook that does the honors.

Aattakkaari maaman ponnu – Thaarai Thappattai (Tamil – Ilayaraja)
Aattakkaari maaman ponnu is a Ilayaraja song all the way, a trademark Raja song, if you will. The melody is incredibly engaging, with a soft, soothing and simple orchestration to back it up, but with a wonderfully rich violin and guitar layer that is the veteran’s signature by now. M.M.Manasi and Prasanna’s vocals capture the playful banter between the male and female parts of the song and the anupallavi (and charanam) has a particularly alluring tune. Another noteworthy highlight of the song is the way the anupallavi and charanam end without bridging the opening line (and head straight to the magical interludes), almost teasing us to look for it and smile at the fact that the composer has consciously dropped it!

Thillu mullu – Gethu (Tamil – Harris Jayaraj)
There used to be an age-old, time-tested conceit in Indian films that use twins (better known as double-role) as a plot device. One of the two identical twins distinguishes himself (or herself) with a mole in the cheek and the world around them won’t be able to recognize this character as the one without the mole. Thillu mullu, from Gethu, pulls off something similar, with A R Rahman’s Mersalaayitten, from I. You get that feeling instantly, of it sounding familiar and at some point the light bulbs inside your head switches on and you see Vikram dancing. And then the composer’s standard-issue hook, sung so very enthusiastically by Naresh Iyer, surfaces and ushers you deeper into Harris territory.

Hindi

Soch na sake – Airlift (Amaal Malik)

Also listen to the song’s original, by Hardy Sandhu – Soch.

Gerua and Daayre – Dilwale (Pritam)

Tere bin – Wazir (Shantanu Moitra)

Tamil

Title song, Kaadhal oru sadhurangam and Thiruvasagam – Azhagu Kutti Chellam (Ved Shanker Sugavanam)

Paaruruvaaya, Idarinum and Aattakkaari maaman ponnu – Thaarai Thappattai (Ilayaraja)

Thillu mullu and Mutta bajji – Gethu (Harris Jayaraj)

Azhagae – Kathakali (Hiphop Tamizha)

Pothi vacha – Kodai Mazhai (Sambasivam)
Lovely song. Reminds me of some other song that I’m not able to place rightaway, particularly the bridge, ‘adhu nandu illa, naanthaan’nu sollanum pol irukku’. Karthik and Parvathi in fantastic form!

Telugu

Chamma chakka – Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu (Achu)

Masti masti – Nenu Sailaja (Devi Sri Prasad)

Manasantha meghamai – Kalyana Vaibhogame (Kalyan Koduri)

Follow follow, Na manasu neeto and Don’t stop – Nannaaku Prematho (Devi Sri Prasad)

Nakem tochade – Soukhyam (Anup Rubens)
Nakem tochade is interesting with its seemingly Darbari Kanada raaga base and the lovely violin + mridangam background. And Hariharan’s singing, of course.

Sahaara – Garam (Telugu – Agasthya)
Don’t recall hearing composer Agasthya’s name earlier. Is he new? The song, the backgrounds remind me of Viju Shah’s musical style! Nice tune.

Malayalam

Neeyen sayahna swapnathil – Ma Chu Ka (Gopi Sundar)
The typical Gopi melody that he himself sings. The tune is completely immersive and the chorus he employs just enhances the appeal.

Akale, Pularikalo, Chithirathira and Chundari Penne – Charlie (Gopi Sundar)

Ponveyil veezhave – Jo and The Boy (Rahul Subramanian)

Ende maavum poothe and Maruda – Adi Kapyare Kootamani (Shaan Rahman)

Kannada

Hudugi – Maduveya Mamatheya Kareyole (V.Harikrishna)
Very rhythmic and catchy. Shashank Sheshagiri’s singing matters too!

Indipop

Sakhi re kahe (Kaanha mose) – Hariharan and Akshay Hariharan, for MTV Unplugged.
Stumbled on this MTV Unplugged song by Hariharan – a lovely thumri with a lovely jazzy coating! I thought the music had an Ilayaraja’ish touch too! It’s a pity that while MTV was so focused on getting all the sound/instrument and audio credits right, they completely missed the damned composer of the song. The song is the original composition of Hariharan’s son, Akshay Hariharan and was first in the soundtrack of the film, Black Home.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Azhagae – Kathakali (Tamil – Hiphop Tamizha)
There’s so much of Yuvan Shankar Raja in Azhagae… and then something more. Something about the way Adhi (one half of Hiphop Tamizha, which, unlike the singular name, is a duo!)—perhaps that nasal twang—makes it Yuvan-like. The tune is right up the composing duo’s alley, with an interesting, seemingly never ending tune that does away with conventional structures. The other intriguing facet is the pronunciation – the lyrics are in fairly clean Tamil, but the way Adhi pronounces ‘bayam’ and ‘sugam’ is the colloquial way—’bayo(n)’ and ‘sugo(n)’—that adds a casual edge to it!

Manasantha meghamai – Kalyana Vaibhogame (Telugu – Kalyan Koduri)
M.M.Keeravani’s (Maragadhamani in Tamil and M.M.Kreem in Hindi) lesser known, talented brother has been a silent force in Telugu film music, producing quality stuff mighty consistently. His forte has always been music akin to his brother – pleasant and unhurried melodies, usually with a strong local/native lilt. Manasantha meghamai is a great example – a soft, feathery melody backed by beautiful, almost-constant violins and Chinmayi singing the tune like only she can.

Follow follow – Nannaku Prematho (Telugu – Devi Sri Prasad)
The word ‘follow’ has a vastly different meaning in these days of social media. Junior NTR goes ‘I wanna follow follow follow follow follow follow you’ (yes, six time, every time he sings that line, and he does it a lot of times in the song!) – this may seem like stalking in the real world, but may seem completely natural on say, Twitter! The tune is very Devi Sri Prasad – using a catchy hook endlessly and make a catchy tune of it. But yes, there’s also a tinge of jazz that he adds and that makes a big difference.

Dugg duggi dugg – Jugni (Hindi – Clinton Cerejo)
There was a time when Suresh Wadkar was a regular in soundtracks with music by Vishal Bhardwaj. At some point, Vishal started singing the songs that he would have otherwise handed over to Suresh. Now, Vishal himself gets songs that sound like his style of music, and in Jugni’s case, composed by Clinton Cerejo. The tune is resonant, and complex enough to give it a serious listen to follow its flow. Shellee’s lyrics are contemplative and the combination works pretty well.

Vaa machaney – Irudhi Sutru (Tamil – Santhosh Narayanan)
2016 might well be a showcase year for the talented Santhosh Narayanan, one of the new-age musical trio of Tamil cinema (along with Sean Roldan and V.Pradeep Kumar), given his upcoming films starring Rajinikanth (Kabali) and directed by Karthik Subbaraju (Iraivi). For now, he produces a cracker of a soundtrack in Irudhi Sutri. He craftily mixes foot-tapping kuthu rhythms with a very blues’y tune in Vaa machaney, and Sean Roldan sings it fabulously. But what’s truly interesting is the fact the Santhosh hands the song over to Sunidhi Chauhan, in its Hindi avatar, Saala Khadoos, turning the point of view from male, to female, even as the lyrics primarily portray the female point of view!

Originally published in The Hindu.

MunnaaL kaadhali – Miruthan (Tamil – D.Imman)
Tamil cinema’s patron saint of love failure is—no, not Santhanam, he is merely the patron saint’s sidekick—T.R.Silambarasan, who, as per last reports, goes by the acronym, STR. STR has been spearheading a movement to create angry, upset and invectives-laden songs to add to the rich love-failure genre. So it is heartwarming to see Madhan Karky and D.Imman collaborate to undo the damage done by STR, and create a graceful, catchy and imaginative ode to love-failure! Vishal Dadlani delivers the power love-failure song with his usual punch!

Okko nakshatram – Seethamma Andalu Ramayya Sitralu (Telugu – Gopi Sundar)
That Gopi Sundar is in blistering form in Telugu and Malayalam is not news anymore. He is perhaps just one A-lister film away in Telugu to go to the next level. For Seethamma Andalu Ramayya Sitralu, he produces a superb soundtrack with instantly likeable and pleasant songs. The highlight is Okko nakshatram that sees Karthik and Divya Menon sing a sweet melody. In the anupallavi, Gopi does something that he hasn’t done so often in his career yet – he cleverly weaves in the anupallavi from his own song, Chengethin, from Two Countries (Malayalam) and it all fits in so well!

Ababeel – Muhammad: The Messenger of God (OST – A R Rahman)
Ababeel is sort of the signature melody A R Rahman conjures for the epic film, Muhammad: The Messenger of God. It is an easily goosebumps inducing, grand melody that goes so well with the scale, ambition and scope of a film like this, and, understandably, was made a prominent part of the film’s promos. Rahman articulates the melody again in a slower, poignant form in And He Was Named Mohammad, and it is beautiful all over again. Both the songs end on a splendid, orchestral high!

Tera chehra – Sanam Teri Kasam (Hindi – Himesh Reshammiya)
Tera chehra is one of those songs where Himesh does something genuinely different! He has a ghazal-like melody at its core, but he layers it with an intriguing and addictive—and repetitive, in true Himesh style—stringed background that lifts the song significantly. This, besides Arijit Singh’s engaging vocals! It works quite well as a package, like a new-age ghazal!

Dikka dikka dum dum – Soggade Chinni Nayana (Telugu – Anup Rubens)
The song that opens with some frothy liquid—presumably spirited—being poured gleefully, and Nagarjuna’s own voice opening it with off-key singing and dialogues, moves on to the a heady, raucous and very rhythmic tune. The title hook, Dikka dikka dum dum, is the catchiest part and sounds familiar at first, but without specifically bringing any song to mind. When the hook arrives for the second time, as Mohana Bhogaraju sings it, to Dhanunjay’s lead, one can’t help but go, ‘Thulli varum kaatre, thulli varun kaatre, thaaimozhi pesu’! Yes, A R Rahman’s Kaatre en vaasal, from Rhythm!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Pothi vacha – Kodai Mazhai (Tamil – Sambasivam)
There are two Ilayaraja connections with this song from Kodai Mazhai. One is the obvious – the 1986 film, which had music by Ilayaraja. The second is even more obvious – the other ‘Pothi vacha’ song from Manvaasanai. Composer Sambasivam’s tune too seems like Hindolam, the raaga used by Ilayaraja in the Manvaasanai number! Sambasivam adorns his tune with lovely violins that almost seem to be cooing alongside Karthik and Parvathi’s excellent vocals, even as Vairamuthu uses a series of wishes to build the song.

Neeyen sayahna swapnathil – Ma Chu Ka (Malayalam – Gopi Sundar)
This is an almost ghazal-style melody that Gopi sings himself, with a rough edge that somehow seems apt for the tune. The melody is feather-light and immersive, thanks also the guitar and strings that the composer employs so well. There’s a short chorus-style piece that Gopi uses to bridge back to the pallavi that is short and captivating.

Sakhi re kahe (Kaanha mose) – Hariharan and Akshay Hariharan, for MTV Unplugged
This thumri, from MTV Unplugged Season 5 has a lovely jazz coating. The song was originally composed by Hariharan’s son, Akshay Hariharan for a film titled Black Home (called Kaanha mose, earlier). Atul Raninga’s piano has a consistently Ilayaraja’ish touch – almost like the kind of piano usage by Ilayaraja in Hindi songs, to be specific. Hariharan is—expectedly—stellar in his singing! Dilshad Khan on Sarangi and Atur Soni, on drums offer incredibly support, even as D.Rao’s timely flute and sax interventions add great value.

Hone do batiya – Fitoor (Hindi – Amit Trivedi)
Director Abhishek Kapoor earlier worked with Amit Trivedi to bring a distinct Gujarati flavour the music in Kai Po Che. In his Indian adaptation of Dickens’ Great Expectations, set in Kashmir, he gets Amit to infuse an authentic dose of Kashmiri music, thanks largely to Tapas Roy handling instruments like Saz, Rabab, Santoor and Bouzouki. In the soundtrack’s best, Hone do batiya, Zeb Bangash and Nandini Srikar play off each other’s parts, handling and handing back the lines beautifully, for the lilting melody Amit gives them. The tune has an almost retro’ish feel, sounding like something out of the 60s Hindi film milieu, but with a significantly upgraded sound.

Hey mama – Sethupathi (Tamil – Nivas K Prasanna)
Nivas debuted with a fantastic soundtrack in Thegidi. But in the Vijay Sethupathi starring cop story, his music seems like a copout! He does get Hey mama right, though. Anirudh gets the tune’s Madras swagger perfectly, amidst the punchy rock sound, punctuated by rap phrases and sax. While the lyrics offer standard hero worship tropes, one does wonder if the Tamil (!) word ‘goyyala’ is appropriate enough for regular usage, and when it was unshackled from its supposedly less respectable origin (it is currently assumed to mean ‘duffer’, in a coarse way) when Vadivel’s utterances in films used to be beeped out. Anirudh also seems be becoming a ‘goyyala’ loyalist given that he sang, ‘Kaanaama poyitten goyyala’ in the song from Vil Ambu, Aala saachuputta kannala!

Hindi

Title song, Hatt mullah and Dugg duggi dugg – Jugni (Clinton Cerejo)

Title song, Jhalli pataka, Dil ye ladaku and Dhuaan – Saala Khadoos (Santhosh Narayanan)

Title song – Sanam Re (Mithoon)

Tera chehra – Sanam Teri Kasam (Himesh Reshammiya)

The full album – Fitoor (Amit Trivedi)

Mar jaayen – Loveshhuda (Mithoon)
This is the standard-issue Mithoon song where the lead singer (usually Mithoon himself or Atif Aslam; in this case, it is the latter) is moping around in melancholy. Checks every box and manages to sound tuneful.

Tamil

Poda poda, Vaa machaney, Ei sandakkaaraa and Usuru narambula nee – Irudhi Sutru (Santhosh Narayanan)

Kuchi mittai – Aranmanai 2 (Hiphop Tamizha)

MunnaaL kaadhali and Mirutha mirutha – Miruthan (D.Imman)

Hey mama – Sethupathi (Nivas K.Prasanna)

Vaanmazhai – Moondraam Ulaga Por (Ved Shanker)

Naan maatti konden – Bangalore Naatkal (Gopi Sundar)

Thendral varum – Oyee (Ilayaraja)

Yappa chappa, Maiyal maiyal and I viralgal – Kanithan (Sivamani)

Maane maane and Kaantha – Uriyadi (Masala Coffee and Anthony Daasan)

Original Maane Maane:

Original Kaantha, in Malayalam:

Pothi vacha – Kodai Mazhai (Tamil – Sambasivam)
There are two Ilayaraja connections with this song from Kodai Mazhai. One is the obvious – the 1986 film, which had music by Ilayaraja. The second is even more obvious – the other ‘Pothi vacha’ song from Manvaasanai. Composer Sambasivam’s tune too seems like Hindolam, the raaga used by Ilayaraja in the Manvaasanai number! Sambasivam adorns his tune with lovely violins that almost seem to be cooing alongside Karthik and Parvathi’s excellent vocals, even as Vairamuthu uses a series of wishes to build the song.

Shoot the kuruvi, Domer-u lord-u, Red road-u and Casanova – Jil Jung Juk (Vishal Chandrasekhar)

Title song – Sadhuram 2 (Girishh Gopalakrishnan)
Anish Krishnan’s baritone kind of sounds like a younger Kamal Haasan and he handles Girishh’s pulsating tune very well. The sound Girishh assembles is mighty impressive.

Telugu

Dikka dikka dum dum, Nee navve and Addhira banna – Soggade Chinni Nayana (Anup Rubens)

The full album: Seethamma Andalu Ramayya Sitralu (Gopi Sundar)

Rara ravera, Nuvvante and Ulikipadaku – Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gaadha (Vishal Chandrasekhar)

Nuvvila nuvvila and Itu rava – Padesave (Anup Rubens)

Varnam varnam and Kalalanni pandy – Kathanam (Sabu Varghese)
Varnam is simple and lilting, and rides on Anajana Sowmya’s sweet rendition. Kalalanni pandy is the more interesting song in the soundtrack. The tune, that starts with Revanth’s fantastic singing—with a casual edge—goes on to add some of the upper notes in Sivaranjani raaga to add an intriguing layer! The kids chorus too is an interesting touch.
Listen to the songs on Raaga.

Malayalam

Mangoes and Rosie – Monsoon Mangoes (Jakes Bejoy)

Neeyen sayahna swapnathil – Ma Chu Ka (Gopi Sundar)

Idukki – Maheshinte Prathikaaram (Bijibal)

Raavumaayave – Vettah (Shaan Rahman)
Of the 2 song soundtrack of Vettah, this is clearly the pick! The sound is very Aye hairathe from Guru – similar quasi-sufi, quasi-ghazal sound that Shaan tunes to perfection. Rinu Razak sings is darn well.

Kannada

Sa ri ga ma – Mareyalaare (Arjun Janya)
It’s a bit disconcerting to see Arjun falling into a rut. His recent soundtracks are generally very, very average, including this one. The one reasonably listenable song is Sa ri ga ma, but even this, I’d assume is Harikrishna territory.

Maathella marathe hoithu and Munjaane suriva manjali – Viraat (V.Harikrishna)
An almost Arjun Janya’ish melody, in an Harikrishna soundtrack. Generic template, to be fair, but sounds very, very pleasant and sung well by Karthik and Anuradha. Munjaane is conceived as a seduction-song, I can see that, but Hari does something very unique with the tune, and lets it flow in unusual ways… not too much, but the right amount of waywardness to evoke a lot of interest!

Heartige kanna and Nalle enutha – Bhujanga (Poornachandra Tejaswi)
Vijay Prakash carries Heartige like only he can. The tune is simple enough and Poornachandra cleverly underplays the sound to a minimal level to bring Vijay’s singing rule over everything else. Nalle enutha is the other song in the album where the composer does the opposite – layers it with fantastic music—starting with strings—to prop the tune to a new level. Sonu Nigam seldom goes wrong in Kannada and along with Sridevi Kulenur, he does really well.

Non-film

Ababeel – Muhammad: The Messenger of God (OST – A R Rahman)
Ababeel is sort of the signature melody A R Rahman conjures for the epic film, Muhammad: The Messenger of God. It is an easily goosebumps inducing, grand melody that goes so well with the scale, ambition and scope of a film like this, and, understandably, was made a prominent part of the film’s promos. Rahman articulates the melody again in a slower, poignant form in And He Was Named Mohammad, and it is beautiful all over again. Both the songs end on a splendid, orchestral high!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Red road-u – Jil Jung Juk (Tamil, Vishal Chandrasekhar)
Vishal Chandrasekhar has been around for some time and it is only with Jil Jung Juk (and the Telugu soundtrack, Krishna Gadi Veera Prema Gaadha), he seems to have picked up a unique sound of his own. In the soundtrack’s best song, the curiously named, ‘Red road-u’ (amongst other curiously named songs such as Shoot The Kuruvi, Domer-u Lord-u and Shoot The Kili), Vishal produces a crackling electro swing number that comes alive with Santhosh Narayanan and Sean Roldan’s vocals. The lyrics, by the film’s director Deeraj Vaidy, are completely zany and it goes wonderfully well with the tune’s catchy, manic energy!

Kaantha – Uriyadi (Tamil, Masala Coffee)
Kaantha is Masala Coffee band’s best known song, with over a million views on YouTube, in its original Malayalam version on Kappa TV. It’s an instantly likeable, captivating tune that the band builds brilliantly in an inspired mix of kazoo (by lead singer Sooraj Santhosh himself), Esraj (by Arshad Khan) and Joe Jacob’s scintillating drums. Now, the band transforms this essentially pooram song into a fantastic thathuvam song, on life and its many meanings and happenings. Regardless of what Kaantha meant in the Malayalam original, the Tamil invocation—a pop-culture inside joke of sorts—is very clear… M.R.Radha’s cult dialog from Ratha Kanneer!

Idukki – Maheshinte Prathikaaram (Malayalam, Bijibal)
Idukki is the kind of song that should ideally be adopted by Kerala Tourism. It actually mandates a music video with English subtitles! Rafeeq Ahammed’s lines and Bijibal’s serene, ambient music brings forth Idukki region’s beauty lyrically and musically, with a laid back pace mirroring life in the region, far away from the manic bustle of a metro. The composer sings his own tune and does it so well, enjoying the nuanced lines, with fantastic backing vocals from Sangeetha Prabhu, Soumya Ramakrishnan and Shanthi.

Rara ravera – Krishna Gadi Veera Prema Gaadha (Telugu, Vishal Chandrasekhar)
Vishal ropes in Hemachandra to sing Rara ravera, as he embellishes it with a lilting, tune and heady, folksy orchestration that is high on rhythm. What sticks eventually is the instantly catchy hook that Vishal uses to great effect, repetitively, amidst an outburst of music. The folk sound comes it even better in the anupallavi and charanam that bridges back to pallavi really well.

Yappa chappa – Kanithan (Tamil, Sivamani)
Given Sivamani’s speciality, Yappa chappa is a fantastic cornucopia of percussion sounds. The tune, that seems to be picking off catchy calypso style music, has a repetitive hook that sounds generic, but helps in making the song addictive. Composer Anirudh, who seems to be singing more for other composers these days, does a competent job, along with Kalpana. There’s also a lovely ghatam piece mid-way, in the second interlude, that layers wonderfully with a violin! The song’s lyrics, courtesy Madhan Karky, touch technology too, invoking the now-defunct Google Glass too!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Kaathaaga – Idhu Namma Aalu (Tamil – T.R.Kuralarasan)
Kuralarasan’s composing debut comes on the back of his father’s illustrious run as a composer during his heydays. The young composer has a good set of tunes that definitely evoke interest, but the packaging is the bane of current day composers – it seems amateurish and less imaginative. It is in Kaathaaga that the composer does best, with a dual-identity tune that starts off as a lovely melody and morphs into a manic kuthu melody mid-way, before changing pace again. Silambarasan’s singing is heavily digitally processed, but, ironically, all that digital technology could not improve his terrible Tamil diction.

Itu rava – Padesave (Telugu – Anup Rubens)
Anup ropes in Haricharan for Itu rava, a pleasant, likeable pop melody. The tune is simple enough, but the composer builds the song’s progression very well, leading to a rousing hook at the end of the pallavi. The value of a really good singer like Haricharan comes to the fore when you hear the way he handles the tune, with total confidence.

Saala khadoos – Saala khadoos (Hindi – Santhosh Narayanan)
Saala Khadoos’ 5-song set is a great study in multi-lingual film music, if you compare it with the Tamil 5-song equivalent in Irudhi Sutru. The best example is the title song in Hindi, an angsty pumped up sound led by Vishal Dadlani, that is rendered more as a ‘I’m liberated’ song in Tamil’s Poda poda. But for the title hook, the pallavi in both versions are mighty different. You unwrap the lyrical nuances eventually – Vishal sings, ‘Mujhko sharam kaisi nanga hoon main’, while Praveen Kumar goes, ‘Idhayam maraikkum udagal illai, nirvaanamaai manam’ in a different line, indicating that the lyricists perhaps sat and decided the theme together!

Rosie – Monsoon Mangoes (Malayalam – Jakes Bejoy)
Rosie has all the hallmarks of a present day composer consciously and obviously using the 80s disco sound. It works very well, given Shreya Ghoshal superb singing (along with the composer’s backing vocals). The sound Jakes assembles includes a captivating horns section, an unhurried retro-style rhythm and some wonderfully wailing guitars in the background.

Kuchi mittai – Aranmanai 2 (Tamil – Hiphop Tamizha)
The Hiphop Tamizha duo do have a unique sound hitherto unheard in Tamil film music, though it comes out less often, in some of their newer soundtracks. A particularly catchy and interesting format is a simple, one hook tune that is repeated (like a ghazal couplet!) amidst a profusion of a lot of music. But the music is in complete harmony and produces a great effect, as it first did in Vaa vaa vaa vennila from their debut, Aambala. That was a hip-hop’ish tune, while Aranmanai 2’s Kuchi mittai pulls off a similar feat with a earthy and easily catchy folk tune!