Originally published in The Hindu.

Neruppu da – Kabali (Tamil – Santhosh Narayanan)
Much has been said about Santhosh Narayanan composing music for a Rajini starrer—usually reserved for more senior, well-tested composers—and it is heartening to see (or, hear) him produce a soundtrack that has his signature style all over, producing a new dimension for a Rajini soundtrack. The soundtrack’s towering highlight is Neruppu da, a scorching theme song that Arunraja Kamaraj completely rocks with his grungy rendition! Jhanu Chantar’s electric guitar wails in sync with Tapass Naresh’s drums, even as you hear Rajini’s dialogs from the film, that, together create a hypnotic effect!

Ishqe di lat – Junooniyat (Hindi – Ankit Tiwari)
In an otherwise T-series’y soundtrack, consisting of usual suspects like Meet Bros and Jeet Ganguly, Ankit Tiwari produces the soundtrack’s best. Ishqe di lat shines with its joyously energetic guitar and fantastic singing by Ankit, particularly the way he lands the title hook. It’s somewhat unfortunate that he has been forced with the choice of Tulsi Kumar as his singing companion, but the man cleverly hands her limited lines, to showcase effective damage mitigation prowess.

Aaha identha – Niruttara (Kannada – Niladri Kumar)
Zitar—a combination of sitar and guitar!—has anyway been the calling card for Niladri Kumar, but he has also been a sitar player and composer, for multiple albums, besides playing sitar/zitar for many films like Omkara, 7 Khoon Maaf, among others. Niladri’s film composing debut is with the Kannada film Niruttara. Aaha identha, set to Bilaskhani Todi raaga (remember ‘Jhoothe Naina’ from Hridaynath Mangeshkar’s Lekin!), is the soundtrack’s best, beautifully sung by Balachandra Prabhu, amidst Niladri’s ethereal sounding orchestration.

Kyun re – TE3N (Hindi – Clinton Cerejo)
Clinton’s TE3N already has a fantastic song in Rootha, but Kyun re is a close second! The song comes in two versions, differentiated by the singer, but united by Amitabh Bhattacharya’s phenomenal lines (“Teri gair maujoodgi mein bhi lage hona tera!”). It’s a heart-wrenching, guitar-driven tune about love and loss, and depending on the singer—Clinton himself in one version, and Amitabh Bachchan on the other—the lines take on beautifully interesting meanings about who it is being sung about!

Chali chali – Gentleman (Telugu – Mani Sharma)
Telugu veteran Mani Sharma has been producing limited music in recent times, even easing way for his son (Sagar Mahati) last year, and handing over his prolific masala-music reins to younger composers. So, it’s a surprise to hear a wonderfully mellow and jazzy melody in Chali chali chuudduu. Haricharan and Padmalatha lead the song really well even as the interludes reek of Ilayaraja (particularly the beautifully melodic and extended second interlude!).

Originally published in The Hindu.

Manogatham bhavaan – Anuraga Karikkin Vellam (Malayalam – Prashant Pillai)
Prashant Pillai, who delivered an outstanding song in Chandrettan Evideya’s Vasanthamallike last year, has been on an odd slide in form with middling soundtracks like Andhra Mess, Double Barrel and Rockstar. In Manogatham, he picks up his form back! It’s Coldplay’ish sound, wonderfully endearing melody and splendid singing by Haricharan, and Mathangi in particular make it a fantastic listen. Not just that – Prashant adds a lovely layer of sax to the song that makes it all the more appealing.

Rasaali – Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (Tamil – A R Rahman)
Rasaali should ideally be Raasaali, since it refers to the bird Accipiter badius, else it risks being misread as rastaali. But the song is gorgeous – a sprawling, spritely duet with Satya Prakash and Shashaa Tirupati in mind-boggling form (the latter, particularly in that goosebumps-inducing Ninnukori piece!) for its conversation-style lyrics. Rahman also is in the mood to throw in everything from Patnam Subramania Iyer’s Valachi Vachi Varnam in the first interlude and a delightful Muthai Thiru-inspired anupallavi to produce a highly inventive cocktail.

Jhanak jhanak – Run Antony (Kannada – Manikanth Kadri)
Jhanak jhanak is clever imagination by Manikanth Kadri! His tune is a nifty ode to Pankaj Mullick’s iconic Piya milan ko jana (Kapal Kundala, 1939!) no doubt, but he appropriates it in a completely modern, playful avatar, complete with blaring horns and more retro-style flourishes. Manikanth also ropes in the resident one-song highlight of Kannada film music—Puneeth Rajkumar—to grace the song and the Rajkumar scion, with his casual singing style, does complete justice to it.

Raa rammantunna – Rojulu Marayi (Telugu – J.B.)
Back when Ilayaraja was in his peak, you could, by listening to a song, make out if the song was about making out, to put it mildly. It was perhaps a combination of raagas (certain raagas had Shringara rasa oozing out of them anyway) and specific instruments that led to this familiarity. J.B. makes tantalizing use of Dharmavathi raaga to create a similar instant familiarity in Raa rammantunna – you listen to it and you inherently understand that the film’s leads are compelled to indulge in acts barred by Pahlaj Nihalani. Hymath and Ramya Behara do a wonderful job of sticking to the song’s feel.

Veera thurandhara – Kabali (Tamil – Santhosh Narayanan)
In the largely un-Rajini soundtrack of Kabali, there’s a very Kamal Haasan’y song too! Yes… Veera thurandhara, headlined by Gana Bala in a very un-Gala Bala’ish way, is a curiously alluring mix of a Bond theme song (imagine a Bond theme song sung by Gana Bala!!) and Vikram’s title song! It’s a highly enjoyable mix for its sheer audacity and for the joy of waiting for Bala to go (he doesn’t, of course), at any point, ‘Per sollattum, en per sollattum… radhagaja padai engum sellum, vinnai vellum; vaanum mannum A-HAA…!’.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Avalum naanum – Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (Tamil – A R Rahman)
Rahman has previously made music with lines from Tamil literature. Kaadhalan’s Indhirayo ival sundhariyo and Bharathiyar’s Suttum vizhi sudar dhaan from Kandukonden Kandukonden are good examples of songs that made it to the soundtrack. In Avalum naanum, Rahman uses lines from Bharathidaasan and layers it on a tune that is serene and graceful. There’s a distinct air of M S Viswanathan in the composition that Vijay Yesudas sings with a flair that is so reminiscent of his father. RK Prabakar’s solo violin in the first interlude adds considerable charm to the song.

Paayal – Maati Baani, featuring Shankar Tucker and Ankita Joshi
The Maati Baani duo—Kartik and Nirali—have been producing consistently interesting, nuanced and enjoyable compositions since they started. Their latest, Paayal, is a welcome addition to this list. Based on raaga Durga, with a smattering of raaga Basant that makes it obvious in the middle, the melody is easy on the ears and superbly sung by Nirali and Ankita Joshi, complete with a lovely exposition of the raaga. There’s also Shankar Tucker making magic with his clarinet and that makes the song so much better.

Medapoompattum chutti – Karinkunnam 6s (Malayalam – Rahul Raj)
Rahul Raj pulled this off last year too, with Vijay Yesudas, in Kohinoor… the song was Hemanthamen, an instantly likeable and wonderfully breezy melody. In Medapoompattum chutti, he ropes in Najim Arshad to sing the incredibly gentle melody that is reminiscent of Yennai Arindhaal’s Unakkenna venum sollu. It has a oh-so-lovely lilt and Rahul layers the melody first with a fantastic vocal chorus and then, starting with the first interlude, a beautiful strings set, as the song progresses, to great effect.

Behooda – Raman Raghav 2.0 (Hindi – Ram Sampath)
Behooda is a throwback to the older days when Hindi films used to have a song eulogising the villain, talking about how bad and evil he (usually a ‘he’; very rarely a ‘she’) is. But this was always a bit exaggerated and it went well with the over-the-top villains of yore. Behooda is in the similar vein, but talks, almost affectionately, about the film’s psychopath serial killer. Varun Grover goes for the jugular in narrating just how evil this man is, with delightfully wicked lyrics that cover a whole gamut of badasserry.

Hare rama – Badmaash (Kannada – Judah Sandhy)
No, Lord (Hare) Rama is not the Badmaash, hopefully. The song is in the same genre as the Tamil song, ‘Singam pola nadanthu varaan sella peraandi’ that Paravai Muniyamma sings amidst flying henchmen in Dhool – in this case, it is Raghu Dixit stretching his vocal chords quite literally to sing this anthemic and highly bombastic number. Forget the film’s hero (Dhananjaya) getting off say, a hospital bed, to demolish the villains… even you’d feel like getting off whatever you are up to punch the air a few times.

Hindi

Tu hai, Sindhu Ma and Lakh lakh thora – Mohenjo Daro (A R Rahman)

Meheram mere – Hai Apna Dil Toh Awara (Ajay Singha)

Qatl-e-aam (both versions), Behooda and Paani ka raasta – Raman Raghav 2.0 (Ram Sampath)

Tamil

Man meedhu and Nadhiyil vizhundha – Parandhu Sella Vaa (Joshua Sridhar)

The whole soundtrack – Kabali (Santhosh Narayanan)

The whole soundtrack – Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (A R Rahman)

Adadaa ithuyenna, Oorellaam kekkude and Pona usuru – Thodari (D.Imman)

Telugu

Alli billi – Right Right (J.B)

Egire oohalake and Raa rammantunna – Rojulu Marayi (J.B)

Malayalam

Poyi maranjo and Manogatham bhavaan – Anuraga Karikkin Vellam (Prashant Pillai)

Medapoompattum chutti – Karinkunnam 6s (Rahul Raj)

Kannada

Muddu pori and Nee nadhiyaagi – Sipaayi (Ajaneesh Loknath)

Ishta ishta, Maayavi kanase and Hare rama – Badmaash (Judah Sandhy)

Jhanak jhanak, Marula and Summane – Run Antony (Manikanth Kadri)

Aigiri nandini, Aalangisu and Aaha identha – Niruttara (Niladri Kumar)

Indipop

Paayal – Maati Baani, featuring Shankar Tucker and Ankita Joshi

Originally published in The Hindu.

Man meedhu – Parandhu Sella Vaa (Tamil – Joshua Sridhar)
Joshua Sridhar, who made music for the little known Tamil film ‘54321’ in 2015, is back with Parandhu Sella Vaa that seems more likely to release (given that it stars a star-son—Nasser’s son). And the composer shows that his music is still eminently listenable. The pick of the album is Man meedhu, a simplistic but lilting melody accentuated by Rajesh Krishnan’s—a decidedly more popular singer in Kannada, where Joshua Sridhar found a lot of work, and success, during his non-Tamil sojourn—singing, sounding like a younger SPB, and Na.Muthukumar’s lyrics eulogising women with the choicest verse.

Tuk tuk – Sultan (Hindi – Vishal-Shekhar)
That Salman Khan is a man of many talents is universally known already, given his acting and driving skills. A recently added skill happens to be singing, propped no doubt by innovations in digital voice correction. So, he has already sung—or re-sung—Sultan’s title song, Jag ghoomeya, 440 volt and Baby ko bass pasand hai’s Punjabi version. One song from the sprawling album he may not re-sing is Tuk tuk, a lively and highly rhythmic number featuring fantastic vocals by Nooran Sisters, and Vishal Dadlani’s rap. The punchy rhythm kicks after an extended—lasting over a minute and a half—prelude, and the funky package includes a dash of aptly added dubstep too.

Alli billi – Right Right (Telugu – J.B.)
That very dependable and under-rated Telugu composer, J.B. strikes again in Right Right’s Alli billi! The rhythm is so very Telugu – gently and wonderfully lilting. J.B. gets singer Hymath to handle the soft melody amidst generous strings, marred only by the seeming overuse of digital voice correction. The way the composer adds two different pitches of the ‘Alli billi’ line (Vaane vaane kannulona, and Thene thene mabbulona, in another pitch) is mighty charming, as are the beautifully imaginative interludes.

Muddu pori – Sipaayi (Kannada – Ajaneesh Loknaath)
Ajaneesh Loknaath seems to be surely on his way to usurp Arjun Janya’s position as Kannada film industry’s busiest composer. The comparisons don’t end there – both Arjun and Ajaneesh are blessed with not-so-enjoyable voices that they love flaunting, as if not getting the message. But they both make it up with really likeable tunes, as is evident in Muddu pori in Sipaayi, in Ajaneesh’s case. Middling vocals by Ajaneesh, but the melody is as good as it gets – thoroughly sing-along’ish and immediately pleasant.

Hrudayama – Oka Manasu (Telugu – Sunil Kashyap)
Veterans like Ilayaraja have exploited Carnatic raaga-based melodies in the Southern film music so much that when relative newbies like Sunil Kashyap arm their songs with some of these raagas, it seems rather derivative, unfortunately for them. But, Sunil really does a great job employing Kalyani raaga in Hrudayama, and ensures that it is sung well, by Vijay Yesudas and Swetha Mohan. The question of being derivative is unfair, given that these are carnatic raagas that can be used by anyone, but you can’t shake your memories heading back to Thalapathy’s Sundari kannaal oru and Pudhukavithai’s Vellai pura ondru.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Maya nadhi – Kabali (Tamil – Santhosh Narayanan)
Quick – what’s that song where Rajini is as old as a 60 year old and sings a song that signifies his age? Chances are, you’d say, Chittukku sella chittukku (Nallavanukku Nallavan). Or, if you are a true-blue fan, ‘Annan enna’ from Dharmadurai. Now, there’s a strong new contender, and this time, the mood is happier and romantic, unlike the desolate mood of those songs! ‘Thooya narayilum, kaadhal malarudhe’ goes Maya Nadhi, from Kabali, in Santhosh Narayanan’s trademark tune and sound, particularly that violin phrase! It’s good to see the man acknowledge his age oh-so-subtly, without letting go of his image!

Saaluthillave – Kottigobba 2 (Kannada – D.Imman)
Tamil composer D.Imman first made his Kannada debut in 2013 since his songs from Manam Kothi Paravai were used as-is without his knowledge in the film’s Kannada remake, Anjada Gandu (not to be confused with the 1988 Thambikku Endha Ooru Kannada remake of the same name). He fought for credit and got it. Then, some of his Tamil songs from Pandiyanaadu were used with his permission in the Kannada remake, Rudrathandava. Imman finally makes his legitimate Kannada debut with Kottigobba 2 and the soundtrack’s highlight is the lilting and gorgeous melody Saaluthillave. It’s the typical melody Imman reserves for Shreya Ghoshal and she does complete justice to it!

Raaluraga poolamala – Pelli Choopulu (Telugu – Vivek Sagar)
Vivek Sagar made his film composing debut with his band-mate (Hyderabad-based band called Catharsis) Sanjay, in the 2013 film, Race. But his solo outing as composer, Pelli Choopulu, demonstrates adequate promise, despite niggling issues like poorly chosen singers and the odd choice of sounds. Raaluraga poolamala is a case in point for the promise. It’s a captivating mix, layering funky techno sounds over a retro tune sung by Wilson Herald. It’s instantly catchy and head-turning!

Tu jo paas mere – Krsna Solo (Hindi – Indipop)
Hindi composer Krsna has produced some fantastic music in the few films he has been associated with, like Tanu Weds Manu (both parts) and the nobody-knows-what-happened-to-film Cute Kameena. Given his severely sporadic discography, it is interesting to see him steadily producing new music through his own private label, Panoctave India and share them on YouTube. Tu jo paas mere, that has been—in T.Rajendar style—written, sung, composed and video-directed by Krsna Solo (how he credits himself) is the kind of mellow and engaging melody he produces for films too – easy on the ears, and repeat-worthy!

Tumhari berukhi se – Yauwan (Hindi – Sonik-Omi)
Back when celebrated names like Madan Mohan and SD Burman were ruling the Hindi film music scene in the 1960s, an Uncle-nephew combo tried their hand in composing music! The uncle was Master Sonik, and the nephew, Omi (Om Prakash Sonik), who passed away last week. Master Sonik was visually challenged, and the duo had to struggle in abject penury for many years, holding on to their passion for music. They did find their feet in Bollywood, thanks to their stupendous perseverance, and composed for over 125 films! A fairly rare Kishore Kumar song from the 1973 film Yauwan, Tumhari berukhi se, is perhaps a good show of the duo’s potential!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Jaaneman aah – Dishoom (Hindi – Pritam)
Even though Jaaneman aah’s first claim to fame is Parineeti Chopra’s turn as one-song item-girl, there’s more to it, actually. It’s an intriguing Pancham-meets-Tamil-kuthu combination that gets its kick as much from the sudden, utterly uncomfortable shift in tune for the ‘Ishq mein saare’ line, as it does from the insanely catchy kuthu rhythm. And then there’s that Pancham-style ‘Jaaneman aah’ call-out. If you ignore the banal lyrics, this is good, raucous fun!

Dekha hazaron dafa – Rustom (Hindi – Jeet Gannguli)
If Pritam produces a masala kuthu in Dishoom, his ex partner, Jeet (of Jeet-Pritam fame, once upon a time) produces the extreme opposite in Rustom’s Dekha hazaron dafa! It’s a gentle, lilting, dulcet melody that gains tremendously from Arijit Singh and Palak Muchhal’s fantastic singing. Jeet layers the waltzy tune with a lovely flourish of strings and chorus.

Tu hai – Mohenjo Daro (Hindi – A R Rahman)
But for the fact that Hrithik Roshan, with a unicorn-style single horn in his turban, doesn’t sound anything like A R Rahman (who is singing this song), this is a lovely song. It has that typically Rahman flow that starts with an unusual opening, and goes on to be even more free-flowing. That means it demands your concentration to follow the melody particularly as it progresses to the antara, with marvellous singing by Sanah Moidutty. Perhaps anticipating this, Rahman adds two more variants of the same tune, in Sindhu Ma and The Shimmer of Sindhu!

Ee santosha – Adbutha (Kannada – Judah Sandhy)
There’s a beautiful and planned economy of sound in the orchestration of Ee santosha that is particularly alluring. Judah Sandhy, already in his second soundtrack after Badmaash, ropes in Tony and Lahari to sing this one, and the duo handle the lush melody pretty well, particularly latter, in the anupallavi. Judah keeps the backgrounds minimal with a nice combination of guitar and a dash of tabla, opting to layer the interludes with more.

Enakkenna aacho – Muthina Kathirika (Tamil – Siddharth Vipin)
Muthina Kathirika’s Malayalam original, Vellimoonga, did not have a duet where the leading lady is left wondering what the hell happened to her. In the Tamil version, Sundar C happens to her, if you still wish to know, besides ‘love’, of course. Even for this most mundane of scenario, it is good to note that composer Siddharth Vipin try something new in the form of the gentle rhythm that is instantly appealing and the ‘Parakkiren’ line that smoothly segues from the tune preceding it!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Kisapaathiyil – Kismath (Malayalam – Sushin Shyam)
Sushin Shyam has been a familiar name in the musical circuit, having been associated as the vocalist and keyboard player in The Down Troddence, a thrash metal band from Kerala. He has also scored the background music for films like Sapthamashree Thaskaraha and Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi. Given this, it is no surprise that he makes his composing debut in Kismath, but what’s indeed surprising is that he also produces the soundtrack’s best song. Sushin opens Kisapaathiyil to the serene sounds of rain, takes on Charukesi raaga for the oh-so-beautiful melody and ends it on a lingering serene note too.

Mana ho tum behad haseen (cover) – Sung by Suraj Jagan. Music rearranged by Rohit Bhushan.
That Toote Khilone’s (1978) Mana ho tum is one of Bappi Lahiri’s finest songs is no debate at all. And it is sung by Yesudas no less, easily featuring in every single Hindi compilation of the celebrated singer. So, when Suraj Jagan takes on the challenge to create a cover version of the song, he, and his composer Rohit Bhushan, do try something mighty interesting. Not only do they recreate the song into a more austere version, they also tweak the first instance of the lovely, ‘Dekho kabhi toh, pyaar se’ line to a tantalizing effect, while retaining the original for the line’s second occurrence after the antara!

Rabba rabba – Chuttalabbayi (Telugu – SS Thaman)
Composer Thaman usually has two signature musical styles. One is the busy, heavy on rhythm techno songs. The other is more Harris Jayaraj’ish – an indulgent and lush tune, amidst minimal and carefully limited orchestration. Kick’s Gore gore falls in this category, for instance. A recent entry to this is Chuttalabbayi’s Rabba rabba. The minimal background is accentuated by an absorbing background sound akin to abrupt keyboard plays, while Deepak and Megha deliver the melody really well.

Jadoo rawan rawan – Kabali (Hindi – Santhosh Narayanan)
Santhosh Narayanan may be the only composer in India who actually bothers to add some regional nuance to his music dubbed in other languages. He first demonstrated this in the Hindi dubbed songs of Saala Khadoos (dubbed from the Tamil version, Irudhi Sutru), where there were marked differences between the two otherwise-identical soundtracks. In Kabali too, he pulls off a similar feat. The most interesting addition he makes is in Maya nadhi’s Hindi variant, Jadoo rawan rawan. The tunes are exactly the same, but, beyond Shreya Ghoshal singing, has a pleasant surprise. After the Hindi equivalent of ‘Desangal thirindhen thaniye, thaniye’ (Khushiyon ke aansoon chalke, chalke), Santhosh introduces Sai Saravanan on tabla to add a new, subtle dimension to the familiar song!

Rabha – Joi, featuring George Brooks on Sax.
If Papon is the shining star of Assamese music taking on the state’s music to mainstream, Joi Barua is no less behind in that endeavour. Joi’s 2011 debut album Looking Out Of The Window was an outstanding collection of songs and the man has been steadily producing assorted singles too. The latest one if Rabha, a delightful take on Assamese music with a solid world-music outlook. The song is instantly likeable, regardless of the language barrier (if you do consider it a barrier, that is), and the song’s highlight is the hypnotic sax by George Brooks!

Hindi

Tere sang, Jab tum hote ho and Dekha hazaron dafa – Rustom (Arko, Ankit Tiwari and Jeet Gannguli)

Jaaneman aah – Dishoom (Pritam)

Aashiq tera and Yaaram – Happy Bhag Jayegi (Sohail Sen)

Kho gaye hum kahan and Kaala chashma – Baar Baar Dekho (Jasleen Royal and Prem Hardeep/Badshah)

Title song, Beat pe booty, Toota jo kabhi tara and Khair mangda – A Flying Jatt (Sachin-Jigar)

Tamil

Halena – Iru Mugan (Harris Jayaraj)

Thalakaalu puriyalayae, Nenjukulla ninnu littu, Kaathu veesudhu and Pagaivanukku arulvaai – Kidarri (Darbuka Siva)

Endha pakkam, Makka kalanguthappa and Naan kaatrilae – Dharmadurai (Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Enakkenna aacho – Muthina Kathirika (Siddharth Vipin)

Telugu

Hrudayama – Oka Manasu (Sunil Kashyap)

Ee babu gariki and Raalu raaga poolamala – Pelli Choopulu (Vivek Sagar)

Rabba rabba – Chuttalabbayi (SS Thaman)

Mallela vaanela and Snehithudo – Baabu Bangaram (Ghibran)

Malayalam

Kisapaathiyil, Chilathunaam, Nilamanal tharikalil and Aane madanapoo – Kismath (Sumesh Parameswar, Sushin Shyam, Shamej Sreedhar)

Kannada

Saaluthillave and Hello Mister – Kottigobba-2 (D.Imman)

Ee santosha – Adbutha (Judah Sandhy)

Mugilu matte matte, Teerada jotheyali and Yarigu helunu byada – Puta Tirugisi Nodi (Dheerendra Doss and Amrit Rao)

Kanasalu, Gamanisu, Sariyaagi and Neenu irade – Mungaru Male 2 (Arjun Janya)

Indipop

The whole album – Antarman
Listen to the songs on Gaana | Buy & sample the songs on Times Music

Mana ho tum behad haseen (cover) – Sung by Suraj Jagan. Music rearranged by Rohit Bhushan

Originally published in The Hindu.

Aalayal thara venam – Masala Coffee (Malayalam)
Noted Malayalam playwright and poet Kavalam Narayana Panicker passed away recently, towards the end of June. So, it is fitting to see Masala Coffee—the band—pay a tribute to him through a wonderfully handled remix of the Anandabhairavi-based Aalayal thara venam. Kavalam had composed it himself for the film Aalolam and the film version was sung by Nedumudi Venu. Masala Coffee’s variant is decidedly less austere and works as a spritely pop melody, led by Sooraj Santhosh and Varun Sunil’s vocals, brilliantly punctuated by Krishnaraj’s violin!

Snehithudo – Baabu Bangaram (Telugu – Ghibran)
Ghibran’s latest, after last year’s Papanasam, is not in Tamil, but in Telugu. For the Venkatesh starrer Baabu Bangaram, he produces a largely predictable package but for the sparkling Snehithudo! The chorus is templatized masala, but Ghibran adorns it with his usually multi-layered sound. However, what really stands out in the song is the core tune that seems to straddle either Dharmavathi raaga or Gowrimanohari raaga, or perhaps a bit of both. That raaga usage makes all the difference!

Bairi bindiya – Antarman (Indipop)
Antarman is the trio Rahul Mukherjee, Pooja Shankar and Randeep Bhaskar. Their eponymous debut album is a delightful and eclectic melange of sounds from Eastern India. The pick of the album is Bairi bindiya that comes alive with a lilting, gently swaying rhythm that is reminiscent of the jhumur dance form, known in the tea gardens of Assam. Rahul and Pooja lead the sedate tune’s vocals, while Kiran Vinkar’s flute and Atur Soni’s drums eventually join Ankita Baruah’s Bihu Dhol, to end on an ecstatic high!

Aashiq tera – Happy Bhag Jayegi (Hindi – Sohail Sen)
Aanand L Rai is only a producer of Happy Bhag Jayegi, but right from the plot, trailer and the music, his stamp seems evident. Composer Sohail Sen delivers the best in Aashiq tera that he himself sings along with Altamash Faridi. The repetitive ‘tera tera’ hook lends a hypnotic quality to the song, even as the rhythm is wonderful energy in an almost prayer-like form, ending on a punchy rock mode!

Pari hoon main (cover) – Meenal Jain, Antara Mitra, Prajakta Shukre and Mauli Dave
Singer Suneeta Rao is still perhaps best known for the song Pari hun main, composed by Leslie Lewis for the 1991 album Dhuan. Now, Antara, Mauli, Meenal and Prajakta attempt a cover version of this iconic song, with help from Harpreet Singh who rearranges the incredibly familiar melody. Where Harpreet gets inventive is to fuse acapella (the first part of the song) with dance music (the second half)! The shift is seamless and brilliant, and the four singers do a stellar job across both parts!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Halena – Iru Mugan (Tamil – Harris Jayaraj)
“Halena Hale Hale na! Gasena Gase Gase na!” is the kind of lyrical combination that can only appear in a Harris Jayaraj song! A conventional Harris Jayaraj song, with gibberish, repetitive words and a catchy tune, has now become indistinguishable from the myriad parodies he gets on the internet. Still, he consistently manages to produce trendy earworms and Iru Mugan’s Halena falls right into that bucket, despite it sounding a lot like American rapper Fetty Wap’s debut single Trap Queen.

Mugilu matte matte – Puta Tirugisi Nodi (Kannada – Dheerendra Doss)
There is an all-round resurgence in Kannada cinema these days, and this extends to the kind of music produced in Sandalwood too! Dheerendra Doss, one half of Live Banned (the other half being Amrit Rao, who debuted as a composer in Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam earlier this year) makes his debut in Puta Tirugisi Nodi. The soundtrack’s opener Mugilu Matte Matte is also the pick of the lot, with a spritely sound that owes its captivating backgrounds to Live Banned’s Fake You and excellently sung by another upcoming Kannada composer, Joel Dubba.

Saaiyaan – Qurat-Ul-Ain-Balouch (Composed by Asad Chohan)
Qurat-Ul-Ain-Balouch, also known by her stage name, QB, is a Pakistani singing star known for her work in Coke Studio and cover versions of popular songs like Reshma’s ‘Akhiyan nu rehn de’. Her Indian debut is Saaiyaan, with Bulleh Shah’s lyrics, has music by Asad Chohan, produced by Salman Albert. QB’s powerful singing style adds significant charm to the fairly templatized sufi-rock sound.

Kho gaye hum kahan – Baar Baar Dekho (Hindi – Jasleen Royal)
25 year old Jasleen Royal made her filmy debut as a singer in the Sneha Khanwalkar composed Preet, for Khoobsurat. Now, making her debut as a composer (and singer), she ropes in Delhi-based singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad to write Kho gaye hum kahan. The song, the best of the soundtrack by a mile, is wonderfully dreamy and serene, with an ultra-minimal guitar backdrop and a catchy hook propping Jasleen and Prateek’s vocals, much like a classic Mikey McCleary jingle!

Endha pakkam – Dharmadurai (Tamil – Yuvan Shankar Raja)
Yuvan Shankar Raja has been conspicuously missing when rival composers like Anirudh and Ghibran have been creating waves. His last full album (if you ignore the few singles from Yaakkai) was Yatchan, exactly a year ago! Now, he is back with Dharmadurai, for director Seenu Ramasamy with whom he produced an outstanding soundtrack in Idam Porul Yaeval. Endha pakkam is good old Yuvan, incidentally! Immersive melody over a simple, captivating rhythm, and superbly sung by Chinmayi and Rahul Nambiar, with a particularly lovely humming-based bridge connecting the anupallavi and pallavi.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Thalakaalu puriyalaye – Kidaari (Tamil – Darbuka Siva)
When Anitha K opens the Thalakaalu puriyalaye, it is an amazingly misleading prelude that hardly indicates what is to come after it! What follows the prelude eventually is a joyous outburst of a song, with a brass section and a rock sound full of swagger. Debutant composer Darbuka Siva, of La Pongal fame, brings his own brand of folk music, infusing a lovely smattering of nadaswaram and thavil in the second interlude!

Toota jo kabhi tara – A Flying Jatt (Hindi – Sachin-Jigar)
Toota jo kabhi tara is Sachin and Jigar answering director Remo D’Souza’s ask for a sweeping, ‘timeless’ romantic song. The intent is obvious and the tune flows gorgeously passing through a wonderfully lush orchestration, particularly in the antara, with the main musical hook used appearing often. Pakistani singer Atif Aslam is dependably good, while Sumedha Karmahe sounds confident.

Ota – Sanjay Divecha and Secret (Indipop)
Guitarist and composer Sanjay Divecha’s latest band, Secret, comprises of Sanjay himself on acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, programming (and occasional vocals), Chandana Bala and Raman Mahadevan handling the main vocals, Sonu Sangameswaran handling bass and Sanket Naik handling the percussion and pitching in on vocals. Ota, the Kannada opener of the album is a lovely song split by marked changes to the sound at the end of each utterance of ‘Saaguve na munde’ by Chandana Bala! After the first, there is a subtle percussion addition to what was till then primarily guitar-driven. After the second, the lively jazz’y backgrounds kick-in. After the third, the track acquires a beautifully divergent, free-form direction. At the fourth, the song ends!

Ee khalbitha – IDI (Malayalam – Rahul Raj)
Malayalam composer Rahul Raj has, by now, created his own trademark melody. Ee khalbitha has all the signs of that trademark (of sorts) – a soothing melody that is instantly likeable, a harmonious chorus, topped by fantastic vocals. The vocals here are being handled by Suchith Suresan and he does a phenomenal job. Rahul also throws in a dash of Rahman-styled flute to added effect.

Hot coffee kappu – L 7 (Telugu – Aravind-Shankar)
Composing duo Aravind-Shankar made their debut back in 2002, in Vasanth’s Yai Nee Romba Azhaga Irukey, as one of the 5 composers. From then, they have had a chequered career, often sharing credits with other composers. Their latest, the oddly titled L 7 sees them going solo, and they produce a delightful mix. Hot coffee kappu is classic, time-tested mambo presented really well by the duo! Harshitha Krishnan’s sultry vocals add to that, while Shudeep Chandrasekar offers her good company.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Nila nila – Yaanum Theeyavan (Tamil – Achu)
Achu Rajamani has time and again proven himself to be a nifty, dependable composer in Telugu films. His Tamil efforts haven’t been all that successful, though, despite fantastic music in Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey, back in 2012. After Urumeen, he tries again in Tamil with Yaanum Theeyavan, and Nila nila is the pick of the soundtrack. The charming melody builds up really well, with Swetha Mohan’s eventual entry and the tabla layer add to the song’s appeal.

Pranaamam – Janatha Garage (Telugu – Devi Sri Prasad)
By now it seems completely pointless to dwell on Devi Sri Prasad regurgitating his own tunes and sounds since (a) it seems to be working for him and (b) talking about it doesn’t produce any meaningful outcome anyway. So, Janatha Garage is more of the same from the composer. Within that limitation, Pranaamam works perfectly as a nice pop bhajan. Shankar Mahadevan’s deep voice is apt for the song, and Ranina Reddy’s background vocals merge well too.

Kanasalu/Gamanisu – Mungaru Male 2 (Kannada – Arjun Janya)
That Mungaru Malu is getting a sequel is news by itself, but the bigger news is that the composer of the first film—Mano Murthy—is not composing for this one! The currently in-form Arjun Janya does the honors and he does a great job! Perhaps owing to sentimental reasons, Arjun ropes in Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam to sing the same tune in Kanasalu and Gamanisu, respectively, like they sang Mungaru Male’s Araluthiru and Anisuthide, (though Jayanth Kaikini wrote both versions in that film; he writes only the latter here, the former written by the film’s director Shashank)! An outstanding melody, wonderfully sung and even evoking A R Rahman’s anupallavi from Duet’s En kaadhale in its own anupallavi.

Judaiyaan – unIndian (Hindi – Salim-Sulaiman)
Going by the lyricsaan that go overboardaan on the ‘aan’ suffixaan to every wordaan, this does seem like the typical Bollywood sad (usually called ‘pathos’) song. But Salim-Sulaiman’s music simple, lilting and earnest faux-sufi, with a nice dash of Sarangi. What works significantly in the song’s favor is the spirited singing by Digvijay Singh Pariyar, who had earlier sung Jaago Mohan Pyaare in Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s Katti-Batti.

Purza – Akira (Hindi – Vishal-Shekhar)
Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani seem to be on a comeback streak of sorts. After a contextual and enjoyable soundtrack for Sultan, they produce a good soundtrack for the gender-altered Hindi remake of the Tamil film Mounaguru (which had good music by Thaman, incidentally). Purza, the soundtrack’s best, is vintage Vishal-Shekhar. It flows smoothly with a breezy tune, is brilliantly sung by Arijit Singh and has a dash of Latino. The most interesting and surprising element in the song, though, is a smattering of thavil in the second stanza!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Maayaavi penne – Bayam Oru Payanam (Tamil – Y.R.Prasad)
There is some amount of name-based coincidence in Bayam Oru Payanam. The film’s director is Manisharma. The film’s composer, Y.R.Prasad, is supposedly music composer Mani Sharma’s cousin! That actually explains why the soundtrack’s best, Maayaavi penne sounds just like a classic Mani Sharma melody! Sung by Haricharan and Saindhavi to a sonorous rhythm, the tune is a surprising addition to a horror film’s soundtrack!

Kaala chashma – Baar Baar Dekho (Hindi – Prem Hardeep/Raftaar)
It’s the trusted Bollywood hit formula – take an existing Punjabi song, add an ounce of Badshah to the mix and you have an earworm that the kids are dancing to. The latest is the 2000 hit Kaala chashma, composed by Prem Hardeep and sung by Amar Arshi. Badshah recreates it without losing any of the original’s foot-tapping charm and the result is something highly infectious! Neha Kakkar, in particular, is in scorching form singing this one.

Khair mangda – A Flying Jatt (Hindi – Sachin-Jigar)
Sachin-Jigar had Chunar in ABCD 2, a deeply raaga-set melody that used Ahir Bhairav to beautiful effect. Khair mangda, if you go by most comments to it on YouTube, is alleged to be similar to Chunar. But, Khair mangda, with its involving tune, seems more Charukesi than Ahir Bhairav. Atif Aslam gives his best to the melody and aces it. For their part, Sachin and Jigar keep the backgrounds to an appropriately haunting minimum, to let the tune shine through in all its beauty.

Hogi baa belake – Neerdose (Kannada – Anoop Seelin)
For a Jaggesh starrer, it is a massive surprise when Hogi baa belake starts with Gangubai Hangal’s alaap! Composer Anoop Seelin is supposed to have sought permission to use the alaap from the classical musician’s grandson, makes excellent use of the opportunity. He also sings the main song himself with occasional missteps, but his Puriya Dhanashree based tune keeps him in good stead, with its impactful flow.

Saanwara – Sanjay Divecha and Secret (Indipop)
The Meera bhajan Saanwara Re Mari Preet Nibhajo ji is much more popular in Lata Mangeshkar’s vocals set to a composition by Hridaynath Mangeshkar. What Sanjay Divecha and his band do here is to use a lesser known, gorgeous Rajasthani-style Maand-raaga composition by Pandit Govind Prasad Jaipurwale, and hand it over to singer Chandana Bala to pull off a slow-burner that is lush and indulgent. Sanjay also pulls off a Clapton’esque guitar backdrop that at places sounds almost like Wonderful Tonight – some inventive mix, this!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Thoondil meen – Kabali (Tamil – Santhosh Narayanan)
Thoondil meen, the song not part of the original Kabali soundtrack, was released recently online. It works wonderfully like a puzzle, given our familiarity with Vaanam paarthen. It starts off with the now-familiar Nadhiyena naan ododi, moves on to a completely new tune, segues beautifully into a differently pitched variant of Idapakkam thudithidum and takes off into a completely new, lively tune, in contrast with Vaanam paarthen’s feel. It makes for a highly interesting what-if listen… what if Santhosh had this in mind for Vaanam paarthen!

Seythaante cheytha – IDI (Malayalam – Rahul Raj)
Have you ever wondered how a Malayali Hercule Poirot may be? Regardless of how he may be, composer Rahul Raj gives us a glimpse of the title music of Hercule Poirot, on the lines of the famous theme composed by Christopher Gunning in the TV series that was popular in India given its Doordarshan play. Pradeep Palluruthy and Vaikom Vijayalakshmi handle the retro-style tune very well, while Rahul’s sax evokes the Malayali Poirot-style theme evocatively.

Kattale tumbida – Nataraja Service (Kannada – Anoop Seelin)
Kannada star Sharan, regardless of how his films fare, at least gets lucky in the music department. Nataraja Service is no different, with Anoop Seelin churning out a listenable soundtrack, also taking into account director Pawan Wadeyar’s musical track record. Beyond the catchy, kuthu and masala tracks, Apoorva Sridhar-sung Kattale tumbida is the soundtrack’s best, with its pleasant, almost-prayer like melody that shines with a tinge of sadness.

Joomega – Aatadukundam Raa (Telugu – Anup Rubens)
The nifty Anup is in his dependable self again, in the soundtrack of Aatadukundam Raa. Imagine Ricky Martin getting an invite from the Tollywood moneybags to compose a song for a Telugu film. Can’t imagine? Don’t worry, Anup has you covered in Joomega! Naresh Iyer and Anandhi Joshi start the song with a soft melody before taking off in a highly enthusiastic Latino-pop style, complete with Hindi phrase like Joomega dil mera, amidst a burst of violins!

Udan choo – Banjo (Hindi – Vishal-Shekhar)
The filmy situation of ‘hero sees the heroine everywhere’ (or its gender reversal) has been exploited to the hilt by directors, topped by Shankar in I, with the utterly bizarre excuse for special effects in Mersalaayitten. Udan choo is a similar exercise from Banjo and the song, by Vishal-Shekhar, is perfect for Riteish seeing Nargis Fakhri everywhere in the basti, in utterly contrasting costumes and actions. Singer Hriday Gattani rocks the dreamy, accordion-loaded vaudevillian beauty of the tune!

Originally published in The Hindu.

Virinja poonkurunne – Guppy (Malayalam – Vishnu Vijay)
Flautist Vishnu Vijay’s most recent ticket to fame was playing flute for Maya nadhi and Vaanam paarthen in Kabali, for Santhosh Narayanan. His composing debut in Guppy is strongly thematic and the song that stands out in the soundtrack is the short one that Vishnu himself sings. It’s highly reminiscent of Prashant Pillai’s score in Amen, a similar streak of quirkiness that is instantly appealing.

Satrangi re – Wrong Side Raju (Gujarati – Sachin-Jigar)
The young musical duo, Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya (better known as Sachin-Jigar) have already composed music for a Gujarati film (Bey Yaar). Wrong Side Raju, their second, has music that runs on a similar vein – largely region-agnostic, likeable music that may work equally well in Hindi too. That factor is compounded by singers like Arijit Singh who further tone down the regional identity of the music. Satrangi re, then, works effortlessly – feathery melody, accentuated by brief French phrases by Dawn Cordo!

Aakupachhani chandamaamalaa – Jyo Achyutananda (Telugu – Sri Kalyanaramana)
This name changing business may be running in the family. His talented brother happens to be Maragadhamani in Tamil, M.M.Keeravani in Telugu and M.M.Kreem in Hindi. Younger brother started as Kalyani Malik, became Kalyan Koduri, moved to Kalyani Koduri and has finally renamed himself as Sri Kalyanaramana! But his music has been consistently engaging and inventive. Aakupachhani chandamaamalaa is no different, with its buoyant sound and tune that is easy-on-the-ears, handled beautifully by Karthik and Ramya.

Hota hai – Mirzya (Hindi – Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has always been fantastic with his music sense, going by his film’s soundtracks, right from his debut, in Aks. After 2 films with A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti and Delhi 6), he moved to Shankar Ehsaan Loy in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and now Mirzya. The trio produce a mind-boggling score for the film, offering an incredibly inventive range. Hota hai is the soundtrack’s goosebumps-inducing highlight! Nooran Sisters ace the singing incredibly, while the trio builds a hypnotic sound around what is a beautifully folk’ish tune.

Senjittaley – Remo (Tamil – Anirudh)
Anirudh continues to the purveyor of catchphrases for the Tamil youth mired in meme-culture. His latest contribution is a new meaning for ‘Senjiduven’ – what was once used to denote, ‘I will finish you’ (made popular recently by Dhanush in Maari), is now being used to denote ‘falling’ in love. The music is heady and very-Anirudh – catchy hooks (the ‘Enakku nee’ hook is easy ammunition for roadside romeos, unfortunately) and an ambient melange of music.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Texas pogiren – Chennai 2 Singapore (Tamil – Ghibran)
The lyrics video on YouTube for this song starts with a warning: ‘This song is not for the faint-hearted. Listen at your own discretion’! If Tamil pedants were mildly annoyed by Udit Narayan’s ‘Yedho sowkiyam parva ille’, they’d perhaps be speechless and shell-shocked by Texas pogiren! Ghibran unleashes a singer named Narrow Smith (an obvious parody of Aerosmith) who sings Tamil lyrics in the form of heavy metal, including a manic ‘Aaathaaa, Maariaatha kaapaathu’ which makes a child (in the song) cry inconsolably! The result is a mind-bogglingly inventive song that screams for attention!

Aave re hitchki – Mirzya (Hindi – Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
Aave re hitchki is what happens when you are traveling on a camel cart, one night in Rajasthan, with a guitarist for company! Shankar Mahadevan rocks this swaying melody, set to a stunning mix of sarangi (Mame Khan Troupe) and guitar (Neil Mukherjee), and also an enchanting vaudevillian interlude. There’s a point in the song’s beginning where Shankar goes—hiccup-like—’Hitch!’ before getting back to ‘Hitchki’… it’s these little, nifty touches that make this song so enjoyable!

Oththa mazhayila – Kadalai (Tamil – Sam C.S.)
Composer Sam C.S made a noteworthy debut in the Vijay Sethupathy starrer Mellisai, though that film is yet to release. Kadalai is his second film as composer and he proves that his impressive debut was no flash in the pan. In fact, this one has even better music, as a whole soundtrack! Sam gets Hariharan to croon Oththa mazhayila, a simple and gorgeous melody. The simplicity of the lovely tune is reminiscent of Deva’s style, though Sam’s sense of sound, consisting primarily of guitars and flute, is far more updated and modern.

Dibbaradindi (Kannada Pop), Singer: Shachina Heggar. Music: Judah Sandhy
Kannada composer Judah Sandy has already made his mark in the two films he has worked on. Here comes the 3rd, a pop song. The song is obviously and incredibly catchy, with an insanely addictive hook. On that hook – it may sound mighty familiar to many people, though. That’s because you’d perhaps end up singing ‘Yela yela yela, yela yelamma’ from Anniyan’s Andankaakka Kondakkaari… which itself owes its existence to Chinnanchiru chitte endhan, from the MGR-Bhanumathi starrer Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum, with music by S.Dakshinamurthy!

Neelakkannulla maane – Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho (Malayalam – Shaan Rahman)
There’s a whiff of yesteryears’ retro in Neelakkannulla maane that’s very, very inviting! The beautifully melodic song features Vijay Yesudas and Shweta Mohan, who, given the retro-feel bring back pleasant memories of Yesudas and Sujatha Mohan in the way they sing. Shaan Rahman is usually adept at creating such hummable melodies and this one works effortlessly too.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Kannamma – Rekka (Tamil – D.Imman)
Imman has been on a prolific run as far as soundtracks go, though each of his new soundtracks have just one or two decent tracks, filling the rest with middling, familiar material. This year, he does that with Rekka and Kannamma is the soundtrack’s wonderful highlight. Imman’s choice of Nandini Srikar pays him rich dividends here, and he adds to that a rich, resonant musical backdrop that sees him adding imaginative interludes featuring guitar and nadaswaram. The tune, an enchanting melody on the lines of Raja’s Karpoora bommai ondru (raaga Saraswathi, perhaps?), gets so much better with Nandini’s phenomenal rendition.

Thennal nilavinte – Oru Muthassi Gadha (Malayalam – Shaan Rahman)
The Vineeth Srinivasan-Shaan Rahman combo strikes yet again in Thennal nilavinte. The tune is so obviously and immediately likeable, with a deep and rich melody reminiscent of Rahman’s Thiruda Thiruda number Putham pudhu bhoomi vendum, not just from the tune, but also the beautiful violin and piano orchestration. Vineeth handles the rendition in his inimitable style, with fantastic support from Aparna Balamurali.

Kallumoosi – Majnu (Telugu – Gopi Sundar)
Gopi Sundar is truly on a roll… in Telugu! And this seems to have reduced his output in Malayalam recently. In Majnu, he unleashes his usual bag of tunes and they continue to sound as fresh and enjoyable as ever. The second Suchit Suresan finishes the first two lines in Kallumoosi, Gopi adds a very short burst of violins, and that is precisely the Gopi trademark! The melody is spritely and easy-on-the-ears and Suchit’s rendition makes it all the more better.

Vaat disu de – Jaundya Na Balasaheb (Marathi – Ajay-Atul)
After Sairat, if you have been aching for more Ilayaraja-style music from the Marathi composing duo Ajay-Atul, look no further… Vaat disu de is here! The rhythm is jaunty and the tune, absolutely gorgeous, with a neat itch change in the end – this is the kind of melody you would be completely at ease listening to in an 80s Mahendran film with music by Ilayaraja! Ajay-Atul pull off something interesting in the song – while the first interlude is trademark Raja-style, the second one is very Rahman’ish! Ajay Gogavale and Yogita Godbole are pitch-perfect in the vocals department.

Mai ri mai – Parched (Hindi – Hitesh Sonik)
Given the film’s plot, it was evident that it would have at least one song based on women’s emancipation. That Swanand Kirkire pens it with oh-so-beautiful verses just makes it so much better! The melody is mellow and completely immersive, thanks largely to the way Neeti Mohan sings it. Hitesh layers the song with so much, enhancing the song’s feel, with a lovely flute base by Paras Nath.

Hindi

Tujhse hi hai roshni – Pink (Anupam Roy)

Besabriyaan, Jab tak and Kaun tujhe – M.S.Dhoni – The Untold Story (Amaal Mallik)

Teen gawah, Chakora, Aave re hitchki, Hota hai, Ek nadi thi, Doli re doli and Kaaga – Mirzya (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

Udja re, Tere mere dil, Ishq mastana and Hio kiw – Rock On 2 (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

Mai ri mai, Bhookamp and Kachhuva – Parched (Hitesh Sonik)

Tamil

Remo nee kadhalan, Senjitaley, Sirikkadhey and Daavuya – Remo (Anirudh)

Yendi unna pidikkuthu and Thollai seyyum – Maanagaram (Javed Riaz)

Oththa mazhayila, Kannukkulla vanthu, Aayava kanom and Aathankara – Kadalai (Sam C.S.)

Vaadi vaadi, Texas pogiren, Poda, Gun inbam, Pogadhe and Ro ro roshni – Chennai 2 Singapore (Ghibran)

Vaazhkai oru ottagam, Imsai raani and Karmegakuzhali – Aandavan Kattalai (K)

Pesu pesu and Tharumaru – Uchathula Shiva (Vidyasagar)
Listen to the songs on DooPaaDoo.

Kanna kaattu podhum, Kannamma and Pollapaiyya – Rekka (D.Imman)

Telugu

Kallumoosi, Oorikey ala, Jare jare and Oye meghamala – Majnu (Gopi Sundar)

Evare and Ennosarlu – Premam (Rajesh Murugesan and Gopi Sundar)

Jaarinadi jaabili and Ladki ladki – Prathikshanam (Raghuram)
Raghuram’s music in Jaarinadi reminded me of Hari Gaura’s music; remember Tungabhadra?), though it is largely Mani Sharma’s catchy template too. Ladki ladki, on the other hand, is straight out of Thaman’s tune bank!

Ninney and Nanney nanney – Nandini Nursing Home (Achu Rajamani)
In Ninney, Achu handles the searing pathos really well singing it himself, while building the orchestration steadily. Nanney nanney’s spring-in-the-step is the opposite, on the other hand – lovely singing by Mansi Mahadevan and Sooraj Santhosh, and equally fantastic backgrounds by Achu.

Aalochinchaku – Chinni Chinni Asalu Nalo Regene (Rap Rock Shakeel)
Aalochinchaku is Moushimi Neha’s show all the way. The lazy drawl in her voice literally carries the song!
Listen to the songs on Saavn.

Kannada

Priya priya and Mamaseetha – Jaguar (SS Thaman)

Dibbaradindi – Singer: Shachina Heggar. (Music: Judah Sandhy)

3 Peg – Chandan Shetty
Why should ‘spirited’ rap songs be restricted to Yo Yo Honey Singh or Badshah? Chandan produces a wonderfully punchy, addictive Kannada version!

Ondhalla and Meredadidhe – Naanu Mathu Varalakshmi (V.Harikrishna)
Meredadidhe makes excellent use of Sonu Nigam and Hari concocts a gorgeous guitar-mounted melody, while in Ondhalla, Hari puts his strings ensemble to splendid use with a spritely faux-classic melody.

Prathi mounavu and Yen varase – Happy Birthday (V.Harikrishna)
Prathi mounavu, with Sonu Nigam’s vocals, can easily be mistaken for a Mano Murthy song too! Easy-on-the-ears and a mildly Ilayaraja’ish orchestration too. In Yen varase, Hari seems to be making use of Abogi raaga, with a smattering of Reetigowlai too, and hands over the singing duties to his wife Vani, who handles it very well!

Kanasive nooraru – Doddmane Hudga (V.Harikrishna)
Hari’s music in a project as big (Puneeth’s 25th film!) as Doddmane Hudga is underwhelming, at best. Kanasive nooraru works easily, though, thanks to Karthik and Shwetha Mohan’s rendition and the simple, hummable melody.

Malayalam

Thennal nilavinte – Oru Muthassi Gadha (Shaan Rahman)

Ennodu – Dum (Jassie Gift)
For a very long time, Jassie Gift has been stuck inside his Lajjavathy circle and despite his limited run in Kannada, hasn’t produced anything worth remembering. In that scenario, I’m happy to hear something like Ennodu that gains tremendously from Vineeth Srinivasan’s fantastic vocals. Good, albeit functional, melody.

Chenthar nermukhi – Kamboji (M.Jayachandran)
Kamboji’s heavily kathakali-styled music is deeply rooted within that sub-genre, and the soundtrack’s best is the brilliant ragamalika by M.Jayachandran, in Chenthar nermuki. Chithra and Sreevalsan Menon are phenomenally good with their singing, as expected.

Marathi

Mona darling, Vaat disu de, Gondhal, Bring it on and Dolbywalya – Jaundya Na Balasaheb (Ajay-Atul)

Bengali

Ghawrbaari – Zulfiqar (Anupam Roy)
Anupam is, slowly, but steadily, falling into a pattern of music, in my view. But, thankfully, even within that limited view, he does produce gems, like Zulfiqar’s Ghawrbaari.

Non-film

Coke Studio Season 9, Milliblog top 10

Milliblog Top 10 from Coke Studio Pakistan Season 9 as a single playlist, on YouTube.

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Milliblog Top 10 from Coke Studio Pakistan Season 9 as a single playlist, on Saavn.

Originally published in The Hindu.

Bholay bhalay – Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 9 (Singer: Meesha Shafi. Composed by Shani Arshad)
Shani Arshad’s vocoder sampled voice opens the song and that prelude is hardly representative of what follows! What does follow can only be described as OP Nayyar-meets-reggae, with sitar (Shehroze Hussain) thrown in for good measure! It’s a delightful mix, and Meesha Shafi renders with the right amount of nakhra in her voice, even as the track enters a lovely blues’y phase mid-way!

Mugilu belmugilu – Pushpaka Vimana (Kannada, Charan Raj)
Imagine the Celtic band Clannad singing for a Kannada song! That’s precisely how the uncredited lady voice opens (and ends) the lovely Mugilu belmugilu! Now, composer Charan Raj has already proven himself with a stellar soundtrack for Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu earlier this year and Pushpaka Vimana is a fitting follow-up. In Mugilu, there’s a lot to notice and enjoy – the Celtic touch picks itself up mid-way again, even as the anupallavi moves to Reetigowlai raga! Haricharan’s vocals add a special dimension to the already fantastic song with Kalyan’s gorgeous lines espousing a father’s love for his daughter.
Listen to Mugilu belmugilu on Saavn:

Imsai rani – Aandavan Kattalai (Tamil, K)
Composer K, by now, has a trademark sound that he uses to splendid effect – it usually consists of gorgeous piano struts and strings, and it is showcased oh-so-well in Imsai rani, with the violins almost singing alongside Karthik’s already fantastic vocals. The melody is thoroughly likeable, and lyricist Vivek adds some nifty touches, like the ‘Ba ba ba’ line after ‘Oomayaagi ponen’!

Evare – Premam (Telugu, Rajesh Murugesan)
The makers of the original Malayalam version of Premam released the soundtrack’s best song—Malare—after the film’s release. It went on to become a monster hit. For the film’s Telugu remake, the producers cleverly release it with the actual soundtrack, and Rajesh Murugesan’s scintillating melody sounds equally good in sundara Telugu. Vijay Yesudas does the honors again, in Telugu too, and that helps in evoking wonderful nostalgia.

Doli re doli – Mirzya (Hindi, Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
How would an Indian-origin, Hindi speaking father from New Orleans sing during his daughter’s bidaai? If that sounds like a very specific and mighty odd question, just listen to the heady concoction that is Doli re doli, from Mirzya! The song is a delightful surprise, mixing stately jazz sound to the searing pathos in a bidaai, rendered superlatively by Shankar Mahadevan. Victor Garcia’s trumpet stands out in the jazz ensemble with its beautifully indulgent sound.