Yuvan completes 20 years producing music today! So, here is an updated version of the list I had prepared in 2010 – 30 songs this time! 30 songs that define Yuvan’s music for me. But yes, I’m increasingly disappointed with his horrendous singing, but there’s no doubt that he is continuing to produce some great tunes!

Single Saavn playlist of all the 51 songs below:

Hindi

Aashiq surrender hua, Roke na ruke and Tamma tamma again – Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya (Amaal Mallik and Tanishk Bagchi)

Poori qaaynaat and Kuch parbat hilaayein – Poorna (Salim-Sulaiman)

Tamil

Enga pora Dora and Vaazhavudu – Dora (Vivek-Mervin)

Oxygen and Theeraadha vilayaattu pillai – Kavan (Hiphop Tamizha)

Sokki poraandi, Kannodu kannodu and Uyirile – Mupparimanam (G.V.Prakash Kumar)

Aagaayam and Pudavai nilave – Yaadhumaagi Nindraai (Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy)

Kuyile, Kanavugal aayiram and Vinnulaka devathai – Engeyum Naan Iruppen (Afzal Yusuf)

Telugu

Na BC centarlu – Winner (SS Thaman)

Pranam poye badha, Thelupana and Yemaindho yemo gani – O Pilla Nee Valla (Madhu Ponnas)

Johny Johny yes papa and Ardhamaina – Kittu Unnadu Jagratha (Anup Rubens)

Aa chandamama, Sarangi O Sarangi and Guchi guchi – Maa Abbayi (Suresh Bobbili)

Aanandham and Vayyari kalahamsika – Om Namo Venkatesaya (M.M.Keeravani)
Removed from a Rajamouli’s vision or demand in a film like Baahubali, Keeravani’s music in the film is rather generic. The listenable songs too have a predictable sound, beyond the other pedestrian sounding songs. So Aanandham evokes memories of S A Rajkumar’s Pallanguzhiyin vattam (from… surprise!! – Anandham!) and manages to sound catchy. Vayyari kalahamsika is the soundtrack’s best, with a breezy faux-classical melody that takes on interesting contours, layered with Keeravani’s strings all through. Revanth and Sunitha handle it brilliantly.

Boogie woogie and My wife – Showtime (M.M.Keeravani)
The other Keeravani soundtrack that falls flat, with minor succor. Boogie woogie has some spunk left in Sony’s (the female singer) parts, and the tune too is confidently offbeat. The soundtrack’s genuinely interesting song is My wife, with Kaala Bhairava’s fantastic baritone and a breezy jazz flavor that Keeravani aces with a lovely profusion of background strings and brass.

Anaghaa Anaghaa and Pranam Paravana – Aakatayi (Mani Sharma)
Sri Krishna’s voice is mauled beyond recognition using digital advancements in Anaghaa Anaghaa, but Mani has the tune sorted alright, particularly the anupallavi. Pranam is that whispery melody that Mani owns and produces mighty regularly. The rest of the soundtrack is oddly lackluster but, like his Gentleman last year, these 2 songs make up for it!

Malayalam

Onnurangi and Paripparakkum kili – Aby (Bijibal)

Ayalathe and Do naina/La vettam – Angamaly Diaries (Prashant Pillai)

Varminnal, Ilamai and Enthanu mone – Adventures of Omanakuttan (Arun Muraleedharan)

Aaro ee yathrayengo – Ayal Jeevichirippundu (Ouseppachan)
Aaro is a delightful cocktail as it moves from the main tune to a joyous Goan festivity phrase! Ouseppachan keeps the tune in perfect sync even with these vibrant deviations.

Emanmaraii and Ivalaro – Oru Mexican Aparatha (Ranjith Chittade and Manikandan Ayyappa)
The soundtrack of Oru Mexican Aparatha is throbbing with a revolutionary zeal. Ranjith Chittade’s lone song, Emanmaraii is the pick of the album, with its vibrant and powerful sound and Shebin Mathew’s punchy singing amidst a profusion of chendai drums. Manikandan Ayyappa’s composition Ivalaro is the opposite, with its breezy, romantic outlook and a guitar’y disposition. But the chendai base soon catches up to add spice!

Kannada

Thera haadu – Saheba (V.Harikrishna)

Adda bidde madesaa, Preetiya hesare neenu and Kaurava Theme – Happy New Year (Raghu Dixit)

Gapu gapalli, Ringa ringa and Kanasina – Srinivasa Kalayana (Midhun Mukundan and Raghavendra Thane)

Marathi

Antaricha – Rubik’s Cube (Vishal Mishra)
Except for the typically Marathi sound in the words, obviously because of the lyrics, the overall sound is very Bollywood! Vishal Mishra’s tune could have been part of a conventional Bollywood film, but the beauty of Marathi lifts the song significantly. Not that the melody is any bad – it is a lovely listen. As of on cue, the song goes Hindi mid-way with ‘Mahiya’ ‘Tere bina’ etc.

Today is April 1. You have noticed me referring to some songs as Raja’ish. That word is not going to fool hardcore Ilayaraja fans, but, for the average music listener, some songs do recall Raja’s music easily, if not in the tune, at least in the background music or the interludes.

Here’s a list of 10 recent (not too old like Vedham Pudhidhu’s Kannakkul nooru nilava that was NOT composed by Ilayaraja) songs that I thought deserve that tag more than the others.

1. Raja rani – Rhaatee (Kannada, V.Harikrishna)
2. Paniye – Ayyanaar (Tamil, SS.Thaman)
3. Haage ondhu – Fair & Lovely (Kannada, V.Harikrishna)
4. Yeh dil – Chitrafit 3.0 Megapixel (Marathi, Yug Bhusal)
5. Onakkaaga poranthaenae – Pannaiyaarum Padminiyum (Tamil, Justin Prabhakaran)
6. Adhir Man – Nilkanth Master (Marathi, Ajay-Atul)
7. Pularipoopenne – Ennum Eppozhum (Malayalam, Vidyasagar)
8. Vanavillum – Nil Gavani Selladhey (Tamil, Sevaganesh)
9. Nee hanga nodabyada – Hoo (Kannada, V.Harikrishna)
10. Kadale kadale – Ammuvaagiya Naan (Tamil, Sabesh-Murali)

Single Saavn playlist of 49 songs
(except 2 songs; from Take Off and Sathya, in Malayalam):

Hindi

Tukda tukda – Mirza Juuliet (Krsna)

Chatur naar and Itna tumhe – Machine (Tanishk Bagchi)

Dum dum, Sahiba and Naughty billo – Phillauri (Shashwat Sachdev)

Badnaam jiya and Man beqaid huva – Anaarkali of Aarah (Rohit Sharma)

Rozana – Naam Shabana (Rochak Kohli)

Uff yeh Noor, Jise kehte pyaar hai, Hai zaroori and Gulabi 2.0 – Noor (Amaal Mallik, R.D.Burman)

Tamil

Sarpetta and Pesugiraai – Simba (Vishal Chandrashekhar)

The complete soundtrack – Power Paandi (Sean Roldan)

Nallai allai, Vaan varuvaan, Azhagiye, Saarattu vandiyila and Tango kelaayo – Kaatru Veliyidai (A R Rahman)

Karuppadu, Nee kavithaigala, Koattai aanda arasan – Maragadha Naanayam (Dhibu Ninan Thomas)

Ootaanda soltuvaa, Verrattaama verratturiye and Pogaadhey kanmaniye – Veera (Leon James)

Saama kodaangi – Kadamban (Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Yembuttu irukkuthu aasai and Semma joru – Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen (D.Imman)

Telugu

Mira mira, Laage laage, Yelo yedarilo and Emo emo – Katamarayudu (Anup Rubens)

Hamsa naava and Saahore Baahubali – Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion (M.M.Keeravani)

Ela ela – Velipomakey (Prashanth R Vihari)
The entire soundtrack of Velipomakey is quite interesting, for a debutant. The sound is resonant and there is a spark. Ela ela is the pick of the soundtrack though the bubbles up among the other songs thanks to Kamalaja Rajagopal and Karthik Rodriguez’s fantastic singing and the way composer Prashanth infuses that Shanmukapriya raaga phrases mid-way.

Jingidi – Guru (Santhosh Narayanan)
That one new extra song not in the Tamil or Hindi version of the same film (Saala Khadoos/Irudhi Sutru). Venkatesh sings this himself and the tune is good old Santhosh – easy funk!

Ghumshuda – Rogue (Sunil Kashyap)
Given that Puri has now resigned to doing films like Loafer, Ism, Jyothi Lakshmy and Temper, his music sense has gone out of the window too. He ropes in Sunil Kashyap for Rogue and the man produces a trainwreck of pointlessness. The one hope is the surprise Hindi song, Ghumshuda, sung by Chinmayi! The somber, mildly Latino sound and Chinmayi’s voice, coupled with that lone violin makes this song totally worth the listen!

Daggaragaa raavoddilaga – Vaisakham (DJ Vasanth)
DJ Vasanth is the kind of composer that I cannot afford to completely ignore. He does have something interesting somewhere in his soundtracks. In Vaisakham it is Daggaragaa raavoddilaga that comes with a cool sound and a tune reminiscent of Nilavai konduvaa (from Vaali). Ramya Behara aces this song with her vocals.

Malayalam

Hrudayavaathil, Aromale and Chakkikkochamme – C/O Saira Banu (Mejo Joseph)

Ethetho and Vaadaathe – Avarude Ravukal (Sankar Sharma)

Chinthicho nee – Sathya (Gopi Sundar)

Promo song – Take Off (Shaan Rahman)
This song doesn’t even have a name! For all the good word the film’s garnering, I really wonder why the makers seem so hesitant in releasing the 2 songs it has properly, even if it doesn’t feature in the film (which is beside the point anyway). This one’s good old Shaan, since he sings it himself too. That thrumming rhythm sound is totally alluring!

Kannada

Aalisu baa, Belakendare and Manasina – Raaga (Arjun Janya)

Considering I have been tracking (and eventually writing about) Tamil and other film music in India, have always, at various points in time, felt that some composer was promising, besides those who ruled the roost at those times. VS Narasimhan, Vidyasagar, Adithyan, Balabarathy… back in those days. And many of the new composers these days. Some of them go on to do really well (like Vidyasagar) across other languages too, and many of them vanish (Adithyan and VS Narasimhan are good examples, though the former started cooking more often on TV!) after a big burst.

Amongst those who seemed massively promising and continue to exist in the brink is Ramesh Vinayakam. Everybody seems very hopeful about him, people want to like his music, but something goes wrong somewhere when it comes to success. I had judged his Ramanujan as the best soundtrack of 2014, and deservedly so. But the man has been active since 1989, if you were unaware. He started as Narendranath, in Telugu and produced music for 3 films directed by Mouli. What is remarkable is how much his music sounds like Ilayaraja’s (not that it is a badge of honor, though, given that imitation is the best form of flattery). But those 3 films had very good music.

It is also interesting to note the musical sense changing in his work, albeit gradually. Take for instance, Namansulo from Manchi Roju. You hear the piano in the beginning and you could swear it was by MM Keeravani! Mind you – Keeravani debuted in 1990 and Manchi Roju was 1991. Is it that Ramesh was trying to emulate the sounds of those times? I don’t know.

1995’s Aunty had a high-energy song Dimba dimbaro that could fit in any Vidyasagar-composed Telugu potboiler! In fact, Ramesh ended his Telugu innings with a pretty bad soundtrack for Raghava Lawrence’s debut – the 1999 film Speed Dancer.

Then, Ramesh moved completely to Tamil, starting with the single Thottu thottu from Vasanth’s multi-composer album Yai Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke and produced consistently good music, largely. Azhagiya Theeye’s Vizhigalin aruginil remains my favorite Ramesh Vinayagam song, followed by Thuli thuliyai from Ramanujan and Aasaiyaparu from Mosakutty.

Mainstream success continues to elude Ramesh Vinayakam like a life-long curse, but the man is talented, at least in my opinion. So, here’s an attempt to unearth and expose some of his good music.

Related watch: Ramesh talking about his career in this Jaya TV interview, including the point about MM Keeravani, Vidyasagar, A R Rahman and Mani Sharma working with him!

Ponge yevvanam – Paila Pacheesu
Naa chaithra geethame – Paila Pacheesu
Namanasulo – Manchi Roju
Oohallo aavesam – Manchi Roju
Sogasula ranive – Manchi Roju
Tam tam kotti – Manchi Roju (not available on YouTube)
Dimba dimbaro – Aunty
Nenje thullippo – University
Enna idhu – Nala Damayanthi
Vizhigalin aruginil – Azhagiya Theeye
Dil mera – Azhagiya Theeye (not available on YouTube; listen on Raaga)
Yen swaasathil – Jerry
Yaarodum – Sollakathai (not available on YouTube)
Thuli thuliyai – Ramanujan
Vinkadantha – Ramanujan
Narayana narayana – Ramanujan
Aasaiyaparu Aasaiya – Mosakutty
Kalla Payalae Payalae – Mosakutty
Vada Dai Enpurusa – Mosakutty
Mosakutty – Mosakutty (not available on YouTube)

Single Saavn playlist of 39 (out of 45) songs
(not available on saavn: Comrade In America CIA, Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu, Georgettan’s Pooram and Wow Song, from Godha)

Hindi

Haareya, Yeh jawani teri, Iss tarah & Khol de baahein – Meri Pyaari Bindu (Sachin-Jigar)

Murshida – Begum Jaan (Anu Malik)

Hoor – Hindi Medium (Sachin-Jigar)

Tamil

Aalangiliye, Karukku kallangolu & Andha madhiri ponna – Neruppuda (Sean Roldan)

Yemma yea azhagamma, Silu silu & Pachai uduthiya – Vanamagan (Harris Jayaraj)

Adi vaadi thimiraa, Title theme song, Karu Karunnu, Carratu Pottazhagaa & Time Passukkosaram – Magalir Mattum (Ghibran)

Ettoorum kekkum – Thondan (Justin Prabhakaran)

Mella mella, Bodhai poo & Maya masthava – Maayavan (Ghibran)

Ithuvarai naan (Chinmayi version) & Mattikkiten – Padai Veeran (Karthik Raja)

Akka maga & Uravey – Thiri (Ajesh)

Nee illai endraal & Mannippaaya – 8 Thottakkal (Sundaramurthy KS)

Telugu

Kanulake teliyani – Mister (Mickey J Meyer)

Egire, O Maya & Thanevaro – Venkatapuram (Achu)

Malayalam

Vaanam thilathilakkanu – Comrade In America CIA (Gopi Sundar)
Gopi doesn’t demand much from his star singer, Dulquer, but hands him a multi-lingual (though he handles only one language, leaving the Spanish part to Carolina and the Hindi part to Mohammed Maqbool Mansoor) song that is immediately catchy.

Aakaasham panthal – Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu (Bijibal)
Innately simple and charming, espousing the beauty and life of innards of Kerala. Who better than Bijibal to articulate it with music!

Va va vaikaathe – Puthan Panam (Shaan Rahman)
A lot like Enne Thallendammaava (from Oru Vadakkan Selfie; not just that they are both sung by Vineeth Srinivasan), but still a lot likeable.
Listen to the song on Saavn.

Ko ko kozhi – The Great Father (Gopi Sunder)
Prarthana and Pratheeksha’s lead vocals, along with the kids’ chorus helps Gopi’s simple, almost rhyme-style Christmas song.

Oruvakkinal – 1971 Beyond Borders (Rahul Subrahmanian)
Rahul’s music is expansive, with lovely sweeping strings. M G Sreekumar lends the song the needed gravitas, along with Shweta Mohan.

Joleem kooleem, Omal chiriyo & Kabadi kabadi – Georgettan’s Pooram (Gopi Sundar)

Madhumatiye & Theyyum thindaka – Sakhavu (Prashant Pillai)

Aaro nenjil, Wow Song & Innalekalil – Godha (Shaan Rahman)

Kannada

Chukkubukku Railige – Eleyaru Naavu Geleyaru (Anoop Seelin)
Anoop’s handling of the kids’ chorus/voices is mighty good, though the tune and rhythm are predictable. The kids make it worthwhile, though.

Single Saavn playlist of all the 39 songs

Hindi

Baarish – Half Girlfriend (Tanishk Bagchi)

Sune saaye & Saat rangon se – Dear Maya (Anupam Roy)

Tera hoke rahoon, Teri yaadon mein & Tenu na – Behen Hogi Teri (JAM8’s Kaushik-Akash-Guddu, Yash Narvekar, Amjad Nadeem)

Tamil

Bro, Kannaal modhadhey & Unavey marundhu – Server Sundaram (Santhosh Narayanan)

Ceylon silku nila, Mella vaa – Tubelight (Indra)

Foreign return – Rangoon (R.H.Vikram)

Telugu

Kaakki chokka & Choopultho guchchi – Radha (Radhan)

Paapi kondallo, Meghale thele naalona & Kanulemito – Fashion Designer s/o Ladies Tailor (Mani Sharma)

Kaala bhairava ashtakam, Telusa, Yedisthe rarevaru & Po poradi – Keshava (Sunny M.R.)

Title song, Nee vente nenunte & Bhramaramba – Raarandoi Veduka Chuddam (Devi Sri Prasad)

Yase kothagundi & Manasuku manasu telise – Sriramudinta Srikrishnudanta (Naresh Penta)
Promising sound from a debutant, though the rest of the soundtrack isn’t backed by the same verve. The singers help a lot too – Anurag Kulkarni in the former and Naresh Iyer in the latter, backed by breezy guitar.

Malayalam

Akale oru – Ramante Edanthottam (Bijibal)

Njaanum neeyum, Minnaminungu & Njan varumee paadhayil – Theeram (Afzal Yusuff)

Akkidi – Himalayathile Kashmalan (Aravind Chandrasekhar)
Almost the poor-man’s Kappa kappa (Bachelor Party, Rahul Raj).

Kannada

Chanda avalu, Nennillade, Motte Song & Henne – Ondu Motteya Kathe (Midhun Mukundan)

Indu ninna edurali – Kaafi Thota (Midhun Mukundan)
I think I hear strands of Gowri Manohari raaga here, and given Midhun’s form in the album right above, it’s no wonder the song makes for a great listen!

Alaga Alaga – Operation Alamelamma (Judah Sandhy)
What Judah doesn’t do in Uppu Huli Khara, he pulls off in style with this one track in Operation Alamelamma!

Title song & Manase manase – Pataki (Arjun Janya)
One of the more weaker soundtracks by Arjun. The title song survives thanks to Vijay Prakash’s fantastic singing and Manase is very akin to a Mani Sharma melody.

Single Saavn playlist of all the songs: (barring Role Models, in Malayalam, and Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha, in Hindi, that are not available on Saavn)

Hindi

Freaking Life, Chal kahin door, Muafi mushkil and Be nazaara – Mom (A R Rahman)

Ik vaari aa and Main tera boyfriend – Raabta (JAM8, T-Series)

Radio, Tinka tinka, Naach meri jaan and Main agar – Tubelight (Pritam)

Main hoon, Feel The Rhythm and Beparwah – Munna Michael (Tanishk Baagchi, Pranaay and Gourov-Roshin)

Aawari – Shab (Mithoon)

Title song – Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha (Nadeem)

Tamil

Paathum paakkaama and Annamaare ayyamaare – Kurangu Bommai (B.Ajaneesh Loknath)

Sandalee, Uruttu kannala and Nenje nenje – Sema (G.V. Prakash Kumar)

Karuppu vellai, Oru Katha Sollatta?, Tasakku tasakku, Yaanji, Pogatha yennavittu and Ghetto Chase – Vikram Vedha (Sam C.S.)

Iraivanai thandha and Dhooram nillu – Velai Illa Pattadhaari 2 (Sean Roldan)

Vaadi nee va – Meesaya Murukku (Hiphop Tamizha)
The soundtrack is more of what one expects from the Hiphop Tamizha duo, but this one song, at least, has an incredibly mind-worm’ish hook that makes for a compelling listen!

Telugu

Kaadhal kaadhal – Kaadhali (Prasan Praveen Shyam)

Gudilo badilo – DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham (Devi Sri Prasad)

Unnatundi gundey and Adiga adiga – Ninnu Kori (Gopi Sundar)

Ye vaipu choostunna, Baanisa, Eppudu Modalaindo, Party Just Started, Kaalam Nippulaa Kaalchutunde and Praayam Inthera – Chandamama Raave (Shravan)

Ninnu chudaganey – June 1:43 (Shravan)
Cheesy lyrics, yes, but Karthik infuses enough life into the likeable, lilting melody. Shravan’s music is predictable, but also has the spark.

Milamilamila mandari and Anukundantha – Rendu Rellu Aaru (Vijai Bulganin)
Vijai who made a non-descript debut in Sapthagiri Express seems slightly more in control in Rendu Rellu Aaru. His chocie of Pradeep Kumar for Anukundantha gets him fantastic results for the soulful, minimally orchestrated melody while Milamilamila mandari’s glitzy techno sound amps up the pleasant tune it holds.

Malayalam

Ozhukiyozhuki – Oru Cinemaakkaran (Bijibal)

Vaa kuruvi and Nirame maayalle (both versions) – Vilakkumaram (Sanjeev T)

Thechille penne, Theru there ororo and Kootukettu – Role Models (Gopi Sundar)

Kannile poika and Varum varum – Thondimuthalum Dhriksaakshiyum (Bijibal)
Kannile poika could almost be the soul sister to the director-composer’s earlier, Idukki, from Maheshinte Prathikaaram given the sound of water enveloping both songs set to a simpler, nostalgic whiff of a tune. Varum varum’s classic rock format is very appealing too, though a tad plain barring Bijibal’s excellent vocals.

Kannada

Mula mula and Janaganamana – Rajahamsa (Joshua Sridhar)

Marete hodenu and Marete hodenu (Unplugged) – Dayavittu Gamanisi (Anoop Seelin)
Anoop’s (most possibly) Charukesi raaga coated melody is an easy listen. V.Pradeep Kumar seems to be everywhere these days, but not composing and focusing on singing! After Anukundantha from the Telugu soundtrack of Rendu Rellu Aaru (above), here he is in Kannada, elevating a song with his endearing vocals! The other version is a lovely listen too, featuring leading man Vasishta N. Simha’s more raw’ish voice that adds a new dimension to the song.

Marathi

Chuktay, Maze tuze and Aga aik na – Muramba (Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj)

Punjabi

Hawa vich, Ho gaya talli and Glorious gallan – Super Singh (Jatinder Shah)

Indipop

The entire album! – Notun Puhor (Papon)

Single Saavn playlist of all the songs (barring 9 – 1 from Chunkzz, 3 from Sunday Holiday, 2 from Nawal Enna Jewel and 3 from Raj Vishnu – please do listen to them via YouTube, below, under Malayalam and Kannada):

Hindi

Ullu ka pattha, Galti se mistake, Jhumritalaiyyan, Phir wahi and Musafir – Jagga Jasoos (Pritam)

Jigi jigi, Ishquiya and Le li jaan – Lipstick Under My Burkha (Zebunnisa Bangash)

Hans mat pagli and Gori tu latthmaar – Toilet Ek Prem Katha (Vickey Prasad and Manas-Shikhar)

I am India, Hulchul, Junooni, Udanchoo, Phir nayi, Poshamba, Jag mag – Qaidi Band (Amit Trivedi)

Radha, Beech beech mein, Safar, Hawayein, Parinda, Ghar and Jee ve sohaneya – Jab Harry Met Sejal (Pritam)

Tamil

Ammukuttiye and Aahaa aahaa – Gemini Ganeshanum Suruli Raajanum (D.Imman)

Singakutty – Pothuvaaga Emmanasu Thangam (D.Imman)

Idhuvum kadanthu pogum – Nibunan (S.Navin)

Melam kottudaa and Thoranam aayiram – Aramm (Ghibran)

Telugu

Laayire, Pedaviki nuvvante and Hello pillagada – Nakshatram (Bheems Ceciroleo, Bharath Madhusudhanan)

Ninne nenu premisthunna – Veedevadu (S.S.Thaman)

Marala raaa, Manase thalupe, Nallani kanulalo, Naa kadhalo yuvarani and Thikkalodi vesham – Kathalo Rajakumari (Ilayaraja, Vishal Chandrashekhar)

Vachinde, Edo jaruguthondi, Hey pillagaada, Oosupodu and Hey Mister – Fida (Shakthikanth Karthick)

Rangu rangu – Jaya Janaki Nayaka (Devi Sri Prasad)

Malayalam

The Mahashay Paean (Bham Bham Siva) – Tiyaan (Gopi Sundar)

Ithu nava sumasara – Chunkzz (Gopi Sundar)

Janah meri janah, Reprise of Janah meri janah, Engane padendu njan and Engane padendu njan’s Electro Dream Version – Cappuccino (Hesham Abdul Wahab)

Mazha paadum, Aaro kude and Kando ninde kanni – Sunday Holiday (Deepak Dev)

Maangappoolu and Kada thala kola – Thrissivaperoor Kliptham (Bijibal)

Ikkaliveettil, Kooduthurannu and Chemmaanam – Sarvopari Palakkaran (Bijibal)

Neelambal nilavodu and Rakkadalala – Nawal Enna Jewel (M.Jayachandran)

Kannada

Title song, Tea angadi munde and Suruvana suvvanaari – Raj Vishnu (Arjun Janya)

Nee nadeda – Ayana (Shriyansh Shreeram)
Shriyansh, who composed the lovely Kanule telipe for the Telugu short film Manasuna Manasai in 2016, gets a full soundtrack in the Kannada film Ayana. While most of it listenable, Nee nadeda, in both versions, stands out easily. The melody is easily likeable, has a Shaan Rahman twang to it (Ee Shishirakaalam from Jacobinte Swargarajyam, I’m looking at you!) and Tippu handles it effortlessly.

Marathi

Aapla Romance – Bus Stop (Hrishikesh Saurabh Jasraj)
The Marathi trio continues to produce really interesting, pan-Indian music. Aapla romance has a nice, bouncy rhythm that takes care of the simple tune, complete with a spritely conversational singing by Shruti Athvle and Jasraj Joshi.

Single Saavn playlist of (almost) all the songs
(missing songs: Simran’s Baras Ja, all 4 songs from Velipadinte Pusthakam, 3 songs from Mugulu Nage and Chintamani by Raman & Jirka)

Hindi

Sweet tera drama, Nazm and Bairaagi – Bareilly Ki Barfi (Tanishk Bagchi, Arko, Samira Koppikar)

Laagi na choote, Chandralekha and Bandook meri laila – A Gentleman (Sachin-Jigar)

Kaavaan kaavaan, Rangdaari, Meer-e-kaarwan and Baaki Rab pe – Lucknow Central (Arjunna Harjaie, Rochak Kohli, Tanishk Bagchi, Mychael Danna)

Barfani, Ghungta and Chulbuli – Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (Gaurav Dagaonkar)

Lagdi hai thaai, Pinjra tod ke, Baras ja, Majaa ni life and Title song – Simran (Sachin-Jigar)

Kho diya and Trippy trippy – Bhoomi (Sachin-Jigar)

Mere rashke qamar and Socha hai – Baadshaho (Tanishk Bagchi)

Kanha – Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (Tanishk-Vayu)

Tamil

Surviva, Thalai viduthalai and Kadhalada – Vivegam (Anirudh)

On nenappu, Tappu tippu and Sunday na – Kathanayagan (Sean Roldan)

Iravil varukira, Abimaaniye, Title song and Ayyo ayyo theri ponnuda – En Aaloda Seruppa Kaanom (Ishaan Dev)

Telugu

Kannu kannu kalisai, Title song and Padhamari – Paisa Vasool (Anup Rubens)

Dhooram, Telisiney na nuvvey, Emitemitemo, Madhurame, Mari mari and Gundelonaa – Arjun Reddy (Radhan)

Yelugula teraley, Neevalaney, Adedo maayalley and Enno enno bhavaley – Yuddham Sharanam (Vivek Sagar)

Miss Sunshine and Freedom – LIE (Mani Sharma)
Miss Sunshine has Anurag Kulkarni and Sinduri Vishal deliver an immensely listenable (barring cringe-worthy Teluglish) beach song! Mani is a master in such melodies and this one just works effortlessly. There’s a lot more spunk in Freedom with Mani showcasing fantastic flair with the orchestration even as Anurag Kulkarni and Ramya Behara handle the singing duties in style.

Etuvaipo – Oye ninney (Shekar Chandra)
Shekar’s melody is highly engaging and tuneful, with a haunting tinge of pathos, but his choice of Chaitra for the singing is the masterstroke.

Merise – Aanando Brahma (K)
The short soundtrack with just 2 songs and 4 background pieces was perhaps apt for a horror film like this one. S.V. Jananie’s Merise is easily the pick of the soundtrack with K’s trademark resonant and likeable melody.

Sukhibhava Annaru – Nene Raju Nene Mantri (Anup Rubens)
This soundtrack that released perhaps a bit too close to the film’s release was full of bombastic music pumping up Rana’s character, coming close on the heels of his Baahubali high. Shreya Ghoshal’s Sukhibhava is the one song that really stayed with me, with Anup choosing a lovely melody that almost sounded like Mani Sharma’s with neat violin strains and ably supported by Rohith and that ‘nuvve nuvve’ hook.

Malayalam

Pranavaakaram and Divayanam – E (Rahul Raj)

Aaradyam and Orayiram – Matchbox (Bijibal)

Veerangana and Melakey – Crossroad (Amrutha Suresh, Abhirami Suresh and Anitha Shaiq)

Tapp tapp, Kavalam painkili and Kilivathilin chare nee – Pullikkaran Staraa (M.Jayachandran)

Entammede jimikki kammal, Karayum kadalum, Neeyum and Mele arimulla – Velipadinte Pusthakam (Shaan Rahman)

Arikil ini njaan varaam – Adam Joan (Deepak Dev)
Arikil is a surprisingly effective guitar-led ballad featuring Prithviraj. He sings with a slight untrained edge and that actually helps keep the ballad’s melody intimate and real!

Enthavo and Nanavare – Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela (Justin Varghese)
Suraj Santhosh’s highly engaging singing of debutant Justin’s winsome melody is Enthavo. The melody is simple and easy on the ears, with Justin adding catchy layers with ukulele and banjo. Justin has a winner in Navare too, getting Tessa Chavara to handle the lazy drawl in the melody backed by the amplified sound of a clock’s ticking!

Kannada

Roopasi, Kannadi illada oorinali and Ninna snehadinda – Mugulu Nage (V.Harikrishna)

Marathi

Gaaz yeta go and Virlya kevha – Mala Kahich Problem Nahi (Hrishikesh Saurabh Jasraj)

Indipop

Enthavo – Job Kurian

Chintamani – Raman & Jirka

I found Season 9 middle-of-the-road. In comparison, Season 10 is no better; in fact, I thought season 9 was significantly better when compared to season 10. But a season of Pakistani Coke Studio always has something interesting and worthwhile, at the very least. They are middling only in comparison to earlier, superior seasons. So, here’s my top 10 from Coke Studio Pakistan Season 10.

YouTube playlist of all the 10 songs:

Saavn playlist of all the 10 songs:

01. Chaa Rahi Kaali Ghata – Hina Nasrullah & Amanat Ali
In my view, Chaa rahi kaali ghata embodies the true spirit of Coke Studio. Not only does it present a modernized, but still authentic enough variant of the thumri made popular by Begum Akhtar, but it also, with the help of Sahir Ali Bagga’s original, additional melody, enhance the source it so lovingly adopts. The mix is fantastic when sung so well by Hina Nasrullah and Amanat Ali.

02. Sayonee – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Ali Noor
Two of Junoon’s iconic songs gets a heady melange here – Saeein and Sayonee. But, the song also includes snatches of Meri awaaz suno and Ghoom, to take the mix to an interesting high. Mixing a very-similarly styled Saaein on top of Sayonee is a great idea, particularly when it powers the ecstatic and frenzied ending where the Guitar mavens come together and the song reaches a fever pitch that is almost hypnotic! I hear Pakistani fans are outraged over this song’s interpretation, particularly Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s vocals! I love it, though.

03. Baazi – Aima Beg & Sahir Ali Bagga
The charm of Siraiki dialect and the immensely catchy rhythm layered on top of the mandolin aping the iktara! And Aima Beg’s vocals… uff! Sahir Ali Bagga’s music kicks in so much swag particularly towards the middle when he gets the singers into a face-off mode, amping up the rhythms!

04. Dam Mast Qalandar – Jabar Abbas & Umair Jaswal
This song hardly requires any introduction, given the incredibly powerful original from Pakistan and the extraordinarily entertaining stolen Indian film version by Viju Shah. But the tune’s magic remains intact. Umair Jaswal and Jabar Abbas offer wonderfully spirited vocals with the guitars acting almost like the 3rd voice!

05. Naina Moray – Javed Bashir & Akbar Ali feat. Amir Zaki
One can seldom go wrong using a raag like Bhairvi and when you have 2 fantastic singers like Javed Bashir and Akbar Ali as lead singers, you can only get better! Their vocal dexterity takes the song to a new high, particularly Akbar Ali who gets to showcase his incredible range as he plays with the raag’s flow wonderfully.

06. Allahu Akbar – Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan & Ahmed Jehanzeb
This is yet another example of spirituality coexisting with art, here in the form of music. The pop prelude paves way for a highly lush sufi sound that we have all come to love since it has been aped ever since so many times. The way the chorus picks up the thread from the lead singers and offer their counter-point and backing is absolutely brilliant!

07. Jindjaani – Ali Hamza & Nirmal Roy
Much like Chaa rahi kaali ghata, Jindjaani sees Ali Hamza acing a mix of the old and the new. He picks up the lilting folk melody of Jhanjar Phabdi Na and finds it an apt compliment in his own new melody. Getting Nirmal Roy is a super decision because her sweet voice enhances the mix manifold.

08. Kaatay Na Katay – Aima Baig, Humera Arshad & Rachel Viccaji
This song is a great showcase of 3 women – Aima Baig, Rachel Viccaji and Humera Arshad. Humera, in fact, is handed over the semi-classical original made popular by Runa Laila in Umrao Jaan Ada (among other versions), and Ali Hamza layers in the pulsating, and often distracting rock parts quite confidently. The handover from Humera, to Aima and Rachel is the song’s stunning highlight.

09. Ranjish hi sahi – Ali Sethi
Tonally, Ali Sethi is a far cry from Mehdi Hassan, but he no doubt makes it his own, bringing his own brand of melancholy to the beautiful melody. His voice is calm and goes so well—particularly in the longer stretches—with the piercing pathos in the lyrics, while Jaffer Zaidi keeps the music aptly basic to evoke the modern-day ghazal feel, along with a nuanced and appropriate backing chorus.

10. Julie – Ali Zafar feat. Danyal Zafar
The find of this season is easily Danyal Zafar, Ali Zafar’s brother! The man was excellent with his singing in Muntazir (with Momina Mustehsan, in episode 1), but here he lets his flamboyant brother take center-stage with the vocals while he’s content playing the guitar alongside… and aces it! Ali Zafar, on his part, completely showboats the song with his incredible singing, complete with a superb falsetto towards the end and full-on drama in terms of taking off his jacket! The reggae-blues infused tune is perfect for the brothers, and Ali almost recreates his Rockstar vibe from Season 9.

Single Saavn playlist of (almost) all the songs (except ‘Pallikkalachante Mole’ from the Malayalam film, Sherlock Toms that’s not available on Saavn – please listen to it via the YouTube link below):

Hindi

Shugal laga le and Darmiyaan – Chef (Raghu Dixit)

Piya aa – Haseena Parkar (Sachin-Jigar)

Chalti hai kya and Oonchi hai building 2.0 – Judwaa 2 (Sandeep Shirodkar and Anu Malik)

Tamil

Nee paarkum and neenda naal – Thiruttuppayale 2 (Vidyasagar)

Karuva karuva payale – Karuppan (D.Imman)

Kaadhal Project and Yavvana – Sathya (Simon K. King)

Rathina katti, Meghamo, Nee mattum and Enna naan – Meyaadha Maan (Santhosh Narayanan, Pradeep Kumar)

Saaregaama Padhaneesa and Engada/Engadi Pona – Abhiyum Anuvum (Dharan Kumar)
A generally likeable tune gets better with the ‘Neeyum naanum’ EDM hook! And in Engada/Engadi Pona, Dharan showcases, all over again, the spark of brilliance he had shown back in Sivi.

Telugu

Boom boom and Ciciliya ciciliya – Spyder (Harris Jayaraj)

Nuvve naa adhrushtam and Allari pillagada – Ungarala Rambabu (Ghibran)

Rendu kallu, Title song and Kiss Me Baby – Mahanubhavudu (Thaman S)

Malayalam

Minunundae mullapolae (both versions) – Tharangam (Ashwin Renju)

Kasavu njoriyumoru pulari, Unarukayaano, Kaattil ila, Kanakku and Ethu mazhayilum – Udaharanam Sujatha (Gopi Sundar)

Nenjil nenjil, Ormakal, Pagalin vaathil (and most of the background pieces) – Parava (Rex Vijayan)

Kandittum – Villain (4 Musics)
The Mohanlal House Band, 4 Musics hasn’t been that good a composing entity, going by their past output. Kandittum, thankfully, breaks that perspective with its charming, old-worldly melody that could have easily been Bijibal’s! That Yesudas sings it (and sung by Sithara Krishnakumar in the female version equally well) really helps!

Ayyapante Amma – Lava Kusha (Gopi Sundar)
Neeraj Madhav could easily claim the title of being the Dhanush of Malayalam Film Industry! He writes hilariously silly kuthu lyrics and dances enthusiastically too… both like Dhanush! Gopi plays along with his brand of manic, catchy kuthu music.

Ekayaai Nee – Kaattu (Deepak Dev)
Deepak ropes in the long-in-hibernation Unnikrishnan for this delightful Reetigowlai-raaga based melody. Unni’s voice seems withered and somewhat tired, but the nuance is all there to cherish. Deepak’s tune is easily and instantly likeable that traverses through the raaga’s usual flow in all its glory.

Pallikkalachante Mole – Sherlock Toms (Bijibal)
Bijibal mixes lively and rhythmic Kerala folk with another of Kerala’s preoccupation – alcohol! The mix is pretty good, in Udayan’s drunk shenanigans!

Kannada

Sanje hothu – Tarak (Arjun Janya)

Early morning and Ishq dishq – Dalapathi (Charan Raj)

Iduvarege Badukiddella – April Na Himabindu (Bharath B J)
Bharath ropes in Raghu Dixit over to voice a breezy bluegrass’y tune and the combo works pretty well.

Marathi

Vanava Petala – Ghuma (Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj)
Sung by Ajay Gogavale of Ajay-Atul fame, and with that expansive folk rhythm, it could easily be mistaken as a song by the duo, instead of the talented trio. The tune is ebullient and Ajay’s lively singing takes it to a new level!

Hich Amuchi Praarthana and Title song – Ubuntu (Kaushal Inamdar)
Hich amuchi, in the audio-only version, sounds like a beautifully resonant prayer (given that I don’t understand Marathi). I then looked up the song video and was happy to see it was a prayer in letter and spirit – a school prayer, at that! The lead actor, Sarang Sathaye, looks like the Marathi equivalent of Tamil director/actor Ram (Thanga Meenkal, Taramani) and is as earnest in the way he sings the prayer along with the students. Ajit Parab and Mugdha Vaishampain’s singing is as flawless as Kaushal Inamdar’s perfectly pitched music that accentuates the prayer feel. The title song is a great listen too, with the chorus (Mugdha Vaishampayan, Anurag Inamdar, Vidhit Patankar and Vedant Chimmalagi) pitching the title hook really well amidst the jaunty music.

Apple Music playlist of 50 songs (except the Telugu song from Sarovaram, Amrutham kurisina that’s not available on Apple Music)

Single Saavn playlist of all the 51 songs:

Hindi

Helicopter – Ranchi Diaries (Tony Kakkar)

Thodi si jagah, Dhundlo tum and Title song – Tu Hai Mera Sunday (Amartya Rahut)

Main kaun hoon, Meri pyaari Ammi, Sapne re, O re manwa, Gudgudi and I’ll Miss You – Secret Superstar (Amit Trivedi)

O mere sanam – The House Next Door (Girishh G)

Jogi, Tu banja gali Benaras ki and Pallo latke – Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana (Arko, Raees & Zain-Sam, Rashid Khan)

Ittefaq se – Ittefaq (Bappi Lahiri and Tanishk Bagchi)
Yet-yet another recreation of an old Bollywood song. Yet another recreation by recreation-master Tanishk Bagchi. But, this one’s quite nice too, like Tanishk’s Tamma tamma recreation, with him sprucing up the original’s elements cleverly in a way that doesn’t dilute the effect but actually accentuates it. Good choice of singers – Jubin Nautyal and Nikhita Gandhi.

Na jaa – Jia Aur Jia (Nisschal Zaveri)
The only song that stands out in this otherwise lackluster album. The only song composed by Nisschal Zaveri as well. That he picks Nandini Srikar to deliver one version helps it sell the song’s introduction and it doesn’t disappoint, with its soft, ghazal-like outlook and ambient backgrounds. The other version by Asees Kaur is a good listen too.

Tamil

Rail aaraaroo, Aei arakka and Aram seiyya virumbu – Nenjil Thunivirunthal (D.Imman)

Semparuthi, Ennenna kaatchigal – Indrajith (KP)

Kulebaa vaa, Thodra paakkalaam – Ippadai Vellum (D.Imman)

Kaarigai kanne – Aval (Girishh G)

Telugu

Adhilekka and O kshanam – Oxygen (Yuvan Shankar Raja)

What Amma What Is This Amma – Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi (Devi Sri Prasad)
In an otherwise banal soundtrack that does nothing to Devi’s already-limited range, he produces his own Kolaveri in What Amma What Is This Amma. He sings it himself too and sets the tune to an easily likeable rhythm and instantly sing-along tune.

Amrutham kurisina – Sarovaram (Sunil Kashyap)
Sunil’s music in the song reminded me of Chakri’s style – a simple, highly melodious tune that works in perfect sync with the simple, lilting rhythm. The choice of singers elevates the song considerably – Hemachandra and Harini!

Ala Meda Mida – Next Nuvve (Sai Karthik)
Yazin Nizar’s involved vocals definitely help, but beyond that Sai’s choice of layering a constant veena backdrop helps significantly in the pleasant melody.

Ishtam and Nijama – Good Bad Ugly (Harshavardhan)
I started listening to the 2 songs of Good Bad Ugly almost with no ishtam, since I had no idea what to expect from composer Harshavardhan. But the way Ishtam started, I sat up straight! It sounded just like a Raja intro! Harsha’s singing almost kills the song, but the Raja signs are all over the song, including the interludes and a gorgeous tune! In Nijama too, Harsha’s singing is the weakest point, but that rhythm is straight out of Raja’s 80s repertoire!! Pleasantly surprised!

Supere and Nijame kani – Mama O Chandamama (Munna Kasi)
The 2 songs that truly stand out owe a lot to Ilayaraja! Supere has the template of Ram bam bam while Nijame is a photocopy of Vamsi-Raja’s Jigi jigi jigija, that Mayamalavagowla masterpiece from Chettu Kinda Pleader. To be fair, both sound pretty good, but still like vague imitations of Raja’s music.

Malayalam

Aalayal tara venam, Aalayal tara venam Reprise, Aigiri Nandini, Shiva Tandav, Kandu nee, Oru vaanchi paattu, Thaalolam, Roshomon, Sajan more ghar aaye, Sita Kalyanam, Separation and Karaiyaadhe – Solo (Masala Coffee, Thaikkudam Bridge, Ragini Bhagwat, Abhinav Bansal, Agam, Prashant Pillai, Filter Coffee, Sooraj Kurup, Govind Menon and Gaurav Godkhindi)

Manjaniyum, Mele manathu – Chakkaramaavin Kombathu (Bijibal)

Kannada

Ondhe jeevana, Kshanvu kooda and Ninna haage – Gowdru Hotel (Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Kodeyondara Adiyalli – Raju Kannada Medium (Kiran Ravindranath)
Kiran’s song and, in particular, the song’s picturization showcases the fabulous landscape of Karnataka. Sonu Nigam is obviously the clear highlight of the dulcet melody.

Given the proliferation of singles over full soundtracks and considering the fact that I make playlists for myself every week consisting of new music (both singles and songs part of fully released soundtracks), I have decided to share those playlists as well without being constrained by the full soundtrack release or reviewing that first. I intend it to be the kind of playlists I have always made and enjoyed for myself – multilingual and runs for about an hour.

Here’s the first Weeklies playlist, on Saavn and Apple Music. Below the links, you’d find a Tweet-style (since I share it on Twitter first as a Milliblog-Twitter-Exclusive; do follow me on Twitter at @milliblog) commentary on each of the songs.

On Saavn:

—
Bewajah (Anirudh, Hindi): Technically, his 3rd Hindi song, after ‘Yun hi re’ (David, 2013), and the Kolaveri-redux Sachin Anthem (featuring Dhanush, 2012). This one’s a total earworm – has an incredibly catchy hook and an eye-popping vertical video!

Rafu (Tumhari Sulu, Hindi): The soundtrack’s best, easily, with Santanu Ghatak, making his Hindi debut after after the Bangla album Hingtingchhot. Delightfully mellow, featuring involved vocals by Ronkini Gupta.

Silk Song – Armaan Malik, Shirley Setia: Composed by Clinton Cerejo, the memorable ad jingle now has a slighty longer version feat. Armaan & Shirley. The song is cloyingly sweet, just like the chocolate, but it’s likeable because of the innate familiarity.

Tanha begum (Qarib Qarib Singlle, Hindi): Hussain Haidry aces lines like “Saari saari raatiya charkhe atariya; bijli vali racket se maru macchariya”. Antara Mitra does a pitch perfect retro-style rendition aided wonderfully by Rochak’s spiffy tune.

Ban ja rani (Tumhari Sulu, Hindi): Guru Randhawa spruces up his Tu meri rani (2016), with help from the former’s mixer Rajat Nagpal; this is a significantly better version that smoothens out some of the earlier version’s quirks. A cutesy Punjabi ballad.

Kukkotti kunaatti (Aruvi, Tamil): Moves seamlessly from child’s pov—Praniti’s delightfully innocent & sweet singing—to the duo singing about the child herself. Wonderfully imaginative vocal harmonies and sparkling orchestration by Bindhumalini & Vedanth.

Asaindhadum mayil (Aruvi, Tamil): Oothakkaadu Venkata Subbaiyer and Ray Charles go to a bar and order something potent! The Simhendramadhyamam-raaga original morphs into a bewildering pastiche featuring Bindhumalini’s freestyle scatting!

Hawa Hawai 2.0 (Tumhari Sulu, Hindi): Tanishk Bagchi, Hindi film music’s undisputed recreation-master thankfully uses Kavita’s original vocals in Hawa Hawai 2.0 (like Badrinath’s Tamma tamma where he used Bappi Lahiri and Anuradha Paudwal’s vocals) and hits another remix jackpot.

Jaane de (Qarib Qarib Singlle, Hindi): A serene melody by composer Vishal Mishra, befitting Atif’s dreamy voice. That “aadatan toh sochenge… hota yun toh kya hota” detour in the melody is a lovely touch!

Oru veettil (Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, Tamil): Good old Ghibran, with a multi-layered sound, splendid chorus and strings, and excellent singing by Shashaa Tirupati and Inno Genga.

Kulebaa vaa (Ippadai Vellum, Tamil): The soundtrack’s best, with its exotic and immensely catchy sound that Imman has mastered as a template by now. Malaysian singer Kumaresh Kamalakannan and Nalini Krishnan deliver the song wonderfully.

Iraiva (Velaikkaran, Tamil): Anirudh first literally begs and prays, but soon loses patience and delivers an angry, vocal chord busting missive to God! And then Jonita joins and they both sing about each other, forgetting all about God! Thoroughly engaging tune, though!

Sevatha pulla (Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, Tamil): Ranjith holds the song in great stead with his singing, and Ghibran’s reggae-ish sway and a particularly neat anupallavi makes the song work easily.

Baitikochi Chuste (PSPK25, Telugu): The 3rd Anirudh song in this week’s playlist, in the 3rd language! He sings this one himself and the tune is typical of his music – breezy and easy to get hooked on to.

Hasi bisi (College Kumar, Kannada): Arjun Janya usually pulls a lot of Harris Jayaraj’ish elements in his music. As soon as the energetic rhythm kicks in, you’d know what I’m talking about Shweta Mohan handles the lush melody beautifully.

Milliblog Weeklies playlist, on Saavn and Apple Music – Week 2.

Below the links, you’d find a Tweet-style (since I share it on Twitter first as a Milliblog-Twitter-Exclusive; do follow me on Twitter at @milliblog) commentary on each of the songs.

On Saavn:

—
Marugelara (Hampi, Marathi): Thyagaraja’s Jayanthasri raaga-based Marugelara has seen a lot of fusion variants and this one, sung superbly by Rupali Moghe and composed by Aditya Bedekar is one right on top, with its frenetic rhythms and scintillating ambient sound!

Helicopter (Ranchi Diaries, Hindi): The Kakkar siblings—Tony and Neha—hit it out of the park with this heady hip-hop mix. The lyrics are equally heady and literally intoxicating: “Maarenge dope udega Helicopter… Dope shope tere sang mein baby, Karne ka mera plan hai”

Bhalobasar gaan (Samantaral, Bangla): Actor-singer Parambrata Chattopadhyay and composer Indraadip Dasgupta seem far more comfortable in handling the Latino classic Besame mucho than Lalon Fakir’s Ke Kotha Koy. But the mix actually works thanks largely to the former!

Hai baaki (Rukh, Hindi): One of Amit Trivedi’s lesser known and heard soundtracks! Arijit sounds like himself (unlike the Amit-self as in Qaidi Band) and Amit’s tune build itself steadily like a classic tune that could easily be part of Udaan’s soundtrack.

Sodakku (Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, Tamil): Anirudh is truly on a roll! His sense of rhythm here is riveting and mighty different from usual kuthu idioms. Anthony Daasan, the go-to man for such adipoli (thank you comrades, for the word!) songs is effortless with this vocals.

What Amma (Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi, Hindi): Of the limited range that composer Devi Sri Prasad peddles, this is one of the best! A hyper-catchy simple rhythm and an easily likeable tune that confidently meanders into a fantastic kuthu mid-portion. Devi makes it seem effortless

Ek Dil (Padmavati, Hindi): Sanjay’s compositions have a steady Ismail Darbar-hangover from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Ek Dil sonorous, Rajasthani percussion is proof of that yet again. Splendid singing and a lovely, earthy sound keeps the song very, very likeable!

O Mere Sanam (The House Next Door, Hindi): Remarkable how composer Girishh differentiates this from the Tamil equivalent while also keeping each uniquely relatable in those milieus. The Hindi ver. is a classic Mohit Suri-melody but with so much more to it, thanks to Benny Dayal.

Edhola (Mental Madhilo, Telugu): Composer Prashanth R Vihari who showed quite a promise in Velipomakey picks up a similar path here too! The sprightly tune, led by Revanth, mixing with the semi-classical piece by Ranjani Sivakumar is ample showcase of that promise!

Ishtam (Good Bad Ugly, Telugu): The prelude to this song is so, so incredibly Ilayaraja! I only wished the composer Harsha Vardhan didn’t sing this song (though he manages his best) but this is such a time-travel Raja-of-80s melody that it’s hard to see it as a contemporary song!

Anukunnadi (Balakrishnudu, Telugu): After so many soundtracks and literally being sidelined by leading Telugu heroes, composer Mani Sharma shows he still has the goods and how! This is such a simple, familiar and engaging melody that you wonder why the man is not in demand now!

Okka Chinukulo (Prematho Mee Karthik, Telugu): Shaan Rahman has seen his Malayalam tunes being reused in Telugu, but this is perhaps his first direct Telugu soundtrack! He carries his winsome style easily with Sachin Warrier and Anne Amie as dependable partners!

Kaarkala megham (Oru Kadhai Sollatuma, Tamil): The 2-soundtrack album is intriguing given it stars sound designer Resul Pookutty! Malayalam composer Rahul Raj sings this one himself along with Sunitha Sarathy and the song’s steadily building, thrumming energy is easily its asset.

Azhagile Enai (Kathiruppor Pattiyal, Tamil): Sean Roldan’s music is never substandard; at best it can be less interesting. Even among such work, there are sparks like (Aalangiliye, Neruppuda) Azhagile that significantly props the entire soundtrack!

Milliblog Weeklies playlist, on Saavn and Apple Music – Week 3.

Below the links, you’d find a Tweet-style (since I share it on Twitter first as a Milliblog-Twitter-Exclusive; do follow me on Twitter at @milliblog) commentary on each of the songs.

On Saavn:

—
Pal – Monsoon Shootout, Hindi: Rochak Kohli, once known as Ayushmann Khurrana’s composer pal has truly been a revelation all through 2017, with a string of pretty good songs (Qarib Qarib Singlle, Lucknow Central, Naam Shabana etc.). Add Pal to the list!

Tu mera bhai nahi hai – Fukrey Returns, Hindi: The original Fukrey had a far superior soundtrack by Ram Sampath and the only composer who props this sequel (amidst 9 individual composers!) is Sumeet Bellary. The song’s funky, comic routine fits perfectly the film’s foursome!

Aaj zid – Aksar 2, Hindi: Mithoon has been a terribly banal form for the longest time. Shab’s Aawari, earlier this year, was one ray of hope. Aaj zid is not bad at all, and in fact, recalls some of his sparkling form from The Train. At least he doesn’t get Arijit to mope around.

Itemkaaran – Semma Botha Aagathey, Tamil: Yuvan mixes EDM and thara-local Madras kuthu very, very efficiently here! He does a delayed-release of the insanely catchy hook after an extended period but when it arrives, it really hits!

Husi nage – O Premave, Kannada: Anand Rajavikraman made a promising solo debut in Lee, and in O Premave, he has Rahul Dev as co-composer! Husi nage builds on Anand’s form, with its gorgeous melody handled fabulously by Anjana Selvakumar, along with excellent solo violin phrases!

Swag se swagat – Tiger Zinda Hai, Hindi: Highly predictable tune and sound, but Vishal and Shekhar still pull it off in style, despite the allegations on plagiarism (very flimsy charge, IMO), from DJ Katch’s The Horns. Foot-tapping, fluffy swag.

Tere jaane se – Ankit Tiwari, Hindi: Ankit has been missing from the film music circuit for quite some time. He sings here with his usual edge, an almost disenchanted twang, but the overall song, with its captivating EDM sound, works for most parts.

Title song – Semma Botha Aagathey, Tamil: Yuvan Shankar Raja is back with his typical swag and how! The title, literally translating to, ‘Don’t get piss drunk’ is a heady mix, with the composer’s now-trademark EDM drops.

Tu jarashi – What’s Up Lagna, Marathi: Composer Nilesh Moharir’s melody is sans any high… the tune flows oh-so-gently and pleasantly. The singers, Hrishikesh Rande and Nihira Joshi Deshpande, add a lot to the package.

Bangaru – Jawaan, Telugu: The usual Thaman material, but the man has a way with his sound that, when it works, really works! And actress Rashi Khanna seems to be on singing spree (after Balakrishnudu’s Thariraa). She could consider sticking to acting.

Title song – Firangi, Hindi: Composer Jatinder Shah’s title song works due to Sunidhi Chauhan’s charming vocals, Jatinder’s hammering of repetitive title hook and the steadily shifting sound, from earthy folk to a punchy EDM and eventually ballroom waltz!

Ittefaq se – Ittefaq, Hindi: Yet-yet another recreation by recreation-master Tanishk Bagchi. But, this one’s quite nice, like Tamma tamma’s recreation, with him sprucing up the original’s elements cleverly. Good choice of singers – Jubin Nautyal and Nikhita Gandhi.

Pallo latke – Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, Hindi (film): Raees & Zain-Sam’s Pallo latke remix is a fairly entertaining fusion of Rajasthani and Punjabi, topped with Faziluria tipsiness. The original’s innate charm is missing, but as a new-age dance remix, this is not bad at all.

Ondhe jeevana – Gowdru Hotel, Kannada: The Kannada remake of Ustad Hotel has a hero who looks like the polar opposite of Dulquer in terms of facial expression! But Yuvan’s Kannada debut is pretty solid. Ondhe jeevana is vintage Yuvan, a Tamil song masquerading as a Kannada one!

Here’s the 10th edition of Milliblog’s annual music list.

Wow… I’ve been doing annual music compilations for 10 years, huh? Anyway, as always, the lists are in order of preference. And, for the first time, I’m not adding YouTube playlists since it is impossible to add individual songs from playlists after YouTube removed the feature of being able to add starting and ending markers within playlists. So, only Apple Music and Saavn playlists this year. In a way, Apple Music and Saavn have made it really easy to discover and stream new music. The catalog across both platforms are updated very frequently and even though I still depend on YouTube for jukeboxes, beyond the initial listen, I end up sticking to Saavn or Apple Music on my mobile for listening to the songs, since the apps are hugely convenient. There are minor issues, in terms of availability, like in Malayalam, where Satyam Music’s entire catalog is usually not available on Saavn, but is available on Apple Music. This means, one of Malayalam’s biggest hit, Jimikki Kammal, from Velipadinte Pusthakam, is still not available on Saavn!

This list is based on soundtracks released between December 16, 2016 and December 07, 2017. This is NOT based on release date of films; this is based mostly on release date of full/complete soundtracks.

And oh, before you start analysing these lists and wondering about why your list doesn’t look like my list and about how that song and this song made it to a list and why that and this song didn’t feature in the list, please read: Milliblog’s Three Laws of Music Appreciation Multiverse!

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Hindi

2017 can easily be remembered as Pritam’s year! The composer who debuted as a solo composer back in 2004, eventually went on to be notoriously associated with plagiarism before turning over a new leaf with remarkable honesty and transparency! He truly had a mind-boggling year in 2017! Besides the only Hindi #300 worder of 2017, my long-list of Hindi songs had as many as 16 songs from Pritam. Clearly, Jab Harry Met Sejal is the kind of soundtrack you produce very, very rarely, loaded with incredible music from start to finish and it’s a monumental pity to see Sony Music bungle royally on the release of this soundtrack, relegating fantastic songs like Parinda, Ghar and Beech beech mein to a post-release sleepy launch. To top it, Pritam had Jagga Jasoos too in 2017! It’s no wonder he chose to take a long beak; fully deserved after a high like this.

After Pritam, the other remarkable rise is that of Tanishk Bagchi (and Vayu). For a composer known as remix/remake/recreation-Raja, it was wonderful to hear him evolve into better remixes (not counting the Humma remix, of course) and to delightful original compositions, including my choice for the song of the year, Kanha, from Shubh Mangal Saavdhaan. My long-list had 14 songs from Tanishk (and/or Vayu), incidentally! The other noteworthy rise is that of Rochak Kohli, once known as Ayushmann Khurrana’s co-composer. He came on his own with excellent music fairly consistently, in songs and soundtracks like Naam Shabana’s Rozana, Lucknow Central and Qarib Qarib Singlle.

There was also good consistency from Sachin-Jigar who produced some great music in Simran and Meri Pyaari Bindu, besides the occasional spark in films like Bhoomi and A Gentleman. It was a lean year for Milliblog favorites like Amit Trivedi and A R Rahman, but both had at least one standout album in Qaidi Band and Mom, respectively, even though the failure of those films pulled the soundtracks into oblivion too.

Gaurav Dagaonkar, the intermittent composer got a cracker of a soundtrack in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, while my old favorites like Krsna (Tukda tukda – Mirza Juuliet) and Ram Sampath (Raees) proved their talent at least once. If I were to pick a debut composer of the year, I’d hand that title to Santanu Ghatak, for Tumhari Sulu’s Rafu!

Other mention-worthy composers (with some of them not in the top 30, but were definitely in my long-list) include Rohit Sharma (Anaarkali of Aarah), Amaal Mallik (Noor and Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya), Nadeem (yes, of Nadeem-Shravan fame! – Tum kahaan the, from Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha), Abhishek-Akshay (Running Shaadi. com), Amartya Rahut (Tu Hai Mera Sunday, Tumhari Sulu), Zebunnisa Bangash (Lipstick Under My Burkha), Shashwat Sachdev (Phillauri) and Raghu Dixit (Chef).

Hindi music composer of the year 2017: Pritam

Top 3 Hindi film soundtracks of 2017:
01. Jab Harry Met Sejal (Pritam)
02. Jagga Jasoos (Pritam)
03. Mom (A R Rahman)

Top 30 Hindi films songs of 2017
(Apple Music and Saavn playlists at the end of the list)

01. Kanha – Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (Tanishk-Vayu)
02. Parinda – Jab Harry Met Sejal (Pritam)
03. Ullu ka pattha – Jagga Jasoos (Pritam)
04. Barfani – Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (Gaurav Dagaonkar)
05. Sapne re – Secret Superstar (Amit Trivedi)
06. Bandook meri laila – A Gentleman (Sachin-Jigar)
07. Single rehne de – Simran (Sachin-Jigar)
08. Tippa – Rangoon (Vishal Bhardwaj)
09. Iss tarah – Meri Pyaari Bindu (Sachin-Jigar)
10. Be nazaara – Mom (A R Rahman)

11. Ghar – Jab Harry Met Sejal (Pritam)
12. Jhumritalaiyyan – Jagga Jasoos (Pritam)
13. Udi udi jaye – Raees (Ram Sampath)
14. Tukda tukda – Mirza Juuliet (Krsna)
15. Saajan aayo re – OK Jaanu (A R Rahman)
16. Radio – Tubelight (Pritam)
17. Ik vaari aa – Raabta (JAM8)
18. Main hoon – Munna Michael (Tanishk Baagchi)
19. Tamma tamma again – Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya (Tanishk Bagchi)
20. Beech beech mein – Jab Harry Met Sejal (Pritam)

21. Rozana – Naam Shabana (Rochak Kohli)
22. Rafu – Tumhari Sulu (Santanu Ghatak)
23. Hans mat pagli – Toilet Ek Prem Katha (Vickey Prasad)
24. Poshamba – Qaidi Band (Amit Trivedi)
25. Ishquiya – Lipstick Under My Burkha (Zebunnisa Bangash)
26. Hawayein – Jab Harry Met Sejal (Pritam)
27. Itna tumhe – Machine (Tanishk Bagchi)
28. Helicopter – Ranchi Diaries (Tony Kakkar)
29. Meer-e-kaarwan – Lucknow Central (Rochak Kohli)
30. Thodi si jagah – Tu Hai Mera Sunday (Amartya Rahut)

Apple Music (all 30 songs)

Saavn (all 30 songs – click on the image below)

—

Tamil

In 2016, I had to offer the ‘composer of the year’ title to Santhosh Narayanan over Sean Roldan given the number of soundtracks the former excelled in and produced. But this year, the choice is very easy. Sean Roldan not only produced a knock-out of a soundtrack in Power Paandi, but also peppered the year with fantastic songs in other soundtracks like Neruppuda, Velai Illa Pattadhaari 2, Kathanayagan and Kathiruppor Pattiyal (including a total 13 songs in my long-list). My bet on composer Sam C.S. in the previous years paid off handsomely in 2017. He had definitely shown promise in 2015’s Mellisai (released as Puriyadha Pudhir in 2017) and more specifically the completely unheard Kadalai in 2016. But Sam moved forward tremendously with Vikram Vedha! With the success of the film and critical acclaim for the music, the whole world is wide open for Sam – really looking forward to what he will do next!

Veteran A.R.Rahman (I know it seems odd to call Rahman a ‘veteran’, but 25 years in the industry is long enough to be called that I suppose!) proved me completely wrong when he scored a kick-ass soundtrack for Mani Ratnam in Kaatru Veliyidai. As a music lover, I’m just very glad that the OK Kanmani musical misfire (strictly in my opinion, of course) was just a one-off event.

I had 10 songs from Imman in my long-list, but it is dismaying to see the talented composer slip consistently towards his templates. It’s really time for Imman 3.0 – he has reinvented his music once and there’s no reason why he cannot pull it another time. Other composers who are in a lean form, either numerically or quality-wise included Justin Prabhakaran (Kaalakkoothu) and last year’s favorites, Santhosh Narayanan (Server Sundaram and an above-average Meyaadha Maan) and Anirudh (decent enough outings in Vivegam and Velaikkaran).

Ghibran had 5 soundtracks this year, and Aramm, Maayavan and Adhe Kangal were very good additions from the composer, though Theeran Adhiragam Ondru and Magalir Mattum were relatively less interesting, even as Theeran’s background score was truly phenomenal. Karthik Raja’s comeback in Padai Veeran, Vidyasagar’s comeback in Thiruttu Payale 2, Girishh G’s comeback in Aval, Yuvan Shankar Raja’s comeback (considering his relatively poor form in 2016) in Semma Botha Aagathey and Balloon (and to a lesser extent, Taramani) and G.V.Prakash Kumar’s comeback in Mupparimanam and particularly, Sema were other noteworthy highlights.

In terms of debutants, Kannada composer Ajaneesh Loknath made a solid debut in Kurangu Bommai and has even his excellent music from Ulidavaru Kandante seeing a resurrection in Richie. Ishaan Dev’s debut in En Aaloda Seruppa Kaanom, Dhibu Ninan Thomas’s debut in Maragadha Naanayam and Simon K.King’s debut in Sathya are definitely worth noting. The most interesting and outstanding debut of the year, though, is from Bindhumalini and Vedanth Bharadwaj, in Aruvi!

Holding on to the periphery are composers like Afzal Yusuf (Engeyum Naan Iruppen), Vivek-Mervin (Dora), Santhosh Dhayanidhi (Enakku Vaaitha Adimaigal), Hiphop Tamizha (a very high-profile Kavan that came a cropper, and a middling Meesaya Murukku), Leon James (Veera), Vishal Chandrashekhar (Simba, but who also did excellent work in the Telugu film, Kathalo Rajakumari), Ajesh (Thiri), Siddharth Vipin (Brahmma. com) and Dharan Kumar (Abhiyum Anuvum).

The year was also an interesting one for music labels. Think Music continued to make astute acquisitions, but it was Trend Music (with a path-breaking buy in the bilingual Solo) and Divo Music (with a really interesting strategy of not insisting exclusively ‘named’ rights and working as a release-partner with other newer, mostly composer-led and producer-led labels, like that of Yuvan Shankar Raja’s U1 Music and Dhanush’s Wunderbar Studios, and going truly pan-South Indian, including Kannada releases like Kirik Party) that pulled off very exciting titles. Divo’s strategy remains enormously interesting and their repertoire is also constantly increasing and improving! Sony Music continues to throw its weight occasionally and getting very few choices right.

Please note – for sheer matter of convenience, I have considered Solo under Malayalam, though I fully understand it was a bilingual and had Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi songs too. Very difficult to slot it into multiple languages or to even slot it in the first place!

Tamil film music composer of the year 2017: Sean Roldan

Top 3 Tamil film soundtracks of 2017:
01. Power Paandi (Sean Roldan)
02. Vikram Vedha (Sam C.S.)
03. Kaatru Veliyidai (A R Rahman)

Top 30 Tamil film songs of 2017:
(Apple Music and Saavn playlists at the end of the list)

01. Paarthen – Power Paandi (Sean Roldan)
02. Karuppu vellai – Vikram Vedha (Sam C.S.)
03. Kanna katti – Kaalakkoothu (Justin Prabhakaran)
04. Venpani malare – Power Paandi (Sean Roldan)
05. Azhagiye – Kaatru Veliyidai (A R Rahman)
06. Aalangiliye – Neruppuda (Sean Roldan)
07. Paathum paakkaama – Kurangu Bommai (B.Ajaneesh Loknath)
08. Abimaaniye – En Aaloda Seruppa Kaanom (Ishaan Dev)
09. Iraivanai thandha – Velai Illa Pattadhaari 2 (Sean Roldan)
10. Rail aaraaroo – Nenjil Thunivirunthal (D.Imman)

11. Enna naan – Meyaadha Maan (Pradeep Kumar)
12. Saarattu vandiyila – Kaatru Veliyidai (A R Rahman)
13. Adi vaadi thimiraa – Magalir Mattum (Ghibran)
14. Sandalee – Sema (G.V. Prakash Kumar)
15. Yaanji – Vikram Vedha (Sam C.S.)
16. Karuva karuva payale – Karuppan (D.Imman)
17. Mattikkiten – Padai Veeran (Karthik Raja)
18. Idho thaanaagave – Adhe Kangal (Ghibran)
19. On nenappu – Kathanayagan (Sean Roldan)
20. Iraiva – Velaikkaran (Anirudh)

21. Kukkotti kunaatti – Aruvi (Bindhumalini, Vedanth Bharadwaj)
22. Yavvana – Sathya (Simon K. King)
23. Tasakku tasakku – Vikram Vedha (Sam C.S.)
24. Itemkaaran – Semma Botha Aagathey (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
25. Nee paarkum – Thiruttuppayale 2 (Vidyasagar)
26. Melam kottudaa – Aramm (Ghibran)
27. Azhagile enai – Kathiruppor Pattiyal (Sean Roldan)
28. Kadhalada – Vivegam (Anirudh)
29. Mella mella – Maayavan (Ghibran)
30. Kaarigai kanne – Aval (Girishh G)

Apple Music (all 30 songs)

Saavn (all 30 songs – click on the image below)

—

Telugu

After 2 years of Gopi Sundar’s stellar ride (with a lone spark in Ninnu Kori in 2017), there’s a new rising star in Telugu town! I was hoping it would be Sunny M.R (who had a pretty good outing with Keshava), but he seems far more content assisting Pritam in Bollywood (and look at what it did to Pritam this year!!). The new star is Shravan Bharadwaj, someone I had noted as promising, in a list mid-2016 and been tracking for at least 4 years. Shravan produced 2 incredible soundtracks this year – Chandamama Raave and Malli Raava – a year that was almost eclipsed by Radhan’s brilliant soundtrack for Arjun Reddy. Ironically, I really don’t know whether Chandamama Raave released or if anyone really heard its music. Given Sumanth’s presence, I’m guessing at least Malli Raava will get slightly a more visible presence, music-wise.

The other composer who had a rise up was Vivek Sagar. After Sheesh Mahal, Yuddham Sharanam is a massive step up for the young composer and despite that film’s failure, here’s hoping he is able to sustain his presence. Ko Antey Koti-fame Shakthikanth Karthik too made quite a splash with his big ticket outing in Fida.

Radhan’s Arjun Reddy is, of course, the other big story of the year. After Andala Rakshasi in 2012, Yevade Subramanyam in 2015 (along with Ilayaraja), Radhan had 2 releases in 2017 – while Radha was average fare, Arjun Reddy, with its Amit Trivedi’esque score that pitched far beyond Trivedi for the Telugu Dev.D, was literally the Telugu soundtrack of the year for me. The music complimented the film so darn well!

But, as far as the composer of the year goes, it’d be mighty unfair of me to not include old-timer Devi Sri Prasad. I have been scathing about his form and he seems to hold on to his stock template like his life depended on it, but this year, the man has produced some entertaining (the best word I can use for his music) songs across the many films he has worked on. Gudilo badilo, from DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham easily tops that list, followed by the ebullient title song of Raarandoi Veduka Chuddam. The man ploughs on, for now, quite successfully.

The other composer who continues to chug along is Mani Sharma! Between LIE, Balakrishnudu, Fashion Designer s/o Ladies Tailor and Aakatayi, he had a pretty decent year! Keeravani, who had earlier said he would retire on December 8, 2016, thankfully did not and had a blockbuster outing with Baahubali 2. He also had lesser known soundtracks in Om Namo Venkatesaya and more importantly, the completely unknown Showtime!

Thaman is in the chugging boat too, with occasionally listenable stuff in films like Mahanubhavudu (his best in a long time), Jawaan, Veedevadu and Winner.

Veteran Ilayaraja had a fantastic 2-song mix in Kathalo Rajakumari (along with the rest by Vishal Chandrashekhar, who did much better in Telugu than in Tamil, with Simba).

Ghibran’s lone Telugu soundtrack, Ungarala Rambabu had at least 2 excellent songs. Other Tamil composers trying their luck in Telugu included Santhosh Narayanan with a newly added single in the Telugu remake of Irudhi Sutru, Harris Jayaraj for the bilingual/Mahesh Babu Tamil debut Spyder, Yuvan Shankar Raja in Oxygen and K, with Aanando Brahma. Malayalam composer Shaan Rahman made his full-fledged Telugu in Prematho Mee Karthik and Rachayitha, with the latter being a particularly fantastic 3-song soundtrack. Together, Shaan slowly seems to be taking on the mantle that the other Malayalam-to-Telugu composer, Gopi Sundar, owned, in Telugu films!

Other composers like Bheems Ceciroleo (Nakshatram), Harshavardhan (Good Bad Ugly), Prasan Praveen Shyam (Kaadhali), Bharath Madhusudhanan (Nakshatram), Prashanth R Vihari (Mental Madhilo and Velipomakey), Suresh Bobbili (Maa Abbayi), Achu Rajamani (Luckunnodu, Venkatapuram), DJ Vasanth (Gunturodu, Vaisakham), Anup Rubens (Paisa Vasool, Katamarayudu, Nene Raju Nene Mantri, Kittu Unnadu Jagratha), Vijai Bulganin (Rendu Rellu Aaru), Shekar Chandra (Oye Ninney), Praveen Lakkaraju (Luckunnodu), Naresh Penta (Sriramudinta Srikrishnudanta), Munna Kasi (Maama O Chandamama), Sai Karthik (Next Nuvve) and Sunil Kashyap (Sarovaram), Chirrantan Bhatt (Gautamiputra Satakarni) and Madhu Ponnas (O Pilla Nee Valla) had minor, occasional good songs through the year.

Telugu film music composer(s) of the year 2017: Shravan Bharadwaj and Devi Sri Prasad

Top 3 Telugu film soundtracks of 2017:
01. Arjun Reddy (Radhan)
02. Chandamama Raave (Shravan)
03. Kathalo Rajakumari (Vishal Chandrashekhar and Ilayaraja)

Top 30 Telugu film songs of 2017:
(Apple Music and Saavn playlists at the end of the list)

01. Gudilo badilo – DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham (Devi Sri Prasad)
02. Praayam Inthera – Chandamama Raave (Shravan)
03. Hamsa naava – Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion (M.M.Keeravani)
04. Title song – Raarandoi Veduka Chuddam (Devi Sri Prasad)
05. Vachinde – Fida (Shakthikanth Karthick)
06. Emitemitemo – Arjun Reddy (Radhan)
07. Yelugula teraley – Yuddham Sharanam (Vivek Sagar)
08. Miss Sunshine – LIE (Mani Sharma)
09. Thikkalodi vesham – Kathalo Rajakumari (Ilayaraja)
10. Telusa – Keshava (Sunny M.R.)

11. Unnatundi gundey – Ninnu Kori (Gopi Sundar)
12. Madhurame – Arjun Reddy (Radhan)
13. Welcome back to love – Malli Raava (Shravan)
14. Enno enno bhavaley – Yuddham Sharanam (Vivek Sagar)
15. Allari pillagada – Ungarala Rambabu (Ghibran)
16. Anukunnadi – Balakrishnudu (Mani Sharma)
17. Ishtam – Good Bad Ugly (Harshavardhan)
18. Laayire – Nakshatram (Bheems Ceciroleo)
19. Kaadhal kaadhal – Kaadhali (Prasan Praveen Shyam)
20. What Amma What Is This Amma – Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi (Devi Sri Prasad)

21. Rana priya – Rachayitha (Shaan Rahman)
22. Adiga adiga – Ninnu Kori (Gopi Sundar)
23. Manase thalupe – Kathalo Rajakumari (Vishal Chandrashekhar)
24. Telisiney na nuvvey – Arjun Reddy (Radhan)
25. Rendu kallu – Mahanubhavudu (Thaman S)
26. Edhola – Mental Madhilo (Prashanth R Vihari)
27. Okka chinukulo – Prematho Mee Karthik (Shaan Rahman)
28. Eppudu Modalaindo – Chandamama Raave (Shravan)
29. Kanulemito – Fashion Designer s/o Ladies Tailor (Mani Sharma)
30. Hello pillagada – Nakshatram (Bharath Madhusudhanan)

Apple Music (29 songs; missing – No.21, Rachayita)

Saavn (all 30 songs – click on the image below)

—

Malayalam

Let me start with the composer who had 16 songs in my long-list – Bijibal! The man was unstoppably prolific this year with more than 10 films! Of these, I’d rate Sarvopari Palakkaran and Matchbox as my personal favorite complete albums, though he had a great song or two in almost all this films. Bijibal’s music seems as low-key as the films he seems to choose – nothing big or flashy, just regular films that work in Malayalam so very often.

Gopi, on the other hand, is the opposite. He works on superstar (whatever that means in Malayalam) films and even on films where Bijibal’ish everyday actors are trying to be superstars (Role Models, Fahadh Faasil). I picked 17 of Gopi’s songs in my long-list, from 9 of his films (there were more!) and also decided to hand him over the title of the composer of the year for his stellar soundtrack in Udaharanam Sujatha!

But he’d need to share that along with Shaan Rahman, who also shared last year’s composer of the year tag along with Sooraj S. Kurup. Shaan was the proud owner of what could be 2017’s Kolaveri (or, to take another such Malayalam song, 2017’s Lajjavadhiye) – a language-busting, massively viral song, Jimikki Kammal. Not just that, he also produced consistently good music across other films like Godha and Aana Alaralodalaral.

As far as a full-fledged, complete soundtrack goes, there’s nothing more ambitious or interesting than Solo! The many-songs soundtrack put together by the director Bejoy Nambiar and composer Prasanth Pillai is a mega compilation of older and new songs and they all work so cohesively as a soundtrack!

The choice of the 3rd best soundtrack, in my view, would go to Rex Vijayan’s brilliant 3-songs + many background scores collection in Parava. Ex-Avial Rex has done films like Neelakasham Pacha Kadal Chuvanna Bhoomi, Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi, North 24 Kaatham and Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, but in Parava, his craft comes together like it hasn’t, so far. The other guitarist who seems to be doing well in Malayalam is Sanjeev Thomas. His Vilakkumaram was a refreshingly good soundtrack!

Prashant Pillai has made a habit of having at least one song in the top 5 in Milliblog’s annual lists. Manogathambhavaan, from Anuraga Karikkin Vellam in 2016 and Vasanthamallike, from Chandrettan Evideya in 2015, for instance. This year is no exception – Solo’s eclectic Roshomon sure deserves a place right in the top 5! The other promising composers – Deepak Dev and Rahul Raj, had the random good songs at times – Deepak’s Unnikrishnan-sung Ekayaai nee from Kaattu was a real surprise, while Rahul pulled off something similar in E’s Pranavaakaram, both being specifically based on carnaticraagas. Deepak produced good stuff in Adam John, where he made Prithvi sing pretty decently, and in Sunday Holiday, where apart from his trademark Mazha paadum, he also had a really cool disco number!

Veteran M.Jayachandran definitely had noteworthy music in at least 2 soundtracks – Nawal Enna Jewel and Pullikkaaran Staara. Afzal Yusuf, while also doing good work in Tamil (Engeyum Naan Iruppen), had pretty good music in Theeram, while Hesham Abdul Wahab’s 2 versions of Enganepadendunjan in Cappuccino is his annual highlight. In terms of debutants, Ashwin Renju’s Minunundae mullapolae (Tharangam), Justin Varghese’s Enthavo (Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela) and Manikandan Ayyappa’s Ivalaro (Oru Mexican Aparatha) top my list.

Other composers with the occasional good song included Mejo Joseph (Hrudayavaathil – C/O Saira Banu), 4 Musics (Kandittum – Villain), Rahul Subrahmanian (Oruvakkinal – 1971 Beyond Borders), Aravind Chandrasekhar (Akkidi – Himalayathile Kashmalan), Vishnu Mohan Sithara (Penne penne – Basheerinte Premalekhanam), Arun Muraleedharan (Varminnal – Adventures of Omanakuttan) and Sankar Sharma (Avarude Raavukal).

Malayalam film music composer(s) of the year 2017: Gopi Sundar and Shaan Rahman

Top 3 Malayalam film soundtracks of 2017:
01. Solo (Assorted composers)
02. Udaharanam Sujatha (Gopi Sundar)
03. Parava (Rex Vijayan)

Top 30 Malayalam film songs of 2017:
(Apple Music and Saavn playlists at the end of the list)

01. Kasavu njoriyumoru pulari – Udaharanam Sujatha (Gopi Sundar)
02. Entammede jimikki kammal – Velipadinte Pusthakam (Shaan Rahman)
03. Roshomon – Solo (Prashant Pillai)
04. Nenjil nenjil – Parava (Rex Vijayan)
05. Ekayaai Nee – Kaattu (Deepak Dev)
06. Vaanam thilathilakkanu – Comrade In America CIA (Gopi Sundar)
07. Shaanti – Aana Alaralodalaral (Shaan Rahman)
08. Ozhukiyozhuki – Oru Cinemaakkaran (Bijibal)
09. Pranavaakaram – E (Rahul Raj)
10. Minunundae mullapolae – Tharangam (Ashwin Renju)

11. Madhumatiye – Sakhavu (Prashant Pillai)
12. Aaro nenjil – Godha (Shaan Rahman)
13. Do naina/La vettam – Angamaly Diaries (Prashant Pillai)
14. Enthavo – Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela (Justin Varghese)
15. Ikkaliveettil – Sarvopari Palakkaran (Bijibal)
16. Aaradyam – Matchbox (Bijibal)
17. Oru vaanchi paattu – Solo (Agam)
18. Mazha paadum – Sunday Holiday (Deepak Dev)
19. Vaa kuruvi – Vilakkumaram (Sanjeev T)
20. Neelambal nilavodu – Nawal Enna Jewel (M.Jayachandran)

21. Kandu nee – Solo (Abhinav Bansal)
22. Ormakal – Parava (Rex Vijayan)
23. Thechille penne – Role Models (Gopi Sundar)
24. Janah meri janah – Cappuccino (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
25. Veerangana – Crossroad (Amrutha Suresh, Abhirami Suresh)
26. Kilivathilin chare nee – Pullikkaran Staraa (M.Jayachandran)
27. Shekara – Aana Alaralodalaral (Shaan Rahman)
28. Joleem kooleem – Georgettan’s Pooram (Gopi Sundar)
29. Mele arimulla – Velipadinte Pusthakam (Shaan Rahman)
30. Chinthicho nee – Sathya (Gopi Sundar)

Apple Music (all 30 songs)

Saavn (24 songs; missing: No.2 Velipadinte Pusthakam, No.18 Sunday Holiday, No.20 Nawal Enna Jewel, No.23 Role Models, No.28 Georgettan’s Pooram, No.29 Velipadinte Pusthakam and No.30 Sathya. Click on the image below)

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Kannada

In my 2010 annual music round-up, I wrote, “I have a lot of hope from AP Arjun in 2011 – he has shown consistent promise in the past few years and could be the dark horse that people are obviously missing”. AP Arjun became Arjun Janya and he went on to become the composer of the year on Milliblog for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014! Harikrishna in 2015 and the combo of newbies, Charan Raj and Ajaneesh Loknath ruled in 2016. I’m glad to announce Arjun as the composer of the year once again, after 2 years, given his phenomenal score for Raaga, and for a fairly consistent year across films like Hebbuli, Chakravarthy, College Kumar, Raj Vishnu, Naane Next CM and Pataki. Last year’s stars – Ajaneesh and Charan Raj had a fairly tepid year, with Srikanta and Dalapathi, respectively, while the latter’s national award-winning score in the film Jeer Jimbe is nowhere in sight as far as a release is concerned. Ajaneesh also debuted in Tamil, incidentally, with Kurangu Bommai, and the Tamil remake of Ulidavaru Kandante, called Richie.

Manoj George’s comeback in Urvi, Raghu Dixit’s comeback in Happy New Year and Joshua Sridhar’s comeback in Rajahamsa definitely merit a mention. But, the year’s break-out artist would be Judah Sandhy, who finally made good on his promise – he has no doubt been an interesting composer to watch out for, with good songs in 2016’s Adbutha, Badmaash and Shachina Heggar’s pop single, Dibbaradindi, and this year’s Operation Alamelamma, though his big-ticket outing in Uppu Huli Haara was a damp squib. To see him score a knockout in Chamak is so heartening! Here’s hoping Judah does much better in 2018. The 2 noteworthy debutants of the year included Midhun Mukundan (with Srinivasa Kalyana, a song in Kaafi Thota and his best, Ondu Motteya Kathe) and Chetan Sosca (Kaal Kg Preethi).

Veteran Harikrishna had a lean year, with only Yogaraj Bhat’s Ganesh starrer Mugulu Nage being a talking point. An interesting trend I notice is little known composers producing some darn good songs on an occasional basis – Kiran Ranvindranath (Kodeyondara adiyalli – Raju Kannada Medium), Anand Rajavikraman (Thaliru thoranadi – Lee) and Vikram Varman, who actually debuted with a Tamil film, Ariyaan, in 2009 (Muddu hudugi and Baa neenenodu – Naanu Nammudgi Kharchgond Mafia). Hope these folks find a firmer footing in 2018. The other Tamil composer making his official debut in Kannada was Yuvan Shankar Raja, with Gowdru Hotel. Anoop Seelin, Bharath B.J and Ravi Basrur seem to be the ones ploughing on, though there’s a lot of music from Ravi Basrur lately, in particular, even as not much of it is all that interesting.

Kannada film music composer of the year 2017: Arjun Janya

Top 3 Kannada film soundtracks of 2017:
01. Raaga (Arjun Janya)
02. Ondu Motteya Kathe (Midhun Mukundan)
03. Chamak (Judah Sandhy)

Top 30 Kannada film songs of 2017:
(Apple Music and Saavn playlists at the end of the list)

01. Devare – Hebbuli (Arjun Janya)
02. Thili prema – Urvi (Manoj George)
03. Henne – Ondu Motteya Kathe (Midhun Mukundan)
04. Belakendare – Raaga (Arjun Janya)
05. Marete hodenu – Dayavittu Gamanisi (Anoop Seelin)
06. Ondu malebillu – Chakravarthy (Arjun Janya)
07. Kodeyondara adiyalli – Raju Kannada Medium (Kiran Ravindranath)
08. Roopasi – Mugulu Nage (V.Harikrishna)
09. O sanjeya hoove – Chamak (Judah Sandhy)
10. Hasi bisi – College Kumar (Arjun Janya)

11. Aalisu baa – Raaga (Arjun Janya)
12. Preetiya hesare neenu – Happy New Year (Raghu Dixit)
13. Chanda avalu – Ondu Motteya Kathe (Midhun Mukundan)
14. Saddillade – Kaal Kg Preethi (Chetan Sosca)
15. Alaga Alaga – Operation Alamelamma (Judah Sandhy)
16. Mula mula – Rajahamsa (Joshua Sridhar)
17. Kush kush – Chamak (Judah Sandhy)
18. Early morning – Dalapathi (Charan Raj)
19. Ondhe jeevana – Gowdru Hotel (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
20. Thaliru thoranadi – Lee (Anand Rajavikraman)

21. Suvvanna suvvanaare – Raj Vishnu (Arjun Janya)
22. Sanje hothu – Tarak (Arjun Janya)
23. Ninna haage – Gowdru Hotel (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
24. Matthe maleyagide – Chakravarthy (Arjun Janya)
25. Manasina – Raaga (Arjun Janya)
26. Ondondsari – Srikanta (Ajaneesh Loknath)
27. Muddu hudugi – Naanu Nammudgi Kharchgond Mafia (Vikram Varman)
28. Gapu gapalli – Srinivasa Kalayana (Midhun Mukundan)
29. Magariya – Anjaniputhraa (Ravi Basrur)
30. Jigidante Jeeva – Naane Next CM (Arjun Janya)

Apple Music (all 30 songs)

Saavn (29 songs; missing – No.8 Mugulu Nage. Click on the image below)

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Marathi

Obviously, my awareness and the time I spend on Marathi music is rather limited (and it shows!), but I really like the music of the trio, Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj and look forward to their music. Ubuntu, by Kaushal Inamdar is another lovely listen this year.

Marathi film music composer(s) of the year 2017: Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj

Top 10 Marathi film songs of 2017:
(Apple Music and Saavn playlists at the end of the list)

01. Hich amuchi praarthana – Ubuntu (Marathi, Kaushal Inamdar)
02. Chukatay – Muramba (Marathi, Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj)
03. Marugelara – Hampi (Marathi, Aditya Bedekar)
04. Maze tuze – Muramba (Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj)
05. Aapla romance – Bus Stop (Hrishikesh Saurabh Jasraj)
06. Title song – Ubuntu (Kaushal Inamdar)
07. Gaaz yeta go – Mala Kahich Problem Nahi (Hrishikesh Saurabh Jasraj)
08. Vanava petala – Ghuma (Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj)
09. Aga aik na – Muramba (Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj)
10. Virlya kevha – Mala Kahich Problem Nahi (Hrishikesh Saurabh Jasraj)

Apple Music (6 songs; missing – No.2, 4 and 9 – Muramba, No.5 – Bus Stop)

Saavn (all 10 songs; click on the image below)

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Indipop

2017 was the year when Channel V died (finally). It’s interesting that the channel that heralded the Indipop wave is dying in the year when Indipop has been reduced to virtually nothing, with only T-series willing to spend money on making splashy music videos of supposedly-pop songs and Zee music unleashing more pointless regional pop than what anybody has the mindspace for. Thankfully, there were the occasional highs, like Sony’s Bewajah, by Anirudh. The folks still holding out include Papon (with a fantastic new album in Notun Puhor, after last year’s Saavn original album), Agam (their sophomore album was announced in 2017 along with a prelude and one song) and old-timers like Maati Baani. There’s some amount of truly independent pop happening, like Raman Mahadevan’s new songs with Jirka, Job Kurien and bands like Street Academics. These are folks who don’t have a label backing yet and are trying it on their own, via YouTube and iTunes.

01. Bewajah – Anirudh
02. Mhaari re mangetar – Maati Baani Ft. Alaa Wardi
03. Enthavo – Job Kurian
04. Eri thoi oha mur, Pt. 2 – Notun Puhor (Papon)
05. Kalapila – Street Academics

Apple Music (4 songs; missing – Mhaari re mangetar – Maati Baani Ft. Alaa Wardi)

Saavn (4 songs; missing – Mhaari re mangetar – Maati Baani Ft. Alaa Wardi. Click on the image below)

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Given top 30 count, I’m sure you’d obviously find some favorite song/songs of yours missing in my lists. But that’s the hallmark of my list v. your list, or another person’s list. Let me know your favorite songs I missed, in the comments section.

Enjoy the music!

Milliblog Weeklies playlist, on Saavn and Apple Music – Week 4.

Below the links, you’d find a Tweet-style (since I share it on Twitter first as a Milliblog-Twitter-Exclusive; do follow me on Twitter at @milliblog) commentary on each of the songs.

On Saavn:

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Saagara Shayana Vibho – Agam: The prelude to Agam’s 2nd album, A Dream To Remember is an ambient adaptation of M.D.Ramanathan’s Bhagesri-based Sagara shayana vibho, with a brilliant guitar-sitar melange and Harish’s incredible voice towering over it!

Nadiga Nadigaa – Sei, Tamil: Yet another new composer in Tamil! Nyx Lopez’s Nadiga has a sprawling melody that is adequately and aptly pleasant without standing out and sounds like any song from any of the new crop of Tamil composers.

Machane Machane – Sei, Tamil: Nyx stands out considerably better in Machane, than in Nadiga. He has Benny Dayal’s relentless enthusiasm and energy to accentuate the frenetic and heady tune, with a bit of Benny’s own Nucleya sound creeping in!

Kalapila – Street Academics, Malayalam: Vivek ‘V3K’ Radhakrishnan’s music has a smattering of reggae, Kerala folk music, Dr. Bhavya Lakshmi’s pensive violin strains, all on a splendid hip-hop base, while Amjad ‘Azuran’ Nadeem sings evocatively about going back to the roots.

Welcome Back To Love – Malli Raava, Telugu: Shravan has been doing some great work in Telugu while not being considered ‘happening’. This song is catchy and rhythmic, with an addictive hook. Hemachandra’s singing is, as always, bang on target, particularly in the anupallavi!

Chinuku – Malli Raava, Telugu: After a 40+ second serene prelude, Shravan launches into the spritely rhythm that defines Chinuku. Karthik’s singing is impeccable, and Shravan adds fantastic touches all through the melody, like dual vocal layer at places to enhance the effect.

Title song – Malli Raava, Telugu: Shravan builds the title song really well! His singing is good for most parts, though he doesn’t convincingly handle the high-pitched phrase mid-way. The strings in the background, added layer by layer, accentuates the melody wonderfully.

Shekara – Aana Alaralodalaral, Malayalam: Shaan Rahman is on a high this year! He gets his buddy Vineeth intro Shekara the elephant to open a catchy and rhythmic song with that ‘Shake that booty Shekara’ hook. 12-year-old Sreya Jayadeep covers the child-part of song brilliantly.

Shaanthi – Aana Alaralodalaral, Malayalam: Shaanti is Vineeth Srinivasan’s show! Shaan’s church choir-style sound (last employed so well by Pritam in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’s Alizeh) is incredibly engaging, particularly the vocal chorus, the claps and some awesome work on the keyboard.

Neeyum Njanum – Aana Alaralodalaral, Malayalam: The predominant sound of Neeyum naanum could easily bring the ‘mountains’ to your mind! The backgrounds are resonant and endearing, letting Sachin Balu’s vocals flow beautifully, almost like the sun playing peekaboo from the clouds.

Beautiful Life – Raju Gari Gadhi 2, Telugu: Thaman’s short track starts off in the most predictable manner, like many of his songs. But it takes off mid-way with the foot-tapping techno sound, even as Thaman’s singing, propped by technology, continues to be middling.

Kothaga – MCA, Telugu: There are songs that can make you go, ‘Devi Sri Prasad?’. Kothaga is one such, among many, from the man’s repertoire. He continues to use his signature technique – repeating a tune in an instrumental version immediately after it is sung Fun song, this!

Kaayalirambile: – Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam, Malayalam: Bijibal is the polar opposite of the composer above! Unusual tune flow, delightful conversational vocals between Anne Amie and Bijibal himself… and a melody that screams ‘Kerala’ without using predictable crutches.

Koyikkodu – Goodalochana, Malayalam: Gopi Sundar’s ode to Kozhikode! Abhaya Hiranmayi sounding a bit like Vaikom Vijayalakshmi actually makes it more interesting. The music is simple and props the short tune perfectly while much of the magic happens in the earthy lyrics.

On the Loose – Niall Horan: I’m not particularly a fan of One Direction (a much bigger fan of OneRepublic, actually!), but this song, from Niall’s new album (Flicker) reminds me so much of another band I quite like – Maroon 5!

Heal the Pain (Remastered) – George Michael: On the back of Showtime’s phenomenal documentary, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, featuring his MTV Unplugged concert as well as B-sides and other rarities. Great collection for fans! Heal The Pain is a classic, as always!

Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 5:
On Apple Music | On Saavn

A note on each song in the playlist.

Paintra – Mukkabaaz, Hindi: Edgy, punchy and catchy… and a brilliant hip-hop mix. This is Nucleya’s domain all the way, with a generous dose the hinterland, thanks to Divine’s singing. The song has Anurag Kashyap written all over!

Crown – Bright (OST): Grey, the American electronic music duo (Kyle and Michael Trewartha), and Fifth Harmony band member Camila Cabello produce a splendid tabla-meets-trap mix for the lead song of Netflix original Bright, starring Will Smith.

Gaali vaaluga – Agnathavasi, Telugu: Anirudh composes and sings this really incredibly catchy and likeable song where the music seamlessly flows and his vocals have an effortless edge as well! The video featuring Anirudh (on YouTube) is an apt effort as well.

Kush kush – Chamak, Kannada: Judah’s electronic mix is incredibly cool, with an addictive, sedate lilt. Sanjith Hegde, sounding a bit like Sid Sriram, is terrific! Judah also adds in Indian sounds for Deeksha Ramakrishna’s entry and this adds to the song’s allure.

Nee nanna olavu – Chamak, Kannada: Judah pulls off a lush, thoroughly engaging melody, layered beautifully with the right dose of electronic elements, and the singers—Abhinandan Mahishale and Supriya Lohith—doing a splendid job!

O sanjeya hoove – Chamak, Kannada: a searing, sweeping melody that Haricharan completely relishes singing even as Priya Hemesh gives him company mid-way and amps up the song’s appeal, which is a classic pathos tune in the tradition of Andy Williams’ Where Do I Begin.

Avalakki buwalakki – Chamak, Kannada: Solid fun, with its swinging blues flavor and Judah assembling the voices of Chethan Naik and Eesha Suchi to brilliant effect. That ‘Chammakku’ chorus is a nifty, lovely touch!

Rana priya – Rachyitha, Telugu: Shaan’s melody has a haunting and sweeping quality that is hard to shake off! That Shaan hands over the song to Gowry Lekshmi is a masterstroke since she is incredible in her rendition!

Nalla rangugala – Rachyitha, Telugu: has the soul of a Bangla boat song, with its serene and understated orchestration. Shaan’s singing, stressing on the slow, deliberately lengthy phrases adds to the Bangla feel and sounds absolutely wonderful.

Ye yadhalo – Rachyitha, Telugu: depends on a mighty sparse orchestration, and Hemachandra hands Shaan’s simple, soulful and rhythmic melody perfectly. This is the most Telugu of the 3 songs in Rachayitha.

Dil diyan gallan – Tiger Zinda Hai, Hindi: has a lovely lilt for the earthy Punjabi verse, on top of Atif’s dreamy vocals! Simple, hummable song and sung very well.

Tera noor – Tiger Zinda Hai, Hindi: a power-qawali that roars with its electric guitars. But it’s Jyoti Nooran’s commanding vocal presence and spirited rendition that gives the song the gravitas!

Uyirin uyire – Mayaanadhi, Malayalam: the makers of Mayaanadhi have been using a typically Bollywood tactic of one song-per week, but Rex Vijayan’s songs are consistently engaging. Rex and Neha S Nair’s vocals sweep through the pleasant electronic riff.

Mizhiyil – Mayaanadhi, Malayalam: Rex goes completely Indian in the other song. Almost Rahman’ish when Neha’s humming starts in the first interlude, but it’s Shahabaz Aman who holds the song’s reign all through, amidst the serene Hindustani-style base.

Choosi chundangane – Chalo, Telugu: the most interesting aspect is featuring a Kannada actress (Rashmika Mandanna) as a Tamil girl in the Andhra-TN border lover story The song by Mani Sharma’s son, Mahati Swara Sagar is very Devi Sri Prasad’ish – fluffy, likeable song.

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I’m the 2-left-feet type. So, I decided to pick 20 songs of Rahman across his repertoire that made even me move (a bit, not too much – 2-left-feet, remember?). Obviously, there are so many more songs, but let this be a starter for the dude’s birthday today!

On Apple Music:

On Saavn (click on the image):