Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 124: On JioSaavn | On YouTube
15 songs this week. YouTube playlist has 14 songs, and is missing Shukriya from Sadak 2. The JioSaavn playlist has all 15 songs!
Ganpati – Amit Trivedi, ft. Adarsh Shinde (Indipop/Devotional/Hindi): Very timely addition by Amit under his ‘Songs of Faith’ series. The jaunty rhythm lends a superbly dance’y bounce and makes the devotional song a song of joy and celebration! A special note on Amit’s role as the music video’s creator – he has put together a very impressive dance narrative to go with the song; it is really imaginatively choreographed!
Jhalle Kalle – Denny & Nikhita Gandhi (Indipop/Punjabi/Hindi): This sounded almost like a hip-hop version of Rahman’s adaptation of the folk song that became Genda Phool in Delhi 6! It’s aptly catchy and Nikhita’s singing elevates it wonderfully.
Shukriya & Ishq Kamaal – Sadak 2 (Jeet Gannguli and Suniljeet) – Hindi: Mahesh Bhatt and Vishesh Films seem clearly past their prime here, as far as music sense is concerned. The music, by assorted composers, is from an earlier recent era and is only passably interesting. Among the songs, Jeet’s Shukriya, in 2 versions, is the best! Jubin Nautiyal is brilliantly restrained in the rendition of the sweeping melody, and that first interlude is fabulously mounted. Ishq Kamaal, despite the allegation of plagiarism (which I do not agree with), is the other good listen, with its lilting sound.
Nenjame – Doctor (Anirudh) – Tamil: Anirudh seems to have found his magic formula for films starring Sivakarthikeyan! You hear the song and you can actually picture Siva in your mind already! The melody is enchanting, with a superb cornucopia of sounds that just come together perfectly!
Edho Solla – Murungakkai Chips (Dharan Kumar) – A lively melody with a faux semi-classical sound that Sid Sriram seems like an excellent choice (of singer) to handle. It’s interesting that the preludes and interludes remind me of Rahman’s sound. Also, that they chose to name the song, ‘Edho solla’ and not the actual opening of the song, ‘Nerunjiye’!
Thada Thada Raila – Ganesapuram (Raja Sai) – Tamil: Even though this is Shakthisree Gopalan’s show, composer Raja Sai makes his presence felt too with his unhurried and gorgeous melody that gets better in the anupallavi too, with a graceful guitar backdrop!
Veesadha Kaatre – Akash Chandran (Tamil/Indipop): A surprisingly competently song that deserves better promotion for better reach. Akash’s composition and singing (along with Pooja Santhanam, who makes a fantastic entry mid-way) make for great listen. The song’s repetitive use of a catchy musical phrase and the overall sound too is mildly reminiscent of Anirudh’s musical style.
Chennai Paattu – Ramshanker (Indipop/Tamil): A really well done theme song for Chennai, on Madras Day (August 22nd)! The lyrics are on expected lines, espousing the many things and places about the city, but the music is what keeps it so very interesting, with a lively, funky groove, particularly in the interludes.
Prabho Sri Gananatha – Singer Srinivas (Devotional/Tamil): Singer Srinivas’ new devotional album on Lord Ganesha makes for a very good musical listen too, besides the devotional aspect. It’s got a fantastic range of singers – Madhu Balakrishnan, Bombay Jayashri, Sudha Raghunathan, Tippu, Vijay Prakash, Haricharan and Srinivas himself. My favorite is the song by Srinivas, Prabho Sri Gananatha (sung by Mano in Telugu). The early-morning raaga took me to the famous Doordarshan film ‘Purab se surya uga’, composed by Ashok Patki (of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara fame; that was arranged by Louis Banks), in raaga Bhatiyaar, I presume.
Here’s Ashok himself explains how Ogilvy’s Piyush Pandey came to him seeking a tune for the verse he had written!
Mama Mama – Kanabadutaledu (Madhu Ponnas) – Telugu: I recall Madhu’s name from his listenable soundtrack for the 2017 film, O Pilla Nee Valla. I don’t what else he has composed in the meanwhile, but he seems to have a captivating winner here. The simple tune has glitzy background music that smoothly segues into kuthu rhythms too and remains consistently interesting.
Kolumande – Chandan Shetty (Indipop/Kannada): Chandan Shetty is on a spree! After the massive success of his single from Pogaru (Karabuu; though with a terrible music video), this song’s rhythm is insanely addictive, and the tune, that I thought is in Pilu raaga, is incredibly catchy as well! Complete ear-worm, this!
When We Feel Young – When Chai Met Toast (Indipop): A wonderfully warm song about thinking back… about reminiscing! Vivek Thomas’s blissful vocals sound perfect when he sings, “At fifty nine… when we feel young”! The music video too is a great watch, with animated illustrations by Anjali Kamat.
Haari & Naina – In Other Words (Anhad+Tanner) – Indipop: Anhad Khanna and Tanner Willeford’s debut album is a truly wonderful listen! The sound is uniformly ethereal, with a beautiful mix of Indian classical music and world music. I got the feel of Ram Sampath’s outstanding score for Let’s Talk in more than one song. But, interestingly, I was also reminded of Mithoon’s music more than once too! For instance, snatches of Haari (featuring vocals by Pavithra Chari) took me to The Train’s Zindagi Ne Zindagi Bhar Gham Diye, while it was Tose Naina from Anwar, for Naina (featuring Isheeta Chakrvarty’s vocals). But make no mistake, this is a very personal connect – and I fully understand if you do not get it too, and the songs make for fantastic listen, as also the full album!