Originally published in The Hindu.
Don’u Don’u – Maari (Tamil), Music: Anirudh
Anirudh kicks up a brilliantly funky sound in ‘Don’u Don’u’, complete with horns, curiously cheesy English hip-hop phrases and a captivating call-and-response tune. Anirudh and Alisha Thomas seem to have had a fantastic time singing it, particularly the former, who rocks obviously-catchy lines like ‘Gundaana kannaala kuthaama kuthaadha’, while Dhanush uses his tried and tested formula of adding a ‘u’ at the end of almost every word (much to the chagrin of Telugus around the world) to make the song incredibly sticky.
Kalandar – Highway (Marathi), Music: Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi’s Marathi debut is a short and snappy affair — just twosongs! Considering he has already created Gujarati music for Kai Po Che, it’s good to see the man add to his linguistic repertoire. The best song of the soundtrack, ‘Kalandar’ crackles with the nostalgic energy of a classic 1980s pop (very ‘Last Christmasish’) song. Jasraj Jayant Joshi leads it mighty well with his vocals, with the song adding layer after layer of all Amit Trivedi regulars — endearing backing vocals, absorbing sax and horn phrases, and a captivating, high-pitched hook.
Duniyaavin – KL10 Pathu (Malayalam), Music: Bijibal
Malayalam composer Bijibal is on a roll these days, producing great music with alarming consistency. In ‘Duniyaavin’, he seems to be paying homage to cult rock band, The Doors. The song, with its energetic and macho guitaring (sort of a laidback Roadhouse Blues) Bijibal sings it confidently, the song gaining more hardcore-rock elements beautifully, all the while sticking close to the soul of the Sindhu Bhairavi raaga, evoking strains of M.S. Viswanathan’s classic ‘Unakenna Mele Nindraai’, from Shimla Special.
Hogi Kranti – Bangistan (Hindi), Music: Ram Sampath
Ram Sampath is in fantastic form all across Bangistan’s soundtrack. He gets to be his inventive best in ‘Hogi Kranti’. The song is an interesting concoction, mixing biting satire (courtesy Puneet Krishna’s lyrics, invoking, among others, ‘infinity pyaas’), espousing the values of being a terrorist, in a Soviet march-pastish tune and topping it with ‘Man main hai vishwas’. The music, complete with Central Asian-styled strings, adds to the spoofy treatment, even as Ram and Abhishek Nailwal sing the song with perfect fervour.
Nehar Wale Pul – The Punjab Project, Music: Sumit Sethi ft. Sona Mohapatra
Sona Mohapatra’s new album is aimed at modernising and making accessible classic Punjabi folk songs to a newer audience. Along with composer Sumit Sethi, the first song of the album is an iconic song by Noor Jehan titled ‘Nehar Wale Pul’. The folktronica cover seems to be overdoing the electronic layer over what is a simple, charming and rustic tune, but in the interest of bringing it to a set of younger listeners, the overall package balances the old with the new skillfully.
