Week 171: On Spotify | On YouTube
Another short playlist – just 9 songs! All the songs are available on both YouTube and Spotify, thankfully!
Doobey – Gehraiyaan (OAFF, Savera) – Hindi: Oh wow, what a song! Lothika Jha’s dreamy vocals, the mesmerizing melody, and backgrounds by the composers, Kabeer Kathpalia aka OAFF, and Savera Mehta… and that absolutely addictive ‘Ha Doobey’ (with backing humming by Savera) hook that leads so seductively towards ‘Oof yeh Gehraiyaan’. Brilliant music, and it is so good to see new composers (in the highly cluttered, hierarchical cinema industry) acing it in their (film) debut.
Thozhi – Hey Sinamika (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: If you have been waiting for the ’96’ Govind Vasantha (the template that he used for a few songs immediately after 96), here it is, finally! The backgrounds are delightful and captivating and as the music soars, Pradeep’s stupendously good singing in pure Tamil (much of that credit should also go to lyricist Madan Karky) accentuates the song’s experience significantly!
Polladha Ulagam – Maaran (G.V. Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: The first thought that came to me while listening to this song was the famous ‘Kappa Kappa’ song from the 2012 Malayalam film Bachelor Party! It’s probably the steadily thrumming background rhythm. But GVP has a very different tune to go on top of it and Dhanush’s singing elevates it to whatever extent possible. And there are small touches like the change in the rhythm (a kuthu rhythm when you least expect it!) that makes the song consistently interesting.
Ik Mili Mainu Apsraa – B Praak (Indipop/Punjabi): This is a unique attempt! The original song ‘Apsraa’ was spoken poetry by the lyricist Jaani and was a massive hit in October last year. Now, B Praak turns those lines into a catchy retro-pop song! From that poetry to this song, this is a lovely idea and one that works so well! Praak’s voice brings gravitas to the melody and Asees Kaur, who was also featured in the original song, makes her presence felt here too albeit for a very brief note.
Tu Ani Mi & Vinchu Chaavla – Zombivli (AV Prafullachandra) – Marathi: I heard the most famous song from Zombibli last year when it released (Angaat Aalaya, composed by Rohan Rohan), but beyond the incredibly catchy Maharashtrian rhythm, the song didn’t work for me. So, it comes across as a pleasant surprise that the other 2 songs in the film are by composer AV Prafullachandra who I rate very, very highly. And he doesn’t disappoint at all! Tu Ani Mi is a spritely melody with a lovely spring in the step and superb singing by Nakul Abhyankar and Kasturi Wavare. That ‘Tu Maazaa Maanjha’ hook is a particularly lovely touch. In Vinchu Chaavla, the composer lobs a fantastic spinner! The song’s rhythm keeps changing and that adds to the insane charm! That shift in the first interlude, in particular, is brilliant. The singers, AV Prafullachandra, Manish Rajgire, Thomson Andrews, Pravin Kuwar, Vivek Naik, and Santosh Bote, all seem to be having a ball singing this massively fun song!
Sajni – The Yellow Diary (Indipop): NGL, I’m in love with The Yellow Diary lead singer Rajan Batra’s voice and singing style 
I find it as unique as Sid Sriram or Sanjith Hegde. Even though the music video’s narrative device is the most interesting aspect of this song, the song itself is a lovely listen with Govind Vasantha-style backgrounds!
Suffocation – Dhruv Visvanath (Indipop): Dhruv delivers yet again, and how! His guitar riffs are, as usual, wonderful, but the way he lets the music meander softly at the 1:30 mark for about 20 seconds is mesmerizing!
Sajan Das Na – Coke Studio, Season 14: Kana Yaari used a folk base in true Coke Studio style and excelled. But this one is ultramod, throwing at us the best production values of Coke Studio in an enchanting melody that is brilliantly rendered by Momina Mustehsan and Atif Aslam, given how accomplished both singers are. I could have easily assumed the tune’s opening (and the entire melody) to be composed by our own Mithoon – his signature seemed written all over!
Via Milliblog! https://milliblog.com