Week 182: On Spotify | On YouTube
18 songs this week! All the songs are available on YouTube, while Spotify is missing the Malayalam song Santhwani, and Shankar Mahadevan’s Dil Ki Dhun for obvious reasons considering it’s a promo song from rival streaming platform, JioSaavn
Jordaar – Jayeshbhai Jordaar (Vishal-Sheykhar) – Hindi: It’s good to hear Vishal-Sheykhar’s music, though he is ‘Sheykhar’ now, the music remains the same! The song’s pulsating sound and Gujarati smattering go pretty well. The singing, by Vishal Dadlani and Keerthi Sagathia, is thoroughly enjoyable, and that ‘Bhai toh ek dum Jordaar’ is an earworm!
Maan Le – Chitrakut (Somesh Saha) – Hindi: Somesh’s melody, that tabla-laden backdrop, the strings that punctuate the first interlude, and the sitar that joins the song eventually… all make the song sound a lot like an Indipop song. Arijit’s singing is the star, though – he holds the song that already shines with Somesh’s confident, engaging melody.
Dil Ki Dhun – Shankar Mahadevan (Indipop/Hindi): The single has so many marketing tie-ups behind it – a song produced as part of JioSaavn’s current ‘Dil Ki Dhun’ campaign, a music video shot with OnePlus 10 Pro, and more! But, for a song that aims to showcase ‘My Country, My Music’, the song is way too short (under 2 minutes) and decidedly Mumbai + ‘North’ India. Shankar’s composition is fantastic, though. The way he drops the sound at the 1-minute mark and brings in a classical high with his impeccable vocals is a lovely touch!
Boli Tujhse – Amit Trivedi (Indipop/Hindi): This song is table-stakes by Amit’s standards, but still, is a listenable melody. The singers—Asees Kaur and Abhijeet Shrivastava—elevate the song considerably though that ‘Naam Tera Jo Mujhse Judd Gaya’ line screams so much of Amit’s template.
Maaman Magale & Nee Pirindhadheno – Kuttram Kuttrame (Ajesh) – Tamil: I have already expressed confidence in Ajesh’s composing skills more than once in this blog, and here he is, proving it yet again. Even though the Maaman Magale refrain harks back to ‘Aathangara Marame’ in a slightly slower mode, and even if the song reeks of early Rahman, this is still a very listenable song! Ajesh comes into his own in Nee Pirindhadheno that he not only composes but also sings extremely well! Viveka’s soulful lyrics add weight to this pensive melody too.
Naandhaana Naan Needhaana – Kathir (Prashant Pillai) – Tamil: It’s clear that Prashant is aiming for a ‘period’ sound to go with the sepia-toned visuals from the past. But instead of going the whole hog, he simply underlines the period’s musical style mildly while retaining a more modern sound, and this combo works wonderfully well for this melody. The choice of the singers has a lot to do with the song’s feel too – Gowtham Bharadwaj and Keerthana Vaidyanathan.
Dippam Dappam – Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (Anirudh) – Tamil: To be sure, I was less impressed by the starting portions led by Anthony Daasan, but Anirudh concocts an incredibly catchy ‘Dippam Dappam’ hook that holds the song together.
Madichu Vecha Vethala – Buffoon (Santhosh Narayanan) – Tamil: What starts off as an authentic therukoothu escalates into something completely different at the 2-minute mark! It becomes a pulsating techno number using a familiar Tamil folk melody Hugely enjoyable twist, that!
BulBul Tarang – Ramarao On Duty (Sam CS) – Telugu: After a series of non-starters, Sam seems to have a ‘big’ film in hand and he gets his recent best form, along with Sid Sriram in tow. The tune has a Western Classical base and a mysterious sound to it, a combination that works quite well!
Bullet Song – The Warriorr (Devi Sri Prasad) – Telugu: Trust DSP to produce the catchiest gimmicky songs The bike sounds, the vocalization of bike sounds, the simple, hummable tune, and the catchy rhythm… everything simply works in this enjoyable masala song. And yes, the singers – Silambarasan and Haripriya!
Bhale Bhale Banjara – Acharya (Mani Sharma) – Telugu: Mani shows that he still has the goods to handle a ‘big’ film! The tune is a standard-issue hodge-podge, to be sure, but it takes its masala origins seriously enough and delivers adequately.
Aanandamo – Solamante Theneechakal (Vidyasagar) – Malayalam: Oh wow, the return of Vidyasagar! That too, in Malayalam, where he has a decidedly more melodic repertoire compared with Tamil and Telugu! The first single lives up to his legacy in Malayalam with excellent singing by Abhay Jodhpurkar and Anwesshaa, particularly in the anupallavi where Cochin Strings showcases its magic too.
Maayalle Maayalle – Makal (Vishnu Vijay) – Malayalam: Another ‘comeback’ film, but this has nothing to do with a musical comeback – Meera Jasmine’s comeback But in a Sathyan Anthikad’s film! Vishnu’s first single is a breezy listen, particularly in Haricharan’s effortlessly good singing. The way Vishnu has constructed the anupallavi in a seemingly lengthy way is really charming as is the ‘Vattam vattam pottittu’ hook!
Santhwani – Ente Mazha (Sharreth) – Malayalam: Sharreth is such an anomaly in present-day film music—a much-needed anomaly! What was once a staple in Malayalam film music in the 80s, a classical carnatic composition, makes an appearance in all its splendor, sung brilliantly by Sharreth, as expected. I assume the raaga is Abheri.
Kanasallu Kaanada – Cutting Shop (KB Praveen) – Kannada: I figured that KB Praveen is not only the composer of the film, but also the film’s lead! That’s a fairly unique role that few actors have performed before him – my immediate references are T.Rajendar and K.Bhagyaraj in Tamil, though I’m sure there are quite a few more. The film’s first single, released last year (Yako Sisya), didn’t work for me, but both that one, and this new single have carnatic ‘sa ga ri pa’ style alaap as a key musical element despite being completely different genres, musically. I’m assuming Praveen’s musical knowledge is reasonably good that he is confident with his tunes, and it shows in Kanasallu Kaanada given that it is a more-than-competent melody handled beautifully by the couple, Nakul Abhyankar and Ramya Bhat Abhyankar. Praveen keeps the ‘Sa Ga Ri Ma’ refrain as the song’s main hook (in Ramya’s vocals) and this adds to the song’s appeal.
Bai Ga – Chandramukhi (Ajay-Atul) – Marathi: The film’s other 2 songs (Chandra and To Chand Rati) didn’t work for me, but this one’s classic Ajay-Atul! The melody is wonderfully lush and classical raaga-based, and Aarya Ambekar’s singing is fantastic! The chorus part towards the end was a wonderful surprise!
Bulbuli – Coke Studio Bangla, Season 1 (Bangla): The song picks up the famous Nazrul Geeti (by Kavi Nazrul Islam), Bagichay Bulbuli, and gives it an energetic Coke Studio treatment. The update is very interesting given that the original is a rather sedate ghazal while the new version is so very pop-music lively! Rituraj Baidya’s singing is scintillating. When Sanzida Mahmood Nandita joins him mid-way with her ‘Dol Dol Dol Diyeche’, the song becomes a delightful duet!
While listening to the song, and the original, I couldn’t help but notice how similar it sounded to Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s Khilona title song!