Week 202: On Spotify | On YouTube
11 songs this week. All the songs are available on both YouTube and Spotify.
Kaala Jaadu – Freddy (Pritam) – Hindi: Oh wow! After his recent lush melodies in Laal Singh Chaddha, Pritam goes flamboyant and expansive with Kaala Jaadu! Arijit’s singing is, expectedly, superb (as also Nikhita Gandhi’s), but it is the beautifully enveloping music that lifts the song considerably. The chorus, in particular, is brilliant!
Apna Bana Le – Bhediya (Sachin-Jigar) – Hindi: This is one of those songs that I cannot imagine without Arijit Singh! Sachin-Jigar’s music is adequately pleasant with an easy vibe, but it’s really the voice that elevates the song.
Takdaa Rawaan – Sachet-Parampara (Hindi/Indipop): There’s something special and interesting about a wife-husband composing duo! Even in the case of Maati-Baani, the other musical duo, Kartik Shah composes while Nirali sticks to singing – in the case of Sachet-Parampara, they both compose, and they both sing! (Are Sachet Tandon and Parampara Thakur the first composing husband-wife duo in India? They got married in November 2020). The song is very easy on the ear and is a fun listen thanks to the simple, addictive hook.
Ranjithame – Varisu (Thaman S) – Tamil: Not particularly in the league of considerably better songs Thaman reserves for his Telugu work (demonstrated again recently in Prince), but this is functionally catchy nonetheless. The infusion of the popular Tamil folk melody is a very nice touch and M M Manasi’s singing is excellent here. Vijay, of course, continues to be a dependable singer for such catchy tunes.
Vaa Vaathi – Vaathi (GV Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: Honestly, none of GV Prakash Kumar’s songs have worked for me in recent times. This one is the welcome exception, thanks mainly to Shweta Mohan’s incredibly sweet rendition. The tune is, to be sure, standard-issue GV Prakash Kumar template, but he adds enough nuances, like that strings backdrop, to make it work hard.
Hey Puyale – Kalaga Thalaivan (Arrol Corelli) – Tamil: Composer Arrol Corelli did show promise at one point in time but has since vanished in the background without anything standing out. Even in Kalaga Thalaivan, the other song that’s released—NeeLaadho—sounds unremarkable and functional. But Hey Puyale does have a spark because of the vibrant imagination Arrol throws into the background music that is really something, with that profusion of strings (Cochin Strings Orchestra). And then the singing, by Shreya Goshal and Sathyaprakash, is excellent.
Snehadweepile – Little Miss Rawther (Govind Vasantha) – Malayalam: With Pradeep Kumar and Chinmayi singing it, the song feels like an extension of Govind’s music for 96. That’s not a bad proposition at all, given that film’s stellar soundtrack. Durvin D’souza’s guitar is almost the 3rd ‘voice’ of the song that is everything you’d expect from Govind Vasantha. There’s an Ilayaraja’esque elegance in the anupallavi!
Sita Kalyana – Kumari (Jakes Bejoy) – Malayalam: Jakes seems to be in very good form all through Kumari’s soundtrack considering the other songs from the film in earlier Weeklies. This one is a short song, but a gorgeous extrapolation of the ‘Sita Kalayana Vaibhogame’ refrain into a completely different melody taking on from Thyagaraja’s Bahudaari-raaga based Brova Barama instead of Kurunji raaga that’s used for the actual song. Fantastic singing by Akhil J Chand and Akhila Anand.
Enth Paangh – Padachone Ingalu Katholi (Shaan Rahman) – Malayalam: Shaan’s melody is very, very sweet, while his trademark sound comes to the fore in the anupallavi’s background. The use of the ghatam-like sound in the background works very well in the song’s favor. The clear highlight, though, is the singing – K S Harishanker is predictably good, but the X factor is Ramya Nambessan’s singing!
Kannu Kannu Kaadaaduta Irali – Dooradarshana (Vasuki Vaibhav) – Kannada: Vasuki Vaibhav’s melody took me back to Rahman’s Minsara Kanavu song, VeNNilave VeNNilave, particularly the strings section (Chennai String Section) and the pallavi that seemed like an extension of VeNNilave’s anupallavi – there may be a raaga connection, possibly. But Vasuki’s singing is fantastic and breathes like into an already engaging melody.
Rama Rama Rama – Dil Pasand (Arjun Janya) – Kannada: Just like I cannot imagine Freddy’s Kaala Jaadu by anyone else besides Arijit Singh, Mangli is the only singer who could have carried Rama Rama Rama. Arjun uses the kind of tunes he conjured recently for Ek Love Ya and it’s fun while it lasts.
Via Milliblog! https://milliblog.com