Milliblog Weeklies – NOV18.2018

Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 48:
On Apple Music | On Saavn | On YouTube
22 songs this week. No single streaming platform scales up to provide for all of them 🙁 YouTube is the best bet for you this week since it has 16 songs. I’m terribly disappointed that the songs of Thattumpurathu Achuthan are not on Saavn or Apple Music yet given how good the music is; Mangalakaaraka, in particular! Also, Maanathe Chandirane Pole, from Ottakkoru Kaamukan is only on Saavn. The 2 wonderful songs from the Kannada film Jeer Jimbe are YouTube-only too. It also has only one of The Yellow Dairy’s new EP – the 3 songs together are available on Saavn and Apple Music – highly recommened, those songs!

A note on the songs in the playlist.


Sweetheart (Kedarnath, Hindi): The 2nd single from Amit Trivedi’s Kedarnath. Simple, lively wedding song with a line by Amitabh Bhattacharya,
“Sharmaaye si bagal mein
Jo baithi hai dulhan ke
Wahi toh meri Sweetheart hai”
… that’s perhaps going to be heard in many, many weddings in North India soon 🙂 Sushant’s dance moves, though, seem incongruous – he’s dancing way too much, with utterly out-of-place moves, for this kind of a tune, I thought.

Manchukurise Vela (Manchukurisevelalo, Telugu): I have been a huge admirer of the vastly underrated Shravan Bharadwaj’s music. Last year, he produced outstanding music for films like Malli Raava and Chandamama Raave, but I really doubt if his music caught on the way it ideally should have. Here he is, again, with a film titled after an iconic Ilayaraja song (from Abhinandana). It’s a spritely song, very easily likeable and hummable.

Padi Padi Leche (Padi Padi Leche Manasu, Telugu): Composer Vishal Chandrasekhar seems to have got himself a nicer groove in Telugu more than Tamil (despite Jil Jung Juk). The title song of Padi Padi Leche is an excellent example, with its soaring melody and superb vocals by Armaan Malik and Sinduri Vishal.

Kalala Kadhala (Amar Akbar Antony, Telugu): The film’s 4-song album has 3 songs with very glitzy music where Thaman does try something new as far as the sounds are concerned. But the tunes don’t work in those songs as much as it does in this sweeping and thoroughly engaging melody sung beautifully by Harini Ivvaturi.

Maanathe Chandirane Pole (Ottakkoru Kaamukan, Malayalam): After Aathmaavil, the other song that really worked for me in Vishnu Mohan Sithara is this one, with spectacular singing by Joyce Surendran. Her lazy drawl of a singing lifts the already fantastic soundscape the composer lays out.

Puthu Chemba (Autorsha, Malayalam): Autorsha has 2 very good composers – Sharreth and Viswajit (for one song, Chandappura Krithi). But the only song that worked for me was Puthu Chemba, thanks mainly to Indulekha Warrier’s delightful rendition. The music too is very clearly Sharreth’s vibrant imagination, though it doesn’t translate to the other songs.

Neela Raave (Cuban Colony, Malayalam): Composer Aloshya Kaavumpurath’s other song from the film (Manga Curry) was terrible, but he gets this one right! Simple, heartwarming melody without too much shenanigans, handled very well by Shweta Mohan and Yazin Nizar.

Muthumani Radhe & Mangalakaaraka (Thattumpurathu Achuthan, Malayalam): While Mangalakaaraka is an impressively mounted rock-bhajan, Muthumani Radhe keeps it authentic and wonderfully desi. Composer Deepankuran is on to something with this soundtrack, given 3 very good songs!

Orangeu Orangeu, Brotheru Brotheru & Sukumari My Sukumari (Orange, Kannada): After last week’s Yaaro Yaaro, here are 3 more songs from Ganesh’s new film with music by Thaman. Interestingly, all 4 songs have repeating first words 🙂 Thaman goes back to his basics and it works perfectly with the film’s masala appeal. Orangeu, despite the forced lyrics extolling the virtues of ‘Golden Star’ Ganesh, has a manic techno-kuthu rhythm that Thaman has mastered over the years, while Brotheru Brotheru and Sukumari My Sukumari are slower and catchy to boot. Very listenable and fun album!

Usire Usire (Gaanchali, Kannada): There’s a distinctly Hiphop Tamizha-style sound in Chandan Shetty’s music in this song, particularly the uncredited background vocals part. It’s a largely Harris Jayaraj’ish melody, though – pleasant and well sung by Rajesh Krishnan and Supriya Lohith.

Yaako Yeno & Seru Ninnuru (Jeerjimbe, Kannada): Yaako Yeno is the first single from Jeerjimbe, the film for which Charan Raj won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director last year. It’s a lovely, lilting song on the lines of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji! Seru Ninnuru seems more situational, with dialogs interspersed, and the tune, at times, reminded me of A.R.Rahman’s Enna Vilai Azhage (from Kaadhalar Dhinam). But it is a rich melody accentuated brilliantly by Ananya Bhat’s lead vocals and the phenomenally layered music Charan arranges in the background. The chorus kicks in towards the end and takes the song to a new high.

He Darvayta (Naal, Marathi): A wonderful follow-up to AV Prafullachandra’s first single from the film (Jau De Na Va), though, this time, the music is by Advait Nemlekar. The song continues the whimsical musical style of the earlier songs, with a particularly captivating strings section featuring violin, cello, sarangi and viola! Terrific singing by Ankita Joshi & Aanandi Joshi!

Laal Peeli Ankhiyan (Mame Khan, Rajasthani): This is the 2nd song in Mame Khan’s Folk Phonic series (the first came out in June). Unlike the earlier one, this one is a lot more vibrant, pushing the boundaries of what one would expect from Mame Khan, incorporating, with varying degrees success, flamenco and other sounds. But overall, given the wonderfully lively singing the man is known for, it’s a win.

Kajaliyo (Aakanksha Sharma, Rajasthani): The second Rajasthani song this week – what are the odds! Kajaliyo is a famous Rajasthani traditional/folk song and in Kapil Jangir’s music, it gets a new, 80s Hindi film/T-series makeover. Very, very rhythmic and melodious.

Taajub Hai (Jonita Gandhi, Indipop): A simple, catchy and hum-worthy pop song composed by the severely under-rated Gulraj Singh. Not as brilliant as some of his other tracks, but very listenable, nonetheless.

Tere Jeya Hor Disda, Dheere Se & Buniyaad (Izafa, The Yellow Diary): The band’s debut EP (Marz) was very, very impressive, mixing a hugely impressive rock sound with Punjabi lyrics. Izafa’s 3-song EP is a brilliant follow-up, with equally good tunes. The singing continues to be very good – lead vocalist Rajan Batra, to me, sounds like the male equivalent of Rekha Bhardwaj, but is fantastic, again.

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