Aakalesthe – Shankar Dada Zindabad (Devi Sri Prasad, Telugu)
Besides being a great looker, its a pleasant surprise that actress Mamta Mohandas can rock to this extent, with her vocals. Devi Sri Prasad sounds much like his peer, Mani Sharma in this highly infectious track that will have you moving your feet involuntarily! The composer is also clever enough to patch Mamta’s vocals appropriately at places where it may go off key, with vocalizing effects. All in all, a perfect ‘adipoli’ track, as people down in God’s own country call it!
Arabu naade – Thottaal Poo Malarum (Yuvan Shankar Raja, Tamil)
Even though Dad P.Vasu has not been able to extract the best from Ilayaraja’s son, for his son’s debut – as much as he got from Raaja himself – Arabu naade definitely stands out for its addictive rhythm and the interesting use of Hindi.
Kehnde ne naina – Devika (Shehzad Hasan, Indipop)
Shehzad Hasan’s ambient interpretation of the evergreen Kehnde ne naina is a delight. I came across some of the more traditional versions of this track including one by Noor Jehan and I really enjoy the mod version conjured by the former Vital Signs member.
Kanavellaam – Kireedam (GV Prakash Kumar, Tamil)
There’s a free flowing beauty in this track by GV Prakash Kumar. The Dad-Son dialog is expertly handled by the lyricist while that ‘En vaanathil natchathiram’ bridge has been very imaginatively included in the anupallavi and charanam. Jayachandran is, as usual, awesome.
Saiyyan, Chaap tilak – Jhoomo re (Kailash Kher, Naresh, Paresh, Indipop)
This is one album I’ve thoroughly enjoyed in recent times and find it rather difficult to select just tracks. But Saiyaan is a gem, while Kailasa’s reinterpretation of Chaap tilak is simply fantastic.
Kadale, Thoranam aayiram – Ammuvaagiya naan (Sabesh Murali, Tamil)
Sabesh Murali, a duo no one expected to do well, produce some of their most inspired piece of work in this soundtrack. I really hope, for their sake, that this film does well and earns them their long pending name and fame.
Bol na – Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Hindi)
Considering I’m one the very few people who actually enjoyed this film, I’m sure this song may have gone unnoticed to many, despite the aggressive promotion by Yash Raj films. After a couple of uninspired but successful work, Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music hits the film’s script bang on and supports the zany film exceedingly well. And the very pleasant Bol na simply rules over the soundtrack, even amidst stiff competition from a Big B’ed title track!
