Ahista ahista & Khuda jaane: Bachna ae haseeno (Hindi OST), Vishal Shekhar
Ahista in particular has been in my playlist almost every single day – I just adore this track. It’s really enthusiastic, lively and has a carefree feel to it. Lucky Ali’s selection was a masterstroke from the composing duo – he’s particularly super in the antara, the tune working its magic too here! KK rocks all over Khuda jaane, by the way!
Aai paapi: Kismat Konnection (Hindi OST), Pritam
Despite the numerous allegations of plagiarism, this man continues to impress with this sense of sound. Aai paapi is an awesome dance track, sung superbly by Neeraj Shridhar! Every piece in this song just falls into place to make it incredibly catchy.
Aa bili bili: Athmiya (Kannada OST), Manoj George
This film was an abysmal flop. I recall reading a postmortem of this film in The Hindu a week after this film was released and taken off theaters. The reviewer had rued over the fact that the film wasn’t that bad, but suffered due to terribly poor publicity. The music was merely attributed to Manoj George – that’s when I assumed that this may be the Manoj George from Antaragni and got curious. I’m still not sure if he’s the one, but in Aa bili bili, he has an ace – that retro touch and some really fantastic lyrics! Shankar Mahadevan is in great form, as usual!
Eno ide: Psycho (Kannada OST), Raghu Dixit
The second Kannada track in this list! Even though the producers are publicizing the other, popular Mahadeswara song, I fell for Eno ide almost instantly. The pathos Raghu Dixit brings in his voice, combined with a refined, Euphoria like folk sound is delightful. I particularly love when Raghu goes, ‘Jeevana allola kallola aagidhe’…beautiful!
Mazhai nindra: Raman Thediya Seethai (Tamil OST), Vidyasagar
Vidyasagar springs back into circulation after the disappointing Muniyaandi…, Alibaba and Jayam Kondaan. This has all the hallmarks of his standard, likeable melody – excellent vocals by Kalyani, some fabulous lyrics and a simple, endearing tune.
Aksar: Hijack (Hindi OST), Justin-Uday
Is it a good idea to ape the top composer for your debut? Perhaps not, but debutant composing duo Justin-Uday make it sound like it is! They seem to have imbibed the Pritam sound so well, that their Aksar sounds almost as good, if not better than Pritam’s own similar songs! Too similar to his style for comfort, but when the material is good, I’m not complaining!
Lalijo: Hare Ram (Telugu OST), Mickey J Meyer
Lalijo’s strength is its orchestration – unconventional, yet memorable. It’s the quirky, catchy sound that stays long after the song is over. Mickey’s tune is simple, but the fact that Karthik sings so in sync with the catchy backgrounds is a huge plus!
Dosth bada dosth: Saroja (Tamil OST), Yuvan Shankar Raja
No, Dosth doesn’t really rhyme with Vaasthu (pronounced Vaasthoo), but who cares? This is one cool ‘machi’ track that has the smell of Chennai’sh friendship. Yuvan scores a seriously hip track here!
Marudhaani: Sakkarakatti (Tamil OST), A R Rahman
The master lords with this melody. Madhushree’s Tamil needs considerable help, but she makes it up with her scintillating voice – its damn sweet! She should ideally be singing ‘MarudhaaNi’, but goes ‘Marudhaani’, almost sounding like she’s singing about manliness…mardhaangi, while she’s actually singing about ‘mehndi’! But the tune, voice and the mighty mod backgrounds make up more-than-adequately for all flaws.
Yeh tumhari meri baatein & Rock on: Rock on!! (Hindi OST), Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Though many people have problems with the trio’s interpretation of desi rock, I’d just like to say that this is a great attempt at filmi rock, not necessarily desi rock. This album bridges both with least compromises and a lot of gumption! Dominique Cerejo’s vocals are magical in Yeh tumhari meri baatein, while the Rock on chant just lingers on and on!
Bas ek king & Singh is Kinng: Singh is Kinng (Hindi OST), Pritam, Calvin ‘Snoop Dogg’ Broadus and RDB
Yes, I confess. I like the Snoop Dogg version of the title song…now! It’s monotonous, but there’s some life cooked up by the RDB folks that makes this track likeable. I couldn’t stand it earlier, but I’ve considerably warmed up to it now. Pritam’s title song, on the other hand, is a winner from day one! Solid, masti track!
