Jaane kyun: Dostana (Hindi OST), Vishal Shekhar
Bouncy, catchy and very very lively. Truly symbolizes the Vishal Shekhar brand of music and simply works!
Pada pada: Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu (Tamil OST), Selvaganesh
Whoa – Selvaganesh is a debutant? The music of this film is so confident that it hardly sounds like a debut. Pada pada, specially, is so much like a Yuvan Shankar Raja tune…no, nothing directly similar, but in terms of its sound and boy, does it sound great! Singer Karthik seldom goes wrong in such tracks and he has chosen very aptly for this melody.
Laga reh: Qismat Apnay Haat Mein (Pakistani Pop), Shehzad Roy
Shehzad’s latest album, Qismat apnay haat mein is a damn good listen and Laga reh is quite a bold statement, along with Quaid-e-azam, if you put it in perspective of the political mess in Pakistan. Beyond the catchy tune of Laga reh, Shehzaad announces his arrival as a serious and meaningful artist with this album, far removed from the trivial stuff he was churning out earlier.
Kodu kodu varavanu: Sangama (Kannada OST), Devi Sri Prasad
Looks like the producer’s call for Devi Sri Prasad has been perfect – after a terribly Bombaat, Ganesh sure needs this boost. On his part, Devi does great – a good combination of catchy, Telugu’ish tracks and this enticing track, sung beautifully by Gopika Poornima.
Phir wohi raastey: Ramchand Pakistani (Pakistani OST), Debojyoti Mishra
The movie’s out in India and has evoked mixed responses. But I wish the soundtrack does better. This particular track by Shafqat Amanat Ali’s vocals are absolutely amazing in this excellent composition by Debojyoti Mishra, despite minor traces of the composer’s earlier tracks.
Anal mele: Vaaranam Aayiram (Tamil OST), Harris Jeyaraj
Harris pulls off an amazingly diverse soundtrack in Vaaranam Aayiram but the two tracks that stayed with me are Sudha Raghunathan’s Anal Mele and Ava enna enna thedi vandha anjalai. The former, in particular, has a curiously Telugu’ish structure and background – with those bare minimum backgrounds and an absolutely haunting tune. Something in this song reminds me of Ghantasala, but I’m really not sure why! Wonder what made Harris choose Sudha over his regular, Bombay Jayashree, the song’s tone could have easily suited Jayashree too!
Mar jawan: Fashion (Hindi OST), Salim Sulaiman
Just who is Shruti Pathak? Mar jawan is a track that could have been apt for Shilpa Rao, but Shruti does an equally awesome job. Salim Sulaiman pull off a haunting, ambient number with absolutely mesmerizing and thoughtfully embellished orchestration. Along with Kuchch khaas and the title song, the trio of tracks make Fashion a fab soundtrack!
Merupula: Chintakayala Ravi (Telugu OST), Vishal Shekhar
Vishal Shekhar’s Telugu debut may seem slightly trivial with the kind of songs they’ve churned out for this film – but I suppose the playful nature of the soundtrack is a demand of the film’s script. Within those constraints, Chintakayala Ravi’s soundtrack is a lot of fun and Merupula is my pick of the album – with a very South Indian melody and almost non-stop flow between the lines that makes it interesting.
Aavaaram Poo: Poo (Tamil OST), SS Kumaran
Poo is an incredible soundtrack – for a debutant. Kumaran gets Chinmayi to croon a delightfully restrained and melodic Aavaaram poo, whose lyrics are a throwback to the olden days – about longing for love. The soundtrack and this song specially, makes me look forward to this film by Sasi.
Bandagi: Drona (Hindi OST), Dhruv Ghanekar
Despite critical drubbing to the film and its music, I still think Dhruv did a commendable job with Drona’s soundtrack. Yes, he could have gone all out given the fantasy genre but I suppose his work was confined to commercially saleable music and the songs are not bad at all – though the Rahman connection was completely unwarranted. Bandagi is just lovely!
Khairheyan de naal: Tabeer (Indi/ Pakistani Pop), Shafqat Amanat Ali
Shafqat’s debut album is an outstanding collection of well-known songs, retuned and resung with a lot of conviction by the singer. The sound is quite removed from his earlier band’s sound too, and the man’s vocals tower over every composition. While Kartar is a favorite too, I just couldnt get over Khairheyan de naal – just perfect in terms of composition, backgrounds and of course, singing.
Chup: Chup (Pakistani Pop), Zeb & Haniya
These Pakistani girls truly rock! With help from a handful of musicians from Pakistan, the duo break free in thier debut album with a distinct sound and a rocking combination of lyrics and vocals.
Nijanga: Kotha Bangaru Lokam (Telugu OST), Mickey J Meyer
Singer Karthik is in truly amazing form in Nijanga, as much as composer Mickey’s simple, but incredibly catchy tune – that hook, Hare hare rama is delectable and gets me humming along every time I play this song! Mickey shows promise in every album and I wish he gets into other Southern languages as well, like his idol, Rahman!
