Neer bharan & Raat gaey – Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 6, Episode 3
One word to describe Neer bharan – Bhaagesri! Enough said! Raat gaey, on the other hand is silky smooth jazz, aced by Zoe Viccaji’s lovely vocals!
Laila O Laila & Ishq kinara – Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 6, Episode 4
These two songs demonstrate the way in which Coke Studio Pakistan has excelled in blending different musical styles from the word – the former with Balochi influences, while the latter with Turkish influences and even a sneak peek of Rasputin!
Chillendra chillendra, Enthaara enthaara, Rayile ra, Yaaro ival & Kannukkul pothivaippen – Thirumanam Enum Nikkah (Tamil – Ghibran)
I have gushed enough about this fantastic soundtrack, but let me just add a small note about Ghibran. In the last issue of 2013, Anandha Vikatan (Tamil weekly magazine) published a list of top 10 songs and top personalities of 2013. Of the 3 film industry personalities it listed two were actors (Sivakarthikeyan and Vijay Sethupathy). The third was a composer – Santhosh Narayanan! Even though Imman’s ‘Oodha kalaru’ topped their list in the top 10 songs, no mention of Imman’s amazing comeback or Ghibran’s fabulous year (with Vathikuchi and Naiyaandi). That’s the bane of commercial success of films when it comes to the success of the soundtrack (which still doesn’t explain Imman’s absence; perhaps they wrote about in the 2012 summary). I’m sure Ghibran will make it to this list in the 2014 year-end summary.
Ee pooveyilil – Pakida (Malayalam – Bijibal)
Lovely lovely violin and superb singing by Soumya. Haunting tune by Bijibal!
Baarish, ABCD & Sunny Sunny – Yaariyaan (Hindi – Mithoon, Pritam & Honey Singh)
Mithoon reuses his Aashiqui 2 in Baarish effectively and it works for most part barring the ennui it all generates since it is being – seemingly – used way too often/much. In comparison, Pritam and Honey Singh’s contributions are lively and ebullient – the latter is frivolous, but terribly catchy, no doubt, while the former is Pritam stamp anyway.
Cute aana – Inga Enna Solludhu (Tamil – Dharan Kumar)
Naresh Iyer is clearly the highlight of this lovely song – simple, endearing tune, barring the awkward Tanglish lyrics.
Uyyalaina jampalaina & Nijamga idi nenenaa – Uyyala Jampala (Telugu – Sunny MR)
Sunny recreates his Swamy Ra Ra magic in Uyyala Jampala. The title song makes fantastic use of Harshika Gudi’s lovely voice, while Nijamga has a strong whiff of the music Sunny produced in his debut. Lovely little soundtrack!
Negizhiyinil – Nimirndhu Nil (Tamil – GV Prakash Kumar)
Sounds to me like Charukesi, one of my favorite ragas and something that no song can go wrong in. Plus, Madhan Karky’s usually unique wordplay using at least one (if not more) unheard word to add a dash of novelty!
Malang & Tu hi junoon – Dhoom 3 (Hindi – Pritam)
That Pritam stamp is evident in Tu hi junoon, with its flamboyant orchestration and Mohit Chauhan’s singing, the mix is perfect. Malang, for all its hype, is a bit underwhelming peddling a fairly familiar template – good while it lasts, though.
Bharatham pattina natyam – Emo Gurram Egaravachu (Telugu – MM Keeravani)
Just who is the singer of this song? The CD credits list Rahul Sipiligunj as the singer, but the song also seems to have sung by a lady, though there are portions where the voice seems to be moving in male and female territories. Whatever it is, very catchy song! (3rd song in the jukebox)
Koode irikkaam – Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal (Malayalam – Prashant Pillai)
One of those few soundtracks from Prashant Pillai that I felt as underwheling, surprisingly, given his recent track record! Gayatri Ashok’s (and Haricharan’s) Koode irikkaam is an exception – addictively smooth melody.
Omana komala & Shyamameghame – Oru Indian Pranayakatha (Malayalam – Vidyasagar)
Sathyan Anthikad’s new combination, after years of working with Ilayaraja! But Vidyasagar is usually super in Malayalam and with Sathyan, he doesn’t disappoint at all. Omana komala’s possibly Kedaram raaga is what makes it to instantly likeable, while the unbeatable combination of Chithra and Gowrimanohari raaga is what makes Shyamameghame work so effortlessly.
Ival dhaana – Veeram (Tamil – Devi Sri Prasad)
Despite Devi’s persistent recycling, the man knows how to make lively melodies and play with the rhythm aimed at your feet really well. Case in point – Veeram’s Ival dhaana!
Dil ka mijaaz, Kya hoga, Zabaan jale hai & Jagaave saari raina – Dedh Ishqiya (Hindi – Vishal Bhardwaj)
I’m so, so thankful that Vishal did not sing Dil ka mijaaz himself. For a tune like this, the choice of singer is a big deal! Kya hoga’s qawali sound is pitch-perfect and harmonious, while Vishal’s better half gets a better opportunity in Jagaave than Hamari atariya’s staid tune. Zabaan jale hai is the kind of song that I’d have loved to hear the great Jagjit Singh sing – it has a hybrid ghazal feel, what with its minimal ghazal opening and the Latino ballad feel later!
Paattu onnu, Verasa pogayile, Jingunamani & Kandaangi – Jilla (Tamil – D.Imman)
I’m generally dismissive of Vijay film soundtracks. They usually follow such a banal template dictated by his alleged fan-base’s interests and needs, that regardless of who the composer is, it ends being just functional. Even A R Rahman wasn’t exception to this – his work in Azhagiya Tamil Magan was better than functional, but still underwhelming (Udhaya is not worth discussing, beyond the title song). It’s therefore surprising to see Imman (who started his career with a Vijay film – Tamizhan) return to Vijayland with a short soundtrack that is more Imman than Vijay, thankfully! Loved this soundtrack, barring one song.
Listen to Jilla songs here, on Raaga.
Thannanthaniye & Thaaye vanthaaye – Oru Oorla (Tamil – Ilayaraja)
When Thannanthaniye’s anupallavi starts or when the first interlude of Thaaye vanthaaye plays, my clock easily goes back to 1990! That’s both a bane and a boon, unfortunately.
Couldn’t find any online (official) link for these songs!
Orakkanna sachu nee – Ennamo Nadakkudhu (Tamil – Premgi Amaren)
From whatever he has composed so far, in Kannada and Tamil, he has definitely shown better flair in this profession than being a piece of permanent furniture in *all* his brother’s films. I really wish he pursued this line of work than acting.
Nenjukkuzhi – Kangaroo (Tamil – Srinivas)
If we set aside the debate about whether Kangaroo is Singer Srinivas’ debut or not, this is a decent soundtrack with Nenjukkuzhi topping my list. Lovely song! (Last song in the jukebox)
Neenu iruvaaga, Ninthe ninthe & Mouna thaalithe – Ninnindale (Kannada – Manisharma)
It’s sad to see Manisharma completely relegated out of Telugu film industry – Keeravani is still relevant, while Thaman is ruling the roost. But Mani, with sad soundtracks like Doosukeltha, Prema Geema Janta Nai and Nakaithe Nachindi (all of which I listened to, but was to uninterested to even review them), seems to be out of fashion there. Which possibly explains what he is doing in Kannada. But, he does well, at least with the 3 softer songs! (Songs 2, 3 and 4 in the jukebox)
