Originally published in The Hindu.
Calcutta Kiss
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (Hindi)
Music: Madboy/Mink
The oddly named Madboy/Mink comprises Imaad Shah (Naseruddin Shah’s son!) and Saba Azad, and they categorize their music under ‘electro cabaret’ and ‘nu disco’. The electro-swing Calcutta Kiss is insanely catchy, fabulously adapted from their own Taste The Kiss (from the 2014 album All Ball). It’s a frenetically paced song, with unique sounds and phrases that perhaps need a second listen to fully comprehend and make sense of. That a song like this made it to a mainstream Bollywood movie is a minor miracle, courtesy Dibakar Banerjee.
Idarkuthaane aasaippattaai
Romeo Juliet (Tamil)
Music: D. Imman
The first thing that hits you is Madhan Karky playing with the conventional opening line and bringing about gender equality. The next thing is how versatile Vaikom Vijaylakshmi is – she seems to be having a lot of fun singing this song, with all the little nuances. Composer Imman leaves his unique stamp too, particularly a lovely chorus that plays mid-way and beautifully segues into the anupallavi.
Malarvaga kombathu
Ennum Eppozhum (Malayalam)
Music: Vidyasagar
Yes, Vidyasagar has lost the race in Tamil (and Telugu), but he continues to produce excellent music in Malayalam. He recently broke the Sathyan Anthikad-Ilayaraja partnership (with Oru Indhiyan Pranayakatha) and given this 2nd outing it looks like Mr.Anthikad likes working with Vidyasagar! Malarvaga kombathu is very easy on the ears – rendered impeccably by Jayachandran and Rajalakshmy, amidst ambient, intriguing synth music that borders a bit on Rahman’s Thenmerku paruvakatru (Karuthamma).
Punnami puvai
Rudramadevi (Telugu)
Music: Ilayaraja
The stand-out song from Rudramadevi is also the one that you may most associate with Ilayaraja – almost his template, featuring Shreya Ghoshal doing what she does best and a tune that is almost like a Raja version of a Tamil ghazal. The synth is kept minimal (thankfully) and the composer almost goes about delivering clinically what is expected out of him.
Ethanai kavignen
Savaale Samaali (Tamil)
Music: Thaman S
You could say that Thaman, by now, can compose such songs in his sleep. It carries all his trademarks- a thrumming rhythm, Karthik singing a catchy tune, cheeky lyrics that bring a smile instantly and easy hooks to keep singing along.
