Originally published in The Hindu.
Sapna jahan – Brothers (Hindi – Ajay-Atul)
Sonu Nigam sings so sparingly these days—partly because of the rights-based fracas he is in, perhaps!—that hearing him sing in itself is a good thing. And when he sinks his teeth into a beautifully immersive melody like Sapna jahan, together with Neeti Mohan, put together with so much love and nuance by Marathi composing duo Ajay and Atul, it is sheer delight! The composers do their job spectacularly well too, particularly in that second interlude!
Naanal poovaai – Kirumi (Tamil – K)
Composer K has been fairly consistent with his output even as the films they are part—like Kallappadam, Mahabalipuram and Kaadu—of have been failing with equal consistency. Kirumi’s soundtrack is almost a comeback of sorts for K as he delivers a brilliant collection akin to the sound of Santhosh Narayanan. Topping the soundtrack is Naanal poovaai that has a curiously ethereal sound (that becomes even more evident and interesting in the karaoke version!) and K uses the vocal interplay between himself and Janani to beautiful effect.
YOLO – All Is Well (Hindi – Himesh Reshammiya)
All Is Well is symptomatic of Hindi films’ current trend – use as many composers as possible to create a mish-mash of a soundtrack. This one has seven composers, including 3 from the trio names Meet Bros Anjjan and Anand Milind who has been credited only because Mithoon has recreated their evergreen number from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Himesh Reshammiya is the winner, though, with fairly catchy and engaging songs, including YOLO, sung by Sreerama Chandra. It’s a typical Punjabi-style hip-hop song that checks all the right boxes to deliver a easily likeable and sing-along’ish number!
Sobane soyanire – Carry On Maratha (Marathi – Shail-Pritesh)
Sobane soyanire is the Kannada-Marathi equivalent of Dil Se’s Malayalam-Hindi Jiya Jale. Owing to the leading man falling in love with a Kannada girl in the film, the debutant composing duo Shail Hada and Pritesh Mehta skillfully mix Marathi and Kannada in a rhythmic melody. Shreya Ghoshal is as usual pitch perfect with her rendition, while Shail Hada sings this one with her. Despite the largely traditional tune, the composers do add a dash modernity in it, in the form of the guitar that plays in the background.
Entharo mahanubhavulu – Anju Brahmasmi (Kappa TV – Music Mojo)
Kappa TV’s Music Mojo has been silently producing a stellar repertoire of interesting music for quite some time. Thaikkudam Bridge came to prominence from the show, incidentally. Anju Brahmasmi stylised rendition of Thyagaraja’s Sri Ragam based kriti gets a superb jazz coating courtesy Santhosh Chandran on guitar, Ben Sam Jones on bass, Vivek Santhosh on keyboards and Tao Issaro on drums. The mix is mesmerizing, almost reintroducing the iconic kriti to a new set of listeners with Vivek Santhosh and Santosh Chandran in blistering form with their extended play accompanying the core tune!
