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Kalakkattu kannaala – Kathukutty (Tamil – Aruldev)
Beyond the simple lilt Aruldev loads in the song, and even beside the Raja’ish flute he employs, the song works for one very simple reason – Hamir Kalyani raaga (or Kedar, in Hindustani)! As a result, invoking everything from Hum ko mann ki shakti dena, to Viswanathan-Ramamurthy’s Karnan classic, En uyir thozhi, to MSV’s Chandradhayam oru pennaanadho… to Rahman’s Malargale malargale, the raaga comes alive yet again, in another package. That’s also the function of the raaga anyway, to be used again and again in newer variants. And Aruldev, first by selection of the raaga and eventually by packaging it in a simple and elegant way, has a clear winner here.
Laychalo – Bruce Lee (Telugu – Thaman)
If you replaced the lyrics of Laychalo with say, Arabic lines, it would seem perfectly in sync. The tune isn’t entirely new – Thaman has produced such easily catchy and likeable tunes in the past and this one has faint echoes of his own superlative Tamil song, Paniye, from Ayyanar, as far as the tune goes. But Thaman loads it with a steady stream of pleasant sounds, including a prominent whistle-like interlude and also uses digital effects on his own and Megha’s vocals, both, to great effect.
Dil ki tapish – Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (Marathi – Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
The trio seem to be producing impeccably beautiful classical melodies for their Marathi debut. After Shankar’s spellbinding rendition in Sur niragas ho, they pick Rahul Deshpande, grandson of renowned Hindustani classical singer Vasantrao Deshpande, to render Dil ki tapish. The song, in what seems most likely to be based on raaga keeravani, is immediately affecting, thanks also to Rahul’s phenomenally accomplished singing. He moves through the nuances wonderfully and it is only Sachin Pilgaonkar’s heavy-duty shenanigans on-screen that distract the proceedings to some extent.
Neeyum naanum – Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (Tamil – Anirudh)
Anirudh’s recent repertoire—including Maari, Kakki Sattai, Kaththi and Maan Karate—had decent enough music, but he seemed to have getting stuck into a groove. In Naanum Rowdy Dhaan he strikes back and how! The 5-song soundtrack (with another song to be added, if rumors are to be believed, after the film’s release) is a master-class in making enjoyable mainstream film music. The melody is gobsmackingly beautiful, and as if not content with that, Anirudh loads it with so much more, including Neeti Mohan’s fantastic vocals, a catchy chorus by himself that layers wonderfully over Neeti’s lines, a superb mix of piano (by Anirudh and Leon James), Manonmani’s sarangi, and even a brilliant kanjira phrase, by Swaminathan Selvaganesh.
Mora saiyyaa – Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (Tamil – Amrit)
Debutant Amrit is no stranger to music, given that he’s also the lead vocalist in the band, Live Banned. He produces pretty noteworthy music in his debut that covers a wide range of genres. The highlight is easily Mora saiyya (Yeno mounam) that has a mighty interest set of sounds, ranging from a sufi’s start to the tune, using Shruti Kamath’s sitar to a lovely effect, and using unusual breakbeats to accompany the tune all through. Vijay Prakash and Shaktishree Gopalan croon the song confidently, even as Amrit’s layering of pulsating techno elements along with the Mora saiyyaa call-out is fantastic.