Originally published in The Hindu.
Bol do na zara – Azhar (Hindi – Amaal Malik)
Bol do na zara is a Emraan Hashmi-branded song. One listen and you’d picture Emraan Hashmi in your mind, with him doing his best with the body part he is most associated with. Amaal Malik’s melody is reminiscent of Gangster’s Tu Hi Mera Shab hai is wonderfully endearing, in Armaan Malik’s affecting vocals. Rashmi Virag’s lyrics are predictably and conventionally soaked in love.
Chellamma – Joker (Tamil – Sean Roldan)
Joker is easily one of the recent soundtracks that pushes Tamil film music’s boundaries significantly. The pick of the soundtrack, by Sean Roldan, is Chellamma, a mighty unique Tamil-Hindi mix, with Perumal pitching in besides Sean’s own Hindi ‘thoofan mein phool ka’ Hindi verses. The tune is stunningly imaginative, moving from authentic native Tamil folk to a soft and soothing melody. Lalitha Sudha is the song’s highlight, with a deeply resonant voice and bringing life every single instance of ‘Chellamma’!
Nee nanagoskara – Ishtakamya (Kannada – Ajaneesh Loknath)
Ajaneesh Loknath is turning out to be a really promising composer in Kannada. Oddly enough, in Nee nanagoskara, his over-enthusiastic vocals is the only thing pulling it down a wee bit. The melody otherwise is impeccably good – very Raja’esque, with the choicest orchestration, Shreya Ghoshal’s vocals are splendid as always! That ‘dum dum dum’ part is a great touch, as is the ‘Nee ihakku parakku’ part that mirrors, interestingly enough, ‘Thonakka benakka vayasu theralni’ from Baahubali’s Manohari!
Mei nigara – 24 (Tamil – A R Rahman)
Mei nigara is that kind of song that music fans would love to rip apart during the first week of the soundtrack’s release as ‘gibberish’ and ‘Rahman has lost it, I tell you’ and then chant it endlessly proclaiming it to be an earworm a week later. The song has a Kaara Aattakkaara (OK Kanmani) flavor, and the intriguing R&B sound works as much for its inventive audacity as it does for Sid Sriram’s impeccable lead vocals and Sanah Moidutty and Jonita Gandhi’s backing vocals.
Aasai kaadhal aaruyire – Wagah (Tamil – D.Imman)
While the makers of Wagah may start featuring ‘Aaniya pudunga venaam’ (yet another Imman song that makes clever use of yet another popular phrase!), the soundtrack’s best happens to be Aasai kaadhal aaruyire. It feels like Alaipayuthey’s Evano Oruvan, but sounds more like Ilayaraja’s Eeramaana Rojave number, Vaa vaa anbe… a possible Shivaranjani, perhaps. Vandana Srinivasan is fantastic singing this sweepingly sad melody that somehow reminds one of Swarnalatha!
