Originally published in .
Virinja poonkurunne – Guppy (Malayalam – Vishnu Vijay)
Flautist Vishnu Vijay’s most recent ticket to fame was playing flute for Maya nadhi and Vaanam paarthen in Kabali, for Santhosh Narayanan. His composing debut in Guppy is strongly thematic and the song that stands out in the soundtrack is the short one that Vishnu himself sings. It’s highly reminiscent of Prashant Pillai’s score in Amen, a similar streak of quirkiness that is instantly appealing.
Satrangi re – Wrong Side Raju (Gujarati – Sachin-Jigar)
The young musical duo, Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya (better known as Sachin-Jigar) have already composed music for a Gujarati film (Bey Yaar). Wrong Side Raju, their second, has music that runs on a similar vein – largely region-agnostic, likeable music that may work equally well in Hindi too. That factor is compounded by singers like Arijit Singh who further tone down the regional identity of the music. Satrangi re, then, works effortlessly – feathery melody, accentuated by brief French phrases by Dawn Cordo!
Aakupachhani chandamaamalaa – Jyo Achyutananda (Telugu – Sri Kalyanaramana)
This name changing business may be running in the family. His talented brother happens to be Maragadhamani in Tamil, M.M.Keeravani in Telugu and M.M.Kreem in Hindi. Younger brother started as Kalyani Malik, became Kalyan Koduri, moved to Kalyani Koduri and has finally renamed himself as Sri Kalyanaramana! But his music has been consistently engaging and inventive. Aakupachhani chandamaamalaa is no different, with its buoyant sound and tune that is easy-on-the-ears, handled beautifully by Karthik and Ramya.
Hota hai – Mirzya (Hindi – Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has always been fantastic with his music sense, going by his film’s soundtracks, right from his debut, in Aks. After 2 films with A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti and Delhi 6), he moved to Shankar Ehsaan Loy in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and now Mirzya. The trio produce a mind-boggling score for the film, offering an incredibly inventive range. Hota hai is the soundtrack’s goosebumps-inducing highlight! Nooran Sisters ace the singing incredibly, while the trio builds a hypnotic sound around what is a beautifully folk’ish tune.
Senjittaley – Remo (Tamil – Anirudh)
Anirudh continues to the purveyor of catchphrases for the Tamil youth mired in meme-culture. His latest contribution is a new meaning for ‘Senjiduven’ – what was once used to denote, ‘I will finish you’ (made popular recently by Dhanush in Maari), is now being used to denote ‘falling’ in love. The music is heady and very-Anirudh – catchy hooks (the ‘Enakku nee’ hook is easy ammunition for roadside romeos, unfortunately) and an ambient melange of music.
