Originally published in The Hindu.
Kadavule vidai – Rum (Tamil – Anirudh)
While Rum has a globe-trotting mix of genres (including hiphop and reggaeton!), the most interesting and addictive song of the soundtrack happens to be Kadavule vidai. The song aims for a broadly pleasing, inspirational sound like Michael Jackson’s Heal the world, and even uses the ‘Kadavule vidai’ hook to a fantastic, repetitive effect! Sean Roldan, in all his gruffy glory, sings it brilliantly and Anirudh employs some highly engrossing instruments in the background, including one that sounds like highly quivering fingers playing veena with intense passion.
The Storm – Donn Bhatt (Album: Connected)
Donn Bhat, the guitarist in bands like Orange Street and Friday The 13th, and the co-composer of Vicky Donor’s “Mar Jayian” (the other composer is Ban, the lead vocalist for Orange Street), is out with his 3rd studio album, Connected. The pick of the album is The Storm, where Donn collaborates with Toymob and Suhail Yusuf Khan to create a wonderful melange of pulsating electronica and sarangi. Suhail’s sarangi, in particular, adds a phenomenal aura to the song, syncing perfectly with the hypnotic rhythm.
Thangaali – Santhu Straight Forward (Kannada – V.Harikrishna)
Santhu Straight Forward’s soundtrack is the kind where Harikrishna seems far too relaxed that he has Kannada cinema’s hottest lead pair to see even his mediocre music through. The one song where Harikrishna does make a mark is Thangaali and the seriousness shows given that Sonu Nigam is the singer. This one is very well done, with a thoroughly enjoyable rhythmic sound and a funny faux-lullaby chorus. Sonu, as usual, is fantastic!
Neela shanku pushpame – Team 5 (Malayalam – Gopi Sundar)
Team 5’s biggest highlight, of course, is that it is cricketer Sreesanth’s debut. Neela shanku pushpame sees the cricketer far away from the cricket ground… he seems very comfortable being Nikki Galrani’s object of affection. That Gopi Sundar weaves a brilliantly pleasant tune for the situation adds to the effect. The melody is something right up Gopi’s alley, and Divya S Menon’s stylish rendition makes a big difference.
Tere mere dil – Rock On 2 (Hindi – Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
Shraddha Kapoor springs a pleasant surprise singing Tere mere dil confidently and seemingly with as little auto-tune as possible. The mellow tune is, by now, a trademark of the trio. There’s synth, there’s a smattering of retro-pop, but truly stands out is the way the trio layer Soumik Datta’s sarod into the package. The sarod follows Shraddha’s leads faithfully before taking on a life of its own and moulds the melody beautifully.