Milliblog Weeklies playlist, on Saavn and Apple Music – Week 2.
Below the links, you’d find a Tweet-style (since I share it on Twitter first as a Milliblog-Twitter-Exclusive; do follow me on Twitter at @milliblog) commentary on each of the songs.
On Saavn:
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Marugelara (Hampi, Marathi): Thyagaraja’s Jayanthasri raaga-based Marugelara has seen a lot of fusion variants and this one, sung superbly by Rupali Moghe and composed by Aditya Bedekar is one right on top, with its frenetic rhythms and scintillating ambient sound!
Helicopter (Ranchi Diaries, Hindi): The Kakkar siblings—Tony and Neha—hit it out of the park with this heady hip-hop mix. The lyrics are equally heady and literally intoxicating: “Maarenge dope udega Helicopter… Dope shope tere sang mein baby, Karne ka mera plan hai”
Bhalobasar gaan (Samantaral, Bangla): Actor-singer Parambrata Chattopadhyay and composer Indraadip Dasgupta seem far more comfortable in handling the Latino classic Besame mucho than Lalon Fakir’s Ke Kotha Koy. But the mix actually works thanks largely to the former!
Hai baaki (Rukh, Hindi): One of Amit Trivedi’s lesser known and heard soundtracks! Arijit sounds like himself (unlike the Amit-self as in Qaidi Band) and Amit’s tune build itself steadily like a classic tune that could easily be part of Udaan’s soundtrack.
Sodakku (Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, Tamil): Anirudh is truly on a roll! His sense of rhythm here is riveting and mighty different from usual kuthu idioms. Anthony Daasan, the go-to man for such adipoli (thank you comrades, for the word!) songs is effortless with this vocals.
What Amma (Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi, Telugu): Of the limited range that composer Devi Sri Prasad peddles, this is one of the best! A hyper-catchy simple rhythm and an easily likeable tune that confidently meanders into a fantastic kuthu mid-portion. Devi makes it seem effortless 🙂
Ek Dil (Padmavati, Hindi): Sanjay’s compositions have a steady Ismail Darbar-hangover from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Ek Dil sonorous, Rajasthani percussion is proof of that yet again. Splendid singing and a lovely, earthy sound keeps the song very, very likeable!
O Mere Sanam (The House Next Door, Hindi): Remarkable how composer Girishh differentiates this from the Tamil equivalent while also keeping each uniquely relatable in those milieus. The Hindi ver. is a classic Mohit Suri-melody but with so much more to it, thanks to Benny Dayal.
Edhola (Mental Madhilo, Telugu): Composer Prashanth R Vihari who showed quite a promise in Velipomakey picks up a similar path here too! The sprightly tune, led by Revanth, mixing with the semi-classical piece by Ranjani Sivakumar is ample showcase of that promise!
Ishtam (Good Bad Ugly, Telugu): The prelude to this song is so, so incredibly Ilayaraja! I only wished the composer Harsha Vardhan didn’t sing this song (though he manages his best) but this is such a time-travel Raja-of-80s melody that it’s hard to see it as a contemporary song!
Anukunnadi (Balakrishnudu, Telugu): After so many soundtracks and literally being sidelined by leading Telugu heroes, composer Mani Sharma shows he still has the goods and how! This is such a simple, familiar and engaging melody that you wonder why the man is not in demand now!
Okka Chinukulo (Prematho Mee Karthik, Telugu): Shaan Rahman has seen his Malayalam tunes being reused in Telugu, but this is perhaps his first direct Telugu soundtrack! He carries his winsome style easily with Sachin Warrier and Anne Amie as dependable partners!
Kaarkala megham (Oru Kadhai Sollatuma, Tamil): The 2-soundtrack album is intriguing given it stars sound designer Resul Pookutty! Malayalam composer Rahul Raj sings this one himself along with Sunitha Sarathy and the song’s steadily building, thrumming energy is easily its asset.
Azhagile Enai (Kathiruppor Pattiyal, Tamil): Sean Roldan’s music is never substandard; at best it can be less interesting. Even among such work, there are sparks like (Aalangiliye, Neruppuda) Azhagile that significantly props the entire soundtrack!
