Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 64: On | On
28 songs, this week – fully loaded!! YouTube has 24, while JioSaavn has 26 (missing the Gaana-exclusive Romeo. Akbar. Walter and the Malayalam song, Kaattil Poomkaattil, from the film Sachin.
Rappan Rappi Rap,
Bairaagi Mann & Khalipan Shor Kare – Paharganj (Ajay Singha): After the fantastic Kyun Dil Mera (sung by Mohit Chauhan, and there’s even a reprise by Mohit Pathak that’s half as interesting), the full soundtrack of Paharganj released last week. Romy’s Bairaagi Mann is something that works immediately with its spritely guitar and lilting folk tune. The other song works for a very different reason – Khalipan Shor Kare is drenched in sadness, possibly owing to the use of Todi raaga I guess, since it reminded me of Kalyanji-Anandji’s Main Toh Ek Khwaab Hoon, from Himalay Ki God Mein. Kavita Seth is outstanding with her rendition that demands a hugely impactful voice.
Teri Mitti – Kesari (Arko) – Hindi: This could easily be Arko’s best song, so far, in his limited Bhatt-infused career. What works phenomenally in the song’s favor is B Praak’s goosebumps-inducing singing! Arko keeps the background soft and poignant to truly let his voice come through and offer the full impact of the song!
Bulleya – Romeo. Akbar. Walter (Sohail Sen) – Hindi/Punjabi: Amidst the lovely lilt of Chandrakant Lakshpati’s mandolin, who do you hear? Oh yes, Rabbi Shergill himself! Sohail’s music is simple and joyful, with Shahid Mallya adding to the vocal mix pretty well.
Kollathey Kollathey, Idhamaai Idhamaai & Andavane Thunai – Kolaigaran (Simon K King) – Tamil: It’s surprising to see a Vijay Antony starrer having music by another composer. It’s like a G.V.Prakash Kumar starrer having music by another composer (like Sarvam Thaala Mayam, recently). Composer Simon has always seemed promising, though he vanished after Aindhaam Thalaimurai Sidha Vaidhiya Sigamani and Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu, only to resurface in Sathya, in 2017. Kolaigaran builds on Sathya’s promise, and Kollathey is even Harris Jayaraj’esque in its approach, with its persistently catchy rhythm (Vasanth David) and scintillating veena (Haritha Raj) and violin (Shravan) interludes! Yazin Nizar gets the high-pitched rendition wonderfully right. In Karthik and Keerthana Vaidyanathan, the serene Idhamaai is a lovely listen, though a tad predictable. Andavane Thunai is the soundtrack’s surprise, with a pulsating sound and an anthemic hook! The chorus is truly wonderful, and memorable!
Lesa Valichudha – Jasmine (C.Sathya) – Tamil: One more to add to the Sid Sriram earworms! But more than Sid, Sathya’s music does the magic here impressively in a way that you even overlook Sid’s already delightful singing! The sprawling strings and thavil mix is a lovely touch. If there’s something that annoys me, it is the lyrics, going stupendously overboard, asking if the lady love felt a mild pain when she cleans the drop of ice cream off her lips! Too much, I say.
Priyathama Priyathama & Naa Gundello – Majili (Gopi Sundar) – Telugu: Gopi is at his best with melodies in Telugu. This one is reminiscent of his work in Ninnu Kori, with its haunting melody that Chinmayi absolutely aces! That, “Ishtamaina sakhuda, okkasari choodara pillada” sounded very familiar. Then I got it! Gopi’s own Malayalam song from Kaamuki, ‘Neeyam Sooryan’ – “Sundari sakhiye, avanonnu mozhiye, manasoru puzhayaayi ozhukee”! Naa Gundello is a lovely listen too—adequately familiar Gopi sound and tune, with the strings flourish that is his trademark—yet, an endearing listen, thanks to Yazin Nizar and Nikhita Gandhi spirited vocals.
Kanne Kanne – Arjun Suravaram (Sam C.S.) – Telugu: Is this Sam’s Telugu (direct) debut, considering NOTA was a bi-lingual? Looks like it. Chinmayi rules, again, though both she and Anurag Kulkarni have been given much lower pitches to sing in, by Sam. It makes her, at least, sounds very different from her usual self. Sam’s pulsating rhythm adds to the fun.
Yentha Kottagundi Premalona – Mouname Ishtam (Vivek Maha Deva) – Telugu: Yentha Kottagundi Premalona really made me sit up and notice who the composer was. This is apparently his debut! It sounds like raaga Kharaharapriya to me (shades of Rahman’s Pachai Nirame), and Masala Coffee’s Sooraj Santhosh, and Nayana Nair do a great job with the vocals. The other 3 songs in the soundtrack are not bad, incidentally, but didn’t stand out that much that I felt compelled to add it in Weeklies. Still, I will be tracking this composer given the promise.
Navilugari – 99 (Arjun Janya) – Kannada: Looks like Arjun is on his way producing a solid Kannada equivalent for 96’s Kannada remake. The song defies comparison with the Tamil songs simply because there was no song in the Tamil film that had the lady singing a swooning song on the man. This is perhaps keeping with ‘Golden Star’ Ganesh’s star value and ‘image’ I assume. Different language film industries, different sensibilities. The song is very, very good, however. I thought it was Kaathale’s equivalent, but it turned swiftly into a more pulsating melody, eventually leading to a chorus high.
Ide Dina – Kavaludaari (Charanraj MR) – Kannada: The 2nd song from the film! As good as the first one – expectedly so, given it is Charanraj’s music. Trumpet Babu’s trumpet is almost a parallel voice all through the song. Siddhant Sundar’s voice carries so much emotion that works brilliantly for the song.
Kaattil Poomkaattil – Sachin (Shaan Rehman) – Malayalam: Dependably breezy melody by Shaan, along with his favorite singer in tow, Vineeth Srinivasan. Simple, lilting and rhythmic song with an easy singalong’ish tune.
Dil Mera Dolda, Ibadat & Tere Karke – Jazbati (Jaidev Kumar): Dil Mera Dolda is an excellent blend of Nooran Sisters’ usually super-expressive singing and vibrant pop music. The mix is really catchy! Ibadat is straight out of the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan remix sound, but composer Jaidev Kumar does significantly well by also layering the harmonium in the mix. The singers, Feroz Khan
Mirzaye (Ved Sharma) – Hindi: Ved’s debut, Heer, was a very good effort. He follows that up with an equally good song in Mirzaye. It’s rather familiar in its pop sound, but the booming ‘Mirzaye’ hook is an easy winner.
Two Of Us – Louis Tomlinson: A heart-wrenching pop ballad by the One Direction star follows his journey as he grieves his mother, who passed away in 2016 after battling Leukemia, at the age of 43! “I know you’ll be looking down, swear I’m gonna make you proud”, he sings, even as the music soars to an anthemic high towards the end. Good stuff!
Recognise – Lost Frequencies Ft. Flynn: Tropical meets dance would be one way to describe the uptempo sound that’s instantly captivating. Flynn’s vocals is just the cherry on top.
