Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 111: On | On
16 songs this week. All 16 available on JioSaavn, while YouTube is missing just one – Chollamo, from Ole Kanda Naal.
I Am A Disco Dancer 2.0 – Salim-Sulaiman, Ft. Benny Dayal (Originally composed by Bappi Lahiri) – Hindi: A very competent recreation, surprisingly. It keeps the spirit of the original alive and adds some bells and whistles that are pretty good, like those strategic pauses at places. Benny is a very, very good choice to hold this version together. But yes, Tiger Shroff’s fitness-regime-turned-dance is getting a bit tiring.
Manjha – Vishal Mishra (Indipop/Hindi): A delightfully imagined tune, sung brilliantly by Vishal Mishra himself. The way he keeps things basic, to focus on the melody till the antara and breaks the flow in the second interlude, towards the end, is lovely!
O Ashiqa, Nayi Nayi, Gori Godh Bhari and Veere Kadh De – 99 Songs (A.R.Rahman) – Hindi: In the current scenario when more and more films d not have in-film songs, and even a Mani Ratnam chooses to not bother releasing a soundtrack for his film (with music by Rahman, no less), and clips songs with just a few lines in the movie… Rahman’s own film (that he has written, but not directed) has a soundtrack with 14 songs!! It seems both ambitious and indulgent at the same time! There are flashes of the earlier Rahman in Bela Shende’s Sai Shirdi Sai, but the better, more interesting songs are the ones like O Ashiqa, featuring Shashwat Singh in stupendous form (all through the multiple songs in the soundtrack) breathing life into a beautiful, steadily building melody. Nayi Nayi and Veere Kadh De are perhaps the most ‘active’ song from an otherwise somber and sedate Rahman in recent times. The soundtrack’s best is Gori Godh Bhari, sung by the trio of Anuradha Sriram, Shweta Mohan, Alka Yagnik. In what I felt like a tune based on Rageshri raaga (snatches of Bharathi Kannamma, from MSV’s Ninaithaale Inikkum, and Shubhadina Ayo Rajadulara – from Mughal-e-Azam), the mix of voices and the music produced by Rahman is absolutely enchanting!
Andha Kanna Paathaakaa, Quit Pannuda and Polakattum Para Para – Master: Besides the hyper catchy Kutti Story, Master does have an overall sound that’s largely enjoyable. It doesn’t help that someone thought it was appropriate to name a song, ‘Vaathi Coming’ without pausing to consider that it evokes thoughts of ‘Vaanthi Coming’ to anyone who hears it for the first time. Yuvan-sung Andha Kanna Paathaakaa has a really interesting background sound and the tune itself sounds like it was co-composed by both Yuvan and Anirudh! Quit Pannuda’s sound is better than the main tune, particularly the persistent use of horns! But Anirudh’s singing carries the tune too effortlessly. Santhosh Narayanan is a hoot in Polakattum Para Para, a techno-folk song that Anirudh ‘erangi kuthufies’ with relish!
Munnoru Naalil – Kamali from Nadukkaveri (Dheena Dhayalan) – Tamil: I’m assuming this is Dheena Dhayalan’s debut – an impressive debut given he is wonderfully supported by both Madhan Karky, who writes some fantastic lines that are so poignant (Yenge andha naan? – “Where is that me?” – being the best!), and Shakthisree Gopalan, who gives the melody the necessary gravitas.
Vaan Thooralgal – Pon Magal Vandhal (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: It is obvious that Govind loves his 96 form; it’s understandable too, given how stupendously good it was. This song sounds almost like an extension, after-thought or rejected earlier version of 96. You can trace generous snapshots of ‘Konjum Pooraname’ and many other musical cues from that soundtrack. Yet, it continues to sound good. Chinmayi continues to be Govind’s voice of choice here too.
Mon Kyamoner Jonmodin – Hridpindo (Ranajoy Bhattacharjee) – Bangla: Composer Ranajoy has a clear winner in Mon Kyamoner Jonmodin and as if he realizes, he creates 2 versions of which one is sung by himself. The main version, sung by Mekhla Dasgupta, is captivating, given the sweet melody. The reprise sung by the composer has an interesting rock twist to the former’s Indian classical base.
Ole Kanda Naal and Chollamo – Ole Kanda Naal (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: The title song is a stellar reason why Vineeth Sreenivasan should sing more. Hesham does equally well too, handing Vineet a superb tune to sing, and adorning it with beautifully imagined interludes in violin and an unusually interesting rhythm that I thought was jarring at first, but warmed up to it eventually. Chollamo too has that sweeping sound, though it is a bit more familiar as a tune. Hesham does pretty well singing it, though, and the catchy backgrounds hold this package well.
The Guru – Is That So (John McLaughlin/Shankar Mahadevan/Zakir Hussain): This new album released back in January and I just managed to hear it. In fact, John McLaughlin’s guitar is featured only in Sakhi, though all the songs carry his stamp in terms of the orchestral flourish expected from him, and this group. The album is a stunning showcase of Shankar’s already established vocal prowess. I’d have loved The Beloved to go more on the start it takes, using the Sindhu Bharavi raaga Karunai Dheivame Karpagame, but the fusion elements take it into a different spin. But The Guru retains its aura till the end beautifully. Based on Shyama Shastri’s Thodi raaga composition, Ninne Namminanu, Shankar Mahadevan is exhilaratingly great here!
