Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 133: On | On
17 songs, this week. YouTube has all 17, while the JioSaavn playlist is missing just one – Khatija Rahman’s Farishtha.
Bhaari Bhaari, Jindhadi, Patanga, Naino – Waah Zindagi (Parag Chhabra) – Hindi: The film’s teaser and the first song, Bhaari Bhaari, were launched in January 2019, promoted by none other than A.R.Rahman himself (considering Parag’s work with him as producer). This is Parag’s debut film (though Jai Mummy Di came out earlier, as a full soundtrack) and he shows immense promise even if his music sounds a lot like Amit Trivedi’s. Bhaari Bhaari is lifted by the mellow tune that gently flows along with that lilting rhythm and the combined vocals of Mohan Kanan, Shadab Faridi and Parag Chhabra.
You may be forgiven if you assumed this is by Amit, as much as the next song, Jindhadi! The boisterous song reaches Amit zone when Nikhita Gandhi confidently utters the hook and the music turns techno, in true Amit style. Parag adds his own flavor in the interludes and they work pretty well. Patanga could be a song straight out of Amit’s Udaan soundtrack, but to give Parag credit, it stands on its own even beyond that feeling. And it is so, so, so good to hear Gulraj Singh again (amidst the singers – Suvarna Tiwari, Gulraj Singh and Parag Chhabra). The energetic tune and splendid singing lift the song easily. Naino is a sweet melody delivered well by Parag in a profusion of vocal harmony and brass sounds. The singing elevates this one too, thanks to Jonita Gandhi and Devender Pal Singh.
BamBholle – Laxmii (Ullumanati) – Hindi: Zee Music gets Acme Muzic’s 2017 super hit song composed by Ullumanati and sung by Viruss and turns it into a superstar vehicle. There are minor changes between the two, as the newer version evens out some of the sounds and makes it even more accessible. It’s a frenzied, electronic ode to Lord Shiva, intended to generate a trance-like effect, and it works quite well! The original was a monster hit, gathering more than 200 million views on YouTube alone!
Waareya – Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari (Javed-Mohsin) – Hindi: If you have been missing the ‘Mohit Suri-sound’, this song is a pretty good appropriation! The sweeping sound, the Punjabi lyrics and Vibhor Parashar’s singing… all work well in recreating a quintessential Mohit-Suri brand of song, though the man is nowhere involved in this venture.
Mahi Re – Harry & Sid (Indipop): If you were aching for some music that sounds like the Euphoria of the yore (90s), this song adds up mighty well! Harish Lakhmani & Siddharth Pathak distill the Euphoria sound but without Palash’s powerful vocals, and do deliver something fairly interesting.
Aatha Solra, Paarthene (Amman Song), Chandai Alangari & Saami Kulasaami – Mookuthi Amman (Girishh Gopalakrishnan) – Tamil: Despite making what we normally call ‘comedy films’, the music sense in RJ Balaji’s films is surprisingly good. It was the case with Leon James’ music in LKG and it is even better in Girishh Gopalakrishnan’s (of Marina-fame) soundtrack in Mookuthi Amman. Nakash Aziz owns the energetic tune of Aatha Solra and the racy pop sound is an interesting choice in an Amman film! Paarthene (Amman Song) is easily the song of the soundtrack! The tune took me back to Raja’s Janani Janani (Kalyani raaga), though I also hear shades of Revathi raaga, perhaps. [Update: I gather that this song is based on a fairly rare raaga called Kosalam] Jairam Balasubramanian is stupendously good with the singing (I had written about Girishh-composed, Jairam-sung Entha Neramum, from the non-film album Kadhalan Bharathi, last week – another outstanding song from the duo) and the emotional high in the song is so worth the experience.
Chandai Alangari has a first of sorts – probably the first ever film song by Aruna Sairam. And Girishh hands her a tune that befits her stature and she relishes the hypnotic melody effortlessly. The melody segues into the Mahishasura Mardini Stotram tune (Aigiri Nandini) and amps up the song even more. Saami Kulasaami takes the honors as the second best song of the album. Sung by composer Deva (who turns 70 on November 20th, this year!), it is a wonderfully earthy (highlighted by the harmonium, and the ektara-like solo violin, among others) and simple, focusing on the sparse and serene melody. It reminded me, in terms of the feel, Seevalapperi Paandi’s Kizhakku Sevakkaiyile – the simple melody takes precedence over everything.
Farishtha – A.R.Rahman, ft. Khatija Rahman (Tamil/Indipop): After a forgettable Iltaja (composed by Ricky Kej, and a song that even A.R.Rahman did not promote on his social handles), Rahman’s daughter Khatija seems to be on firmer footing in Farishtha. The song’s sooting melody and sound is vintage Rahman – I could picture this as an alternative version of Minsara Kanavu’s Anbendra Mazhayile. Even in this song, what is primarily an ode to Islam and Medina, the tune occasionally seems to touch Christian devotional music, at least the way it is appropriated in Tamil Nadu. That only goes on to underline the fact that our expressions, musically or with words, may be different and diverse but we, as humans, are all looking for the same thing with Gods of different names.
Yaar Antha Oviyaththai – Kalathil Santhippom (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: Yuvan has been out of circulation for quite some time, and this is a nice comeback of sorts! The most interesting thing about this song is that it has 2 pallavis and one charanam! The opening stanza (Yaar antha oviyathai) is identical to the next stanza (Naan paartha devadhaikku), and is about the 2 heroines of the film (Manjima Mohan and Priya Bhavani Shankar). And then there’s a charanam of sorts that closes the song. The prominent musical phrase, though, sounds a lot like a racier bit from VeNNilave VeNNilave from Minsara Kanavu.
Naa Chinni Lokame – Miss India (Thaman S) – Telugu: While the film (on Netflix) has been panned universally for being insipid, the music is not very far from that criticism either. Yet, there is some Thaman spark intact in Naa Chinni Lokame at least. Thaman intersperses the hymn-style opening by Aditi Bhavaraju and Ramya Behara with a racy 2nd phrase and then unleashes a profusion of techno music blended with strings!
Chukkala Chunni – SR Kalyanamandapam (Chaitan Bharadwaj) – Telugu: After the first song from the movie (Choosale Kallaraa), composer Chaitan has an effortless winner yet again! The song rides on an incredibly rhythmic melody and on Anurag Kulkarni’s superb vocals (backed by Chaitan’s own singing too). Lovely song!
Vachesadu Hire Ke Boyfriendu – Boyfriend For Hire (Gopi Sundar) – Telugu: After a fairly long time, there’s something refreshingly new in Gopi’s musical style. To be sure, there are parts of this song that hark back to his signature style (in a good way), but largely, he has something fresh here! The mixing of the rap-style singing and the melodic parts works very well and the music too is consistently engaging, with that retro-style pop sound.
Jaana – Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma (Ravi Sharma) – Telugu: I don’t recall seeing Ravi Sharma’s name as composer before this song and it’s a pleasant surprise to listen to a very confident and complete package! I would have guessed it to be Thaman’s music if I didn’t know the composer’s name – it’s that polished. Ayaan’s singing does a lot of heavy-lifting too – I reckon both Ravi Sharma and Ayaan having a good enough future.
