Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 146: On Spotify | On
18 songs this week! The YouTube playlist has all the songs, while Spotify is missing just one song – Mayakkannan from Innu Muthal. I recall Spotify missing the earlier song I had listed from this film as well (Mausam)… I see Spotify has added it now. Perhaps they’d add the new song too eventually/later. I have embedded the YouTube version of the song below since the video’s concept is really interesting too!
Dil Udd Ja Re (2 versions), Thode Kam Ajnabi (3 versions), Lamha (3 versions), Phire Faqeera and Pagglait (Title song) – Pagglait (Arijit Singh) – Hindi: In Dil Udd Ja Re, Neeti Mohan makes her appearance only close to the first minute – Arijit layers such a long, beautiful and deeply engaging prelude, befitting the sweepingly lovely melody! Sunny M.R’s production is all to obvious – this could be straight from one of his Telugu soundtracks! The song’s second version, featuring Meghna Mishra and Arijit is easily Amit Trivedi’ish material! The same soaring melody and the musical profusion is exhilarating.
Thode Kam Ajnabi and Lamha seem to be the soundtrack’s clear highlights, at least going by the 3 versions they both get. The song’s first version carries Dil Udd Ja re’s all-enveloping melodic sound, and in Himani Kapoor’s gorgeous vocals, Arijit has a winner again! But, not satisfied with one version, he goes on to produce 2 more variants, one where he sings along with Himani, and a 3rd one where he offers a spritely variation in the background and ropes in Chinmayi to do the singing. She, of course, aces the uniquely differentiated version.
In Lamha, Arijit does something very similar. The first version by Antara Mitra is a wonderfully pensive Latin-style melody. Antara’s singing is outstanding even as the guitar work in the background is so perfectly complementary. The song’s revisit is largely similar but for the fact that Arijit himself joins mid-way, to add a lovely touch. The 3rd version is most interesting, much like Chinmayi’s version of Thode Kam Ajnabi! Arijit eschews the Latin sound to layer a brilliant Indian classical sound along with an orchestral backdrop! The result, for the same melody, is a mesmerizing new dimension!
In Phire Faqeera, Arijit sounds almost like A.R.Rahman, and even Phire Faqeera’s tune sounds like something Rahman may have composed (straight out of Delhi 6’s soundtrack!), particularly at the 2nd minute given the way the many voices and sounds come together and pick on a harmonious high. Raja Kumari and Amrita Singh hold fort magnificently!
The title song is a splendidly ebullient affair! Arjit drops the beat and amps up the rhythm to produce an instantly catchy and bouncy song, brilliantly handled by Amrita Singh, Raftaar and himself. The effects concocted by Sunny M.R in the background lend themselves to elevate the song’s appeal considerably.
Arijit seems to have imbibed the best of musical influences from the many composers he has sung for, and it all shows up wonderfully in his labor of love debut! This is easily one of the best soundtracks of 2021 (and it’s only March, yet!) and probably one of the best composing debuts in recent times.
Muruga – Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir (Nivas K Prasanna) – Tamil: A punchy, energetic ode to Lord Muruga, complete with a fantastic Shanmukapriya raaga interlude in violin and a pulsating rap by MC Sai! Silambarasan and Nivas sing it with their hearts and it shows in the output.
Kadhile Kaalannadiga & Yendaro Mosina – Chaavu Kaburu Challaga (Jakes Bejoy) – Telugu: I have not been impressed with Jakes’ music for this film so far (based on the initial singles released) but I did end up liking 2 songs from the full soundtrack. Jakes has a wonderfully lilting rhythm for Kadhile Kaalannadiga and his choice of singers—Gowtham Bharadwaj and Shashaa Tirupati—truly works wonders for the engaging melody. Yendaro Mosina is the soundtrack’s true gem! Deepika V is spectacular with her singing, while Jakes’ tune, that drove me towards the iconic Humko Mann Ki Shakti Dena (raag Kedar) and Hamirkalyani raaga.
Kanti Papa – Vakeel Saab (Thaman S) – Telugu: A bit too familiar within Thaman’s predictable style, but I’d give it to him – it is a nice enough listen mainly because of Armaan Malik’s singing. Special mention for the classical harmony Thaman interjects in the middle, featuring Geetha Madhuri, Sahiti, Sruthi Ranjani, Haarika Narayan, Srinidhi, ML Gayathri, Nayana Nayar and Sruthi ML.
Aaraanu – Tsunami (Yakzan Gary Pereira & Neha S Nair) – Malayalam: The composing duo of Yakzan Gary Pereira and Neha S Nair have consistently delivered great music, though they also produce such limited music 🙂 In Aaraanu, the soothing melody gets particularly more interesting through the vocal effects the duo adopt, using Neha’s voice/singing. In fact, besides Keshav Vinod’s singing, Neha’s voice and humming is a constant accompaniment that lifts the song’s appeal considerably.
Mayakkannan – Innu Muthal (Mejjo Josseph) – Malayalam: An easy-on-the-ear, foot-tapping song that is built around the ‘Pahi Pahi Krishna’ hook. Mejjo sings it himself, besides composing it, and besides the catchy sound, the video too is really interesting – the hero seems to not be able to see Lord Krishna anywhere even in photos and the temple! 🙂
Baananchige Oduva Baara – Hero (Ajaneesh Loknath) – Kannada: This is so very Ajaneesh! A searing folk tune that he amps up through the roaring guitars midway. There’s an ominous tone throughout the song as if it is overseeing something utterly gruesome (and it perhaps is, in the movie). Vasuki Vaibhav handles the emotion part of the melody brilliantly, particularly in the higher notes.
Dhoom – Maati Baani (Indipop): A Holi special song by Maati Baani that is truly global in terms of the collaborations it showcases. Michalina Malisz’s Hurdy Gurdy was the most affecting sound amongst all, at least to me. But every other collaborator – Hadar Liaigre on the Baglama, Wiktoria Bualic on the drums, Shalini Mohan on the bass guitar, and of course, Kartik Shah on the guitar – work wonderfully together with Nirali’s splendid singing. Salim Khan, with his folk vocals, makes a superb appearance mid-way too. Fantastic song!
