Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 194: On Spotify | On
9 songs this week! All the songs are available on YouTube, but Spotify is missing two – have embedded them below.
Chozha Chozha – PS1 (A R Rahman) – Tamil: A terrific song that seems more like a background song but one that draws you in because of how unpredictable the flow is. The singing is ebullient and rousing, going so well with the flow of the lyrics! I was also intrigued by how the lyrics mix Aaditha Karikala Chozhan’s (the role played by actor Vikram) valour and personal regrets (around his love interest played by Aishwarya Rai) in the same song, making it difficult to place the song within the narrative of the film. Is it an intro song to Vikram? If so, dropping the love story into it without any prior context seems like an odd choice – so that cannot be it. Is it perhaps a drinking song with his buddies (since there’s a mention of ‘somarasam’ – what we assume to be present-day fermented honey aka mead)?
Alaipayuthey Kanna – Oottukkaadu Venkata Subbaiar, ft. Anoop Sankar (Carnatic/Indipop/Tamil): This iconic song has been recreated so many times by so many people already that it is so heartwarming that there are still more recreations being attempted confidently. Anoop’s recreation concept and singing (particularly the crystal clear Tamil diction) are amazing. The other pillar of the song is Sumesh Parameshwar’s guitar more than even the song’s usual prominent accompaniment (the flute, by Rison M R here).
Eppudo Ninnu – Sita Ramam (Vishal Chandrashekhar) – Telugu: This film is already loaded with some solid music and I wish they release the darned soundtrack fully instead of drip-feeding even after the film’s release 🙂 Yazin Nizar’s vocals are predictably very good, but it’s Vishal’s music, blending the strings and flute, that elevates this song to a lovely high! The song does have a strong whiff of Vishal’s title song from Oh Manapenne.
Emavutundo Manalo – Krishnamma (Kaala Bhairava) – Telugu: M M Keeravani’s son Kaala Bhairava, besides being a singer, is also a fairly competent composer himself. He scores mighty well in this song which gains a lot from Sid Sriram’s singing. The tune, and the music, are nuanced and endearing.
Jinthaak – Dhamaka (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: An insanely catchy and addictive Telugu masala number from Bheems! As I have mentioned earlier, I see Bheems as the heir to Mani Sharma brand of music (no, not his son, Mahathi Swara Sagar, who has a different sensibility, relatively) and have noted some of Bheems’ earlier songs like Nakshatram’s Laayire, or Chalo Premiddam’s MBA MCA as samples. This one fits that template perfectly.
Prema Neyyappam – Oru Thekkan Thallu Case (Justin Varghese) – Malayalam: After last week’s 2 retro’ish Malayalam songs (Panjaarakko, from Solomante Theneechakal, and Oru Thekkan Thallu Case’s own Yentharu!), here’s one more! But this one’s unique – it uses Justin’s own singing to great effect in bringing a retro style, but treats that in a larger scheme that’s decidedly more modern. This includes a vocal chorus that I associate a lot more with Kannada film music – usually used by composers like Arjun Janya. Good fun, though!
Mazhayay Mohanam – Satish Nair (Malayalam/Indipop): Satish’s deeply melodic tune took me to some cherished Ilayaraja song and it took some time for an untrained (musically) like me to get to the song… rather, songs – Ninaivellaam Nithya’s Rojaavai Thaalattum Thendral and Raajapaarvai’s Andhi Mazhai Pozhigiradhu. I believe the former was based on Kaamavardhini raaga and the latter, Vasantha. I’m not sure if this song too is based on those raagas, but this is a beautiful composition.
Singara Siriye – Kantara (B Ajaneesh Loknath) – Kannada: Ajaneesh hits the bullseye again… and how! The song’s inclusion of Kundapura folk music elevates the overall output beautifully. Vijay Prakash is at his usual best, while Ananya Bhat’s part, in the anupallavi, is scintillating. The chorus (Muddada mayange, Maunada sarange), as always, is absolutely brilliant and this is something Ajaneesh uses to great effect. But even beyond the superb pallavi, the anupallavi too (Mataduva mandarave…) is so very enticing! This is one heck of a tuneful song!
Jhirmar – Kutle Khan (Indipop): What a wonderfully lively song! This is in the Coke Studio zone, with a flashy chorus and some fantastic musical backdrop.
