Milliblog Weeklies, Week 222 – July 16, 2023

Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 222: On Spotify | On YouTube
Was traveling last weekend… so, here is Weeklies after yet another break. Traveling next weekend too, incidentally – so the next update would be on the weekend of July 29/30 🙂 13 songs this week, and both Spotify and YouTube playlists have all the songs, thankfully, since no song from Zee Music is featured.

And yes, I did listen to Jailer’s Kaavaalaa. And no, it’s not part of the Weeklies for obvious reasons 🙂

What Jhumka? – Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Pritam) – Hindi: Even as he regurgitates the opening from Badtameez Dil with a mild twist, Pritam’s infusion of Madan Mohan’s iconic song is definitely inventive as it is a pulse-pounding dance routine, making excellent use of the harmonium sound as an ode to the original. Ranveer Singh is credited for ‘rap’ but Saregama’s edited video doesn’t have this part of the song that appears in the second interlude (listen to it on the Spotify version).

Mudhal Kaadhal – Adiyae (Justin Prabhakaran) – Tamil: When Yuvan goes, ‘En kaNNe’, I knew instinctively that I’m listening to Justin’s music. I do wish he doesn’t overdo this template too much, though. Yuvan’s singing does leave a lot to be desired, particularly the Tamil diction and the fact that this is a slow melody that needed the singer to hold on to the tune else the off-key elements show.

Malarthan Vizhundhadhu – Aneethi (G. V. Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: I thought I heard strains of either Hamir Kalyani (think Thenali’s Swasame) or Hamsanadham (Thendral Vandhu Ennai Thodum) in the song’s melody. Beyond the attractive melody, the rhythm too makes the song consistently interesting because it refuses to play to predictable notes! The singing, by Ravi G., and Hesham Abdul Wahab (making his Tamil debut as a singer!), is wonderful.

Ticky Ticky Taa – Darbuka Siva, ft. Sivaangi & Asal Kolaar (Indipop/Tamil): Darbuka Siva usually reminds me of a less-successful version of Sean Roldan. There’s ambition, variety, and nuance in his music, but barring Enai Noki Paayum Thota, and Nimir (with 2 outstanding songs, ‘Yaenadi’ and ‘Geedhaara Kiliye’), much of his repertoire seems relatively less interesting (including the so-called ambitious ‘Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee’). This pop single, an unabashed ode to funk, comes vibrantly alive thanks to Madhan Karky’s inventive verse, and the singing by the trio – Siva himself, Sivaangi, and Asal Kolaar. There’s an Ilayaraja’s flourish in the way the hook is delivered!

Lady Luck – Miss. Shetty Mr. Polishetty (Radhan) – Telugu: A simple, rather predictable opening leading to the ebullient ‘Lady Luck-u’ hook that quite literally saves the song. I was reminded of Telugu composer Sri Kommineni’s music (of Anaganaga Oka Roju fame), particularly with that ‘Fountain Laaga Ponguthondhi’ line.

Aradhya – Kushi (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Telugu: Hesham is clearly in fantastic form here, following Na Roja Nuvve. Not only is the melody captivating (a bit too predictably so, on the lines of what I have heard from Drishyam, though) but the singing is brilliant too, especially Sid Sriram who totally hits it out of the park, ably supported by Chinmayi who has relatively lesser scope.

Aalmara Kaakka – Padmini (Jakes Bejoy) – Malayalam: This is the 3rd song from Padmini in Weeklies, and more than Jakes, I feel this has more to do with director Senna Hegde’s music sense in picking the right tunes or inspiring Jakes to produce good stuff considering how the same composer came a cropper even in big budget Telugu films that usually offer a wider canvas to produce crowd-pleasing material. Akhil J Chand’s vocals sound dreamy amidst the ambient music Jakes creates and the hip-hop’ish melody works pretty well, even if it is mildly punctuated by Boban’s so-called ‘poetic rap’.

Mullaanu – O Baby (Varun Krrishna & Pranav Das) – Malayalam: The Malayalam film (not to be confused with a similarly titled ‘Oh Baby’, a Telugu film, or the other new Telugu film simply titled ‘Baby’) came out last month and vanished. I missed this song given that the music label was the film production house itself and it barely had any decent distribution. Composers Varun Krrishna & Pranav Das do a terrific job building the music around Prarthana Indrajith’s dulcet singing. Even the interludes (featuring Roshan Daniel’s guitar) offer a glimpse that these composers are really onto something.

Sleepless – AP Dhillon (Indipop/Punjabi) – Dhillon carries his Summer High charm effortlessly in this song too. Addictive vocals, tantalizing music and a great listen!

Raatan Kaaliyan – Ayushmann X Rochak (Indipop/Punjabi) – It’s so good to see Ayushmann retain his music pursuits despite his acting success, and even more so given that he has continued his musical association with Rochak Kohli. The melody is gorgeous and the guitar by Krishna Pradhan is a real kicker.

Shondhatara, Deora & Dewana – Coke Studio Bangla, Season 2: Using the Raag Yaman bandish ‘Main Vari Vari Jaungi’ as the base, Sunidhi Nayak is stupendously good with her singing all through! Adit Rahman’s musical approach truly soars at 2 points specifically – one, when the brass section joins the song and two, mesmerizing fusion towards the end. Deora is the stuff of Coke Studio’s early days when the format and series were on a spell-binding high. And it’s quite something that the newer Coke Studio Bangla produced this banger that beautifully mixes folk and urban musical styles, with Armeen Musa’s Ghaashphoring Choir offering a delightful backing layer! Dewana, the qawwali funk, is a compelling listen too, with exemplary singing by Tasfia Fatima (Tashfee) and Shuchona Shely, while I also think I heard a variant of the Bengali folk song ‘Komola Sundori Nache’ at places.

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