Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 234: YouTube | Spotify
Back after another week’s break. A good set of songs! And yes, I did listen to Dunki’s Lutt Putt Gaya. And no, I didn’t like it. Felt like it made a mish-mash of Hirani-style music and Pritam-style music, ending up as an odd ‘Na ghar kaa na ghaaT kaa’.
In Raahon Mein – The Archies (Shankar Ehsaan Loy) – Hindi: Javed Akhtar, and the musical trio + Arijit Singh! Perfect set of talents for this breezy rock number where Ehsaan and Loy’s musical style surfaces in a more pronounced way.
Urugi Urugi – Joe (Siddhu Kumar) – Tamil: Siddhu’s melody is gentle and hugely listenable, but it is Anand Aravindakshan’s stupendous singing that brings the song to life. The way he sings the lower and higher version of Urugi Urugi, and the entire opening lines of the anupallavi are absolutely brilliant! I don’t know why he doesn’t get to sing more songs!
Arugil – Dhruva Natchathiram (Harris Jayaraj) – Tamil: What a surprise! Harris eschews his predictable sound and goes for a captivating Bolero-Mambo sound, that too, with Hariharan in tow! Of course, there is the trademark Harris interlude, but even that drops the mumbo-jumbo and goes straight for full-fledged Spanish swearwords 🙂
Ulagai Vella Pogiraal, Life is On – Annapoorani – The Goddess Of Food (Thaman S) – Tamil: Possibly because of Harini’s voice, Ulagai Vella Pogiraal traces back effortlessly to Parthiban Kanavu’s Aalanguyil Koovum Rayyil! Thaman does add some newer touches like the rhythm, but the older song’s whiff is quite overpowering, and is also an advantage given how well-liked that one is! Life is On has the trademark-Thaman racy rhythm, but the young singers, Shreenita, Shivatmika, and Harshini truly lift the energetic song.
Chilu Chilu Chilanka – Dance Party (Bijibal) – Malayalam: What a Vidyasagar’ish melody from Bijibal! Sangeetha Sreekanth’s singing and the gorgeous strings in the backdrop, particularly in the anupallavi, make it a really good listen.
Chembakapooventhe – Queen Elizabeth (Ranjin Raj) – Malayalam: Ranjin’s main melody sounded like a combination of Vidyasagar (the first 2 lines) and Shaan Rahman (the ending of the pallavi) 🙂 It felt a bit too simplistic and familiar, but no denying its appeal, courtesy of Haricharan’s singing.
Chellakuruvikku – Antony (Jakes Bejoy) – Malayalam: This is such an un-Jakes song! I may have associated it with Govind Vasantha’s music if I hadn’t noticed Jakes’s name. But it’s great to hear Jakes go beyond the range that I connect with him. That ‘Chellakuruvikku’ hook came out of nowhere and took me by surprise! Kapil Kapilan, as always, does an impeccable job.
Godi Hi Dostichi – Naal 2 (AV Prafullachandra) – Marathi: Naal 2 already has some delightful music (had written about Bhingori and Darav Darav in the November first week’s Weeklies), and now that the full soundtrack is out, here’s another! Like he had roped in child singers from the TV show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs Marathi for Bhingori and Darav Darav – Jayesh Khare and Master Avan), Prafullachandra gets another child singer from the show, Gauri Gosavi, for this song. Gauri sounds terrific, handling the melodic ups and downs with perfect ease, backed by an equally fantastic chorus. The chorus layer is, in true Prafullachandra-style, brilliant – very nuanced and adding tremendous value to the overall song.
Rayil Pogum Idam – Vijaynarain (Indipop/Tamil): Vijaynarain not only composes this song, but also writes and sings it too. While the composition is lovely, what particularly stood out for me was the verses! There’s a deeply meditative appeal to the lines that allude to a travelogue but go far beyond, with “Boomiye Mugavari, Kaattru Veesum Disaiye Vazhi”. Vijay’s imagination soars in lines like,
“Irunda Paadhaiyil
Oliyai Kaattidum Muzhu Vennnila
Sezhiththa Boomiyil
Mazhaiyai Kanda Mannpuzhuvin Ulaa”.
It’s the perfect combination of the easy-listening melody and thoughtful lines!
Naamiravil – Gowry Lekshmi, ft. Sooraj Santhosh (Indipop/Malayalam): To be honest, the first time the tune started, I was reminded of Anniyan’s flashback scene that features a child singing: “Laali laalo” 🙂 That aside, Gowry’s melody and music are excellent. The way the verses are apportioned between her and Sooraj, and how they blend with the joint chorus make for a solid listen. The song’s structure is simple, but quite neat, with the sole anupallavi building on a pallavi line in a rousing manner, and leading to the Naamiravil hook.
Paluke – Bhadrachala Ramadasu, M.Balamuralikrishna, ft. Arya Dhayal (Music Mojo Season 7) – Indipop/Telugu: Bhadrachala Ramadasu’s 17th-century bhakti verse magically turns into a pulsating modern pop song in Arya Dhayal’s splendid singing! She retains the Anandabhairavi raaga base composed by Balamuralikrishna, but with terrific support from Gowtham Sreenivasan’s guitar and Jared Sandhy’s drums, the spruced-up version’s sound is truly eclectic!
