Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly, new music playlist.
Week 258: YouTube | Spotify
Akhiyaan De Kol – Do Patti (Khan Muhammad, Tanishk Bagchi) – Hindi: Oh, Hindi cinema music has come a LONG way! From simply lifting songs from anywhere and everywhere, now even a label like T-series (that started out as a knock-of/recreation of songs from Saregama) is actually crediting the source! So, we have a song that was copied by Laxmikant Pyarelal in Bobby and sung by Lata Mangeshkar… that is now being recreated while giving credit to the Pakistani original composed by Khan Muhammad and sung by Reshma! Tanishk Bagchi’s recreation, as is his style, is uptempo and pulsating, and Shilpa Rao’s singing lifts the rendition.
Vennilavu Saaral – Amaran (G V Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: GVP scores again wonderfully after ‘Hey Minnale’! There are some mild Ilayaraja touches like that extended ‘Mothum’ and ‘Neeyae’ that work beautifully. Even the chorus humming at the end of the pallavi is a surprisingly neat touch – it’s so soft and low-key.
Nambikkai – Jama (Ilayaraja) – Tamil: This is a blast from the distant past! The melody took me back to Tik Tik Tik’s outstanding Poo Malarnthida, perhaps owing to the use of Karaharapriya raaga. But the sound is very reminiscent of what Raja and KJ Yesudas used to churn out in the past. Madhu Balakrishnan does a fantastic job, but it did feel like an attempt by Yesudas and that is also a compliment to Madhu.
Tholanja Manasu – Nesippaya (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: Yuvan was the composer for Atharva Murali’s debut (Baana Kaathadi) and now he composes music for the debut of Murali’s other son, Akash Murali too. The song has all the musical aesthetics I expect from Vishnu Vardhan, much like my expectations from Anirudh in terms of Vignesh Shivan’s musical aesthetics (Love Insurance Kompany, below). It’s a catchy, punchy song, with Yuvan’s usual fangled singing that sometimes does manage to work in certain types of songs.
Dheema – Love Insurance Kompany (Anirudh) – Tamil: There’s something distinctly Vignesh Shivan about the song – possibly because of shades of ‘Kannaana Kanne’ and ‘Neeyum Naanum’ in the melody. Still, a listenable song by Anirudh who also handles the vocals admirably.
Hey Taara – Appudo Ippudo Eppudo (Karthik) – Telugu: Singer Karthik is a pretty decent/competent composer but hasn’t really been to make a mark yet as a composer though he remains one of the most sought-after singers. It’s a different story that his debut (Aravaan—2012—in Tamil) is being credited to Ilayaraja’s son, Karthik Raja by even the music label Saregama in the film soundtrack’s Telugu version! But the composer in Karthik ploughs on, and his Hey Taara is a perfectly pleasant listen with a mellow backdrop and easy-on-the-ear melody sung well by Karthik and Nithyashree.
Kali Bindi – Sanju Rathod (Marathi): Some of the numbers on Sanju’s YouTube channel are mindboggling! Last year’s Nauvari has 160 million views, while Bulletwali has 43 million views. His last big hit from February 2024, Gulabi Sadi, has 284 million views! Kali Bindi works much like Gulabi Sadi, with its instantly bouncy, almost clinical rhythm and Sanju’s lively and earthy vocals.
Antar Mann – Udan Chhoo (Siddharth Amit Bhavsar) – Gujarati: A zingy song by Siddharth with the vibe of an Amit Trivedi song! The composer handles the singing very well, along with Madhubanti Bagchi.
Tum Yaad Aaye – Anmol Daniel, ft. Papon (Indipop/Hindi): Even if there was a whiff of Mithoon’s ‘Maula Mere’ (Anwar, 2007) in the melody by Anmol Daniel, this is a gorgeous ghazal’ish tune that is both lush and nuanced enough to bring out the best out of Papon’s wonderful singing. Youngveer’s lyrics too make a pretty good contribution to the song.
Chhaila – Salim-Sulaiman, ft. Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan (Hindi/Indipop): Oh, wow! A Shreya-Sunidhi duet! And Salim-Sulaiman concoct an effortlessly catchy techno melody, complete with faux classical notes and all, in their usual style to ensure that both the star singers deliver their best. The singers rap too, for a bit, and it all works darn well! If there was something amiss, I would point out the lyrics (Shraddha Pandit). It passes muster within the song, but I wish it was much better for a song that brings these two stars together.
Re Mann – Swanand Kirkire ft. Shreya Ghoshal (Coke Studio Bharat) – Hindi/Indipop: After being underwhelmed with many songs from the Coke Studio Bharat repertoire, I’m pleased to hear at least one song I liked! The main reason for that would be Swanand Kirkire’s decidedly old-worldly melody that presents a simple, charming lullaby. Then there’s Shreya, of course, impressively handling the calm melody. And finally, Kanishk Seth’s producton treats the source material with care and the background music beautifully compliments it.
Bawla, Style – Maati Season 1 (Mikey McCleary and Parth Parekh, Ajay Jayanthi) – Indipop: Yet another Coke Studio knock-off, as if there’s a dearth of such clones. But this one seems promising enough in terms of the quality of music, and based on the language spread so far (Rajasthani and Telugu). Mikey McCleary’s signature is evident in Bawla’s showy retro background sound that confidently sits under the folk tune. Style too works pretty well, with its gently lilting percussion and ebullient melody.
Aamaar Dugga – Monali Thakur (Bangla/Indipop): I still fondly remember ‘Dugga Elo‘ from 2019 (composed by Guddu and sung by Monali Thakur). Aamaar Dugga is on similar lines, but is composed—and sung, of course—by Monali herself. The Bangla folk fervor is in full flow and Monali’s tune and singing is perfectly on mark. A lovely listen during the Durga Pooja season.
Ya Gaus Ya Meeran – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Chain of Light): Chain of Light is an album of four songs recorded by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with producer Michael Brook in the late-1980s/early-1990s. Never released earlier, and recently rediscovered and remastered, the four qawaalis bring back the magical voice of the maestro 27 years after his death. My pick of the album is easily the third song, Ya Gaus Ya Meeran, where the change in rhythm and tempo kept me constantly guessing and hooked. The voice remains mesmerizing, as always.
