It’s that time of the year again when I spend a LOT of time rehearing the songs I enjoyed all through the year and make lists! So, here we go again – this is the 17th year of my making a multilingual annual music round-up, and 17th year of not caring for popular ratings, YouTube views, Spotify play count, and just making my own top of the year lists.
2025 is one of those years when I actually contemplated stopping my weekly (or fortnightly, as this year has been, many times) updates and giving up on Milliblog. Despite the songs listed here in my annual round-up—which I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and they did give me a lot of joy—this year was strangely one of meh music. Far fewer songs (and albums) gave me reason to pause and be amazed by the music, unlike earlier years when some albums completely held my attention.
And I don’t recall any other year when there were so many blank weekends, with so little good music for me to make a decent playlist. Yes, I was traveling a bit too often, plus there was my heart ailment and surgery too, but even beyond that, the number of empty weekends without adequately good music made the process of updating Milliblog a chore… far less exciting. Here’s hoping that 2026 is different 🙂
Also worth noting is the fact that I have started to observe a lot of AI-generated songs, particularly on YouTube. Would 2026 be the year when an AI-generated song becomes incredibly popular in India?
Fingers crossed 🙂
Hindi
Hindi film music, in 2025, paints a picture of a landscape where the heavyweights continue to dominate, but with interesting skirmishes from the younger or less frequent composers. The clear frontrunner here is Pritam, whose work in ‘Metro… In Dino’ is prolific, to say the least. However, his work in both War 2 and Sikandar were banal. Sachin-Jigar were the other heavyweights with a more consistent record – across both Thamma and Param Sundari, they had mighty good music, and some of their other songs from films like Nadaaniyan and Maalik weren’t bad either.
In terms of big disappointments, I’d rank A R Rahman right on top. Almost everything he did in Hindi this year was sub-standard, in my view, topped by an abominable ‘Ufff Yeh Siyapaa’. Chhaava, and even the much-hyped Tere Ishk Mein barely worked for me. Amit Trivedi was less disappointing, in comparison – Azaad and Homebound were decent enough, while Abir Gulaal was pretty good. Kaalidhar Laapata… not so much.
That leaves me with a string of other composers with occasional flashes of brilliance: Vishal Mishra, Justin Prabhakaran, Rochak Kohli, Sashwat Sachdev, Javed-Mohsin, Tanishk Bagchi, and of course, veteran Vishal Bhardwaj.
Overall, Hindi cinema’s descent into multi-composer soundtracks is now solid. The entire year seems like one huge multi-composer soundtrack these days, with only rare cohesive soundtracks that hold thematic continuity or feel, like Metro’s sequel.
Composer of the year: Pritam
Top 20 film songs, 2025 – Hindi
1- Mann Ye Mera – Metro… In Dino (Pritam)
2- Mila Tujhe – Aap Jaisa Koi (Justin Prabhakaran)
3- Pardesiya – Param Sundari (Sachin-Jigar)
4- Barbaad – Saiyaara (Rishabh Kant/The Rish)
5- Badli Si Hawa Hai – The Ba***ds Of Bollywood (Anirudh)
6- Bas Ek Dhadak – Dhadak 2 (Javed-Mohsin)
7- Taaka Taaki – Pintu Ki Pappi (Dr. Nitz a.k.a Nitin ‘Nitz’ Arora)
8- Khudaya Ishq** – Abir Gulaal (Amit Trivedi)
9- Dil Ka Kya – Metro…In Dino (Pritam)
10- Tum Mere Na Huye – Thamma (Sachin-Jigar)
11- Dhuan Dhuan – Aap Jaisa Koi (Rochak Kohli)
12- Gehra Hua – Dhurandhar (Shashwat Sachdev)
13- Rang – Sky Force (Tanishk Bagchi)
14- Pul – Crazxy (Vishal Bhardwaj)
15- Awaara Angaara – Tere Ishk Mein (A R Rahman)
16- Koi Naa – Bhool Chuk Maaf (Tanishk Bagchi & Gifty)
17- Keeve Keeve – Rangeen (Shloke Lal)
18- Zamaana Lage – Metro…In Dino (Pritam)
19- Preet Re – Dhadak 2 (Rochak Kohli)
20- Kya Paaya – Haq (Vishal Mishra)
** Not available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Tamil
Thankfully, Tamil film industry continues to believe in single composer soundtracks though they don’t bother releasing a soundtrack in one go, even after the film’s release 🙂 The saddest example is that of Hesham Abdul Wahab’s Once More – 2 songs released in 2024, 3 more in 2025, and the movie is nowhere near release!
Santhosh Narayanan clearly dominated the year in terms of top-notch output in Retro, and to lesser extent, the yet-to-be-released/stuck-in-a-limbo Vaa Vaathiyaar. Even the ones that are not in my list, like Thalaivan Thalaivii, had decent music.
With A R Rahman, I liked what he did, directionally, in Kadhalikka Neramillai, while he had an ace in Thug Life, even though his songs were clobbered in the film.
In terms of prolific composers, Sean Roldan tops my list. His good work was peppered all over films like Tourist Family, Love Marriage, though Bottle Radha and Revolver Rita came a cropper. GV Prakash Kumar too is on a similar plank – good music across Kingston, Parasakthi, and Veera Dheera Sooran. Ditto with Justin Prabhakaran, with good stuff in Ace, though he seems to be more focused on Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi, these days.
And Sai Abhyankkar finally made his film debut! Dude was a good soundtrack, though the songs felt like extensions of his pop music. I look forward to something more from him, hopefully in Karuppu even though the one single released so far doesn’t evoke hope. Amrit Ramnath’s Tamil debut in 3BHK was noteworthy too.
I continue to look out for Nivas K Prasanna’s music given his good work this year in both Bison Kaalamaadan and Bun Butter Jam, though not in films like Sumo or Kumki 2. And though Leon had a more prolific year in Telugu, his work in Dragon was definitely noteworthy.
Anirudh seems distracted and templatized, though he had the best banger of 2025 in Coolie. I was mostly underwhelmed with the other songs in Coolie, and his work in Madharaasi and Vidaamuyarchi.
A potential breakout name to watch is Jen Martin, whose work in both Kiss and Oho Enthan Baby totally took me by surprise.
I generally do not frame film music using singers, my primary framing is around composers, and only then singers, lyrcists, etc. But I’m glad that Chinmayi broke through her forced ‘agnyaathavaasam’ (exile) through a strangely quirky miracle – the opportunity to sing ‘Mutha Mazhai’ on stage during the music launch of Thug Life… only because the song’s actual singer in Tamil, Dhee, was not available! Some kind of divine intervention, this!
Composer of the year: Santhosh Narayanan
Top 20 film songs, 2025 – Tamil
1- Monica – Coolie (Anirudh)
2- The One – Retro (Santhosh Narayanan)
3- Theekkoluthi – Bison Kaalamadan (Nivas K Prasanna)
4- Muththa Mazhai – Thug Life (A R Rahman)
5- Uyir Pathikaama – Vaa Vaathiyaar (Santhosh Narayanan)
6- Vazhithunaiye – Dragon (Leon James)
7- Oorum Blood – Dude (Sai Abhyankkar)
8- Adi Alaye – Parasakthi (GV Prakash Kumar)
9- Vaa Kannamma – Once More (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
10- Urugudhu Urugudhu – Ace (Justin Prabhakaran)
11- Kanimaa – Retro (Santhosh Narayanan)
12- Jillelama – Kiss (Jen Martin)
13- Kaajuma – Bun Butter Jam (Nivas K Prasanna)
14- Esa Kaaththa – My Lord (Sean Roldan)
15- Kalloorum – Veera Dheera Sooran (GV Prakash Kumar)
16- Mugai Mazhai – Tourist Family (Sean Roldan)
17- Kondrai Malar – Parari (Sean Roldan)
18- Please Yenna Appadi Paakadhey – Bad Girl (Amit Trivedi)
19- Kanavellam – 3BHK (Amrit Ramnath)
20- Kadhavai Thirandhaye – Sweetheart (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
Telugu
In 2025’s Telugu film music, I couldn’t see a clear winner who dominated. To a lesser extent, Leon James comes close, with consistently good music across Premante, Sundarakanda, G.O.A.T., and Mazaka. Hesham Abdul Wahab too had a pretty good year with The Girlfriend and 8 Vasantalu. Thaman had an above-average Telusu Kada, while his single banger from Daaku Maharaj was stupendous.
I continue to see other Tamil composers do very differently (from their Tamil output) in Telugu – Ghibran with Biker (the single from this film zooms right to the top of my list, and I’d love to hear what more Ghibran has in store in this soundtrack); A R Rahman with Peddi; Harris Jayaraj with Bad Boy Karthik; Vivek-Mervin in their debut, Andhra King Taluka, for instance. Ajaneesh continues to gnaw in Telugu with good enough/not path-breaking work in films like Arjun Son Of Vyjayanthi and Thammudu. I did expect a lot more from Stephen Devassy in Kannappa, but in the overall soundtrack, Mani Sharma’s solo song beat the other songs, in my view.
Others worth a note – Gopi Sundar (Paradha), Ilayaraja (Shashtipoorthi), Mickey J Meyer (Champion), Vijay Bulganin (Beauty), Devi Sri Prasad (Thandel), Bheems Ceciroleo (Krishna Leela, Mass Jathara, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu), and Chaitan Bharadwaj (Kishkindapuri, K-RAMP).
Composers of the year: Leon James, Hesham Abdul Wahab
Top 20 film songs, 2025 – Telugu
1- Pretty Baby – Biker (Ghibran)
2- Em Jaruguthondhi – The Girlfriend (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
3- Babai – Telusu Kada (Thaman S)
4- Chikiri Chikiri – Peddi (A R Rahman)
5- Andhamaina Figaru Nuvvaa – Bad Boy Karthik (Harris Jayaraj)
6- Dhochaave Nanne – Premante (Leon James)
7- Dabidi Dibidi – Daaku Maharaaj (Thaman S)
8- Iru Kanulu Kanulu – Shashtipoorthi (Ilayaraja)
9- Kannamma – Beauty (Vijay Bulganin)
10- Nuvvunte Chaley – Andhra King Taluka (Vivek-Mervin)
11- Naalo Nenu – Couple Friendly (Aditya Ravindran)
12- Pommante – Bad Boy Karthik (Harris Jayaraj)
13- Mallika Gandha – Telusu Kada (Thaman S)
14- Nadhive – The Girlfriend (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
15- Ee Rangula Lokam – Ugly Story (Sharavan Bharadwaj)
16- Sound of Love – Meghalu Cheppina Prema Katha (Justin Prabhakaran)
17- Sayyare – Mowgli 2025 (Kaala Bhairava)
18- Rambai Neemeedha Naku – Raju Weds Rambai (Suresh Bobbili)
19- Nayaaldhi – Arjun Son Of Vyjayanthi (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
20- Darisanamey – Nari Nari Naduma Murari (Vishal Chandrashekhar)
Malayalam
Malayalam film music scene continues its trend of being a breeding ground for fresh and highly prolific talent. The standout composer in 2025 for me is Jakes Bejoy with Paathirathri and other individual tracks like ‘Minnalvala’ and ‘Kaattu Raasa’.
Following closely is Justin Varghese, a composer who rarely misses. His work in Painkili is a clear standout, though Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira was disappointing.
Electronic Kili surprised me the most, much like Jen Martin in Tamil, with hugely interesting, genre-bending music in films like Maine Pyar Kiya and Thalavara.
Ranjin Raj, Vishnu Vijay, and Govind Vasantha continue with their good (enough) work occasionally. Sai Abhyankkar had a decent debut in Balti, though it remains to be seen if he can get out his style of music that is fast approaching a template on its own.
Composers of the year: Justin Varghese, Jakes Bejoy
Top 20 film songs, 2025 – Malayalam
1- Kaadhal Ponmaan – Nellikkampoyil Night Riders (Yakzan Gary Pereira & Neha S Nair)
2- Baby Baby – Painkili (Justin Varghese)
3- Minnalvala – Narivetta (Jakes Bejoy)
4- Love Bite – Dheeran (Mujeeb Majeed)
5- Sambrani Penthiri – Vyasana Sametham Bandhu Mithradhikal (Ankit Menon)
6- Kand Kand – Thalavara (Electronic Kili)
7- Neeye Punchiri: One Side Love – Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Jakes Bejoy)
8- Hey Penne – Haal (Nandhagopan V)
9- Everyday – Alappuzha Gymkhana (Vishnu Vijay)
10- Kedathe – Pravinkoodu Shappu (Vishnu Vijay)
11- Kulire – Nellikkampoyil Night Riders (Yakzan Gary Pereira & Neha Nair)
12- Heart Attack – Painkili (Justin Varghese)
13- Onam Mood – Sahasam (Bibin Ashok)
14- Thankam – Vala-Story of A Bangle (Govind Vasantha)
15- Kunnirangi Varavunde – Hathane Udaya (SanDy)
16- Vazhkai – Painkili (Justin Varghese)
17- Chillu Nee – Maranamass (JK)
18- Ninnodu Parayuvaan – Sumathi Valavu (Ranjin Raj)
19- Jaalakaari – Balti (Sai Abhyankkar)
20- Kaattu Raasa – Vilaayath Budha (Jakes Bejoy)
Kannada
Kannada film music continues to be dominated by both B. Ajaneesh Loknath and Charan Raj. Ajaneesh had an excellent year across Kantara Chapter 1 (though I was disappointed that it lacked anything substantial beyond the brilliant Brahmakalasha), Sarala Subbarao, The Devil, and Just Married. Charan Raj MR was just as prolific, displaying remarkable consistency across projects like Ekka, Agnyathavasi, Firefly, Mango Pachcha and Maarnami.
Arjun Janya seemed to be less solid footing with limited highlights in Cult and KD. Ditto with Judah Sandhy, across Gatha Vaibhava and Moda Kavida Vaatavarana.
A notable entry is the continued crossover presence of D. Imman.
Composers of the year: B. Ajaneesh Loknath, Charan Raj MR
Top 20 film songs, 2025 – Kannada
1- Brahmakalasha – Kantara Chapter 1 (B. Ajaneesh Loknath)
2- Bangle Bangari – Ekka (Charan Raj)
3- Naguvina Nesara – Agnyathavasi (Charan Raj; co-composer Narayan Sharma)
4- In The Night – Firefly (Charan Raj MR)
5- Varnamaale – Gatha Vaibhava (Judah Sandhy)
6- Ayyo Sivane – Cult (Arjun Janya)
7- Madanaari – Vidyapati (DOSSMODE)
8- Kabul Drakshi – Sarala Subbarao (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
9- Settagalla – KD (Arjun Janya)
10- Onde Ondu Sala – The Devil (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
11- Nannedeya Haadondanu – Moda Kavida Vaatavarana (Judah Sandhy)
12- Rangoli – Sarala Subbarao (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
13- Preethi Mundhe – Elumale (D.Imman)
14- Kaarmoda Karagi Maleye Shuruvaagide – Maarnami (Charan Raj MR)
15- Patho – Cult (Arjun Janya)
16- Hasravva – Mango Pachcha (Charan Raj MR)
17- Summane Summane – Vishnu Priya (Gopi Sundar)
18- Scooter Song – Su From So (Sumedh K)
19- Nee Nanna – Nidradevi Next Door (Nakul Abhyankar)
20- Yenidu Maleyaagiro Haagide – Doora Theera Yaana (Ronada Bakkesh, Karthik Chennoji Rao)
Marathi
Composer of the year: Gulraj Singh
Top 10 film songs, 2025 – Marathi
1- Chandana – Gondhal (Ilayaraaja)
2- Chal Re Mana Jaau – Ata Thambaycha Naay (Gulraj Singh)
3- Title song – Aarpar (Gulraj Singh)
4- Aavshicho Gho – Dashavatar (AV Prafullachandra)
5- Panduranga – Devmanus (Rohan Rohan)
6- Hoshil Na – Aarpar (Gulraj Singh)
7- Malhari – Gondhal (Ilayaraja)
8- Mannmohana – Aarpar (Gulraj Singh)
9- Rutuchakra – Dashavatar (AV Prafullachandra)
10- 36 Guun – Aarpar (Gulraj Singh)
Indipop
If I were to look beyond singles and pick complete albums in the Indipop/non-film music genre, across languages, my vote would go to The Anirudh Varma Collective’s ‘Sabr’, Agam’s ‘Arrival Of The Ethereal’, Ali Sethi’s ‘Love Language’, and The Indoencers’ ‘Life Until 23’. And of course, there are a lot of singles peppered throughout the languages, beyond just Hindi and Tamil pop.
Indipop – Hindi
1- Saade Naal – Sabr (The Anirudh Varma Collective)
2- Jiya Naahi Laage – Raagraanis (Prajakta Shukre)
3- Harjai (Faridkot)
4- Saasu Maa – Jaani Aaya Hai (Bunny, ft. Jyoti Nooran)
5- Kahani Meri (P V N S Rohit)
6- Woh (Khatth ft. Sthitipadma Dash)
7- Sukoon (Salim Sulaiman, ft. Arijit Singh)
8- Adhoora (Prasad S, ft. Shilpa Rao)
9- Yun Hi Kahi (The Yellow Diary)
10- Gavati – Sabr (The Anirudh Varma Collective)
11- Sheher (The Yellow Diary)
12- Saraswati – Sabr (The Anirudh Varma Collective)
13- Rahat – Tanishk Bagchi, ft. Adnan Sami
14- Raas Rachat – Sabr (The Anirudh Varma Collective)
15- Jaadugari (Siddhant Bhosle, ft. Maahi)
16- Unse Jaake Kehdo (Justh)
17- Sajan Ghar Aaye – Raagraanis (Prajakta Shukre)
18- Aankhon (Dhvani x OAFF x Savera)
19- Uska Pata (Garvit-Priyansh)
20- Harjaai – Jatin Pandit, ft. Kumar Sanu
Indipop – Tamil
1- Walk of the Bride/Seetha Kalyana Vaibhogame – Agam (Arrival Of The Ethereal)
2- Nee Irundhal (Shravan Sridhar)
3- Sivanar (Sid Sriram)
4- Sithira Puthiri (Sai Abhyankkar)
5- Chikkama – Vengayo (Foxn)
6- Chi Pae Thu (Dharan Kumar, ft. Santhosh Narayanan and Vaaheesan Rasaiya)
7- Yeno Indru – Rakhoo
8- Inbam Thedu – Life Until 23 (The Indoencers/Nishad G.)
9- Between Doubt and Destiny – Arrival of the Ethereal (Agam)
10- Oora Paaka Poren (Vijaynarain)
11- Kavava (Masala Coffee)
12- Shadows of Time – Arrival of the Ethereal (Agam)
13- Aiyaiyo (Samuel Nicholas)
14- Paiyya Paiyya (Shekhar Ravjiani)
15- Kaakum Vadivel (Dharan Kumar, ft. Vaaheesan Rasaiya)
16- Vizhi Veekura (Sai Abhyankkar)
17- Thoothukudi Chinnaponnu – NEXA Music Season 3 (A. R. Rahman)
18- Inaiyum Padhaigal – Shravan Sridhar
19- En Kadhaa (Sid Sriram)
20- Konjamachum – Vijaynarain
Indipop – Assorted
1- Flight to the Summer Sky/Nagumo – Arrival of the Ethereal (Agam) – Telugu/Tamil
2- Ira (Thaikkudam Bridge) – Malayalam
3- Hengaithe Maige (Brodha V) – Kannada
4- Thodi Si Daaru (AP Dhillon, Luca Mauti) – Punjabi
5- Hanera – Love Language (Ali Sethi) – Pakistani
6- Run It Up (Hanumankind) – English
7- Koyila (Vijai Bulganin) – Telugu
8- Rhythm of the 9 Yards – A Beautiful Breakup (Ilayaraja) – Instrumental
9- The Silence that Remains/Mokshamu Galada – Arrival of the Ethereal (Agam) – Telugu
10- Kudiyan Te Chidiyan – Raavi De Kande (Jaidev Kumar) – Punjabi
11- Kaava – Love Language (Ali Sethi) – Pakistani
12- Kanavukal (Gowry Lekshmi) – Malayalam
13- Mai Ni Bachdi (Gur Sidhu) – Punjabi
14- Long Distance Love – Coke Studio Bangla, Season 3 (Shuvendu Das Shuvo) – Bangla
15- Chamkeela – Jassi Weds Jassi (Rev Shergill) – Punjabi
16- Naa Praanama (Ram Miriyala) – Telugu
17- Sakhiye (Amrit Ramnath ft. Sithara Krishnakumar) – Malayalam
18- Lelo (Keshav Tyohar, Shrey Gupta, Harjot Kaur, ft. Shreya Ghoshal) – Punjabi
19- Jadugarni – Love Language (Ali Sethi) – Pakistani
20- Sundari (Sanju Rathod) – Marathi
