Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly, new music playlist.
Week 316: YouTube | Spotify
Saawan Aaya Hai – Yeh Prem Mol Liya (Himesh Reshammiya) – Hindi: What do you get when you mix RD Burman’s ‘Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein’ (Ajnabee, 1974) and ‘Aao Na, Gale Laga Lo Na’ (Mere Jeevan Saathi, 1972)? This song, by Himesh! It almost feels like Himesh took those songs as direct reference material, and even picked a singer (Keshav Anand) who sounds a bit like Adnan Sami-lite, at least initially, and created a heady concoction! It does sound very good.
Tu Mil Jaaye – King (Sachin-Jigar) – Hindi: A breezy melody by Sachin-Jigar with a lovely extension of ‘Mil jaaye toh’ by Arijit to overlap the next lines. And then there’s Ed Sheeran rapping too! And Madhubanti Bagchi too. A pleasant hodgepodge!
Shree Hanuman Chalisa – Ramayana (A R Rahman) – Hindi: Just when I thought that the Ramayana (first part) soundtrack was largely mid, Rahman drops an outstanding version of Shree Hanuman Chalisa, possibly the most consequential musical piece to come out of the film(s) so far! Featuring Sukhwinder Singh, Diljit Dosanjh, Mohit Chauhan, Shankar Mahadevan and Kailash Kher, this is a sprawling epic composition that beautifully overlaps the 5 singers’ voices in wonderful ways!
Senjudare – Sai Abhyankkar (OM) – Tamil: This is the first, and only, song from OM that actually worked for me! And what a gorgeous song this is! What starts off a serene ballad turns into a rhythmic devotional melody at 2:09 to end it on a high! Adesh Krishna’s lyrics are truly wonderful, and the way they portend the devotional ending are quite inventive (after the carnatic interlude, the lines move to, “Un thiruvoodal thaandi vara Annamalai sutrum piraisoodum sovanukku”). I did wonder about the creative license taken to change ‘Arohara’ to ‘Aarohara’ to fit the flow of the melody.
Maayangal Saathiyam, Unakke Nizhalaanen – Scene (Sushin Shyam) – Tamil: I’m generally a fan of Sushin’s music but Scene is a soundtrack that barely worked for me. This felt more like Romancham that did not work for me, and less like Aavesham that worked wonders. The standouts are Maayangal Saathiyam, the most Sushin’ish song of the album. Rockzane’s singing, layered over the alluring choir (Aruvi, Riya Anna Roy, Sreenandana Hari, Moses Toby and Sarang Sunil) is a lovely touch and helps the song. Unakke Nizhalaanen’s melody is easily likeable, though it took me more towards Santhosh Narayanan’s music than Sushin’s! Vijaynarain and Subhalashini are very good, though.
Madarasi Rabbaru Bomma – Tyson Naidu (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: A catchy folk melody that Bheems keeps surprisingly restrained in terms of the pace and rhythm. I suspect there might be a faster version of the song too in the soundtrack. Excellent singing by both Nalgonda Gaddar Narsanna and Rohini Soratt.
Dada Dhamaka – Dada (Thaman S) – Telugu: Just like 2025’s Dabidi Dibidi from Daaku Maharaaj, Thaman hits it out of the park for yet another NBK film! Here, that ‘Pak Jhum Jhum’ does the trick in lifting the otherwise predictable rhythm and melody to a big extent. Rajani Sree Poornima’s singing is perfectly on the mark.
Chanku Kattole – Many Many Happy Returns (Govind Vasantha) – Malayalam: This is Govind Vasantha magic all over!! After Parakkum Thennale, the composer has an effortless winner again for the same soundtrack. Here, the vocal interplay deserves a special mention! The background layer of vocals does some stupendous heavy-lifting in accentuating the song’s appeal. Then there’s Govind’s solo violin interlude too! So much to like here.
Senthamarai – Melcow Pondicherry (Electronic Kili, co-composed by Vijayanand) – Malayalam (Tamil): If I hadn’t known who composed it, my first guess would have been Govind Vasantha. The soaring vocal lines have Govind’s hallmark. Interestingly, this is a Tamil song inside a Malayalam movie with Pondicherry in the title (explains the Tamil song, I guess). Sumesh Parameswar’s guitar work their magic through the song, and Vijayanand’s singing elevates the song significantly.
Dilruba Dilnasheen – Rito Riba (Hindi/Indipop): A zingy pop ballad that seems like an evolution of what we might have heard from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. I took some time to warm up to Rito’s voice since it felt like the voice of an emaciated Adnan Sami (who really seems emaciated recently by the way). This is the second Adnan Sami-lite sentiment this week! Also, at under 3 minutes, the song has just one antara… this shorter structure seems to be the default these days with most songs, both in films and otherwise.
Maranthathey – M.S Krsna (Tamil/Indipop): A hugely imaginative song that mildly reminded me of Sean Roldan’s broad musical sensibilities. But Krsna brings so much more to the song that it is truly wonderful! This is the second single from his debut album, Nejama, and while the first song (Yennamma Thozhi) felt merely passable, this one goes very far. The use of pause (Iravum Pagalum – pause – iNayum neram – pause…), for instance, is remarkable! The Indian Choral Ensemble’s vocal interludes find neat placements, and the mouth trumpet by M.S Krsna was a total surprise during the first interlude! This part also pivots the song to a Tamil retro sound that is endearing.
