Music Aloud Playback – Best of 2014

Another year is coming to a close. And it is our turn to add our bit to the multitude of “best of the year” roundups that you would have come across already!  Musically, the year was a bit of a mixed bag across industries (that we track actively); Bollywood fared weaker than last year, while things looked much better down South, albeit owing to the consistency of just a handful of composers. Anyway, onto the lists. Four top 25 lists this time – Bollywood, Malayalam, Tamil and non-film. And a smaller, miscellaneous list to fit the best film songs from other languages that we heard this year. The format, as usual, is Song Title (Movie) – Composer(s)|Singer(s)|Lyricist(s). And we have only considered movies that released in 2014 (as per wiki listings).

Bollywood Top 25

A lot of the leading composers from last year had a comparatively silent 2014, and that showed in the overall number of quality songs produced too. Nevertheless, there were enough to give us a tough time bringing the list down to 25 (+5 honorary mentions as usual)! Click on the individual song title to listen to it. There is also a playlist at the end of the section.

1 Jhelum (Haider) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Vishal Bhardwaj|Gulzar

2 Sooha Saaha (Highway) – A R Rahman|Zebunnisa Bangash, Alia Bhatt|Irshad Kamil

3 Harjaiyaan (Queen) – Amit Trivedi|Nandini Srikar|Anvita Dutt

4 Baawra (Kill Dil) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Shankar Mahadevan, Nihira Joshi, Gulzar|Gulzar

5 Zehnaseeb (Hasee Toh Phasee) – Vishal Shekhar|Chinmayi, Shekhar Ravjiani|Amitabh Bhattacharya

6 Khamma Ghani (Happy Ending) – Sachin Jigar|Papon, Smita Jain, Vidhi Mehta|Amitabh Bhattacharya

Aayi Bahaar (Ankhon Dekhi) – Sagar Desai|Kailash Kher|Varun Grover

Bawla Sa Sapna (Shaadi Ke Side Effects) – Pritam|Diva, Chorus|Swanand Kirkire

9 Khaamakhaan (Bewakoofiyaan) – Raghu Dixit|Neeti Mohan, Ayushmann Khurrana|Habib Faisal

10 Shake Your Bootiya (Finding Fanny) – Sachin Jigar|Divya Kumar|Dinesh Vijan, Mayur Puri, Sachin Jigar

11 Tu Kuja (Highway) – A R Rahman|Sunidhi Chauhan|Irshad Kamil

12 Khuda Na Khasta (One By Two) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan|Amitabh Bhattacharya

13 Banna Banni (Revolver Rani) – Sanjeev Srivastava|Rekha Bhardwaj|Puneet Sharma

14 Adhure (Mary Kom) – Shashi Suman|Sunidhi Chauhan|Prashant Ingole

15 Beqasoor (Lekar Hum Deewana Dil) – A R Rahman|Nakash Aziz, Shweta Pandit|Amitabh Bhattacharya

16 Pakeezah (Ungli) – Gulraj Singh|Gulraj Singh|Manoj Yadav

17 Bismil (Haider) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Sukhwinder Singh|Gulzar

18 Manwa Laage (Happy New Year) – Vishal Shekhar|Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal|Irshad Kamil

19 Chaandaniya (2 States) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Mohan Kannan, Yashita Sharma|Amitabh Bhattacharya

20 Sun Ri Baavli (Lakshmi) – Tapas Relia|Papon|Manoj Yadav

21 Dil Ka Mizaj (Dedh Ishqiya) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Rahat Fateh Ali Khan|Gulzar

22 Preet (Khoobsurat) – Sneha Khanwalkar|Jasleen Royal|Amitabh Verma

23 Tu (Bobby Jasoos) – Shantanu Moitra|Papon, Shreya Ghoshal|Swanand Kirkire

24 Shayarana (Daawat-e-Ishq) – Sajid Wajid|Shalmali Kholgade|Kausar Munir

25 Dil Aaj Kal (Purani Jeans) – Ram Sampath|Sona Mohapatra|Prashant Ingole

Five honorary mentions.

26 Kill Dil (Kill Dil) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam|Gulzar

27 Paaji (Happy Ending) – Sachin Jigar|Amitabh Bhattacharya|Amitabh Bhattacharya

28 I’m Just Pakaoed (One By Two) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Siddharth Mahadevan|Amitabh Bhattacharya

29 Aye Jigida (Bewakoofiyaan) – Raghu Dixit|Vishal Dadlani|Anvita Dutt

30 Samjhawan (Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya) – Jawad Ahmed, Sharib Toshi|Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal|Kumaar

Playlist for the top 25:

Top 25 Malayalam film songs

First of all, an apology to composer Srivalsan J Menon. For missing his gem of a soundtrack for Shaji N Karun’s Swapaanam when it came out a few months back. With a fabulous set of raga-based songs, this movie is my top Malayalam soundtrack for 2014, and I shall be reviewing it before the year is up. Anyway, the top 25 for now.

1 Oru Vela Raavinnakam (Swapaanam) – Srivalsan J Menon|Lekha R Nair|Manoj Kuroor

2 Ethu Kari Raavilum (Bangalore Days) – Gopi Sunder|Haricharan|Rafeeq Ahammed

3 Raave (Iyobinte Pusthakam) – Neha Nair, Yakzan Pereira|Neha Nair, Haricharan|Rafeeq Ahammed

Ullin Ullile (Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram) – Sean Roldan|Haricharan|Santhosh Varma

Kannaadi Vaathil (London Bridge) – Rahul Raj|Haricharan|Rafeeq Ahammed

6 Pakalinu Veyil (1 By Two) – Gopi Sunder|Murali Gopy, Sayanora Philip|B K Harinarayanan

7 Ee Pooveyilil (Pakida) – Bijibal|TR Soumya|Rafeeq Ahammed

8 Thaane Pookkum (Sapthamashree Thaskaraha) – Rex Vijayan|Job Kurian, Saptaparna Chakraborty|Engandiyoor Chandrasekharan

9 Aikbareesa (Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal) – Prashant Pillai|Preeti Pillai|PS Rafeeq

10 Madhava Maasamo (Swapaanam) – Srivalsan J Menon|Hariprasad, Sreeranjini Kodampally|Manoj Kuroor

11 Olakkam (1983) – Gopi Sunder|Nivas, Aleetta Dennis|B K Harinarayanan

12 Allah Hoo (Gangster) – Deepak Dev|Javed Ali, Deepak Dev|Raqeeb Alam

13 Maangalyam (Bangalore Days)  – Gopi Sunder|Sachin Warrier, Vijay Yesudas, Divya|Santhosh Varma

14 Maanathe (Vikramadithyan) – Bijibal|Pushpavathy|Engandiyoor Chandrasekharan

15 Maane (Iyobinte Pusthakam) – Neha Nair, Yakzan Pereira|Neha Nair, Anil Ram|Rafeeq Ahammed

16 Ee Mizhikalen (Ormayundo Ee Mukham) – Shaan Rahman|Vineeth Sreenivasan, Mridula Warrier|Vineeth Sreenivasan

17 Vijanathayil (How Old Are You) – Gopi Sunder|Shreya Ghoshal|Rafeeq Ahammed

18 Mazhayil Nirayum (Parankimala) Afzal Yusuf|Najeem Arshad, Mridula Warrier|Murukan Kaattakkada

19 Mazhaville (Swapaanam) – Srivalsan J Menon|Amal Antony, Chenkotta Hariharasubrahmaniam|Manoj Kuroor

20 Urvashi (Mannar Mathai Speaking 2) – Rahul Raj|Vijay Yesudas, Teenu Telence|Nikesh Chembilode

21 Kaattu Mooliyo (Ohm Shaanthi Oshaana) – Shaan Rahman|Vineeth Sreenivasan|BK Harinarayanan

22 Mazhanila (Vikramadithyan) – Bijibal|Najeem Arshad, TR Soumya|Santhosh Varma

23 Nodi Bhora Dheu (Masala Republic) – Mrittika Band|Madhubanti Bagchi, Suchal Chakraborty|Mrittika Band

24 Neeyillaathe Jeevitham (Tamaar Padaar) – Bijibal|Uncredited|Rafeeq Ahammed

25 Thammil Oru Vaakku (Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram) – Sean Roldan|Sean Roldan, Shaktisree|Santhosh Varma

And five honorary mentions

26 Eeran Kaattin (Salalah Mobiles) – Gopi Sunder|Shreya Ghoshal|B K Harinarayanan

27 Kaliyaay Nee (Swapaanam) – Srivalsan J Menon|Deepu Nair, Meera Ram Mohan|Manoj Kuroor

28 Sapthamashree Thaskaraha (Sapthamashree Thaskaraha) – Rex Vijayan|Suchith Suresan|Vinayak Sasikumar

29 Olanjaali Kuruvi (1983) – Gopi Sunder|P Jayachandran, Vani Jayaram|B K Harinarayanan

30 Sadaa Paalaya (Mr. Fraud) – Gopi Sunder|Sithara Krishnakumar, Sudeep Kumar|Traditional (GN Balasubramaniam)

Playlist for the top 25:

Top 25 Tamil film songs

I had received complaints from some readers about not having a separate list for Tamil in 2013, hence this set this time. I have not considered Vaayai Moodi Pesavum in this list since the Malayalam version was counted into that top 25.

1 Kannakkul Pothivaippen (Thirumanam Enum Nikah) – Ghibran|Charulatha Mani, Vijay Prakash, Sadhana Sargam, Dr. R Ganesh|Parvathy

Yaarumilla (Kaaviya Thalaivan) – A R Rahman|Swetha Mohan, Srinivas|Pa. Vijay

3 English Notes (Ramanujan) – Ramesh Vinayakam/Mutthiah Bhagavathar|Instrumental

4 Manasula Soora Kaathey (Cuckoo) – Santhosh Narayanan|RR, Divya Ramani|Yugabharathi

5 Yedhukkaaga Enna (Rummy) – D Imman|Santhosh Hariharan, Pooja AV|Yugabharathi

Endi Ippadi (Enakkul Oruvan) – Santhosh Narayanan|Santhosh Narayanan|Ganesh Kumar Krish

7 Rasa Magarasa (Mundaasupatti) – Sean Roldan|Rita, Anthony Dasan, Sean Roldan|Muthamil

Enthaara Enthaara (Thirumanam Enum Nikah) – Ghibran|Shadab Faridi, Chinmayi|Karthik Netha

9 Medhuvaaga Thaan (Kochadaiiyaan) – A R Rahman|Sadhana Sargam, SP Balasubramaniam|Vaalee

10 Yaarum Paakkaama (Nerungi Vaa Muthamidaathe) – Madley Blues|Chinmayi|Na. Muthukumar

11 Aye Mr. Minor (Kaaviya Thalaivan) – A R Rahman|Shashaa Tirupati, Haricharan|Pa. Vijay

12 Mounam Pesum (Amara Kaaviyam) – Ghibran|Chithra, Sowmya Mahadevan|P Vetriselvan

13 Kalvane (Megha) – Ilayaraja|Haricharan, Ramya NSK|Na. Muthukumar

14 Dhesayum Ezhuntheney (Jigarthanda) – Santhosh Narayanan|Meenakshi Iyer, Santhosh Narayanan|Pradeep Kumar

15 Aathi (Kaththi) – Anirudh Ravichander|Vishal Dadlani, Anirudh|Pa. Vijay

16 Odum Raiyila (Oru Oorla Rendu Raja) – D Imman|Abhay Jodhpurkar|Yugabharathi

17 Vinkandatha (Ramanujan) – Ramesh Vinayakam|Unnikrishnan|Thirumazhisai Alwar

18 Aagasatha (Cuckoo) – Santhosh Narayanan|Kalyani Nair, Pradeep Kumar|Yugabharathi

19 Vinmeen (Thegidi) – Nivas K Prasanna|Abhay Jodhpurkar, Saindhavi|Kabilan

20 Eeramai Eeramai (Un Samayal Arayil) – Ilayaraja|Vibhavari, Ranjith|Pazhani Bharathi

21 Kaadhala Kaadhala (Sathuranga Vettai) – Sean Roldan|Kalyani Nair|Vairamuthu

22 Kalla Payalae (Mosakutty) – Ramesh Vinayakam|Shreya Ghoshal, Haricharan|Jeevan

23 Sandi Kuthirai (Kaaviya Thalaivan) – A R Rahman|Haricharan|Pa. Vijay

24 Kaadhal Kanave (Mundaasupatti) – Sean Roldan|Pradeep Kumar, Kalyani Nair|Muthamil

25 Kaligaalam (Nerungi Vaa Muthamidaathe) – Madley Blues|Shankar Mahadevan|Harish Venkat, Thiyaru

Another five that missed out.

26 Mona Gasolina (Lingaa) – A R Rahman|Mano, Neeti Mohan, Tanvi Shah|Madhan Karky

27 Kannamma (Jigarthanda) – Santhosh Narayanan|Anthony Dasan, Rita|Muthamil

28 Agayam Theepiditha (Madras) – Santhosh Narayanan|Pradeep Kumar|Kabilan

29 Naalellaam (Aadama Jaichomada) – Sean Roldan|Shaktisree|GKB

30 Paalam (Kaththi) – Anirudh Ravichander|Shankar Mahadevan, Swetha Mohan|Yugabharathi

Top 25 Playlist:

Top 25 Non Film Songs

The major indie-focused TV shows were all missing this year – Dewarists just started last week, Coke Studio @ MTV and Sound Trippin’ did not happen. Music Mojo did happen down South though, and featured some excellent music this time too (there was a Coke Studio on the other side of the border, but that has been covered in a separate playlist anyway so excluded from this). And there were a few other musical initiatives and albums too that we happened to come across in 2014; this is a list of our favourite 25 from among all of those. We repeat what we said last year, this ranking is not a matching between the songs per se, since they make for an unfair comparison. Just a preferred order of listening, if you will. Not all songs are available for streaming online, so relevant links have been provided wherever possible.  Only original songs that came out this year considered, not covers.

(We do not claim this to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire Indian non-film scene this year, just the best among what we happened to hear. So do excuse us if some deserving musician is missing here)

1 Sindhubhairavi Thillana (Music Mojo) – Navaneeth Sundar feat. Sathyaprakash

2 Inside (Cosmic) – Shammi Pithia

3 World Is Our Playground (TV Dinners) – Mikey McCleary

4 Skeleton Leaves (Anti Hero) Circle of Sound feat. Nitin Sawhney

5 Geet Gaaoon (Raunaq) – A R Rahman|Jonita Gandhi|Kapil Sibal

6 Roday (Tandanu) – Indian Ocean feat. Vishal Dadlani

7 Taste Your Kiss (All Ball) – Madboy/Mink

8 Yeh Aasmaan (Humnasheen) – Deepak Pandit|Shreya Ghoshal|Manoj Muntashir

9 Over The Horizon – Agam

10 Departure (Natural Disasters) – Dualist Inquiry

11 We All Fall (Sony Project Resound) – Karsh Kale feat. Ankita Joshi & Sabir Khan

12 Oh Love (In Tokens & Charms) – Prateek Kuhad

13 Etiyochana (Music Mojo) – Stephen Devassy feat. Varijasree Venugopal

14 Chathe – Thaikkudam Bridge

15 Canvas of Silence (Canvas of Silence) – Rainburn

16 Little Things You Do (TV Dinners) – Mikey McCleary feat. Anushka Manchanda

17 Zero (Anti Hero) – Circle Of Sound

18 Pursuit of Happiness (Cosmic) – Shammi Pithia feat. Sonna Rele

19 Tandanu (Tandanu) – Indian Ocean feat. Shankar Mahadevan

20 Achudananda (Music Mojo) – Sopanam Ensemble

21 Alley Cat (All Ball) Madboy/Mink

22 Hazaar Khwaab – Ashwin Srinivasan|Chandreyee Bhattacharya|Ashwin Srinivasan

23 Don’t Have To Lie (Sony Project Resound) – Pentagram

24 Kuchh Rishtey (Humnasheen) – Deepak Pandit|Shreya Ghoshal|Ajay Jhingran

25 Sneham – Dhibu Ninan Thomas feat. Job Kurian

The playlist (of what’s on youtube):

Top Film Songs from other languages

Finally, 15 other must-listen film songs from the year, which could not fit into the other lists. In no particular order, just listed them by the soundtrack and language.

Vadhantune (Run Raja Run: Telugu) – Ghibran|Chinmayi|Ramajogayya Sastry

Adiginde (Maine Pyar Kiya: Telugu) – V Pradeep Kumar|Abhay Jodhpurkar, Kalyani Nair|Wasistha Sharma

Shoonyamai (Paathshaala: Telugu) – Rahul Raj|Nikhil Mathew|Shree Mani

Kaakig Banta (Ulidavaru Kandante: Kannada) – Ajaneesh Lokanath|Shreya Ghoshal|Rakshit Shetty

Final Showdown (Ulidavaru Kandante: Kannada) – Ajaneesh Lokanath|Instrumental

Jeev Bhulala (Lai Bhaari: Marathi) – Ajay Atul|Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal|Guru Thakur

New Nava Tarana (Lai Bhaari: Marathi) – Ajay Atul|Kunal Ganjawala|Ajay Atul

Kshan He (Poshter Boyz: Marathi) – Lesle Lewis|Shankar Mahadevan|Ambrish Deshpande

Aisi Mori (Postcard: Marathi) – Gandhaar Sangoram|Nandini Srikar|Gajendra Ahire

10 Anka Banka (Buno Haansh: Bengali) – Shantanu Moitra|Torsha Sircar|Anindya Chattopadhyay, Chandril Bhattacharya

11 Bela Boya Jae (Buno Haansh: Bengali) – Shantanu Moitra|Shreya Ghoshal, Anindya Chattopadhyay| Anindya Chattopadhyay, Chandril Bhattacharya

12 We Could Be Kings (Million Dollar Arm) – A R Rahman feat. KT Tunstall

13 Desi Thoughts (Million Dollar Arm) – A R Rahman feat. Guitar Prasanna

14 My Mind is a Stranger without You (The Hundred Foot Journey) – A R Rahman feat. Solange Merdinian

15 The Gift (The Hundred Foot Journey) – A R Rahman

And that ends the 2014 music roundup – our biggest roundup yet in terms of number of songs. Have a great 2015, all!

PS: Big thanks to @kitha_n for playing a very effective sounding board during the shortlisting!

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