You can listen to the entire soundtrack here.

Composer Sharath gets the two veterans Chithra and Yesudas to sing the two respective versions of Ponnodu Poovai, a song with arrangement very evocative of Rahman’s 90s style, topped with some delightful employment of the kanjira. Chithra’s version worked better for me coz of the dainty touches that she adds to it. Her voice sounds quite young, strangely.  Sharath’s imaginativeness on the orchestration lifts the otherwise regular Kannara Thumbi sung by the ever-energetic Mano. The percussion and basslines are especially noteworthy. The song of the soundtrack comes next, one more brilliant piece along the lines of Sandhikkaadha (180) called Enthe Hrudayathaalam. Like with Sandhikkaadha one would note the background elements coming in bursts – the effect is spectacular! Madhu Balakrishnan and Jinsha K Naanu are top class at the vocals. Going by the recurrent RGMRS swara sequence, I presume this is based on Poornachandrika raga. All-round winner, this!

Poovaaname belongs to the composer’s Shesham line of songs, the western classical-ish template and a slightly unsettling sort of tune. That is not to understate the brilliance of the composition in any manner. Alka Ajith and Anand Aravindakshan (who sang Unni Menon’s part in Santhikkaatha’s Telugu version) do their part flawlessly – especially so in the vocal harmony portions. Palghat Sriram rules the melancholic heavy-on-percussion Oh Thingal Pakshi (Poorvi Kalyani-based?), the way he handles higher scales is just enviable. And in the last track Sharreth features the singer he chose from Mazhavil Manorama’s Indian Voice, Siyad. Interestingly arranged again, portions of the classic Akkarappachayile from Sthaanaarthi Saaraamma being placed smartly in a pop-based arrangement. Percussion usage is of note here too, mridangam, thavil etc. being fused brilliantly with the drums.

While reviewing 180 last year I had expressed a wish that Sharreth give a similarly brilliant soundtrack in Malayalam. Less than year later, the composer grants that wish. Fabulous soundtrack!

Music Aloud Rating – 8.25/10

Top Recos – Enthe Hrudayathaalam, Oh Thingal Pakshi, Ponnodu Poovai

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

The bubbly arrangement of Chinna Kanniley with its lovely use of kids’ chorus et al is a delightful throwback to Raja’s Anjali days. Shreya Ghoshal rules the rendition, sidelining a strangely nasal and off-colour Naresh Iyer. The composer’s adeptness at orchestration, particularly with the guitar, comes to the forefront of Vaangum Panathukkum – the raw sound of the acoustic guitar (nylon string?) present all through the song, backed by some classic Raja sounds. Bliss. And matching him in sounding his best is SPB; what singing! The scatting towards the second half is especially brilliant!

Sweeping orchestral elements and Ilayaraja’s sincere rendition greatly help Thaavi Thaavi Pogum whose tune might otherwise have made it tedious after a bit. The brief pauses before the interludes seem to contribute much even in their silence! Finally Vilayaattaa Padagotty wins you over with its simple tune which the composer beautifies with a fabulous strings-led arrangement. There is a prayer-like earnestness in the singers’ renditions – Hariharan and Shreya in the male and female versions respectively – which even betters the whole affair.

After a long gap the maestro gives us a flavor of his vintage stuff once again. Delectable is the word!

Music Aloud Rating: 8/10

Top Recos: Vaangum Panathukkum, Chinna Kanniley, Vilayaatta Padagotty

You can listen to the soundtrack here. The first three songs also have music videos featuring the artists, which you can watch by clicking on the song title.

With a nursery rhyme-ish lilt about the tune and a piano-led unplugged arrangement from Shantanu Moitra that matches the simplicity of the song, Roopkathara is winner all the way, impressing in both male and female versions – sung respectively by Rupankar Bagchi and Shreya Ghoshal. The scale change at the end is a particularly nice touch. Bola Baron too is built around a similar ditty, but with a rock flavor. And some excellent employment of the veena. Anindya Chattopadhyay does his job well behind the mic, with the composer playing chorus.  Brishti Biday, thanks to the sweet rendition by Shreya Ghoshal and the breezy metropolitan feel, is also quite soothing – even as the said feel evokes faint memories of songs from Life In A Metro in places.

Moitra smartly ensconces Shreya’s classical-based rendition (raag bihag-based?) in the predominantly rock-flavored Take Me Home, the rock part of the vocals being handled by Bonnie Chakraborty. Chhaya Bhitu Chhaya sounds like something Moitra might have made for his epic work Parineeta. Even here the charm is intact, Hamsika Iyer only adding to it with her spotless singing. And finally there is Shadow Tales, the composer making controlled use of Suraj Jagan’s voice to splendid effect, accompanied commendably by Monali Thakur. Lovely listen again, acoustic guitars never fail.

A fine piece of work from Shantanu Moitra, Aparajita Tumi. Even if you don’t understand Bengali, this soundtrack is a must-listen! First the Dewarists song and now this, Moitra is in sparkling form right now. Waiting for him to end his Bollywood break with more such brilliance.

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10

Top Recos: Roopkathara, Chhaya Bhitu Chhaya, Bola Baron, Shadow Tales

You can listen to the soundtrack here (link courtesy @iPeeKay)

Mild flashback elements apart, Kunwara is a catchy dance-y piece that makes smart use of the shehnai wedding motif. The Kolaveri Di-inspired video featuring Salim Merchant on vocals has already been making its rounds on the web. Bipasha has a distinct “Pritam in Dhoom” flavour with Hinglish lyrics that remind of Sheila, at least the English part. And I wonder why the reference to Bipasha, the actress isn’t even called that in the movie as per wiki. Anyways, I have never been a fan of Pritam’s music in Dhoom, this didn’t work much either. The vocals are mention-worthy though, Shraddha Pandit sounds fabulous, with good support from Shadab Faridi. The remix surprisingly sounds slightly better than the original, albeit by a small margin. Jab Main Tumhare Saath Hun is a beauty though, Shilpa Rao’s mild classical-laced sequences suddenly giving way to breezy take-offs by Benny Dayal and Salim Merchant.

Darmiyaan is sweet and soulful – Salim Sulaiman take care of the former and Shafqat Amanat Ali the latter, with backing from Clinton Cerejo. But thanks to SEL and subsequently other composers’ dholak-based escapades this song too is riddled by an overwhelming heard-beforeness. And in the absence of the said template, the Reprise version fares much better, the composers letting Shreya Ghoshal take the lead, and she does that superbly. Mujhko Teri Zaroorat has only Salim credited as the male vocalist, but there seems to be a second voice, apart from Shraddha Pandit’s backing. Good song btw. The remix has Rahat Fateh Ali Khan taking on the lead vocals, but by then the tune starts getting slightly tedious.

Definitely better music than Ladies vs Ricky Bahl this, but Salim Sulaiman’s score for the Jodi Breakers still is below expectations. The reusal habits have just got to go.

Music Aloud Rating: 6.5/10

Top Recos: Jab Main Tumhare Saath Hoon, Kunwara, Darmiyaan (Reprise)

You can listen to the album here.

The title song provides a sparkling start to Rangeele, the highlight of course being Kailash Kher’s singing and the lyrics, the title hook especially lilting. The arrangement is primarily acoustic guitar with other elements like sax and flute and some other exotic-sounding touches in places. Tu Kya Jaane follows up nicely, a smartly done breezy arrangement mitigating to quite an extent the heard-beforeness in Kailash’s singing. The minute-long stretch towards the end where Naresh & Paresh’s chorus is juxtaposed with Kailash’s vocals to an overdrive of strings in the background is the high point of the song. The déjà vu factor seems to get stronger with each song, Albeliya a notch up on that front, even as Kailash’s voice and guitars (is there something like an oud involved?) form a truly intoxicating combo good enough to have you hooked. With an orchestration that slightly reminds one of Bhatt flicks, Yadaan Teriyaan has an effect quite like the previously said Bhatt flick songs have, the haunting kind. The hauntingness is quite reduced in the acoustic version. Daaro Na Rang piques the attention more for the contrast between the orchestration and the vocals than for the song as such, which starts to get tedious after a bit.

Kathagaan provides another fresh burst to the proceedings, Kailash getting into a super-exuberant story rendition backed by an immensely engaging arrangement (guess the lead instrument is a banjo). And the song is rounded off with some brilliant kanjira+konnakol. Babbaji is the exact opposite though, having pretty much nothing new to offer. The attempt at comedy in Hudkaan Maan Bitti falls flat. And the only thing that is fresh about Dharti Pe Jannat is the fact that there is Amitabh Bachchan doing a cameo towards the end – overwhelmingly repetitive otherwise. Ujaale Baant Lo that closes the soundtrack is relatively better, but even that isn’t without an overall Kailasa-ness about it.

An album that has some excellent music but is largely evocative of the band’s past. At least some of those songs work this time, but once more shall be cutting it too fine. Which would be rather unfortunate for a band of Kailasa’s proficiency.

Music Aloud Rating: 6.5/10

Top Recos: Kathagaan, Rangeele, Tu Kya Jaane, Albeliya

So apparently the wonderful music from Season 1 of the cult show called The Dewarists isn’t over yet. Episode 8 of the show had featured Midival Punditz collaborating with Humble The Poet and Monica Dogra in the fab ambience of Goan beaches to produce No I D Required. As it turns out, that was not the only song they produced in the three days they were together. There were three more songs, of which one song titled Silent Screams has been put out on soundcloud by the Punditz for free download (HT to Praveen VR for the find)! Slower in tempo than No ID.. but a good listen, mainly due to Shaair’s singing.  And a groovy arrangement.

So here is what you do. Click here or go to the widget below, and click on the download button. And soon, before the download limit has reached (if they have set such a thing). Enjoy the music! The important question now is whether Dewarists have more such unreleased tracks. If yes, hoping that we will soon get to hear those too.
Silent Screams – Punditz, Shaair and Humble The Poet (Free Download!) by Midival Punditz

So here are the top 25 Bollywood songs of the year. As I said in the roundup before, it was quite tough to bring it down to 25, lot of favs having to be cut out and all that. In any case, below is the end product. In the format: Song Title (Movie) – Composer(s)|Singer(s)|Lyricist(s). Click on the title to watch the song.

1 Kun Faya Kun (Rockstar) – A R Rahman|Javed Ali, A R Rahman, Mohit Chauhan|Irshad Kamil

2 Rangrez (Tanu Weds Manu) – Krsna|Wadali Brothers|Rajshekhar

3 Jo Bhi Main (Rockstar) – A R Rahman|Mohit Chauhan|Irshad Kamil

4 Saibo (Shor In The City) – Sachin Jigar|Shreya Ghoshal, Tochi Raina|Sameer, Priya Panchal

5 Aitbaar (No One Killed Jessica) – Amit Trivedi|Mame Khan, Vishal Dadlani|Amitabh Bhattacharya

6 Tere Liye (7 Khoon Maaf) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Suresh Wadkar|Gulzar

7 Kaun Si Dor (Aarakshan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Prasoon Joshi|Pt. Channulal Mishra, Shreya Ghoshal|Prasoon Joshi

8 Bhare Naina (RA.One) – Vishal Shekhar|Nandini Srikar, Vishal, Shekhar|Panchhi Jalonvi

9 Piya (Tanu Weds Manu) – Krsna|Roop Kumar Rathod|Rajshekhar

10 Dilli (No One Killed Jessica) – Amit Trivedi|Aditi Singh Sharma, Shriram Iyer, Tochi Raina|Amitabh Bhattacharya

11 Tumba Tumba (Patiala House) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Hans Raj Hans|Anvita Dutt Guptan

12 Saigal Blues (Delhi Belly) – Ram Sampath|Chetan Shashital|Chetan Shashital, Ram Sampath

13 Baatein Shuru (Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge) – Raghu Dixit|Joi Barua, Shefali Alvarez|Anvita Dutt Guptan

14 Tu (My Friend Pinto) – Hitesh Sonik|Sunidhi Chauhan|Amitabh Bhattacharya

15 Nanhi Si Jaan (Stanley Ka Dabba) – Hitesh Sonik|Shankar Mahadevan|Amol Gupte

16 Isq Risk (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan) – Sohail Sen|Rahat Fateh Ali Khan|Irshad Kamil

17 Jiyein Kyun (Dum Maaro Dum) – Pritam|Papon|Jaideep Sahni

18 Nasha (Shaitan) – Prashant Pillai|Prashant Pillai, Bindu Nambiar|Sanjeev Sharma

19 Saaware/Teri Justajoo (Shor In The City) – Harpreet Singh|Roop Kumar Rathod|Sameer, Priya Panchal

20 Soundtrack Theme (Soundtrack) – Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale|Instrumental

21 Khaabon Ke Parindey (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Alyssa Mendonsa, Mohit Chauhan|Javed Akhtar

22 Bhojhal Se (I AM) – Rajiv Bhalla|KK|Amitabh Varma

23 Awaaz (F.A.L.T.U.) – Sachin Jigar|Jigar Saraiya|Sameer

24 Chhayee Hai Tanhayee (Love Breakups Zindagi) – Salim Sulaiman|Shafqat Amanat Ali, Salim Merchant, Shruti Pathak|Javed Akhtar

25 Darling (7 Khoon Maaf) – Vishal Bhardwaj|Usha Uthup, Rekha Bhardwaj|Gulzar

And another five that just missed making it to the top 25.

26 Katiya Karun (Rockstar) – A R Rahman|Harshdeep Kaur|Irshad Kamil

27 Tere Siva (Delhi Belly) -  Ram Sampath|Ram Sampath, Tarannum Malik|Amitabh Bhattacharya

28 Dildara (RA.One) – Vishal Shekhar, Ben E King|Shafqat Amanat Ali|Kumaar, Ben E King

29 Haal-e-Dil (Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap) – Vishal Shekhar|Amitabh Bachchan|Swanand Kirkire, Anvita Dutt Guptan

30 Poore Se Zara (Mausam) – Pritam|Rashid Khan|Irshad Kamil

Finally a list of my fav film songs outside of Bollywood. Like last year, almost entirely composed of songs from the South. And since I happened to listen to a lot of Malayalam songs this year and a lot of them happened to be good, I have raised the number to 30, to have a fair representation from other languages too. And this is from the songs I managed to hear this year, so please excuse any major miss.

1 Santhikkaatha (180 – Tamil) – Sharreth|Unni Menon, Chithra, S Sowmya

2 Chembaavu (Salt N Pepper – Malayalam) – Bijibal|Pushpavathi

3 Theeye Theeye (Chaappa Kurishu – Malayalam) – Rex Vijayan|Saju Sreenivas, Sayanora Philip

4 Sara Sara (Vaagai Sooda Vaa – Tamil) – M Ghibran|Chinmayi

5 Bahu Manaratha (Memories In March – Bengali) – Debojyoti Mishra|Subhamita Bannerjee

6 Male Bandaga (Aidondla Aidu – Kannada) – Ouseppachan|Sithara

7 Nee Akaleyaano (City of God – Malayalam) – Prashant Pillai|V Sreekumar, Sayanora Philip, Preeti Pillai

8 Thekko Thekkorikkal (Vellaripraavinte Changaathi – Malayalam) – Mohan Sithara|Poornashree

9 Paattil Ee Paattil (Pranayam – Malayalam) – M Jayachandran|Shreya Ghoshal

10 Naatu Vazhiyile (Rathi Nirvedham – Malayalam) – M Jayachandran|Nikhil Raj

11 Pirai Thedum (Mayakkam Enna – Tamil) – G V Prakash Kumar|Saindhavi, G V Prakash Kumar

12 Chandra Choodha (Karmayogi – Malayalam) -  Navaneeth Sundar, Purandaradasa|Anoop Shankar

13 Nee Korinaal (180 – Tamil) – Sharreth|Karthik, Swetha Mohan

14 Chinni Chinni (Urumi – Malayalam) – Deepak Dev|Manjari

15 Aavani Thumbi (Snehaveedu – Malayalam) – Ilayaraja|Shreya Ghoshal

16 Chirakengu (The Train – Malayalam) – Srinivas|Alka Ajith

17 Kuthikkira Kuthikkira (Azhagarsaamiyin Kuthirai – Tamil) – Ilayaraja|Ilayaraja

18 Pranaya Nila (Tejabhai & Family – Malayalam) – Deepak Dev|Shaan Rahman

19 Ennamo Edho (Ko – Tamil) – Harris Jayaraj|Alaap Raju, Prashanthini, Sricharan, Emcee Jesz

20 Anjana Anjana (Vandhan Vendraan – Tamil) – Thaman|Alaap Raju

21 Mazhaneer Thullikal (Beautiful – Malayalam) – Ratheesh Vega|Unni Menon

22 Oore Oore (Aravan – Tamil) – Karthik|Krishnaraj, Mukesh, Periya Karuppu Thevar, Rita, Priya

23 Aah Ko Chaahiye (Makaramanju – Malayalam) – Ramesh Narayan|Hariharan, Sujatha

24 Senga Soola Kara (Vaagai Sooda Vaa – Tamil) – M Ghibran|Anitha

25 Aaraanney (Urumi – Malayalam) – Deepak Dev|Job Kurian, Rita

26 Makka Madeenathil (Adaminte Makan Abu – Malayalam) – Ramesh Narayan|Shankar Mahadevan, Ramesh Narayan

27 Ee Puzhayum (Indian Rupee – Malayalam) – Shahabaz Aman|Vijay Yesudas

28 Payasa (Aidondla Aidu – Kannada) – Abhijit Shylanath, Jyothis Balakrishna|Nithya Menen

29 Aaru Tharum (Makeup Man – Malayalam) – Vidyasagar|Madhu Balakrishnan

30 Vaanam (Vaanam – Tamil) – Yuvan Shankar Raja|Yuvan Shankar Raja

My sincerest apologies for not being able to sort out the best from the non-film category due to time crunch. But search youtube for Dewarists, MTV Unplugged, Shankar Tucker, Rewind – Nine Lost Memories by Band Called Nine, and Ganaraj Adhiraj. There are some excellent songs to be heard!

Well that’s that. To 2012 then! Happy New Year, all!

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

Title song is quintessential youth, with its cool urbane sound. And the composer gets two of the most reliable voices in this genre – Benny Dayal, Anushka Manchanda to do a flawless rendition of it. I would have preferred the voices unprocessed though. The remix doesn’t do much to the original except replace some of the layers with an electronic loop, but that works for the kind of song it is. Gubbare comes off as a more pepped-up version of Sham from Aisha. Such is the charm of the tune that it works despite the déjà vu, thanks much to the ultra feel-good arrangement, highlighted by the use of harmonies. And a good set of vocalists comprising of the composer Amit Trivedi, Nikhil D’Souza, Shilpa Rao and lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Ash King sounds very different rendering the super energetic Aunty Ji set to the perennially winsome rock-and-roll base. The bluegrass-y use of the mandolin/banjo/ukulele (I am not sure which) is especially kickass! Aahatein sounds like how the soundtrack of Udaan might have sounded had Udaan been a KJo movie! The vocals by Karthik and Shilpa Rao do prop the song up quite well though, as does the ubiquitous piano. The composer replaces Karthik with Shekhar Ravjiani for the Robert Miles-esque remix. The final song of the soundtrack, Kar Chalna Shuru, is the freshest-sounding, with some fantabulous use of instruments and chorus, and superb singing by Vishal Dadlani and Shilpa Rao. And the composer tops it off with a scale change towards the end, something he has employed in the past too with excellent results.

Entertaining score that is marred only by the lack of much newness in tunes. A soundtrack that therefore ranks on the higher side of the KJo repertoire, but on the lower side of Amit Trivedi’s works.

Music Aloud Rating: 7/10

Top Recos: Kar Chalna Shuru, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Gubbare

You can listen to the songs here.

Vellaripraavinte Changaathi is apparently a story that was filmised in the 70s, but couldn’t be completed, and is being made again by the then director’s son in the same settings. How true the director has made the movie to the age shall have to be seen, but the soundtrack presented by Mohan Sithara leaves one in no doubt of that fact. The three-song soundtrack is totally yesteryear in its feel. Pathinezhinte Poonkarayil has Shreya Ghoshal and Kabeer crooning a soulful romantic melody (and Shreya alone in an alternate version), while the Oppana piece Naanam Chaalicha is rendered by Manjari and Priya Aji. And the kiddie song Thekko Thekkorikkal has Poornashree (who sang the composer’s Annaarakkanna in Bhramaram) in the lead. So yes, the soundtrack is a wonderful trip to the 60s from the composer. The flip side? Every song reminds strongly of some old song or the other from a similar genre. Of course, one might argue that songs from that era are rarely made without drawing inspiration from some track. But the same Mohan Sithara also made Annaarakkanna which, while sounding retro, was very original stuff. Here though, there is very little Mohan Sithara that you can detect anywhere, it is mostly either Baburaj or Raghavan Master or some other veteran.

Nitpickings aside though, it is always a pleasure to listen to retro-based songs. And for that reason, Vellaripraavinte Changaathi is a must-listen.

Music Aloud Rating: 7/10

Top Recos: All three are recommended, but my fav is Thekko Thekkorikkal which reminded me of this classic children’s song.

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

Chikni Chameli was out earlier this week, even a preview of its video is out on TV. And after multiple listens, the song is still as much of an energy booster to me as it was the first time, courtesy big time to Shreya Ghoshal. With Ajay Atul’s addictive heavy-on-percussion Marathi arrangement (a rehash of their own Kombadi Palali from the Marathi film Jatra) and Amitabh Bhattacharya’s cheeky lyrics alongside the vocals, Chikni Chameli is a perfect item number, at least music-wise. In O Saiya the composers take a U-turn, providing a template that is ambient and for a large part minimal. And where they take exception from the minimalism the effect is mindblowing, be it the use of the santoor or the choral elements or the percussion. The crescendo-esque turn that the strings section takes at the fag end is the icing on the cake. Roop Kumar Rathod never fails when it comes to classical-based renditions, this song is no exception. And Ajay Atul go back to the high percussion base in Gunguna. Not on the same level as the previous two songs, but entertaining nevertheless. Sunidhi does most of the singing, with a short but nice cameo by Udit towards the end. Sad that the man is heard so less in Hindi these days.
And with that the composers try their hand at Sufi, and pull off a winner in Shah Ki Rutba too. Starting on a typical Muslim song beat template (wherein it is reminiscent slightly of ARR’s Al Maddath Maula) the song shifts tempo halfway through, driving you to a climactic trance mode. Brilliant job by Sukhwinder Singh, Anand Raaj Anand and Krishna Beura. A contrasting switch happens again with the next song, Sonu Nigam nicely delivering a sweet soulful Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin. Lovely use of instruments again, which mitigates the overall déjà vu feel of the song. And Ajay Atul end the soundtrack with a genre which made me their fan in the first place, devotional. Deva Shree Ganesha sees the composers once again put their acumen with percussion to good use. Though not as impactful for me as their Shree Ganeshaaya Dheemahi, the effect is still quite awe-inspiring, complete with another superb latter half tempo-change where the lyrics take a surprise diversion from Ganesh-stuti to extolling Krishna, Rama et al (The piece Achutham Keshavam has interestingly featured in their devotional album Vishwatma as well, albeit in a different tune). Heady, to sum up. One half of the duo, Ajay Gogawale, does the honors on the vocals, his voice taking on a Sukhwinder-esque edge in places.
After a couple of false starts earlier this year, Ajay Atul have truly arrived in Bollywood with Agneepath!

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Top Recos: Hard to handpick. I loved all of them!