Songs and credits at the end.

The most remarkable aspect of Aashiq Surrender Hua is that composer Amaal Mallik seems to have finally gotten over the Sooraj Dooba Hai jinx when it comes to dance songs. Not saying that this sounds fresh either. The folk percussion dominated arrangement is very much of the tried and tested variety, but it is engaging. Mallik himself delivers the male vocals in sprightly fashion, alongside an equally lively Shreya Ghoshal. The familiarity in sound is a lot more prominent in Mallik’s second song, the mellow melodic piece called Roke Na Ruke Naina. There is some nice work on the arrangement front, especially in that first interlude with the flute and guzheng (Tapas Roy). However, those are only a mild respite from the overwhelming déjà vu, and Arijit Singh’s rendition only helps aggravate it. Frontman of Delhi based sufi rock band Nasha, Akhil Sachdeva, does his composing debut with Humsafar. Once again nothing new in offer here by way of melody or arrangement, but it could still have made for an okayish listen if not for the composer’s own awkward vocals.

After that promising debut with Vayu Srivastava in Tanu Weds Manu Returns in 2015 (Banno), Tanishk Bagchi this year seems to be running a serious risk of being stuck with remixes. While it was Humma Humma in OK Jaanu, the young composer gets to adapt two songs here, both of which were in turn adapted from other sources, interestingly. To be fair, in Badri Ki Dulhania there is a sizeable contribution from Bagchi; it is only the main hook that the song borrows from Shankar Jaikishan’s Chalat Musafir from Teesri Kasam (which itself was a folk tune adaptation). And it is an entertaining remake too, well delivered by Dev Negi, Neha Kakkar, Monali Thakur and Ikka. Bagchi’s second offering is Tamma Tamma Again, a revamp of Bappi Lahiri’s hit 1990 song which was inspired of Mory Kante’s Tama Tama (I personally prefer Laxmikant Pyarelal’s Jumma Chumma sourced off the same piece). Some nice touches on the remix here, like the retention of the original vocals by Bappi Lahiri and Anuradha Paudwal, and the sampling of Ameen Sayani’s voice. What does not help the song’s case one bit is Badshah’s rapping.

And the Dulhania franchise continues to disappoint with its music, in fact this soundtrack rates even lower than the first one! This is also the weakest Dharma movie soundtrack in a very long time.

Music Aloud Rating: 2/5

Top Recos: Badri Ki Dulhania, Aashiq Surrender Hua

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

 

 
Musician Credits

Song: Aashiq Surrender Hua
Singer: Amaal Mallik,Shreya Ghoshal
Music: Amaal Mallik
Lyrics: Shabbir Ahmed
Song Arranged & Produced By – Sourav Roy & Amaal Mallik.
Additional Programming – Zaid Patni (Dj Zeek)
Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay
Guitars & Mandolins – Ankur Mukherjee
Live Rhythms & Percussions Arranged, Conducted & Performed By Dipesh Varma
Rhythmists – Dipesh Varma, Keyur Barve & Omkar Salunkhe
Vocal Supervisor – Amey Londhe
Vocals Recorded By – Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph (Audiogarage Studios) Vijay Dayal & Chinmay Mestry (Yash Raj Studios)
Live Instruments Recorded By – Vijay Dayal & Chinmay Mestry At Yash Raj Studios
Mix Assistants – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky (Future Sound Of Bombay)
Music Assistants – Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil, Rujul Deolikar
Backup Chorus & Whistles – Krish Trivedi

Song: Roke Na Ruke Naina
Singer: Arijit Singh
Music: Amaal Mallik
Lyrics: Kumaar
Song Arranged & Produced By – Aditya Dev & Amaal Mallik
Additional Programming – Sourav Roy & Rohit Choudhary
Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay
Live Guitars – Ankur Mukherjee
Mandolins & Guzheng – Tapas Roy
Live Rhythms & Percussions Arranged, Conducted & Performed By Dipesh Varma
Live Drums – Debashish Banerjee
All Vocals & Live Instruments Recorded By – Shantanu Hudlikar, Abhishek Khandelwal & Manasi Tare At Yash Raj Studios
Mix Assistants – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky (Future Sound Of Bombay)
Music Assistants – Krish Trivedi, Shishir Sawant, Yash Narvekar,Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil, Rujul Deolikar

Song: Humsafar
Singer:Akhil Sachdeva, Mansheel Gujral
Music: Akhil Sachdeva
Lyrics:Akhil Sachdeva
Song Production And Theme Music Composed By : John Stewart Eduri
Guitars :Veljohn
Recorded At : Enzy Studios & J.S. Workstation
Sound Engineer At Enzy Studios: Julian Mascarenhas
Mix Assistant Engineers- Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky
Song Mixed & Mastered By Eric Pillai(Future Sound Of Bombay)

Song : Badri Ki Dulhania (Tiltle Song)
Singers – Dev Negi, Neha Kakkar, Monali Thakur, Ikka
Music – Tanishk Bagchi
Lyrics -Shabbir Ahmed
Additional vocals – Rajnigandha Shekhawat
Programming -Tanishk Bagchi
Additional Programming- Ganesh Waghela
Live Rhythms & Percussions arranged & conducted by Dipesh Varma
Musicians- Dipesh Varma,Keyur Barve,Omkar Salunkhe, Shikhar Naad Qureshi & Jignesh Patel
Dhol played by Deepak bhatt’s DFS
All live Instruments recorded at Yashraj Studios by Vijay Dayal
Assistant- Chinmay Mestry. Harmonium and Banjo -Pradip Pandit
Mix Assistant Engineers – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky
Song Mixed & Mastered By Eric Pillai(Future Sound Of Bombay)

Song: Tamma Tamma Again
Singer:Bappi Lahiri,Anuradha Paudwal,Badshah
Music: Bappi Lahiri,Tanishk Bagchi
Lyrics: Indeevar, Badshah
Vocals Dubbed By Ameen Sayani
Mandolin – Tapas Roy Recorded At Paresh Music Studio
Programming- Tanishk Bagchi
Additional Programming-Ganesh Waghela
Chorus Singers -Dattatray Mestry, Archana Gore, Arun Ingle, Aparna Ullal, Mandar Apte, Mayuri Patwardhan, Nitin Karandikar, Deepti Rege
Chorus Vocals Recorded At- Sound Ideas Studio By Kittu
Mix Assistant Engineers – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky
Song Mixed & Mastered By Eric Pillai(Future Sound Of Bombay)

Songs and credits at the end.

Five of the nine tracks in Angamaly Diaries’ soundtrack are essentially the same song. It’s a bummer that the song lasts just over a minute and a quarter in each of those versions. The waltzy piece feels almost like composer Prashant Pillai and director Lijo Jose Pellissery carried on with their European flavour brief from Amen. And it sounds as beautiful too with its minimal arrangement (piano and Sandeep’s mandolin/uke: beautiful combo), but for the length. Prashant himself pens the trailer version of Do Naina that is sung by his frequent collaborator Shreekumar Vakkiyil. Shreekumar sings two other male versions titled Do Naina and La Vettam while Preeti Pillai (who writes the lyrics for the alternate Do Naina) sings the respective female versions. Rafeeque PS writes the Malayalam lyrics.

The fourth song that Shreekumar sings is the soundtrack’s most imaginatively arranged Ayalathe. While the singer goes about delivering a nice melody in his usual reliable fashion, things are much crazier in the backdrop with the flute (Rajesh Cherthala) and harmonium (Prakash Ulleri) playing a sprightly Celtic-ish hook and the percussion made up of an assortment of everyday sounds like door knocks and riffling of pages and bus bells. Remaining three songs of the soundtrack – Angamaly, Theeyame, Thana Dhina – are traditional folk pieces related to Angamaly, and sung by a 70-year old folk singer from the area named Angamaly Pranchi. And while his earthy singing (alongside an able chorus formed of Febin Paulose and Joy Chirakal) is the highlight of all the songs, Prashant and Shreekumar (moonlighting as additional rhythm arranger for the soundtrack) keep the arrangement very street, dominated by brass percussion (Sunil) and horns (Rajesh). All three tracks are high on energy and engaging as a result.

After that blip in the form of Double Barrel, Prashant Pillai and Lijo Jose Pellissery are back to producing kick-ass music!

Music Aloud Rating: 4/5

Top Recos: All of them! On second thoughts, one of the five Do Naina variants and all the other songs.

Musician credits

1. Angamaly
Singers: Angamaly Pranchi (Chorus : Febin Paulose, Joy Chirakal)
Lyrics: Traditional

2. Ayalathe
Singers: Shreekumar Vakkiyil
Lyrics: P. S. Rafeeque

3. Theeyame
Singers: Angamaly Pranchi, Shreekumar Vakkiyil
Lyrics: Traditional

4. Thana Dhina
Singers: Angamaly Pranchi (Chorus : Febin Paulose, Joy Chirakal)
Lyrics: Traditional

5. Do Naina (Trailer Version)
Singers: Shreekumar Vakkiyil
Lyrics: Prashant Pillai

6. Do Naina (Male)
Singers: Shreekumar Vakkiyil
Lyrics: Preeti Pillai

7. Do Naina (Female)
Singers: Preeti Pillai
Lyrics: Preeti Pillai

8. La Vettam (Male)
Singers: Shreekumar Vakkiyil
Lyrics: P. S. Rafeeque

9. La Vettam (Female)
Singers: Preeti Pillai
Lyrics: P. S. Rafeeque

All songs Arranged and Programmed by: Prashant Pillai
Chief Assistant and Additional Programmer: Sreerag Saji
All songs Mixed and Mastered by: Hari Shankar
Vocal Supervisor for songs 1, 3 & 4 and Additional Programming for song 4: Shankar Sharma
Additional Rhythm Arranger: Shreekumar Vakkiyil
Musicians Co-ordinator (Angamaly Pranchi): Anson Antony
Musicians:-
Saxophone, Clarinet, Pan Flutes: Rajesh Cherthala Drums, Percussions: Sunil
Harmonium: Prakash Ulleri
Ukelele, Mandolin: Sandeep
Recording Engineers: Sai Prakash Praveen Iyer Robin Raphael Denson Davis
Studio: My Studio, Kochi; Praveen Iyer’s Home Studio, Thrissur; Tunes Recording Digital, Chalakudy

The waltz-like rhythm, the violins and the fact that Sangeetha Sreekanth is handling the vocals impart Paaripparakkum Kili something of a Theliveyil (Maheshinte Prathikaram) hangover. Wouldn’t take anything away from this song though, the melody is imaginative (one that Sangeetha delivers with finesse) and composer Bijibal does an exceptional job on the arrangement, particularly the interludes. Aby’s leading man Vineeth Sreenivasan and Saritha Ram sing Onnurangi. It’s one of those cheery ditties we tend to associate with Vineeth and turns out as likeable, even if Vineeth sounds a tad repetitive. Once again the composer’s fine job in the backdrop lends the song a lot of its charm – the accordion (melodica?) and flute are brilliantly employed in the two interludes.

The bluesy guitar and kuthu beats that kick off Leysa Aleysa evoke memories of Vaa Machaaney (Irudhi Suttru) but the song quickly moves past that. Engaging song, largely owing to that kuthu base, and a confident singing debut (I think) by Kochi prog rock band Blank Planet’s frontman Niranj Suresh. The anthemic Puthen Sooryan is passable fare; the grand orchestration is effective but the melody not so. Good singing by Arun Alat nevertheless. Guest composer Jaison J Nair contributes a poignant devotional piece Parudeesayile that is beautifully handled by Soumya. The composer matches Bijibal’s adeptness at arrangement, making particularly good use of sitar and violins.

With two good (albeit multi-composer) soundtracks under his belt, the year is already looking good for Bijibal. In Aby he also has a little help from Jaison J Nair.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Paaripparakkum Kili, Parudeesayile, Onnurangi

Lyrics for Leysa Aleysa and Puthen Sooryan by Santhosh Varma. Rest of the songs by Rafeeque Ahammed.

Songs and credits at the end.

After his two song stint in Happy Wedding, composer Arun Muraleedharan gets something of a promotion in Adventures of Omanakuttan with three songs. And like in Happy Wedding, here too he gives his best song to Haricharan, a breezy melodic piece called Varminnal. And it is indeed the man’s wonderfully nuanced singing that is the highlight of the song, even as the composer backs him up with an imaginative arrangement that most notably sees some fine violin (Francis) and naadaswaram (PK Gopi). Anthony Daasan’s accented Malayalam can be a bit of a hindrance in the otherwise fun track Enthanu Mone, that sax refrain is of particularly earworm quality. Ilamai is the composer’s weakest offering; the melody is monotonous for a large part before the shift in the final 45 seconds or so, and Shaktisree Gopalan doesn’t sound her best rendering this one.

The other half of the soundtrack is composed by Dawn Vincent, presumably making his debut as composer. He has however worked on two of the best soundtracks from last year – Kammattipaadam and Kismath – on the technical side. And his choice of Thakara frontman Arun James for the first song Karirulu is a masterstroke – the man’s drawling rendition is a perfect fit for the slow jazz-flavoured piece! The song has Kannada lyrics, interestingly. Thaniye Thaniye doesn’t have a great melody, but an interestingly layered arrangement (that features magudi played by Josy Alappuzha, among other things) makes the song stick. Suchith Suresan and Charles Nazareth do well behind the mic. In Tarara too the composer’s orchestration (neat bass from Sumesh Parameswar!) manages to prop up the okayish composition. Good singing by Yazin Nizar.

Adventures of Omanakuttan. Engaging soundtrack from two promising composers.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Top Recos: Karirulu, Varminnal, Thaniye Thaniye

Musician Credits

1. Varminnal
Music & Arranged: Arun Muraleedharan
Lyrics: Harinarayanan BK
Singer: Haricharan
Guitars: Sandeep Mohan
Programmed: Ashwin sivadas
Nadaswaram: PK Gopi
Solo Violin: Francis
Strings: cochin Strings
Recorded by: Avinash @ 20DB Chennai, Sai Prakash @ My Studio Cochin
Mixed & Mastered by Hari Shankar @ My Studio Cochin

2. Illamai
Music & Arranged: Arun Muraleedharan
Lyrics: Harinarayanan BK
Singer: Shakthisree Gopalan
Guitars: Sandeep Mohan
Recorded by: Avinash @20DB Chennai, Sai Prakash @ My Studio, Cochin
Mixed & mastered by Hari Shankar @ My Studio cochin

3. Enthanu Mone
Music: Arun Muraleedharan
Lyrics: Manu Manjith
Singer: Anthony dassan
Programed: Gopu Krishnan
Recorded by Mani Rathnam @ Tapas Studio chennai
Mixed & Mastered by Vivek Thomas

4. Karirulu (Kannada)
Music: Dawn Vincent
Lyrics: Gururaja Bhat Kadya
Singer: Arun James (Thakara)
Sax: Josy Alleppey
Brass Section: Johnson, Janson, Joshy, TJ John
Guitars: Navin Vincent

5. Thaniye Thaniye
Music: Dawn Vincent
Lyrics: Harinarayanan B K
Singers: Suchith Suresan, Charles Nazareth
Chorus: Ashok Ponnappan, Subramanian K V
Percussion: Sunil Kumar
Guitars/Bass : Sumesh Parameswar
Brass Section: Johnson, Janson, Joshy, TJ John
Magudi/Melodica: Josy Alleppey

6. Tarara
Music: Dawn Vincent
Lyrics: Manu Manjith
Singer: Yazin Nizar
Guitars/Bass : Sumesh Parameswar
Tabla: Geroge

Songs 4,5 & 6:
Studios:
Nikhil @ Freddy’s AVG, Cochin
Nishanth @ NHQ, Cochin
Dennis @ Dot Wav Studio, Chennai
Collective Studios, Cochin
D’s Den, Cochin
Songs Arranged and Mixed by Dawn Vincent
Music Editor: Ashok Ponnappan
Music Recording Supervision: Kiran Lal, Ashok Ponnappan, Subramanian K V

Songs and complete artist credits at the end.

Sean Roldan’s works in the past have featured the occasional Ilayaraja influence, but in Power Paandi there seems to be a more pronounced effort to channel the maestro’s style in pretty much every song. One of the tracks where this comes out strongest is the beautiful romantic piece Venpani. Written by the movie’s director Dhanush, the song comes in two solo versions sung by the composer and Shweta Mohan respectively. I liked how the lead singer in each case handles backing vocals for the other singer’s version. The arrangement is rich, riding on Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra’s strings (arranged by Roldan’s frequent collaborator Susha) and the ghatam/kanjira by Chandrasekara Sharma (rhythm arranged by Ravi G). Roldan and Shweta come together for the soundtrack’s other romantic song, Paarthen. The backdrop is comprised of pretty much the same elements here too (Vikram Rozario handles the folk percussion, and lovely flute by Kiran Kumar, particularly in the interlude) but this one is more folksy and equally immersive.

The phrase power paandi is an awkward fit (the phrase in general sounds awkward to me) in an otherwise wonderfully realised titular track called Vaanam. Ananthu is amazingly soulful with his rendition, and receives excellent support from the kids from Sargam Choir. Kiran Kumar’s flute finds some very imaginative use in the rousing composition Veesum Kaathodadhaan delivered by Roldan with Anthony Daasan, both doing an energetic job on their part.  Dhanush’s singing is the weak link of the sprightly folk-flavoured piece Soorakaathu that features some nice touches in the arrangement, like D Subramaniam’s naadaswaram and Mani’s bass.

Power Paandi. Composer Sean Roldan’s most mainstream movie project to date has a decidedly derivative sound, but is also very effective. Solid start for the Dhanush-Sean Roldan team. Hope this also means more soundtracks per year from the composer.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Vaanam, Venpani, Paarthen

Musician Credits

SONG NAME :- POWER PAANDI – THE NOMAD – VEESUM KAATHODADHAN

SINGER :- SEAN ROLDAN, ANTHONY DAASAN

MUSIC :- SEAN ROLDAN

LYRICIST :- RAJUMURUGAN

MUSICAL ADVISOR/ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER :- RAVI G

DRUMS :- RAMKUMAR KANAKARAJAN

DARBUKA AND KANJIRA :- VIKRAM ROZARIO

GUITAR :- SEAN ROLDAN

BASS: MANI

STRINGS :- MACEDONIAN SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA

STRINGS ARRANGED BY :- SUSHA

FLUTE  :- KIRAN KUMAR

ADDITIONAL RHYTHM ARRANGEMENT :- RAVI G

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING :- SEAN ROLDAN , RAVI G

RECORDED AT ROLDAN RECORDS, STRUM STUDIO

MIXED BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

MASTERED BY LEON ZERVOS (STUDIO 301 , SYDNEY)

MASTERED FOR ITUNES BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

SONG NAME :- THE ROMANCE OF POWER PAANDI – VEN PANI MALARE (FEMALE)

SINGER :- SHWETA MOHAN

MUSIC :- SEAN ROLDAN

LYRICIST :- DHANUSH

MUSICAL ADVISOR/ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER :- RAVI G

GUITARS :- JOSEPH VIJAY

STRINGS :- MACEDONIAN SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA

STRINGS ARRANGED BY :- SUSHA

FLUTE  :- KIRAN KUMAR , VIJAYAGOPAL

BASS:- MANI

GHATAM AND KANJIRA :- CHANDRASEKARA SHARMA

RHYTHM ARRANGEMENT AND ADDITIONAL RHYTHM PROGRAMMING :- RAVI G

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING :- SEAN ROLDAN , RAVI G

RECORDED AT ROLDAN RECORDS, STRUM STUDIO

MIXED BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

MASTERED BY SUJITH SREEDHAR (KRIMSON AVENUE STUDIO)

MASTERED FOR ITUNES BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

SONG NAME :- THE ROMANCE OF POWER PAANDI – VEN PANI MALARE (MALE)

SINGER :- SEAN ROLDAN

MUSIC :- SEAN ROLDAN

LYRICIST :- DHANUSH

MUSICAL ADVISOR/ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER :- RAVI G

GUITARS :- JOSEPH VIJAY

STRINGS :- MACEDONIAN SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA

STRINGS ARRANGED BY :- SUSHA

FLUTE  :- KIRAN KUMAR , VIJAYAGOPAL

BASS:- MANI

GHATAM AND KANJIRA :- CHANDRASEKARA SHARMA

RHYTHM ARRANGEMENT AND ADDITIONAL RHYTHM PROGRAMMING :- RAVI G

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING :- SEAN ROLDAN , RAVI G

RECORDED AT ROLDAN RECORDS, STRUM STUDIO

MIXED BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUND POTION STUDIOS)

MASTERED BY SUJITH SREEDHAR (KRIMSON AVENUE STUDIO)

MASTERED FOR ITUNES BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

SONG NAME :- THE YOUTH OF POWER PAANDI – PAARTHEN

SINGER :- SEAN ROLDAN , SHWETA MOHAN

MUSIC :- SEAN ROLDAN

LYRICIST :- SELVARAGHAVAN

MUSICAL ADVISOR/ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER :- RAVI G

DRUMS :- RAMKUMAR KANAKARAJAN

GUITARS,GALELE AND OTHER PLUCKED INSTRUMENTS :- JOSEPH VIJAY

STRINGS :- MACEDONIAN SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA

STRINGS ARRANGED BY:- SUSHA

FLUTE  :- KIRAN KUMAR

PERCUSSIONS :- VIKRAM ROZARIO

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING :- SEAN ROLDAN , RAVI G

RECORDED AT ROLDAN RECORDS, STRUM STUDIO

MIXED BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

MASTERED BY LEON ZERVOS (STUDIO 301, SYDNEY)

MASTERED FOR ITUNES BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

SONG NAME :-THE LIFE OF POWER PAANDI – VAANAM

SINGER :- ANANTHU

MUSIC :- SEAN ROLDAN

LYRICIST :- SELVARAGHAVAN

MUSICAL ADVISOR / ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER :- RAVI G

KIDS CHORUS :- SARGAM CHOIR CONDUCTED BY SUDHA RAJA

DRUMS :- RAMKUMAR KANAKARAJAN

GUITARS AND BASS :- SEAN ROLDAN

STRINGS :- MACEDONIAN SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA

STRINGS ARRANGED BY :- SUSHA

FLUTE AND RECORDER :- KJ VIJAY

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING :- SEAN ROLDAN , RAVI G

COORDINATOR: VIJAY MURALIDHARAN

RECORDED AT ROLDAN RECORDS, STRUM STUDIOS

MIXED BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

MASTERED BY LEON ZERVOS (STUDIO 301, SYDNEY)

MASTERED FOR ITUNES BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

SONG NAME :-THE MASS OF POWER PAANDI – SOORAKAATHU

SINGER :- DHANUSH

MUSIC :- SEAN ROLDAN

LYRICIST :- DHANUSH

MUSICAL ADVISOR/ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER :- RAVI G

BACKING VOCALS :- RAVI G, VASANTH JAYARAMAN, KAMALAJA , VEENA MURALI , NEHA VENUGOPAL

RHYTHM SECTION :- VIKRAM ROZARIO, VENKAT, DERICK, STALIN

BASS :- MANI

NADASWARAM :- D. BALASUBRAMANIAM

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING :- SEAN ROLDAN , RAVI G

RECORDED AT ROLDAN RECORDS, STRUM STUDIOS

MIXED BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

MASTERED BY SUJITH SREEDHAR (KRIMSON AVENUE STUDIO)

MASTERED FOR ITUNES BY ISHIT KUBERKAR (SOUNDPOTION STUDIOS)

Songs and credits at the end.

The simplicity in majority of Phillauri’s songs and their rootedness in Punjabi folk in some ways take me back to Mausam. Thankfully composer Shashwat Sachdev (debuting in Bollywood I believe) does not quite share Pritam’s penchant for creating multiple versions to a song, so the only song in Phillauri that has more than one variant is Dum Dum. And while Mausam featured a then relative newbie named Shahid Mallya on vocals, this soundtrack too has a new (and somewhat similarly sounding as Mallya) and promising singer named Romy. Romy lends his voice to two of Dum Dum’s three versions, assisted by the movie’s executive music producer Vivek Hariharan. Except for a prelude sung by Romy, both the variants are largely similar and equally engaging. It is the third one sung by the movie’s leading man Diljit Dosanjh that is most appealing though, thanks to its ambient sound and beautifully employed plucked strings (played by David Sinchury and Youngmin Kim). Romy’s second song Sahiba, where he is joined by Pawni Pandey (who recently sang the Laila remix in Raees), too is built on a fine fabric of guitars and other plucked strings and has a very likeable melody that the two singers deliver with finesse. The celebratory folksiness of Bajaake Tumba is of a more heard before kind but the composer introduces some imaginative variations in the melody in the second verse. That and the overall liveliness of the track (also helped by Romy and Shehnaz Akhtar’s rendition) make it a worthwhile listen.

Sachdev’s final song Naughty Billo too rides on a traditional and oft-heard folk melodic base, but the creative fashion in which the composer incorporates electronic elements makes this a super fun dance track. Behind the mic are Nakash Aziz and Shilpi Paul with the movie’s lead actors, Anushka Sharma debuting as a rapper. Guest composer Jasleen Royal gets two wedding-themed songs, neither of which is as fun as the wedding song she created for Baar Baar Dekho last year (Nachde Ne Saare). The more energetic What’s Up fares better among the two due to the grand orchestration and the associated liveliness. Mika Singh leads the vocals on this one, Royal playing sidekick. The mellower Din Shagna Da is a 2013 single by Royal used as is. It does have some nice touches, like Advaita frontman Suhail Yusuf Khan’s sarangi. But Royal’s monotonous singing is the bane of the song.

Phillauri is Shashwat Sachdev’s show through and through! And I really hope Jasleen Royal doesn’t fizzle out after the promising start she had.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Sahiba, Naughty Billo, Dum Dum (Reprise)

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

Musician Credits

Song Dum Dum
Singer Romy, Vivek Hariharan
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Anurag Sharma, Pawni Pandey, Vibha Saraf, Varsha Tripathi, Abhiruchi Singh, Gaia
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev

Song Whats Up
Singer Mika Singh, Jasleen Royal
Music Director Jasleen Royal
Lyrics Aditya Sharma
Music Production Raghav Mehta
Additional Programming Akshay Raheja
Recording Engineer Julian Mascarenhas
Studio Name Studio Enzy
Mixed & Mastered By Abhishek Sortey
Music Executive Producer Japji Singh

Song Naughty Billo
Singer Diljit Dosanjh,Nakash Aziz, Shilpi Paul
Rap Anushka Sharma
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Vivek Hariharan, Romy, Surya Raghunathan, Shilpi Paul
Vocal Producer Vivek Hariharan, Surya Raghunathan
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev

Song Sahiba
Singer(s) Romy, Pawni Pandey
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Vivek Hariharan, Anurag Sharma, Abhiruchi Singh, Pawni Pandey, Vibha Saraf, Varsha Tripathi, Gaia
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev

Song Bajaake Tumba
Singer Romy, Shehnaz Akhtar
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Vivek Hariharan
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev

Song Din Shagna Da
Singer Jasleen Royal
Music Director Jasleen Royal
lyrics Neeraj Rajawat
Music Production Shivam khare, Jasleen Royal, Raghav Mehta
Recording Engineer  Julian Mascarenhas
Studio Name Studio Enzy
Music Executive Producer Japji Singh

Song : Dum Dum (Punjabi Version)
Singer : Romy, Vivek Hariharan
Music Director : Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics : Shellee
Executive Music Producer : Vivek Hariharan
Music Producer : Shashwat Sachdev
Plucked Instruments : David Sinchury, Youngmin Kim
Bass Guitar : David Sinchury
Piano & Keys : Shashwat Sachdev, Piyush Menon
Rhythm Section & Percussions : Manoj Kumar Hela
Dholak : Manoj Kumar Hela
Studio Assistant to Shashwat Sachdev : Nisthula Murphy

Sound Engineers –
Virasat Studios, Mumbai: Shashwat Sachdev
Mixed & Mastered by Shadab Rayen
Assistant to Shadab Rayen Abhishek Sortey

Song : Dum Dum (Reprise) Diljit Dosanjh Version
Singer : Romy, Vivek Hariharan
Music Director : Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics : Shellee
Executive Music Producer : Vivek Hariharan
Music Producer : Shashwat Sachdev
Plucked Instruments : David Sinchury, Youngmin Kim
Bass Guitar : David Sinchury
Piano & Keys : Shashwat Sachdev, Piyush Menon
Rhythm Section & Percussions : Manoj Kumar Hela
Dholak : Manoj Kumar Hela
Studio Assistant to Shashwat Sachdev : Nisthula Murphy

Sound Engineers –
Virasat Studios, Mumbai: Shashwat Sachdev
Mixed & Mastered by Shadab Rayeen
Assistant to Shadab Rayeen: Abhishek Sortey

Songs at the end.

Salim Sulaiman adapt their Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 song Chheene Re Mora Chain for Poorna as Poori Qaaynaat, with Amitabh Bhattacharya supplying the revised lyrics. Lyrics that work very well with the song’s tone in conveying the inspirational mood. Track is shorter and the arrangement is a bit watered-down compared to the original, but the fusion is still effective, and the composers make a delightful new addition in the form of the sitar. While I miss hearing Rashid Khan here, Raj Pandit is an able replacement for the man. And replacing Salim Merchant with Vishal Dadlani on support vocals is a smart move; Salim was the weak link of the original.

But for the Wajid Ali Shah thumri reference in its opening line, Baabul Mora is a Salim Sulaiman-Amitabh Bhattacharya product. A fine product at that; the melancholy in the song’s melody is conveyed to a tee by Arijit Singh and the minimal, atmospheric backdrop accentuates its haunting quality. Arijit’s second track Kuch Parbat Hilaayein is more along the lines of inspirational songs the composers have created in the past, but is delivered well enough to engage. Salim Merchant’s presence behind the mic somehow enhances the familiarity aspect in the song’s unplugged variant titled the intimate version.

After Jai Gangaajal last year, Salim Sulaiman deliver another quality soundtrack for Poorna. Hopefully this one receives a wider audience than the former.

And oh the joy of reviewing two back to back Bollywood soundtracks that do not feature a single “classic remix”!

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

Songs and credits at the end.

After using jugni in Highway, A R Rahman brings the Punjabi phrase to Tamil music with the Kaatru Veliyidai song titled Jugni. In fact most of the song is Punjabi/Hindi (written by Shellee and sung by debutant Tejinder Singh), interspersed with English rap by Raja Kumari (who last year released a Kolaveri-inspired English single) and Shikara. The confident vocals and the immersive, ambient backdrop make this an engaging piece. There is a brief Punjabi segment in Azhagiye as well (written by Navneeth Virk), but there it turns out to be the sore spot in an otherwise brilliantly done song. ARR’s jovial and occasionally wacky arrangement is complemented wonderfully by the vocals (Haricharan, Arjun Chandy, Jonita Gandhi), particularly the harmonies. Shasha Tirupathi is in incredible form in Vaan Varuvaan. The melody and the atmospheric sound however lend the song a strong sense of déjà vu; I end up humming Sahara Pookkal every time I hear this song!

Nallai Allai too faces a problem similar to Vaan, the singers (Sathya Prakash and Chinmayi in this case) doing a fine job while the song lets them down with a passable melody which even the guitar-led arrangement is unable to prop up much. Karthik Devaraj’s accordion is understandably the highlight of Tango Kelaayo that starts off with the Latino dance template before veering off into other territories and culminating in a fine strings-led crescendo. Diwakar and Haricharan handle the vocals in this one. Despite the familiarity induced by its folk flavour (I am still inclined to associate that with Alangatti Mazhai from Thenali rather than any other song), Saarattu Vandiyila is undeniably the song of the soundtrack. Once again, the singing is splendid – A R Raihanah is perfect choice to lead this one, and she is joined by Tipu, Nikhita Gandhi and a wonderfully employed chorus. Composer makes excellent use of plucked strings and folk percussion in the backdrop, but it is Kamalakar’s flute that rules the arrangement, present as an undertone in the vocal portions and coming to the fore in the interlude.

Kaatru Veliyidai has some good music, but, as a soundtrack, is not up to ARR-Mani Ratnam standards.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Saarattu Vandiyila, Azhagiye, Jugni

Music Credits

Saarattu Vandiyila

Music – AR Rahman
Lyrics – Vairamuthu
Singers – AR Raihanah, Tipu,Nikhita Gandhi
Backing Vocals – Arjun Chandy, Nivas, Santhosh, Aparna, Deepti Suresh, Abhay Jodhpurkar
Flute – Kamalakar
Guitar – Keba Jeremiah, Chris Jason
Percussions – T.Raja, Kumar, Yash
Mandolin & Santoor – Subhani
Saz & Ukulele – Lokesh

Azhagiye

Music – AR Rahman
Lyrics – Karky
Additional Punjabi lyrics – Navneeth Virk
Singers – Arjun Chandy, Haricharan, Jonita Gandhi
Backing Vocals – Sid Sriram, Bawa Sahni, Keerthi Sagathia
Guitar – Keba Jeremiah
Strings – Murali, Mohan, Basker, John
AdditionalProgramming – Ishaan Chhabra

Vaan Varuvaan

Music – AR Rahman
Lyrics – Vairamuthu
Singers – Shashaa Tirupati
Backing Vocals – Arjun Chandy, Poorvi Koutish
Flute – Kiran
Additional Programming – Ishaan Chhabra

Tango Kelaayo

Music – AR Rahman
Lyrics – Vairamuthu
Singers – Haricharan, Diwakar
Accordion – Karthik Devaraj
Additional Programming – Ishaan Chhabra, Jim Sathya

Nallai Allai

Music – AR Rahman
Lyrics – Vairamuthu
Singers – Sathya Prakash, Chinmayi
Backing vocals – Arjun Chandy
Guitar – Keba Jeremiah
Shehnai – Balesh

Sound Engineers – Suresh Permal, Srinidhi Venkatesh, Ishaan Chhabra, Karthik Sekaran, Vinay Sridhar
Mixed by TR Krishna Chetan
Mastered by Suresh Permal
Musicians Fixer – R Samidurai
Musicians coordinator – Vijay Iyer, TM Faizuddin

Songs and complete credits at the end.

Given the setting of Anaarkali of Aarah, it isn’t surprising that songs from the soundtrack largely carry a rustic and raunchy tone. The songs are also mostly in Bhojpuri, in keeping with the movie’s locale. First of the songs is Lahanga Jhaanke sung by Bhojpuri playback singer Indu Sonali. The abrupt pacy start of the track can be a bit of a turn off, but the song picks up well after that. Indu is good, and Ravindra Jadhav’s bulbul tarang is very nicely employed (in fact the bulbul tarang is one of the prominent features throughout the soundtrack). The song appears in the soundtrack once again, in the first half of Sa Ra Ra. And it works much better there – partly because of a prelude introducing the movie’s leading lady, which takes away the abruptness, and partly due to the inclusion of a chorus segment. It is in the second half that the song assumes a darker form in tune with its alternate title, Anaarkali’s Revenge. Singer Pawni Pandey is in fine form on vocals, confidently negotiating the mode shifts. Pandey gets two more songs, both of which she delivers with equal finesse – the short but sprightly Mera Balam Bambaiya and the incredibly engaging keh mukri called Aye Sakhi Ooh. The latter has a wonderful melody (possibly raag patdeep based) and Jadhav’s bulbul tarang once again stands out in the backdrop, and matching his efforts is Deepak Marathe on the harmonium.

The lady who made her debut two years back with Banno (Tanu Weds Manu Returns), Swati Sharma, handles the vocals in Dunaliya Mein Jung, the song whose video is already creating ripples on the internet. Yet another track that conforms very much to the earthiness and bawdiness of the soundtrack. It is only the singing that is found wanting in the whole affair. Sharma fares better in her second song though, Mora Piya Matlab Ka Yaar. Composer Rohit Sharma gets two Bollywood veterans to sing the two songs that deviate from the dominant theme. Rekha Bhardwaj rules the wonderfully constructed thumri (carrying shades of raags patdeep, pilu and khamaj) Badnaam Jiya De Gaari. Instead of the two instruments that dominate the soundscape of the other songs, the composer opts for sarangi (Sangeet Mishra) and sitar (Juber Sheikh) both of which sound fabulous. And the album’s most “filmy” sounding melodic piece is given to Sonu Nigam. The tune has a pretty heard-before feel, but is pleasantly engaging. Largely owing to Sonu’s practised rendition, unsurprisingly. The two bonus tracks at the end – Hamre Jobna Pe and Laal Laal Cheekwa are short and sound a bit improv-ish, but I attribute that to them being rehearsal songs. The singing is good in both cases – Indu Sonali and Rohit Sharma respectively.

Anaarkali of Aarah. Composer Rohit Sharma’s music is very thematic, and quite effective. Good to see the man slowly inching closer to the mainstream.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Top Recos: Badnaam Jiya De Gaari, Sa Ra Ra, Aye Sakhi Ooh

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

Music Credits

1) Lahanga Jhaanke – Accidental Firing

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Ravinder Randhawa

Singer – Indu Sonali

Backing Vocals – Ashish Chakrabarty and Rohit Sharma

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Banjo /Bulbul Tarang – Ravindra Jadhav

Guitars – Indrajit Chetia

2) Aye Sakhi Ooh – Keh Mukri

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Ram Kumar Singh

Singer – Pawani Pandey

Backing Vocals – Ashish Chakrabarty and Rohit Sharma

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Banjo /Bulbul Tarang – Ravindra Jadhav

Harmonium – Deepak Marathe

Guitars – Indrajit Chetia

3) Dunaliya Mein Jung – Anarkali’s Umph

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Ram Kumar Singh

Singer – Swati Sharma

Backing Vocals – Ashish Chakrabarty and Rohit Sharma

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Banjo /Bulbul Tarang – Ravindra Jadhav

Harmonium – Deepak Marathe

Guitars – Indrajit Chetia

4) Badnaam Jiya De Gaari – Thumri

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Ravinder Randhawa

Singer – Rekha Bhardwaj

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Sitar – Juber Sheikh

Sarangi – Sangeet Mishra

Guitars – Abhilash Phukan

5) Mora Piya Matlab Ka Yaar – Anarkali in Studio

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Dr Sagar JNU

Singer – Swati Sharma

Programming – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Banjo /Bulbul Tarang – Ravindra Jadhav

Harmonium – Deepak Marathe

Guitars – Kandarp Kalita

6) Sa Ra Ra Ra – Anarkali’s Revenge

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Ravinder Randhawa

Singer – Pawani Pandey

Backing Vocals – Ashish Chakrabarty and Rohit Sharma

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Banjo /Bulbul Tarang – Ravindra Jadhav

Guitars – Indrajit Chetia

7) Mann Beqaid Huva – Anarkali’s Adieu

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Prashant Ingole

Singer – Sonu Nigam

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty and Madhab Deka

Flute – Kiran Vinkar

Violin – Sanchit Chaudhary

Guitars – Indrajit Chetia

8) Hamre Jobna Pe – Anarkali’s Swag

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Avinash Das

Singer – Indu Sonali

Programming – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Guitars – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Bass – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

9) Mera Balam Bambaiya – Rehearsal Song

Composer – Traditional

Lyrics – Avinash Das

Singer – Pawani Pandey and Rohit Sharma

Programming – Ashish Chakrabarty

Rhythm – Sachin Sawant

Banjo /Bulbul Tarang – Ravindra Jadhav

10) Laal Laal Cheekwa – Anwar’s Intro

Composer – Rohit Sharma

Lyrics – Avinash Das

Singer – Rohit Sharma

Programming – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Guitars – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Bass – Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Background Score

Rohit Sharma

Programming and Arrangement

Tapan Jyoti Dutta

Ashish Chakrabarty

Madhab Deka

Sandeep Mitra

Musicians

Guitars – Abhilash Phukan

Flute – Kiran Vinkar

Sitar – Umashankar Shukla

Shehnai – Gajanan Salunke

Recording Engineer – Abani Tanti and Pankaj P Kaushik

Mixing and Mastering – Abani Tanti

Recording Studio – Geet Audiocraft, Andheri (W), Mumbai

Songs at the end.

Rochak Kohli exercises more imagination than his other remixer peers in his revisit of Bappi Lahiri’s Zubi Zubi (in turn inspired off Modern Talking’s Brother Louie), and assisted by a commendable vocal effort from Sukriti Kakar, makes it one of the more listenable remixes in recent times. His other two songs are more subdued, but predictable. The singers help mitigate that familiarity to an extent – Sunidhi Chauhan in the inspirational Zinda and Shreya Ghoshal in melancholic Rozana – but they still get daunting. Meet Bros deliver their usual dance floor-friendly sound in the one guest composition sung by an energetic Jasmine Sandlas, Baby Besharam.

Naam Shabana. Short and predictable.

Music Aloud Rating: 2/5

Top Recos: Rozana, Zubi Zubi

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

Songs and credits at the end.

That the opening flute belies the main tune of Ethetho Swapnamo is a wonderful touch from composer Sankar Sarma, as is the introduction of tabla exactly halfway into the song. The song is well realised even otherwise for that matter, an Ilayaraja-ish tune (shades of Keeravani raga too I think, a raga I tend to most associate with the master composer) and wonderful singing in both male and female versions (Vaisakh C Madhav, Anju Joseph respectively). Pettu Pokumo in some ways reminded me of Amit Trivedi’s Saali Khushi. Aside of the rhythm and electronic elements (complemented by the horns here), the general hopelessness in lyrics too is mirrored here. This song however carries a more pronounced mocking tone about the whole thing, particularly in Vineeth Sreenivasan’s brilliant rendition.

Barring the rap portion in between that involves “freakan” terminology like broi chunk, Vaadaathe Veezhaathe (sung by Arun Haridas Kamath and Arun Alat) is an engaging breezy song that could make for a good travel song. The guitar-laden arrangement finds some nifty additions like Balamurali’s veena in the interludes. Ashik Ashik does not have much by way of lyrics, it is essentially ad lib by the chorus to go with OK Gopi’s minute-long naadaswaram solo, which the man carries off in style. Joker in Pattavayal is another little ditty that lasts just over a minute and quarter. Fun while it lasts though, thanks to a lot of wackiness going on – scatting and the like – over a rock n roll style base.

Composer Sankar Sharma made a promising debut last year in Darwinter Parinaamam. The man continues to deliver on that promise with an even better soundtrack in Avarude Raavukal. His mentor Prashant Pillai would be proud!

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Ethetho Swapnamo, Pettu Pokumo, Vaadaathe Veezhaathe

Musician Credits

Ethetho Swapnamo
Singer: Vaisakh C Madhav
Lyrics: Siby Padiyara
Music: Sankar Sharma

Vaadathe Veezhathe
Singers: Arun Haridas Kamath, Arun Alat
Lyrics: Harinarayanan BK
Music: Sankar Sharma

Pettupokumo
Singer: Vineeth Sreenivasan
Lyrics: Siby Padiyara
Music: Sankar Sharma

Ashik Ashik
Singers: Arun Haridas Kamath, Sudheesh US, Liboy Praisly Kripesh, Vaishakh C Madhav, Sankar Sharma
Lyrics: Pious Guit
Music: Sankar Sharma

Ethetho Swapnamo
Singer: Anju Joseph
Lyrics: Siby Padiyara
Music: Sankar Sharma

Joker In Pattavayal
Singers: Arun Haridas Kamath, Liboy Praisly Kripesh,
Lyrics: Pious Guit
Music: Sankar Sharma

All Songs Programmed and Arranged by Sankar Sharma @ Blue Balloon Digital

Mixing and Mastering:-
Shiju Ediyatheril @ M2M Records, Kochi
Hari Shankar @ My Studio, Kochi
Vivek Thomas @ Vivek Thomas Production

Recording Engineers:-
Sai Prakash @ My Studio Kochi
Praveen Iyer @ Akhora Digital Thrissur
Binil Eldhose @ NHQ Kochi
Pg Ragesh and Arul Ghosh @ Krishna Digital Chennai
Denson Davis and Robil Raphel @ Tunes Chalakudy
Rahul R Govinda @ Audio Kraft Bangalore
Rahul Ramachandran and Harshvardhan Gadvi @ Mumbai
Shiju Ediyatheril @ M2M Records Kochi

Musicians:-
Guitars – Sumesh Parameshwar, Liboy Praisly Kripesh
Flute – Sriram Sampath, Rison Muttichukkaran
Nadaswaram – O K Gopi
Veena – Balamurali
Tabala – Sunil Kumar
Vocal Harmony – Dhanusha Anil, Arun Haridas Kamath, Sankar Sharma

Songs at the end.

The soundscape of Baahubali 2 is unsurprisingly similar to that of its predecessor. The only song in the soundtrack that is devoid of any anthemic/battle song aspect is the happy Carnatic (bilahari raga based from the sound of it) track called Kannaa Nidurinchara. While the ladies handling vocals (Sreenichi, V. Srisoumya) do a fantastic job, the flautist is the star of the arrangement.  Saahore Baahubali is standard issue war song that engages primarily for its vocals. Daler Mehndi and chorus head the rousing portions (replete with heavy percussion, war horns and the like) while composer M M Keeravani and Mounima (who sounds remarkably like Chithra!) handle the mellower detour that the song occasionally takes. Oka Praanam is more sombre, with some nice elements in the arrangement like the harp/santoor, violins etc. but a repetitive melody bogs the song down. Good singing by Kaala Bhairava though.

Kaala Bhairava also features in a second song alongside Keeravani, Dandaalayya, the most charming among the grand songs. The melody is haunting and the percussion-heavy arrangement accentuates that quality really well. The song even has a reference to a refrain from the first movie (part of Mamatala Talli) that was one of my favourite musical pieces from that soundtrack. Hamsa Naava has a rhythm akin to Manohari from part 1, but is more effective; the composer creates a more compelling melody to go with the groove and the arrangement is mellower. The singing by Sony and Deepu is top quality as well.

Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion. Much like the first instalment, MM Keeravani’s soundtrack is grand, but nothing brilliant. Thankfully, the trailer has given me a lot more reasons to look forward to the movie anyway.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Top Recos: Dandaalayya, Kannaa Nidurinchara, Hamsa Naava

Songs and credits at the end.

A movie titled Sakhavu would have been incomplete without a revolutionary song. Composer Prashant Pillai gives us two in this soundtrack, first of which – titled Lokam Ennum – is written by Anwar Ali and sung by another composer, Bijibal. Standard anthemic fare that rides on an able chorus and a percussion-heavy arrangement (plus Francis Xavier’s excellent violin). Theyyam Thindhaka (written by yet another composer Sooraj S Kurup) is a more imaginative piece, highlighted by Sunil Kumar’s ethnic percussion. Shreekumar Vakkiyil and Sreerag Saji do their part well behind the mic, assisted once again by a fine chorus. The movie’s director Siddhartha Siva pens the lullaby sung by Preeti Pillai titled Aaraariro. Nice while it lasts, though given its 1.5 minutes duration the song does not leave much of an impact.

The two songs that sound closest to the movie’s seemingly retro theme are the soundtrack’s winners though. The sprightly Udhichuyarnne sounds almost like a naadaka gaanam the way it is arranged. While the composer makes a splendid move by assigning vocal duty to Sithara Krishnakumar and Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (both of whom shot to fame by singing retro-themed songs in Celluloid), the backdrop too teems with energy thanks to the harmonium-clarinet-tabla combination leading the proceedings. Madhumathiye on the other hand has an outstanding old-worldly melody wrapped in a contemporary-ish arrangement in the composer’s trademark style. The arrangement comes out best in the long second interlude highlighted by Paulson’s fabulous sitar solo. Pillai gets his two most trusted singers Shreekumar Vakkiyil and Preeti Pillai to render Shabareesh Varma’s well-written lines, neither of whom disappoints.

Sakhavu. Second soundtrack from Prashant Pillai in just over a month, and the man continues to display fine form!

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Madhumathiye, Udhichuyarnne, Theyyam Thindhaka

Musician Credits

1. Madhumathiye….
Singers : Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Preeti Pillai
Lyrics :Shabareesh Varma

2. Lokam Ennum……
Singers : Bijibal
Chorus : Niranj Suresh, Sachin Raj, Haritha Balakrishnan, Radhika Narayanan
Lyrics : Anwar Ali

3. Udhichuyarnne……
Singers : Sithara Krishnakumar, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
Lyrics : Santosh Varma

4. Thayyum Thindaka……
Singers :Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Sreerag Saji,
Chorus : Niranj Suresh, Sachin Raj, Ranjith Ram, Rahul Lexman, Mithun Jayaraj, Haritha Balakrishnan, Radhika Narayanan
Lyrics : Sooraj Kurup

5. Aarariro……
Singer : Preeti Pillai
Lyrics : Sidhartha Siva

All songs Arranged and Programmed by : Prashant Pillai

Chief Assistant and Additional Programmer : Sreerag Saji

All songs Mixed and Mastered by : Hari Shankar

Vocal Arranger : Shreekumar Vakkiyil

Musicians Co-ordinator : Murali Nair

Musicians :

Flute, Clarinet : Josy

Drums, Percussions: Sunil

Sitar : Paulson

Shehnai : Gopi

Guitars, Mandolin : Sandeep

Violin, Viola : Francis Xavier

Recording Engineers :
Sai Prakash
Praveen Iyer
Rahul Govinda
Vyshak Bejoy
Assistant Engineer :
Akshay K

Studio :
My Studio, Kochi
Praveen Iyer’s Home Studio, Thrissur
Bodhi Silent Scape, Kochi
Audiokraft, Bangalore

Songs and credits at the end.

Musically and lyrically, Amaal Mallik and Manoj Muntashir’s Uff Yeh Noor harks back to Amit Trivedi and Javed Akhtar’s Suno Aisha on some level. There is the same cheery vibe created by pretty much the same instruments and a very hummable melody. Noor seems to be a different kind of protagonist from Aisha though, judging by her not so charitable description through the song. The composer does a fine job with the arrangement, the second interlude is particularly well done with flutes and guitars and horns while the chorus section chimes in in the backdrop. Amaal’s brother Armaan Malik heads the vocals here, and having delivered such sprightly songs well in the past, has little difficulty nailing this one.

Amaal and Armaan aren’t the only siblings involved in the soundtrack; composer also enlists the services of twin sisters Sukriti Kakar and Prakriti Kakar as vocalists. Sukriti gets the upbeat romantic piece Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai, which she renders commendably. The song however follows the breezy pop format that, while engaging, offers nothing that hasn’t been heard already in Bollywood. Prakriti on the other hand gets a much better song, the soulful Hai Zaroori. Mallik gets the melody spot on here, and the sprawling atmospheric soundscape (with some nifty touches like the classical flavoured guitar) complements the tune wonderfully. The star of the song however is Kakar herself, the lady is in top form delivering the piece.

The soundtrack’s rear end is brought up by a classic remix (well of course), and a remix of that remix! It is RD Burman and Anand Bakshi’s song Gulaabi Aankhen from the movie The Train (originally sung by Mohammad Rafi) that gets a dance floor friendly (read cacophonous) makeover this time. I did not sense much of a difference between the two versions titled Gulab 2.0 and Gulabi Redux and could not be bothered to listen to them too many times just for the sake of spotting differences. Three good things about the song though – 1. There is no Badshah here. 2. The Gulabi Aankhen reference is restricted to the first verse, the song is totally different otherwise (albeit still unappealing) and 3. Tulsi Kumar’s voice has been so unrecognisably processed, she actually sounds better than usual. Apart from Kumar, the song also features Yash Narvekar and a lady rapper who is strangely uncredited.

The remix song aside, Amaal Mallik’s sophomore solo project is better than his debut last year.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Top Recos: Uff Yeh Noor, Hai Zaroori, Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

Music Credits

Song – Uff Yeh Noor
Music Composer – Amaal Mallik
Singer – Armaan Malik.
Lyrics – Manoj Muntashir
Music Label – T-Series
Song Arranged and Produced by – Meghdeep Bose & Amaal Mallik.
Song Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai at Future Sound Of Bombay.
Mix Assistants – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky.
Music Assistants – Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.
Lead Vocals Recorded by – Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph at Audiogarage Studios.

Song Name : Gulabi 2.0
Singers – Amaal Mallik, Tulsi Kumar & Yash Narvekar.
Music – Amaal Mallik
Lyrics – Kumaar
Music Label – T-Series
Song Arranged and Produced by – Abhijit Vaghani & Sourav Roy.
Addition Programming – Amaal Mallik & Riz Shain. Aditya N.
Song Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai at Future Sound Of Bombay.
Mix Assistants – Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.
Music Assistants – Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.
Vocals Recorded by – Surajit Ghosh Mazumdar & Datta Narvekar (T Series Studios) Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph (Audiogarage Studios).
Choreography by – Adil Shaikh

Original Song Credits: Film- The Train. Singer-Mohammed Rafi.
Music By- R. D. Burman. Lyricist- Anand Bakshi.

Song: Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai
Singer: Sukriti Kakar
Music: Amaal Mallik
Lyrics: Kumaar
Music Label: T-Series
Song Arranged And Produced By – Jim Satya & Amaal Mallik.
Song Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay.
Mix Assistants – Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.
Music Assistants – Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni ,Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.
Live Guitars – Ankur Mukherjee. Lead Vocals Conducted By – Krish Trivedi.
Backing Vocals Arranged By – Meghdeep Bose.
Backing Vocalists – Roshni Baptist, Mohini Gaur, Shishir Samant & Meghdeep Bose.
Song Recorded By Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph At Audiogarage Studios.

Song : Hai Zaroori
Singer: Prakriti Kakar
Music: Amaal Mallik
Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir
Music Label : T-Series
Song Arranged And Produced By – Meghdeep Bose & Amaal Mallik.
Additional Programming – Joel Mukherjee & Nilotpal Bora.
Song Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay.
Mix Assistants – Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.
Music Assistants – Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.
Live Guitars – Joel Mukherjee.
Vocals Conducted & Recorded By – Amaal Mallik & Meghdeep Bose.

Song: Gulabi Redux
Singer : Yash Narvekar & Tulsi Kumar
Music : Amaal Mallik
Lyrics : Kumaar
Music Label: T-Series
Song Arranged And Produced By – Abhijit Vaghani & Sourav Roy.
Addition Programming – Amaal Mallik & Riz Shain. Aditya N.
Song Mixed & Mastered By – Eric Pillai At Future Sound Of Bombay.
Mix Assistants – Lucky & Michael Edwin Pillai.
Music Assistants – Shishir Samant, Krish Trivedi, Zaid Patni, Yash Narvekar, Gaurav Sanghvi, Anvay Patil & Rujul Deolikar.
Vocals Recorded By – Surajit Ghosh Mazumdar & Datta Narvekar (T Series Studios) Amey Londhe & Vincent Joseph (Audiogarage Studios).
Choreography By – Adil Shaikh

Songs at the end.

While Asha Bhonsle’s presence behind the mic gives a nostalgia tinged charm to the melodic Prem Mein Tohre (seemingly based on raag yaman, same as Moh Moh Ke Dhaage), the age factor in her voice also takes away big time from the song’s listening experience. Given that Kavita Seth is generally great with ghazal-flavoured songs, I expected her to ace the reprise version of the song (which is pretty much the same as the original but for the change in singer), but the singer produces a strangely insipid rendition! The song does have a nice melody though, and a neat job on the arrangement front by composer Anu Malik and arranger Hitesh Modak – particularly with the use of the rabab/oud – makes sure the song doesn’t sound dated. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the rest of the soundtrack.

Aazaadiyaan’s high point is the shehnai in the backdrop that produces some excellent solos, but the song is a daunting listen otherwise and it does not help that it is nearly 7 minutes in length. Even Sonu Nigam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s singing, while on point, only adds to the ennui (Khan, especially). The colourful Holi visuals should make Holi Khelein a good theatre experience, but as a song this one too offers nothing special. Shreya Ghoshal is brilliant on her part, joined by composer’s daughter Anmol Malik, and the arrangement is layered with multiple folk instruments, but nothing really stays with you once the song is over. Kalpana Patowary and Altamash Faridi’s O Re Kaharo fares relatively better – the melancholic tune carries some appeal in spite of the datedness and the singers deliver well.

Even without making a comparison with the Bengali original (composed by one of the industry’s current finest, Indradeep Dasgupta; wonder why Srijit Mukherji did not choose this remake to be what could have been his long-pending entry into Bollywood), Begum Jaan’s soundtrack comes across as inadequate.

Music Aloud Rating: 2.5/5

Top Recos: Prem Mein Tohre, O Re Kaharo

This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.

Songs at the end.

That a Harris Jayaraj song reminds you of one of his older compositions shouldn’t be a surprise any more. But in Yemma Yea Alagamma that aspect works in a complementary fashion – the song is a nice throwback to Vaseegara, his first song with Bombay Jayashree who also leads this song and delivers the captivating melody in style, while the chorus led by Haricharan backs her equally well. Morada Morada sung by Benny Dayal and Krish too is high on the Harris Jayaraj factor but in this case the familiarity does not help the song at all. Sherin Shahana and M M Manasi’s attitude and some flashy touches from the composer help Damn Damn marginally more engaging, despite middling lyrics.

Like with the first song, it is in the melodic compositions that Harris delivers well in this soundtrack. Pachai Uduthiya Kaadu has a beautiful tune that the composer adorns with a fine, at times Rahmanesque, arrangement (whose high point is the profusion of violins in the second interlude). Abhay Jodhpurkar and Harini are in fabulous touch as well, rendering the song. And Vijay Yesudas gets the haunting Silu Silu, the only song that carries a marked jungle-evocative sound owing to the folksy percussion dominating the backdrop. Composer combines an instrumental version of the song’s opening verse with a lot of gibberish and folk percussion to create a strictly functional Vanam Theme.

Vanamagan. The three melodic pieces make Harris Jayaraj’s 50^th soundtrack one of his better offerings in a long time.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Top Recos: Yemma Yea Alagamma, Pachai Uduthiya Kaadu, Silu Silu

Songs at the end.

Composer Ghibran offers three short, peppy tracks to the movie’s three leading ladies (apart from Jyothika). Bhanupriya seems to be the most musically inclined of the three, doing a fairly neat job in Karu Karunnu alongside Namitha and Gold Devaraj. Saranya Ponvannan’s Time Passukkosaram is the most fun though, with its Tamil-Telugu lyrics, the wacky employment of typewriter for percussion, to go with the typewriter theme (for the uninitiated, “asdfgf ;lkjhj” is generally the opening lesson in typewriting – though here they have replaced semicolon with colon, presumably to suit the metre) etc. Urvashi is also joined by Namitha and Gold Devaraj in her song, Carratu Pottazhagaa. Lovely violin solos rule the cheery country style Gubu Gubu Gubu sung by yet another actor Karthi (presumably on account of his brother and sister-in-law’s association with the movie). Decent singing by the man too, his style is a great fit for the song’s flippant vibe.

Ironically, it is a song sung by an actual singer that sounds off. Padmalatha seems to be singing at an uncomfortably high pitch in Ghandhari Yaaro and given that she is the lead singer (Anurag Kulkarni playing chorus), it makes the otherwise neatly constructed song an awkward listen. Ghibran’s short take on Damadam Mast Qalandar (possibly the first in Tamil film music?) titled Bullet Song is the soundtrack’s weakest though, despite an energetic effort from Chennai Qawwali Kids and Yazin Nizar. A song that might have done better justice to the title Bullet Song is Adi Vaadi Thimira, a breezy rock flavoured song featuring a nifty addition in the form of shehnai/naadaswaram. Fine singing by Gold Devaraj as well. And the instrumental Magalir Mattum Theme is a beauty – a lush Western orchestral (and Raja-evocative) piece that features some fabulous violins and flute.

Magalir Mattum. Thoroughly engaging soundtrack from Ghibran, possibly his best since Uttama Villain.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Magalir Mattum Theme, Gubu Gubu Gubu, Adi Vaadi Thimira

Songs at the end.

Shreya Ghoshal sings, and unsurprisingly aces, the beautiful Akale Oru Kaadinte that once again revisits the 80s/90s Malayalam musical soundscape, like a lot of Malayalam songs have been in recent times (so happy that Malayalam is only opting for the sound, rather than choosing to remix old songs themselves, like Bollywood is doing). Bijibal seems to be getting a lot of those retro sounding songs too, possibly considering how good he is with those; in this case aided by Santhosh Varma’s finely written lines. Maavilakkudil continues on the same sound (scenes akin to those of the heroine running amidst trees or in open fields singing such a song come to mind as I listen to this), and this time it is Rajalakshmi who does vocal honours in style. And once again the composer’s orchestration is spot on. It is only in the third, final song that the arrangement is not as up to the mark, though it does have a splendid strings-led second interlude. Kavitha Ezhuthunnu is an enjoyable listen all the same, courtesy Sooraj Santhosh’s fine delivery of the pleasant melody.

Like his last outing with director Ranjith Sankar, short and engaging soundtrack by Bijibal. The director really should stick to this combination of composer and lyricist (Santhosh Varma); pretty good musical consistency there.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Songs and complete credits at the end.

Instead of singing for Shaan Rahman as he usually does, Vineeth Sreenivasan does a narrative piece called Manayathu Vayalum in Godha, introducing the location where the movie is set. Shaan delivers a more musical narration in Kannanjunnoru Naadu, this time about the movie’s main man. Composer also heads the Punjabi flavoured (on account of the movie’s Punjabi leading lady) Welcome to Punjab. Middling track, on account of a weak melody populated with predominantly filler lyrics and backed by a rather stereotypical arrangement. The other Punjabi flavoured track is a more entertaining affair though. O Rabba Bhayankariya is sung by Zia ul Haq who has a Sukhwinder Singh-like edge to his voice, making him a perfect choice here. As is his wont, the composer reserves his best efforts for the melody-oriented compositions. Choicest of them is Aaro Nenjil, the loveliness of whose melody is accentuated by Gowri Lekshmy’s characteristic delivery style, and the ambient treatment the composer gives it. Introduction of the Punjabi beats considerably lowers the song’s charm in its Desi Mix.

Despite the ominous title, Wow Song is in fact a nicely crafted piece (occasionally reminiscent of Shaan’s own Ethu Meghamaari), sung with finesse by Sithara Krishnakumar. The recurrent “wow” in the backdrop can be distracting though. Sachin Warrier delivers Kannetha Dooratholam that starts off like a dreamy piece riding on Sumesh Parameswar’s guitar before the backdrop gets crowded. Still a soothing listen this, and one of the nicer additions in the arrangement is Manonmani’s sarangi. The pensive Innalekalil isn’t as effective however, Niranj Suresh’s high pitched singing didn’t quite work for me. The Treadmill Remix of the song is actually more interesting due to a more imaginative arrangement that acts as a distraction from the vocals. Radhika Sethumadhavan sounds lovely with her nuanced humming in the short, soulful instrumental piece titled Captain’s Honour.

Godha. Scores high on the melodic pieces, like Shaan Rahman’s soundtracks often do. And director Basil Joseph gets a better soundtrack in his sophomore movie.

PS: I hope this remix business is just a one off case; I would rather not have that practice catch on in Malayalam as well.

Music Aloud Rating: 3/5

Top Recos: Aaro Nenjil, Kannetha Dooratholam, Wow Song

Musician Credits

01 : Manayathu vayalum Gusthiyum – Written by Basil Joseph | Narrated by Vineeth Sreenivasan

02 : Aaro nenjil – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Gowry Lekshmi

03 : Kannanjunnoru naadu – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Shaan Rahman

04 : Captain’s Honour – Performed by Radhika Sethumadhavan

05 : O Rabba – Written by Vinayak Sasikumar | Sung by Zia Ul Haq

06 : Innalekalil – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Niranj Suresh

07 : Wow Song – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Sithara Krishnakumar

08 : Welcome to Punjab – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Shaan Rahman

09 : Kannetha dooratholam – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Sachin Warrier

BONUS TRACKS

10 : Aaro nenjil – Desi Mix – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Gowry Lekshmi

11 : Innalekalil – Treadmill Mix – Written by Manu Manjith | Sung by Niranj Suresh
All songs Composed, Programmed and Arranged by Shaan Rahman.

All songs recorded at Shaanz Eternal Ray, My Studio and VGP Studios.

All songs Mixed and Mastered by Biju James at VGP Studios, Chennai.

Violins: Cochin Strings

Guitar: Sumesh Parameswar

Sarangi: Manonmani

Percussion: Anand

Songs and artist credits at the end.

Only last week was I mentioning in my review of Ramante Edanthottam that Bijibal seems to be consistently nailing the yesteryear sound in his compositions. In Rakshadhikari Baiju (Oppu) the composer once again proves the point with a delightful throwback to the late composer Johnson master’s composing style in Aakasham Panthaluketti (the Johnson reference here is bound to be deliberate given the director Ranjan Pramod’s deep adoration of the composer; in fact Pramod’s 2006 directorial debut Photographer was one of the last released works of Johnson). B K Harinarayan’s words and Sudeep Kumar’s singing all wonderfully complement the song’s retro vibe. Njanee Oonjalil sung by veteran singer P Jayachandran and Chithra Arun too carries that retro-ish earthiness about it, but here the signature of Bijibal is often evident. I mean it in a good way of course, the song is again a charming listen, aided big time by the singers. Composer himself gets behind the mic with Rakesh Brahmanandan and Bhavana to deliver the maappilappaattu Mohabbathin Munthiri Neere. Standard composition as far as the genre goes, but also engages as such songs usually do. The arrangement features some fine harmonium!

Bijibal creates a beautifully haunting melody in Vellilapoovine and keeps the arrangement minimal, so the focus remains on Anakha Sadan (who is still perhaps most popular for her spellbinding rendition of Malargale Malargale on Amrita TV Super Star Junior). And the singer will make you resent the fact that song is just under 1.5 minutes long! Another short track goes to Anuradha Sriram (been long since I heard that voice!) Raasathi is a folksy Tamil track, right down the singer’s alley, and she delivers it in style. The lady still sounds in her element; wonder why she doesn’t sing much. Santhosh Chandran’s guitar work rules the arrangement of Kathiravan, which also features a fine female vocalist, Bhavyalakshmi (possibly a debutante). The motivational Jeevithamennathu that equates life with a 20-20 match, is the only track that doesn’t really work. The melody doesn’t stick, the arrangement is stereotypical and average. Sprightly singing by Arun Alat though.

Rakshadhikari Baiju (Oppu). Composer Bijibal’s fine form this year continues, and this is his best so far.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Aakasham Panthaluketti, Vellilapoovinte, Njaanee Oonjaalil

Musician Credits

Keyboard: Madhu Paul, Aby Salvin, Vyshakh Bejoy, Sarathchandran, Justin Varghese, Jibin Gopal
Wind: Subhash, Rajesh Cherthala
Guitar: Santhosh Chandran
Ethnic percussion: Sandeep Natarajan
Violins: Francis Xavier, Herald, Josekutty, Francis, Karol Geroge

All songs mixed and mastered by Bijibal at Bodhi.