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Koi tumsa nahi and Pyaar ki ek kahaani are assembly-line saccharine coated tracks that have been the hall mark of any recent Rajesh Roshan film. Simple, catchy and pleasant. Dil na diya is of course catchy with an adequately dancy rhythm custom-designed for Hrithik. Chori chori follows the uniquely filmy Pahaadi tune to the hilt and manages to sound decent. The psuedo-fusion track Main hoon is reminiscent of Aashiqui’s Mera dil tere liye. The remixes are expectedly noisy. Its quite obvious that both the Roshan brothers are not intent on breaking new ground. So, jaded music? May be. But listenable!

Keywords: Rajesh Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra

The plot, the flashback and the ending seems fresh for a Tamil film. The director does a great job of maintaining the pace of an unusual and otherwise focused (barring the annoying comedy track by Vivek) plot. The acting is uniformly average while Bharadwaj’s Charukesi strains in Thaiyyatha has immense appeal. Some of the specific scenes like the race with villains towards the end and the camera angles in the action scenes display Susee Ganesan’s aptitude to make a difference. The ending, albeit sudden, is perfectly appropriate given the lead character’s illegal, but enjoyable behaviour throughout the movie! Highly entertaining!

Keywords: Susee Ganesan, Jeevan, Sonia Agarwal, Malavika

Joshua emulates Harris in Kan simittum, with excellent results. His distinct touch is evident in the pallavi/ anupallavi! Its Rahman’s turn in Kanne kaadhal, which is catchy enough to sustain interest. Aanum pennum evokes memories of Yuvan’s music, particularly Joshua’s voice! But again, Joshua packs a unique punch. This is getting cliched, but the breathlessly catchy Uthadum reminds me of Vidyasagar! And, let me take this to the logical conclusion with Convent, which bears Karthikraja’s stamp! The theme however bears Joshua’s Kaadhal sound. The album proves that Kaadhal’s music was no flash-in-the-pan and that Joshua’s personal problems are perhaps over.

Keywords: Joshua Sridhar, Kaadhal, Srikanth

But for the dark, funny tone and the atmospheric Parsi feel, Being Cyrus resembles most other “…enters the lives of…but with a dark secret” kinda films. Many intriguing shots and the dream sequence are reminiscent of similar European thrillers. Saif seems to sleepwalk through the role while Naseeruddin Shah seems largely uninterested. You walk out remembering Boman’s Farooq and Manoj Pahwa’s verbal diarrhea. The film manages to alienate viewers by extending the initial confusion. Even though Homi does come to the point sometime into the movie, the long route to that point seems to be the film’s undoing. Sparsely interesting.

Keywords: Saif Ali Khan, Homi Adajania, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Parsi

Karthik sounds out of form in Butterfly. But, despite a rather childish tune, the track has something interesting with a smattering of German and curiously catchy! Raja goes pretty mod in the prelude of Kalikonda chaamundi. But a 90s synth tune and sound is what you actually get. The same annoying heard-before synth sound opens Thottaavaadi. The ginguchakkaan humming irritates even more. Raja uses his standard raga-based composition in Varavelkumo. Sarasangi? Mayamaalavagowlai? In any case, considering that the raaga has been used pretty often, it only adds to the overall deja-vu effect. That very effect also drags the soundtrack down!

Keywords: Ilayaraja, Dileep, Dilip, Kamal, Pacha Kuthira

Rahman’ish riffs galore in Chand sifarish, but its extremely catchy with excellent rhythm & interludes. The remix is appropriately over the top. Mere haath mein is a very listenable Kashmiri-styled melody where Sonu excels. Des rangila is a predictable pseudo-patriotic ditty with the Yash Raj stamp all over it, though Mahalaxmi Iyer’s singing elevates it considerably! Dekho na is straight out of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s factory and has a beautiful, well-orchestrated tune. Composers Jatin-Lalit recycle their own discarded Hum Tum track Yaara yaara in Chanda chamke! Yashji liked it huh? The album sounds fresh and progressive & is sure poised for success.

Keywords: Aamir Khan, Kajol, Kunal Kohli, Jatin Lalit, Fanah, Fanaah, Yash Raj Films

Aathin Karayorathe is a pleasant melody that has Manjari’s sorta put-on stylish singing adding charm. Despite a strong deja-vu effect Ponnaavani paadam impresses with the old-world interludes laden with flute. Poo kungumapoo - in both Yesudas’ and Chitra’s versions - is the pick of the soundtrack with vintage orchestration and lovely Raja-styled directions that the tune adopts. Thevaaram’s unconventional opening is absolutely Raja’esque though it peters out in a predictable mode later. Rasathanthiram, tune-wise, is vintage Raja. In Malayalam, which is more familiar with the softer, tuneful and mellow side of Raja, this is a significant advantage! Thematically fits better!

Keywords: Sathyan Anthikad, Ilayaraja, Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine, Innocent

Mallika I hate you? Marketing gimmick? Precisely! The actual song is just another Sandeep-engineered track enveloped in an assortment of digi-sounds reminiscent of George Michael’s Freeek! Of the 4 versions, the best happens to be Jay Oliver’s lounge mix, with minimal vocals! Jay’s other credited track, (credited for overall programming too, along with Sandeep) Ishavru is the pick of the album, incidentally! The rest of the album is filled with the Hindi version of Sandeep’s own Telugu track, Akkad Bakkad and a couple from Dum. For all the promise that Sandeep showed when he began, this album is largely pointless.

Keywords: Sandeep Chowta, Sonu Kakkar, Mallika Sherawat, Jay Oliver

Himesh’s nasal annoyance continues in Aashiqui, but thankfully the tune and its remix are catchy. 24X7 must be from Himesh’s tune bank ‘cos it sounds completely outdated. The track also boasts of some grossly unimaginative lyrics. Badi dilchaspi harks back to an old Hindi song and that monotonous rhythm only gets on one’s nerves. The remix by Akbar Sami is slightly better. Dil tumhare and Jab kabhi are pedestrian. Himesh is fast on his way becoming stale and it’s just a matter of time before the media dumps him unceremoniously. Reason? Part over-exposure. And lack of any actual musical talent!

Keywords: Abbas Mustan, Himesh Reshammiya, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Upen Patel, Subash Ghai

Just when you thought Kailash Kher was getting jaded with his high pitched, vocal chords-straining sufi singing, Kailasa springs a pleasant surprise. No, he still sings the same way. It’s the tunes that make all the difference. The trio of Kailash, Naresh and Paresh have no doubt added a distinct synth touch to all the tracks but that seems to work rather well. Tauba’s middle eastern touch and of course the slow rock-styled Teri deewani completely rock. The filmi sounding Albela saajan, Nautanki’ish Kaise main kahoon, Rabindra Sangeet-like Naiharwa are the other top picks. Go for it! Indipop’s getting better!

Keywords: Kailash Kher, A R Rahman, Sufi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan