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Jashn-e-bahaaraa - Jodha Akbar (A.R.Rahman, Hindi)
This song is the triumph of a fantastic tune set amidst very limited music. It does require a captivating voice and Rahman’s choice of Javed Ali seems to have delivered commensurate results. A lovely sing-along-ish track, this.
Jalsa - Jalsa (Devi Sri Prasad, Telugu)
Simple, mindless fun. Devi sure seems to have crafted something tailor made for Pawan’s on screen persona. Baba Sehgal crooning it is another bonus - the un-Telugu voice and that rocking rhythm work superbly in tandem!
Soona soona - Classically Mild (Sonu Nigam & Deepak Pandit, Indipop)
Classically mild is a gorgeous album and a spirited effort. This track in particular showcases Sonu’s vocal prowess like very few recent tracks. And the best part is he seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself singing this melange of jazz, carnatic and what not!
Aaj tu - College Days (Gaurav Dagaonkar, Indipop)
I wasn’t that impressed with the title song - an obviously blatant attempt to recreate Ali Haider’s evergreen Purani jeans in a slightly more post-graduat’ish scenario. But Gaurav’s tune in Aaj tu is simply fantastic, as is his vocals. Actually, this is the most Indi-pop’ish track in the album - something like the stuff you expect from say, Leslie Lewis. And it seems to work every time!
Saiyyan - U Me Aur Hum (Vishal Bharadwaj, Hindi)
The lyrical nonsense in Saiyyan rivals only Disco-San Francisco - its that idiotic. But, Vishal’s tune and Sunidhi’s singing does the trick. This is more of the massy Vishal, but the way he works with just 2 opening lines - using the 2nd as the hook is brilliant.
Break Free - Krazzy 4 (Rajesh Roshan, Hindi)
Welcome to the Americanization of Indian English - After years of calling it ‘eezed’, here we’ve Vishal Dadlani calling it the ‘zee’ - I’m talking about the alphabet Z, in case you’re still wondering! I suppose Rajesh Roshan started composing this track with the intention of making it into THE item song of 2008. Sure, he’s on target - but spare us the multiple versions, please.
Marhaba Mustafa - al Risalah (A.R.Rahman)
For someone like me who grew up on Nagoor Hanifa’s ‘Iraivanidam kaiyendhungal’ set to the tune of the title song of Ilayaraja’s ‘Poove poochoodava’, Marhaba mustafa is an epiphany. The strange thing is that despite being a pious religious track, Rahman retains a very filmi arrangement and tune structure that works really well!
Aasmaan ke - Humsafar (KK, Indipop)
The only track that made the cut in Humsafar, at least for me. Very Pritam-like and very filmi. KK’s vocals continue to rock.
Dhaiyare dhaiya - Vellithirai (G.V.Prakashkumar, Tamil)
Dhaiyare is almost Yuvan. GVP continues to surprise with his imagination at such a young age.
Anaikkindra thaagam - Nepaali (Srikanth Deva, Tamil)
The fact that this song is being called ‘Priya, Idhu sit out…’ is ridiculously funny. That is the dialog that starts the song, for heaven’s sake! But that playfully seductive banter is so apt as the prelude and Bombay Jayashree is marvelous all through the track. Srikanth Deva can compose too!
