Top recent listens (December 2011)

Le chalo & Satrangia dil – Tutiya Dil (Hindi – Gulraj Singh)
It’s strange that Gulraj Singh debuted with a film that looks downright shady! But, it also proves that one doesn’t need a high-profile script and crew to create good music! Tutiya Dil’s soundtrack serves an ace and indicates that Ganaraj Adiraj was definitely not a flash in the pan!

Malar manjariyil – Karmayogi (Malayalam – Ousepachan)
Ousepachan gets the perfect singer to sing this ethereal number – Chinmayi. And she delivers…and how!! This is one of those songs where the singer completely leads everything else.

Kar chalna shuru – Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (Hindi – Amit Trivedi)
The only memorable track from THE Amit Trivedi’s new soundtrack. I’m worried – very, very worried.

Come on girls, Kannazhaga & Po nee po – 3 (Tamil – Anirudh)
After the spectacularly fluke success of Why This Kolaveri Di?, I did wonder what composer Anirudh has in store for the rest of the soundtrack. And, to my utter surprise, he proves that he has the stuff. 3 is actually a very tuneful soundtrack – and the best part, he even makes Shruti Hassan sing properly, in decent Tamil!

Askku laska & En frienda pola – Nanban (Tamil – Harris Jayaraj)
Where Harris saves some face, thanks to generous support from director Shankar (who no doubt chose the tunes) and lyricist Madhan Karky, who cleverly brings in multiple languages in Askku laska to add freshness and make it memorable!

Sir osthara – Businessman (Telugu – Thaman S)
After a superb Dookudu, it is sad that only song makes the cut in Thaman-Mahesh’s next combo! Suchitra saves this song, btw!

Love anthem – Simbu
Yes, Simbu created this song solely as a response to Dhanush’s (his arch-rival, till Dhanush married Rajinikanth’s daughter and sealed his win in the rivalry, forever) Kolaveri craze, but with composer Dharan in his side, he does have a better song, musically, at least. It perhaps talks about better things than the pet topic of Tamil Nadu’s soup boys – ‘love pailear’ – and does so, in many languages too! There is heavy-duty auto-tuning too, but despite all this, it sounds good!

Mazhai pozhiyum, Oh Sunanda & Kangal neeye – Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal (Tamil – GV Prakash Kumar)
GVP is getting his act together, after a tepid 2011 (despite the public response to his tunes in films he did last year). This soundtrack is reminiscent of his earlier, breezy tunes and works very well!

Abhi mujh mein & O Saiyyan – Agneepath (Hindi – Ajay Atul)
The 2 songs that define the new Agneepath’s soundtrack also define the kind of music Ajay Atul are known for. The music here is intricate, mature and highly enjoyable!

Hosanna & Yevvaro – Bodyguard (Telugu – Thaman S)
For a film that has already seen 3 different versions in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi (not to forget Kannada), Thaman’s score is pretty impressive. Hosanna, in particular, is personal favorite – that ‘Praanamlo praanamga line, as I had mentioned in my review!

Laddu laddu & Villathi villain – Rajapaattai (Tamil – Yuvan Shankar Raja)
I really would like to know who thought of getting 80s Raja-like tunes for this film – Yuvan or Suseendran? The strategy works wonderfully in these 2 songs!

Sagiye – Casanovva (Malayalam – Gowri)
The youngest composer of the film is Gowri Lakshmi…is a Standard 12 student! The song seems like a direct ode to Rahman, but does stand on its own too!

Achachu beldachu – Sidlingu (Kannada – Anoop Seelin)
Anoop Seelin was conspicuously missing in action in Kannada since his 2010 soundtrack for Yogesh starrer Yaksha. Looks like he’s back – he gets Kunal Ganjawala to sing this groovy title song that has a lovely drawl in the rhythm and its tune!

Namba beda – Galla (Kannada – Anoop Seelin)
The other recent Anoop Seelin song! Kunal Ganjawala again! The tune has a distinctive Mayamalawagowlai raaga (Carnatic) base packaged in a retro-style reminiscent (at least to me) of MS Viswanathan.

Kya wajah thi tere jaane ki – 5 Ghantey Mein 5 Crore (Hindi – Leonard Victor)
There’s only one reason why I like this song – the line, ‘Phir laut ke na aane ki’ reminds me of some older Hindi song…just can’t place it despite a lot of brain racking!

Mazhaneer thullikal – Beautiful (Malayalam – Ratheesh Vega)
I have heard a couple of new Malayalam songs by Ratheesh and he does sound promising, though not all that sweepingly. This song is perhaps my favorite in his recent repertoire.

Maaya maaya – Only Vishnuvardhana (Kannada – V Harikrishna)
If I wasn’t told that this song was composed by Harikrishna, I would have easily guessed it to be Thaman’s material – heavy auto-tuning (perhaps to cover Harikrishna’s vocals), but it is indeed a lovely song!