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Kanday utay: Charkha (Pakipop), Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Excellent rendition of a lovely melody. Rahat’s voice blends beautifully with the tune. My favorite track in Charkha.

Bandya & Khuda ke liye: Khuda Ke Liye (Pakistani OST)
Besides being a pretty good movie, the soundtrack works big time too. Despite Bandya’s peceived similarities with Laree chooti (By Call’s Xulfi), this one’s a lot more punchy and addictive, thanks to Khawar Jawad’s vocals! The title song, on the other hand, gains from Ammar Hasan’s voice and the tune is soft and captivating, with great lyrics to match.

Chalte chalte: Boondh - A drop of Jal (Pakipop), Jal
I loved this track the very first time I heard it. Its a bit uncharacteristically Jal - far more instantly appealing number than most of their recent tracks. Just that it seems very commercial thanks to the marketing tie-up with Kwality Walls, at least going by the video! But with Amrita Rao in it, who’s complaining?

Ammaho: Kantri (Telugu OST), Manisharma
Adorable track! Manisharma uses all predictable elements from his repertoire - a catchy English chorus, zestful arrangements and a neat tune - create a fab song!

Rang laga: Chahar Balish (Pakipop), Sajjad Ali
My pick of the lot from Sajjad’s latest album. The tune and chorus almost whips up a trance-like charm and the backing arrangements make it sound delightful. I go back to this track again and again!

Dost my dost: Ankith, Pallavi and Friends (Telugu OST), Vinu Thomas
Vinu Thomas debut in Telugu is littered with at least 3 very good tracks and I loved this one in particular. The arrangements are top notch, even though they sound pretty much like most newbie composers in Telugu today. This friendship track is lively and exciting!

The entire soundtrack!: Aamir (Hindi OST), Amit Trivedi
I really cannot pick up one song from this super soundtrack - love them all! This one’s in my car playlist ever since its out and I’m loving it!

Kabhi kabhi aditi: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (Hindi OST), A R Rahman
The catchiest of all tracks in Rahman’s latest, young ‘n hip soundtrack! Enough people have written to me about this track’s so-called similarity with Bommarillu’s ‘Appudo ippudo’ - but I do not think so! Baradwaj Rangan captures the beauty of this track in his own inimitable style, here!

Aaj main boond hoon: De taali (Hindi OST), Vishal Shekhar
Vishal and Shekhar are on a roll, barring Bhootnath, that it! After Tashan, they rock in De taali too. The title songs are groovy and I’ve grown to like Maari teetri too, after the initial aversion. Between the sedate, very stylish Tooti phooti and the very tuneful Aaj main boond hoon, the latter is my fave!

Kangal irandal: Subramaniyapuram (Tamil OST), James Vasandhan
Reetigowlai. Need I say anything more? That’s one raaga that seldom goes wrong in Tamil films! This one too, works its charm - debutant James Vasandhan uses just the right amount of backing orchestration to let the tune sing for itself!

Zara si & Haan tu hai – Jannat (Pritam, Hindi)
Jannat is one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in recent times. And it’s pretty difficult for me to pick tracks out of it. I love all the four main tracks barring Jannat jahan, which has refused to grow on me. While Door na jaa and Kamran’s Judaai is mighty impressive, I go back to Zara si and Haan tu hai again and again - Haan tu hai in particular, its questionable origins from Amr Diab notwithstanding. This is a fantastic combination of Pritam sense of harmonious sound and a tune straight out of Nadeem Shravan’s repertoire…which perhaps explains the Amr Diab/ Middle Eastern connection

Jinke marina - Nanda Nanditha (Emil, Kannada)
The catchiest Kannada track I’ve heard this year. Composer Emil is appropriately enamored by his mentor, Jassie Gift and it shows, quite obviously, since the song is an unabashed take on Jassie’s chartbuster Malayalam track, Lajjavadhiye, which was reused in a Kannada film as well, recently. I caught this track while channel surfing on a Kannada music channel and was bowled over by its energy and cool vocal effects!

Neend na aaye – Journey (Fuzon, Indi/ Paki pop)
Rameez’s singing is no doubt fantastic, but considering the fact that there is an online video of Shafqat singing the same song, this one pales in comparison! But, to be fair, the tune is what works across both versions - it’s simply awesome.

Sorutihudu Maniya Maligi & Gudugudiya Sedi Nodo (Raghu Dixit, Indi-rock/ pop)
More Kannada numbers! These are the 2 best tracks in Raghu Dixit’s debut album. It takes guts to go with 2 vernacular tracks in a mainstream indi-pop/ rock album and hats off the Raghu and the composing duo, Vishal and Shekhar for backing him. My Kannada is terrible but I did have a session with my Kannada expert friends to understand these 2 songs’ lyrics by Shishunala Sharief - they’re amazing! The tunes too are extremely addictive and hats off the Raghu for pulling these off so well!

Chhor gaye and Humrahi – Meri Kahani (Atif Aslam, Indi/ Paki pop)
This is the most Atif-like song in his new album, Meri Kahani and I prefer this over the title song. Setting aside Sunidhi’s recent comments about Atif’s singing and the recent debates within Milliblog about his so-called nasal voice, just listen to this track for the typical Atif experience. Humrahi, on the other hand, reminds me of some vague 60s/ 70s SD Burmanish number and I love it precisely for that reason!

Boot polishaan (Gurdas Mann, Punjabi)
Yaju had recommended this one to me recently. When I noticed that Jaidev Kumar is the composer for this new album by Gurdas Mann, I was sure that I’d find something interesting here. Even though I’ve stayed in Delhi long enough to pick up a good smattering of Punjabi, it’s not as good to decipher what Gurdas sings throughout the album. But the one track that caught my attention was the title track, Boot Polishaan. Love Gurdas’ way of singing and the lively music.

Tashan mein – Tashan (Vishal Shekhar, Hindi)
My pick in the latest by Vishal Shekhar. Vishal and Saleem are in incredible form as they take turns extolling the virtues of the titular Tashan, even as Vishal’s rock pedigree lends super zing to this track.

The Top 10 Hindi film songs of 2007, in order of my preference. If you find a particular popular track missing from this list, do a check on Milliblog’s archives - the soundtrack may have released in 2006 even as the film released in 2007. Best example…Guru! I tend to go by my review date, specifically. As usual, this list is no attempt to please anybody - just my 2 cents on some of the better music that came out from Hindi film industry. Feel free to argue and agree in the comments section. I’m willing to make a change in this list if any new soundtrack released before the end of this year has a song interesting enough…yes, I’m referring to the much-awaited music of Jodha Akbar. Lets see!

Update as on Dec. 31, 2007: I’m including a new addition at No. 07 since it deserves its place in the Top 10!

01. Aao milo chale - Jab we met, Pritam Chakraborty

02. Woh ajnabee - The Train, Mithoon

03. Bol na halke - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Shankar Ehsaan Loy

04. Jaane do na - Cheeni kum, Ilayaraja

05. In dinon - Life in a Metro, Pritam Chakraborty

06. Kash laga - No smoking, Vishal Bharadwaj

07. Maa - Taare Zameen Par, Shankar Ehsaan Loy

07 08. Ke bin tere - Aggar, Mithoon

08 09. Labon ko - Bhool bhulaiyya, Pritam Chakraborty

09 10. Dilli - Delhi Heights, Rabbi Shergill

The next 5 I was forced to drop from the Top 10!

10 11. Chakna - Namaste London, Himesh Reshammiya

11 12. Show me your jalwa - Aaja Nachle, Salim Sulaiman

12 13. Soni de nakhre - Partner, Sajid Wajid

13 14. Khoye khoye chand - Khoya Khoya Chand, Shantanu Moitra

14 15. Woh bheege pal - Manorama, Jayesh Gandhi

15 16. Johnny Gaddaar - Johnny Gaddaar, Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Top 3 OSTs

01. Metro, Pritam Chakraborty

02. The Train, Mithoon

03. Jab we met, Pritam Chakraborty

Composer of the year: Pritam Chakraborty

Top 3 Non-film albums

01. Jhoomo re (Kailasa)

02. Into The Light - Mandolin Meets Contemporary Sounds (U Rajesh)

03. Ramanasia (Raman Mahadevan)

Keywords: Hindi film industry, best of 2007, best songs of 2007, best hindi songs of 2007, best hindi film music in 2007, best hindi film songs - 2007

Its that time of the year again. The Top 10 Tamil film songs of 2007, in order of my preference. If you find a particular popular track missing from this list, do a check on Milliblog’s archives - the soundtrack may have released in 2006 even as the film released in 2007. I tend to go by my review date, specifically. As usual, this list is no attempt to please anybody - just my 2 cents on some of the better music that came out from Tamil film industry. Feel free to argue and agree in the comments section.

01. Katrin mozhi - Mozhi, Vidyasagar

02. Mayavi neeya - Sivi, Dharan

03. Para para - Katradhu Tamizh, Yuvan Shankar Raja

04. Athiradee - Sivaji, A R Rahman

05. Velaayee - Onbadhu rooba nottu, Bharadwaj

06. Unnarugil varugayil - Kalloori, Joshua Sridhar

07. Karu karu - Pachaikili Muthucharam, Harris Jayaraj

08. Alaigalin osaigal - Rameswaram, Niru

09. Kelaamal - Azhagiya Tamizh Magan, A R Rahman

10. Unnai saranadainthen - Ammuvaagiya naan, Sabesh Murali

The next 5 I was forced to drop from the Top 10!

11. Kanavellaam - Kreedam, G V Prakash Kumar

12. Sanjaram - Kannmoochi yenada, Yuvan Shankar Raja

13. Kannan varum velai - Deepavali, Yuvan Shankar Raja

14. Nakka mukka - Kaadhalil Vizhunden, Vijay Antony

15. Saroja saamaan nikalo - Chennai 600028, Yuvan Shankar Raja

Top 3 OSTs

01. Mozhi, Vidyasagar

02. Ammuvaagiya naan, Sabesh Murali

03. Katradhu Tamizh, Yuvan Shankar Raja

Composer of the year: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Keywords: Tamil film industry, best of 2007, best songs of 2007, best tamil songs of 2007, best tamil film music in 2007, best tamil film songs - 2007

This is yet another section I’ve been meaning to start but it takes a lot of time to first compile and then make up my mind! Amongst contemporary composers, this pair has impressed me the most - beyond the set of usual suspects like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal Shekhar or Rahman. I also feel that it was a terrible move on their part to split, considering their music in Fanaa was decent.

The first ever Jatin Lalit song I recall hearing was Khiladi’s Khud ko kya samajti hai. Those were the days I used to be glued to the radio programs at night (with names like Tips sangeet sarita or whatever!) and one of the quizzes on that day was to identify this song’s composer. I couldn’t, since I hadn’t even heard of them, but it sounded different. But it was Waada raha sanam’s completely strange tune pattern - very reminiscent of Pancham - that blew me away. The duo has this knack of brining out those off-the-usual tunes that seem to go haywire but make good sense overall. And, I was under the false impression - for a long time - that the music of Yaara Dil Daara was by a lesser-known composer named Babul Bose, until someone corrected me, had a bet with me and won! In fact the Babul Bose connection was again due to those radio programs, if I remember right - I must’ve heard the name being mentioned for some other film (most probably ‘Jeena teri gali mein’ that came out in the same year as ‘Yaara dildaara’ - 1991) in that period I suppose.

The following list is a personal opinion and I’m sure most of you may not even come to terms with the fact that it doesn’t include some of the most successful tracks of the duo - from the Yashraj stable! But, as I always maintain, opinions should differ - makes a good beginning to explore others’ point of views! So, all kinds of feedback is welcome!

My top 10
01. Kabhi haan kabhi na - Ai kaash ke hum
02. Mr Aashiq - Mera chaand mujhe
03. Khamoshi - Aaj main upar
04. Sangharsh - Mujhe raat din
05. Albela - Kaho to zara
06. Vaastav - Meri duniya hai
07. Khamoshi - Baahon ke darmiyaan
08. Fareb - Yeh teri aankhen jhuki jhuki
09. Yaara dildaara - Tum hi hamari
10. Khiladi - Waada raha sanam

Honorary mentions!
01. Mr Aashiq - Humko aawaaz de
02. Sangharsh - Dil ka qaraar
03. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar - Pehla nasha
04. Sarfarosh - Zindagi maut na ban jaaye
05. Yaara dil daara - Bin tere sanam