'Padiyirangunnu’
Pathemari (Malayalam)
Music: Bijibal
Along with Gopi Sunder, Bijibal has been alarmingly consistent with his output in Malayalam this year. In ‘Padiyirangunnu’, Bijibal makes the phenomenally appropriate decision to rope in Hariharan to sing this incredibly soulful melody. It seems — given it evokes strong memories of Karnan’s ‘Ullathil Nalla Ullam’ — to be set to Chakravakam raga. The result is sheer magic, since the mellow tune goes really well with Hariharan’s deep, sonorous voice.
‘Andamaina lokam’
Shivam (Telugu)
Music: Devi Sri Prasad)
By now, it is clear that there’s no point expecting anything different or new from Devi Sri Prasad. He has a set of sounds — tunes, hooks and rhythm combinations that he very cleverly recycles endlessly, and producing interesting music even within that. Shivam is no different, with the jazzy melody of ‘Andamaina Lokam’ s jazz'y melody coming out beautifully along with the horns Devi assembles in the background.
‘Insaaf’
Talvar (Hindi)
Music: - Vishal Bhardwaj)
Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab is the soul of ‘Insaaf’. She brings her best known trait — breathy vocals that rocked her cover versions of Pakistan’s (and India’s) the sub-continent’s iconic classics — to add stupendous value to Vishal’s ominous tune. Gulzar’s word play is, as always, stellar, even as Vishal concocts a haunting backdrop primarily consisting of piano and strings, along with the occasional sarangi.
‘Oh Madhu’
Saahasam (Tamil)
Music: S. Thaman S)
‘Oh Madhu’ would perhaps have Crazy Mohan in tears of joy, given that the song calls out ‘Oh Madhu’ as ‘Oh Maadhu’, as a possible homage to Crazy Mohan’s Maadhu, of Maadhu-Cheenu series. It’s a lovely tune, though — Anirudh gets his voice adequately digitized to sound good enough to deliver the soft, melody well, propped by Thaman really well with a cornucopia of likeable sounds ranging from a vocaliszed nadaswaram, a reggaeish backdrop, sax, strings and a peekaboo thavil playing Maadhu-Cheenu too.!
‘Kannondu Chollannu’
Ennu Ninte Moideen (Malayalam)
Music: M. Jayachandran)
The sweet sounding tune of ‘Kannondu Chollannu’ 's tune has an obviously-sweet sound, and what is elevated it to a new height by is Shreya Ghoshal’s absolutely mesmeriszing singing. Vijay Yesudas gives her excellent support, no doubt, but this is Shreya’s show all the way. Jayachandran’s sound is instantly likeable, echoing cues from A.R. Rahman’s Karuthamma number, ‘Thenmerku Paruvakaatru’, right up to the better use of the sound of water. in multiple ways.
