‘ Silukku Marame’
Paayum Puli(Tamil)
Music: D. Imman
The last time Imman used Shanmukapriya raga was in Oru Oorla Rendu Raja 's title song and he does it admirably in ‘Silukku Marame’ too, with a punchy rhythm to boot. The unusual voices of Divyakumar and Shasha Tirupati (along with Sharanya Gopinath's English singing) adds a fresh outlook to the song that takes generous diversions to the conventional Shanmukapriya flow, but the charanam 's first two lines and the solo violin second interlude are dead giveaways.
‘Aadhir Mann Jhale’
Nilkanth Master(Marathi)
Music: Ajay-Atul
That Ajay-Atul produce wonderfully melodic tunes is no surprise anymore. But that they produce spell-binding melodies that fall in line with best of Ilaiyaraaja's Tamil output is a wonderfully pleasant surprise. ‘Aadhir Mann Jhale’ is one such song. Shreya Ghoshal is in stellar form singing this soul-stirring tune that sparkles with a lively rhythm and sweeping strings that add a new tantalising layer in the background. The bridge that connects the antara back to the mukhda is so Raja esque , while the composing duo even throw in a waltz’y second interlude that segues the mukhda beautifully.
‘Atu Itu’
Hora Hori(Telugu)
Music: Kalyan Koduri
While his brother — M. M. Keeravani aka Maragadhamani aka M. M. Kreem—is now in the limelight for his music in Baahubali , Kalyan Koduri (whose many names include Kalyani Malik and Kalyani Koduri) has consistently proven that he is a chip off the old block. Hora Hori , his latest, too is representative of what the composer is capable of and its most evident in ‘Atu Itu’ — an super inventive song with an intriguingly broken rhythm structure. Sriramachandra and Sravya Endukuri breeze through the whispery tune that zig-zags through the percussion Kalyan cleverly concocts in the backdrop. But Kalyan transcends this from a mere gimmick to building a captivating antara too.
‘Ae Re Chanda’
Albu:Filament
Music: Shankar Tucker, featuring Devendra Pal Singh
Shankar Tucker, a massively viral Internet sensation, is said to be thinking in ragas instead of notes, given his love for Indian music. The clarinetist’s debut album, Filament , is a stunning effort in every possible way, least of which is the fact that a non-Indian has taken phenomenal effort to imbibe and love Indian music. One of the best songs of the album is the four-part ‘Ae Re Chanda’. Sandeep Mishra’s sarangi underscores the Alaap, while Devendra Pal Singh’s vocals take over exposition that blooms with a pleasant tune, accentuated by guitar, tabla and violins. Shankar features his enchanting clarinet in the third part, improvisation that sparkles with a different rhythm, while Devendra impeccably closes the harmonium-led tillana .
‘Yaendi Yaendi’
Puli(Tamil)
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Given his limited range, Devi's clever ploy to make this song different is to rope in two stars — Vijay, and Shruti Haasan — who sing occasionally. It's a lilting melody no doubt, but one that has Devi's stock template written all over it. It works for its charming simplicity in making you hum along.
