Prem Ki Leela, Mann Ki Dasha, Shyamal Sanware and Shubh Din Aayo – Krishnavataram (Prasad Sashte) – Hindi: There’s a sweeping Ismail Darbar feel all through the soundtrack of Krishnavataram! The melodies are incredibly vibrant and rich, the singing (and choice of singers) is outstanding, and the inventiveness in the orchestration is notably excellent! Prasad Sashte’s music has always stood out for me (like his 2 songs from 2018’s Mulk, or 2025’s single, Adhoora, or 2024’s Amar Prem Ki Prem Kahani) and I was wondering why he doesn’t compose more, or a full soundtrack. Krishnavataram seems like a dream project for Prasad (or any composer, these days, considering it is a solo composer album with 8 songs) and the music simply explodes in the most pleasant way! Shreya rules through Prem Ki Leela and Mann Ki Dasha. While Javed Ali joins her in the former, along with a fantastic intervention towards the end by Suvarna Tiwari, the latter is a solo where she gets flowy, expressive tune to sing, and she does a terrific job. Shyamal Sanware is my favorite from the soundtrack, with its incredibly likeable jaunty rhythm mounted specifically for the beautifully melody. Even though Neeti Mohan opens the song (admirably), it is Sonu Nigam who looms large all over it. The chorus and bridges (between the antara and mukhda) are all exquisitely layered. Shubh Din Aayo is a joyous confluence of voices shared by Abby V who leads impressively, with Shweta Mohan and Shivam Singh joining in.

Dil Waale Chor – Pati Patni Aur Woh Do (Rochak Kohli) – Hindi/Punjabi: Sounds like a dreamy Punjabi melody composed by The Weeknd! It works effortlessly because of Aditya Rikhari’s lead vocals, even as Shreya Ghoshal does her magic in the antara.

Polladha Aasaigal – 29 (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: After Poo Paadal, Sean Roldan hits it out of the park again here! The use of Darbari Kaanada raaga is exquisite, with a mild nod to Vidyagasar’s use of the same raaga at places. What makes the song stand out is the almost overpowering, energetic rhythm that carries the otherwise soft melody – the combination works wonders. Sathyaprakash seems perfect and obvious for this song, but the choice of Saindhavi is the X factor by Sean!

Kannakuzhiya – Hi (Jen Martin) – Tamil: While listening to this song, in particular to the generous flute part by Lalit Talluri, my mind started humming ‘Yerikkarai Poongaatre’, that cult classic by Ilayaraja from Thooral Ninnu Pochu (one of Ilayaraja and K.Bhagyaraj’s very best soundtracks). Jen has some imaginative musical phrases peppered through the song. For instance, the song opener, ‘KaNNukizhiya Podhakuzhiya’ features again as a standalone call-out too, while the ‘Ninna edathula’ hook is employed to great effect. GV Prakash Kumar is an inspired choice for singer and he does extremely well for this melody.

Vellichudare – Irandu Vaanam (Dhibu Ninan Thomas) – Tamil: Dhibu produces what I associate with Nivas K Prasanna’s sound! But the composer owns the song the way he introduces the nadaswaram in the first interlude and layers a chorus based counterpoint to Kapil’s vocals in the anupallavi.

Unnai Nambi – Lenin Pandiyan (Ilayaraja) – Tamil: That warm, intensely nostalgic (and familiar) sound and melody from Raja. Shweta Mohan handles the solo wonderfully. The interludes are excellent, as usual.

Alelle Alelle – Srinivasa Mangapuram (GV Prakash Kumar) – Telugu: As usual, GV Prakash Kumar seems to reserve most of his more-interesting experimenting to Telugu film music! The sound here is the most nifty I have heard from him in recent times and definitely not in Tamil! He sings it well too, with Hari Priya.

Hridhayame – Madhuvindhu (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: The film’s soundtrack has 8 songs! I had earlier written about Mellave Mellave and while the other songs did not register for me (En Kaathaake Nee did, but only mildly), the only other song that worked for me was Hridhayame, that too, mainly because it had the familiar Hesham sound that I often complain about

IYKYK – Athiradi (Vishnu Vijay) – Malayalam: Trust Suhail Koya to make a sound out of a social media phrase and truly own it too The lyrics include more phrases, like Sapiosexual and Sigma! Vishnu’s tune works at the level of an annoyingly compelling earworm!

Thendralil – Charulatha Mani (Tamil/Indipop): Charulatha Mani writes, composes and sings Thendralil, and her effort works wonders in all three departments. The song has sparkling, expressive lines like, ‘Kadal nurayil aazham theiyaadhe’ and Ilai nuni pol manadhu alai paaya’. Manonmani’s solo Sarangi stands out among the orchestration since it is used effectively. While the melody is lush and likeable, she does something interesting with the structure – it is essentially a single pallavi used twice. Makes the melody register even better.

Vari Vari – Dhee, Santhosh Narayanan (Tamil/Indipop): There’s a lot of Santhosh Narayanan in the composition even though it seems to be coated with a retro-ish synth melody in the background that makes a big difference from any other song from him. The leading rhythm echoes his more recent earworms like Kanima. Dhee handles the catchy tune with her usual flair.

Kya Kamaal Hai – Main Vaapas Aaunga (A R Rahman) – Hindi: It’s very easy to offer the song’s title itself as a reaction to this amazing song – Kya Kamaal Hai! Rahman’s gorgeous experiment deftly mixes a classic 1960s Guru Dutt-era melody to a gospel-style backdrop and the result is jaw-droppingly brilliant! Rahman has produced such scintillating genre-benders reasonably often earlier – the entire Thiruda Thiruda album (Rasathi, in particular, in context of this song), Adiye from Kadal, among others. He does it again, this time, with Diljit’s delightfully crisp vocals and Irshad Kamil’s heart-felt lines.

Title Track – Chand Mera Dil (Sachin-Jigar) – Hindi: Sachin-Jigar channel their inner Pritam and produce a sweeping and effortlessly likeable rock ballad here. Faheem Abdullah is in superb form, with Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lines coming in a close second. I loved the fact that the deceptive one-and-a-half minute prelude that alluded to a very different, almost-Mithoon-style melody, eventually opened into a lilting rock melody.

Poo Paadal – 29 (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: Oh wow!!! After a long time, a Tamil film song that had me sit up in complete amazement! Sean’s sparse, beautiful melody has the restraint and inventiveness of a classic Vidyasagar composition from the 1990s/2000s, and he amps it up with Ravi G’s stupendous singing, and crystal clear Tamil lines by the film’s director himself (Rathna Kumar). The tune took me to Raja’s evergreen ‘Pani Vizhum Malarvanam’ – something raaga-linked?

Raathu Raasan – Karuppu (Sai Abhyankkar) – Tamil: Even though the start of the song made me think of Goundamani’s iconic ‘Start Meesic’ scene from Suriyan (for this Suriya starrer, no less!), Sai does well eventually in this song. This is a much better song than that first and second singles from this film. There’s a more confident vibe in this song, with excellent singing by VM Mahalingam, in particular, even as Sai builds the song’s layers progressively.

Korean Family – Con City (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: An absolutely hilarious and rousing kuthu that gets progressively more and more funny and interesting as it goes! The song’s rhythm is infectitiously manic, with the change of pace in the middle coming being a funny detour. The singers, Vangal Pulla Vicky, Sublahshini, and Leela, just let it all go in the song’s feel, with Sublahshini doing particularly well.

Yetta Yetta – Lenin (Thaman S) – Telugu: Assembly-line bouncy Thaman melody that the man seems to be capable of producing with remarkable consistency. It’s frothy enough, with good singing by Sri Krishna (and a particularly captivating chorus featuring Prakruthi Adviteeya, Sruthi Ranjani, Yamini, and Rajani), with a lovely hook.

Thassadiya – Maa Inti Bangaaram (Santhosh Narayanan) – Telugu: A sweet melody that fully deserved Chinmayi’s lead vocals (ably supported by Punya Selva). The semi-classical sound is remiscent of Rahman’s early days, but Santhosh takes the song in newer directions confidently, and lands the Thassadiya hook in the best possible way.

Veni Vidi Vici – Mother Promise (Navaneeth Sham) – Kannada: I’d have never imagined hearing this Latin phrase in a Kannada film song, but here we are! Navaneeth envelops the phrase in a frenetically paced kuthu sound, and somehow, it all fits perfectly! Composer Gurukiran is a spirited choice for the lead singer, and the chorus does a terrific job too.

Bulleya Ve – Coke Studio Bharat (Madhur Sharma, ft. Ashok Maskeen and Swarit Shukl) – Hindi/Indipop: After Ae Ajnabee, it is good to see Coke Studio Bharat going back to its signature style in all earnest! This one’s even better than Ae Ajnabee, with a heartfelt melody by Madhur, excellent singing by all three, particularly, Ashok Maskeen, a mill worker from Jalandhar, with a naturally powerful voice that Madhur uses very well here. The only minor issue that I had was the feeling that Ashok was being used in a tokenistic way, to open the song, and then Madhur and Swarit take the reins of the songs, vocals-wise and video-wise, almost fully.

Laiyaan – Rutvik Talashilkar, Harjot Kaur, ft. Arijit Singh, Ruaa Kayy, RUTVXK (Hindi/Indipop): An almost lullaby’ish soft melody by Rutvik Talashilkar and Harjot Kaur gets a wonderful outlet in Arijit’s lead vocals. Arijit’s serene vocals loom large over the song even as the other 2 singers make their best effort to stand out.

Seetha Kalyana – Suprabhatha (Curry) – Kannada: Composed by Ashish Palanna, Ria D’souza, and Sumanth Shetty, the ‘Seetha Kalyana Vaibhohame, Rama Kalyana Vaibhohame’ line has only the lyrical similarity to the Thyagaraja kriti, not musical, though the actual tune and phrase appears later in the song as a small interlude. The melody is actually surprisingly spritely, with an energetic pop rhythm, punctuated by Ajay Chandramouli’s violin. The ending, blending everything harmoniously, is particularly very good.

I couldn’t see anything besides the actual song controls on YouTube for all the 3 songs from Ek Din!! I tried it in Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Chrome – no luck… couldn’t view title, views, comments, nothing! So, couldn’t add the individual (3) songs in my playlist and had to add the entire soundtrack. Korean Kanakaraju’s Kamsahamnida is not yet available on Spotify (and JioSaavn too, btw) – sloppy work by Tseries Telugu.

Konichiwa, Behke Yaar, Tadapnaa Judaa Judaa – Ek Din (Ram Sampath) – Hindi: Konichiwa manages to mix Celtic-style interludes to a bouncy Vishal-Shekhar’ish sound using a Japanese greeting! Some globetrotting, this! Arijit Singh and Neha Karode do their job well, though Rishi Singh, the 3rd credited singer actually stands out in his limited part too! Behke Yaar, on the other hand, has the Salim-Sulaiman imprint and flows beautifully, seamlessly beyond the familiarity, with excellent vocal interplay between Meghna Mishra and Arijit Singh. Tadapnaa Judaa Judaa is the soundtrack’s weakest, but thanks to Arijit Singh’s vocals, this too manages to pass muster. I don’t know why Ram Sampath is not composing more these days (though, one can argue that he wasn’t composing much even during his heydays, at least not as much as other in-form composers). Perhaps it is to do with this musical style seeming like it is from another era of Bollywood music, no matter how comforting it is.

Pappali Pazhamey – Meesaya Murukku 2 (Hiphop Tamizha) – Tamil: The second from Meesaya Murukku 2 too hits it out of the park just like the first single, Aura 10/10, and that is quite something because I was generally indifferent to Hiphop Tamizha’s indifferent music in recent times! Not only does he have a catchy and simple musical hook in the song, but he also layers it with unpredictable phrases to retain the interest beyond the hook. Like that ‘Kalakkuriye Izhukkiriye’ repetition of the ‘Medhakkuriye’ tune. That he gets Gana Vinod and Gana Dharani to join him adds to the song’s charm. Of course, I don’t understand why he is seen wearing sunglasses all through the song’s video shot in the night in a beach side fish market.

Kamsahamnida – Korean Kanakaraju (Thaman S) – Telugu: After Ek Din’s Japanese Konichiwa, here’s Korean Kamsahamnida! Thaman has a captivating tune that lands the ‘Kamsahamnida’ hook in the most Indian massy way possible Sid Sriram totally commits himself to the cultural jujitsu.

Neeventa Nenu – Dacoit (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: The third song from Dacoit too is excellent work by composer Bheems. It’s a sweeping, likeable melody sung very well by Sreerama Chandra in Telugu, and Aditya Rikhari in the Hindi equivalent. The little touches, like the restraint and the use of silence in ‘Nuvve Mannu’ add to the song’s charm. What surprised me was that the soundtarck has only 3 songs, and they uniformly work across language, specifically Telugu and Hindi.

Apna Friday Aayega – Mollywood Times (Jakes Bejoy) – Malayalam: A swanky synth-led funky song from Jakes that could be mistaken for a Vishal-Shekhar song, with that Hindi hook and all! Sanjith Hegde too sounds a bit different from his usual, in a good way.

Koyi Encounter – Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam (Electronic Kili) – Malayalam: Though the first two songs from the film didn’t work for me (Nilavoonjale, Po Chatha), composer Electronic Kili has a winner here in the third one! The background music seems to be riffing on raaga Puriyadhanashri (imagine Hai Rama from Rangeela) even as the completely incongruent rap by Baby Jean sits on top of it in the most interesting way possible!!

Pehli Dafah – Avinash Kumar, Abhishek Shukla (Hindi/Indipop): Written, composed, and sung by Avinash Kumar and Abhishek Shukla, this is a simple, and easily likeable melody that doesn’t aim for much and delivers.

Bhasavagide – Narayan Sharma (Kannada/Indipop): A dulcet melody composed and sung by Narayan Sharma that flows as beautifully as a gentle lullaby. The melody is particularly interesting even beyond the gorgeous hook, like that off-key deviations in the latter part of the anupallavi! Observe ‘KaNNe Nidhaanisu, Melle Niraanisu’!

Gira Gira – Vasuki Vaibhav (Kannada/Indipop): Very pleasant melody that is typical of Vasuki’s musical style, with a lovely hook in ‘Thale Gira Gira’ that contrasts with the softer melodic opening.

Khwaab Dekhoon – Ek Din (Ram Sampath) – Hindi: I guess we are getting to hear the last few songs recorded by Arijit as a playback singer. There’s a Pritam’ish flourish in Ram’s composition, particularly in the mukhda, and Arijit handles it beautifully. Surprisingly, with just the background singing, Tarannum Malik Jain manages to stand out with a distinct voice!

Tu Hi Disda – Bhooth Bangla (Pritam) – Hindi: Pritam. Arijit. Mostly predictable melody but still sounds lovely. Nikhita Gandhi adds to her part really well too.

Minmini Penne – Kaalidas 2 (Sam CS) – Tamil: Sing Chandrababu’s famous ‘Bambara KaNNaaley’ this way: Bambara KaNNaaley. Pause. (Kaadhal) Sangadhi SoNNaaLey. And you get Minmini PeNNe’s opening It’s a catchy enough song with a whiff of nostalgia and Kapil Kapilan handles the vocals impressively as usual. Sam does very well with the vocal first interlude, the use of Kazoo, and the well-mounted rhythm.

Indra – Once More (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Tamil: At this point, Once More feels more like a music album with multiple music videos than a film’s soundtrack considering the first single was released in November 2024! I hear that the film is finally slated for a summer 2026 release. Hesham does perfectly well in the pleasant, likeable melody though Hanan Shah murders Tamil pronouncing all “La” as “la”, as in ‘UraippaaLa’, ‘MuraippaaLa’, ‘NadappaaLa’ with the milder ‘la’ even though before all this he gets ‘KangaLa’ perfectly right. I guess there wasn’t enough diligence to follow through his pronunciation during the recording.

Nenjam, Theera Theera – Leader (Ghibran) – Tamil: While the other songs in the Telugu film ‘Biker’ did not scale up to the superb ‘Pretty Baby’, I’m glad to see Ghibran go back to his inventive streak that was a steady feature in his early days. Nenjam has an unusual melody that breaks every pattern I could think of and goes in really interesting ways in every line! Shweta Mohan is absolutely terrific even though Kapil Kapilan, while doing well, sounds quite different. Theera Theera is a bit conventional in comparison, but goes straight back to Ghibran’s winning streak back in 2013, with stellar soundtracks like Naiyaani and Vatthikuchi. The tune is vibrant, the orchestration intricate and imaginative, and excellent singing by both Chinmayi Sripada and Haricharan.

Perambur Gaana – Anbe Diana (Bharath Sankar) – Tamil: I was considerably less impressed by Bharath’s Maaveeran (liked only Vannarapettayila). But he opens his account in Anbe Diana on a slightly better footing. Bakkiyam Shankar and Pari Elavazhagan’s colloqial lyrics are funny and they land well in Bharath’s thara-local tune. To get Jassie Gift to produce a respectable song is an achievement in itself too, btw.

Rasathi – A R Rahman, ft. Shakthisree Gopalan (Tamil): To me, Thiruda Thiruda is A R Rahman’s greatest album ever/yet. If you wake me up in the night and ask me to name the A R Rahman album that I rate as his No. 1, it would be Thiruda Thiruda. The movie was mostly stupid, but that’s a different issue. Amidst the power-packed music of Thiruda Thiruda is Rasathi, widely believed to be India’s first fully acapella song, with no musical instruments, and relying solely on human voices to create both the rhythm and melody! It was a path-breaking song even back in 1993. Shahul Hameed did a mesmerizing job with the singing in the original. I’m really glad to hear Shakthisree picking this up for a cover version, 33 years later. Her cover stays faithful to the original even as the backing chorus underplays the highs of the original to highlight her vocals more evocatively giving the version a more hymnal quality than the original.

This song is not available on Spotify, strangely!

Chichubuddi – Dacoit (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: Right now, 3 top Telugu heroes have pan-India movies releasing soon: Ram Charan (Peddi), Nani (The Paradise), and Adivi Sesh (Dacoit). While the former 2 have well-known, pan-Indian’ish composers like Anirudh and A R Rahman, Dacoit has a Telugu-only Bheems Ceciroleo. But I’m glad that he has done an excellent job, going by the 2 songs released. Both the songs have a pan-Indian appeal. While Rubaroo soared on the melody beautifully, Bheems shows admirable restraint in this ‘item’ song where the usual instinct is to load it up with racy rhythms. But in Chichubuddi, Bheems layers the rhythms in a casual, methodic way, and loads it on top of a very tuneful melody. Terrific singing by Jonita and Ram Miryala too.

Guruthunda – Chennai Love Story (Mani Sharma) – Telugu: Before I get the song, what’s with the sudden love for Chennai in Telugu films? First ‘Couple Friendly’ and not ‘Chennai Love Story’! As for the song, it is a relief to hear veteran Mani Sharma in form—that too, in an almost Ilayaraja’ish flourish—after a long time! The pallavi’s melody is straight out of Raja’s repertoire, while the interludes reek of Raja even more. When Haricharan goes, ‘Venakaki choosukunto nee payanamala’, my mind raced back to ‘Kaadhal illa jeevanai naan paarthathillai’ from PaNakkaaran (1990). Shruthika Samudhrala does a terrific job with the charanam.

Njan Alkali – Oru Durooha Saahacharyathil (Dawn Vincent) – Malayalam: With the steadily sedate rhythm, Dawn gets the background brilliantly right. Then it is left to Kapil Kapilan and Neha Nair to handle the captivating tune and they do damn well.

Mellave Mellave – Madhuvidhu (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: A sweet, easily likeable tune with Josy Alappuzha’s sax standing out beautifully. Vineeth Srinivasan’s singing is always an asset.

Rama Rama – Brindhavihari (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Kannada: Hesham’s Kannada debut… auspiciously so, at that! Very bouncy, almost bhajan-like fervour. Sung well by him too. I’d add this to two other recent, well-composed songs on Lord Rama – Jaat’s ‘Oh Rama’ (Thaman S, Hindi), and Vishwambhara’s ‘Rama Raama’ (MM Keeravani, Telugu).

Amsham – Aksomaniac, ft. M.H.R and Bhumi (Indipop/Malayalam/Tamil): While much of the music video’s Manmadhan and Njan Gandharvan (the 1991 Malayalam movie starring Nitish Bhardwaj and Bhama) origins went above my head, musically, the piece is entrancing! Composed by Aksomaniac (Aron Kollassani Selestin) and M.H.R (Mohammed Hussain Rahman), and sung by both, along with Bhumi (Bhumika Anantharaman), the song evades genre labels and really deserves your patience and attention to understand the flow and melody! But broadly, the construction reminded me of Sai Abhyankkar’s music where a complete song seems like a skilful amalgamation of 2-3 shorter, captivating musical phrases which do not necessarily flow as seamlessly with an interconnection as pallavi, anupallavi and charanam… almost as if the larger aim is to ensure that those smaller segments capture attention for an attention-span starved reels-obsessed audience. I don’t mean this in a negative sense, but simply as an ongoing evolution how music is consumed, depending on the predominant format of the times. So, Aksomaniac’s portion, Bhumi’s part, and M.H.R’s portion only seem loosely connected, but they all sound phenomenally tuneful, nonetheless. Bhumi’s Tamil part was my favorite, with her adapting Aksomaniac’s ‘Manasile’ in Tamil to offer the bridge between the two parts.

Kareyole – Sanjith Hegde (Indipop/Kannada): Another effortless winner by Sanjith, with both singing and more so, composing. From the sedate start to cranking up the rhythm with ‘Gaali Kareyole’, this is a joyfully immersive melody. And scintillating singing by Sanjith who also seems to be having a solid time. I also see that Sunny MR (usually with Pritam’s team, and an accomplished composer himself) is one of the music producers. The quality is evident in the song too.

Tere Ishq Ne, Aakhri Ishq, Phir Se, Aari Aari, Jaan Se Guzarte Hain – Dhurandhar The Revenge (Shashwat Sachdev) – Hindi: In Tere Ishq Ne, Shashwat Sachdev wonderfully extracts another strand from Baba Bulleh Shah’s ‘Tere Ishq Nachaya’, just like how A R Rahman did in Dil Se’s ‘Chaiyya Chiayya’. Jyoti Nooran is spellbindingly good with her singing even as Shashwat builds the pulsating music progressively and meticulously. Aakhri Ishq is hauntingly melodic, thanks also to Jubin’s hugely expressive singing. The prominent flute interlude in the middle reminded me of something I had heard in the past. After a few hours of mental struggle, I landed on the source: the completely dissonant flute prelude in Gupt’s (1997) ‘Yeh Pyaar Kya Hai’, which itself was sourced from the opening flute prelude of Satyam Shivam Sundaram’s (1971) ‘Yashomati Maiyya Se Bole Nandlala!

Shashwat also makes phenomenal use of Arijit Singh’s vocals in Phir Se, and here, I felt a tinge of sadness that this voice cannot be moulded by inventive composers like Shashwat (or Pritam) anymore in movies, though I tremendously admire Arijit’s decision to evolve out of one mode of singing! The racy Veena-based interludes is truly terrific in this song, complementing Arijit’s serene singing in a deligfhtful way. Bombay Rockers’ 2003 original, ‘Aari Aari’ gets another lease of life in a stupendously pulsating recreation by Shashwat. The composer adds and unleashes everything on the song that it just booms! In Jaan Se Guzarte Hain, Khan Saab does an admirably good job of shadowing Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s original singing. Shahswat turns the otherwise soulful melody of his source into a power-ballad of sorts, with the soul remaining intact.

Overall, I believe Shashwat has done better in the sequel than the first Dhurandhar and that’s quite an achievement!

Thuru Thuru – Happy Raj (Justin Prabhakaran) – Tamil: An otherwise conventionally sacharine-sweet melody by Justin that gets an X factor in the singer – Gangai Amaren! And yes, that ‘Thuru Thuru’ chorus is truly addictive.

Aaralya – Made in Korea (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Tamil: Made in Korea is a surprisingly middling soundtrack from the otherwise in-form Hesham (it also has 2 singles by Dharan Kumar and Simon K. King). The only song that stood out for mem that too because it was Hesham reusing his signature sound from so many of his earlier songs, is Aaralya. You hear the song and you would know it is from Hesham

Title Song – Sattendru Maarudhu Vaanilai (Girishh Gopalakrishnan) – Tamil: I was far less impressed with the first song from the film (Akkadi), but Girishh does significantly better here, given that he also has Shreya Ghoshal singing. The tune for the stretch that lands the title hook (Seendalillai Theendalillai Theeppidikkum Mananilai, Iravumillai Pagalumillai Sattendru Maarudhu Vaanilai) is particularly lovely!

Sancharame – EPIC First Semester (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Telugu: Unlike his work in Made in Korea, Hesham attempts something different in Sancharame! He has solid support from lyricist Gorati Venkanna who also sings along with Hesham in this song. The melody traverses from a generic flow to a more rooted Telugu folk sound (sung by Gorati Venkanna) and that makes the song more unique.

Magnetic Kannane – Maharaja Hostel (Aswin Ram) – Malayalam: A very sweet, albeit simple and predictable, melody from Aswin Ram that gets both the lead vocals (Ayraan) and the child’s chorus (Nirupama P) beautifully right.

Kaattu Thottappol – Patriot (Sushin Shyam) – Malayalam: Very Sushin Shyam melody with The Indian Choral Ensemble being the highlight! When the choir arrives, the track tilts from its intimate ring to a full-blown stadium sized ambition, particularly the second interlude and onward. There’s also a lovely contrast between iSai’s (Sai Prabhaa) tender, almost fragile vocal texture vs. Kapil Kapilan’s surer, more grounded phrasing.

The Ascension (Marivere Gathi) – Agam (Indipop): I would love to know/see/hear how Shyama Shastri would react to his original being recreated in such a cinematically large and magnificent way by Agam! Perhaps I should feed Shyama Shastri’s life and times into an LLM and ask it to imagine what he would say in response to Agam’s sprawling new recreation What I really liked in this new version is the splendid imagination of the band, in terms of the nuances they bring in the many additions. Consider the pause in the 3rd charaNam (Sukha Shyamala) and the serene percussion that arrives to back it up! And then the extended closure that takes a life of its own mildly removed from the song’s Anandabhairavi raaga base, making it all the more alluring. By now, I know that this is the band’s signature sound and I can identify it from a mile, but it continues to work so very well!

Ae Ajanabee – Coke Studio Bharat (Aditya Rikhari, Ravator, Kutle Khan) – Hindi/Indipop: Just when I had given up on Coke Studio Bharat completely, here comes a new song that gives me a glimmer of hope about the platform (tentatively). The trio of Aditya Rikhari, Ravator and Kutle Khan crack a lush melody and add a soundscape that befits the scope of the melody. Aditya Rikhari does a lovely job with the lead vocals, holding the entire song together, amply supported by Kulte Khan as the song progresses.

Athidooram – Sachin Warrier (Malayalam/Indipop): There’s a easy, swaying gait to the song’s cadence that makes me nod along with it. Sachin has done some great work in Kannada film music, so it is good to see him expanding to Malayalam pop too. Sajo Sajan’s trombone is also used so very well inside the song’s construct!

Aahana – Rajat Hegde (Kannada/Indipop): Yes, there’s a generous dose of The Weeknd in the music, but Rajat crafts his own melodic layer on top of that quite well.

Suzhal, Tururu, Aagaya Neelam – Oh Butterfly (Vaisakh Somanath) – Tamil: After last week’s Pogaadhe, I was looking forward to the full sountrack (since the film release yesterday, though to generally undrwhelming reviews – sadly) and Vaisakh does not disappoint! The soundtrack is pretty impressive! Vaikom Vijayalakshmi actually gets a different type of song away from what she’s persistently called for, in Suzhal. The break in the tune is really interesting, given that the opening of the pallavi consists of 2-word phrases! Tururu offers a fantastic rock-style melody headlined by Haricharan, even as the core tune took me back to Ilayaraja’s iconic ‘Mazhai Varuthu’ from Raja Kaiya Vecha (similar raaga?). The interludes too are strikingly good, featuring a lovely brass piece. Vaisakh sings Aagaya Neelam himself, and this too is a highly listenable melody that flows beautifully. I would love to hear more from Vaisakh in the future – I hope he gets more movies and also works on his own independent music.

Paathakathi – Vadam (D.Imman) – Tamil: Very typical of Imman – he uses what felt to me like Charukesi raaga to create a deeply melancholic effect for the melody with even the words evoking a similar sadness. Shweta Mohan’s voice carries the pain in the melody really well.

Manadhiley, Amma Thaaye, Aaradi Kaathirukku – Thaai Kizhavi (Nivas K Prasanna) – Tamil: In Manadhiley, the real surprise starts first when the techno music opens what felt like the first interlude, after a searing pallavi. And then the rap starts (‘Soppana Sundari’) that was even more of a surprise! Nivas confidently blends both the segments smoothly. With Amma Thaaye, I was expecting a sentimental, slow number, but Nivas completely shocked me with a vibrant, semi-classical nadaswaram-layered tune that has a pulsating rhythm too! Aditi Shankar leads Aaradi Kaathirukku, which, as per the lyrics, is supposed to be an elegy of sorts (which still surfaces in the interlude), singing about someone who is deceased, but Nivas turns it into a lively dance number! Totally enjoyable. After Bison, I see Nivas taking bigger bolder risks and directions in his music and that such stances working really well! This is also the second song this week that has the Tamil word. ‘Pathakathi’ in it, after the one from Vadam!

Aura 10/10 – Meesaya Murukku 2 (Hiphop Tamizha) – Tamil: This is perhaps the most enjoyable song from Hiphop Tamizha for me, in a very long time. I had long given up on his music. To be sure, his nasal, droning voice continues to be odd to me, but in this song, it actually works, given that it is what powers the ‘aura pathukku pathu’ hook!

Rai Rai Raa Raa – Peddi (A R Rahman) – Telugu: After a very long time, an instantly likeable racy song by Rahman that is also truly electric. When Anirudh had almost taken total lease for this kind of musical genre, it’s terrific to see Rahman unleash something in his own style where everything works. The lead towards the Scottish music-style first interlude (starting with ‘Berugga’) is a lovely touch, as also the entire first interlude. Rahman’s voice too adds phenomenally to the song.

Rajamma – Band Melam (Vijai Bulganin) – Telugu: Vijai’s jaunty tune depends on the choice of singer, and Ram Miryala delivers so very well. The lengthy phrases after the ‘Rajamma’ hook like adds considerably to the tune’s charm.

Laali Laali – Saraswathi (Thaman S) – Telugu: A very pleasant melody from Thaman that seems to have subtly used Rahman’s Jodi number, ‘Oru Poiyavadhu Sol KaNNe’ in a very clever manner. Good singing by Sunitha Upadrasta.

Kuan Tara – Bara Badhu (Gaurav Anand) – Odia: This is probably the first Odia song in Weeklies if I’m not mistaken! To be honest, I first heard Papon’s song in this soundtrack (Kuni Kuni), but more than that song (a reasonably good song), this sone immediately stood out for me! The musical style reminded me of the new-age Marathi film music from the likes of AV Prafullachandra and Gulraj Singh. Both the singer, Sourav Bharadwaj and Arpita Choudhury do a great job of Gaurav’s dreamy melody.

Raina – Shekhar Ravjiani, ft. Arijit Singh (Hindi/Indipop): Is this Arijit’s first independent song after announcing his retirement from playback singing? Looks ot be so. Shekhar’s music has a pleasant soft-rock throwback to the pre-internet, early 2000s pop music template and Priya Saraiya’s lines stand out beautifully. Like, “Subah ho jaaye phir bhi na kehti woh jo hai kehna”. Arijit breathes life into the melody like only he can, though all this seems too simple for his standards.

Dhaage – Shamir Tandon (Hindi/Indipop): Shamir’s melody has a whiff of the 1970s. Anand’s ‘Na Jiya Jaye na’ (Salil Chowdhury), to be specific! It’s a lovely, relaxed melody that lands beautifully with the vocals of Papon and Madhubanti Bagchi, with the latter’s voice being an X factor, considering she is heard outside her ‘Aaj ki raat’ template.

The Last Letter – Maan Panu (Hindi/Indipop): Maan’s new song has the same unhurried, calming effect as Justh’s Chor. The tune has a hypnotic flow that keeps coming back to the hook where the 2nd word of both lines (baat, chaap – for instance) is slightly dragged to create a lovely effect.

Pavazha Malli – Sai Abhyankkar (Tamil/Indipop): Beyond the broad feeling that all of Sai’s songs sound similar (probably because of his voice and way of singing is unique enough, and perhaps they do have common elements), the man continues to plough through another catchy number. Like his earlier songs, there are individual segments that are very, very catchy, almost like they were concocted specifically for short Insta reels. Like that 4-liner starting with, ‘Podi Knuckle Ah Vanchinu Thavila Adikka’. Or another 4-liner, ‘Retta Rendaka Mathalam Kattuna Jodi’. Or ‘Sithappu Chikkunu Chikkunu Varaale’. Or ‘Ada Ittu Kolam Pottu’, my favorite given the up and down cadence of the melody. I suppose that’s also Sai’s trademark – he doesn’t as much compose a full song (at least in pop music, not necessary in films, yet) but imagines a ‘song’ as several smaller segments that can go viral online and bring attention to the full song. This is not very different from how critics talk about many Tamil or Telugu movies these days – they seem like one short scene after another all ending with a twist or a high, as if the makers have predecided the attention levels of their audience and are drip-feeding short, easy-to-digest segments.

Title song – Ek Din (Ram Sampath) – Hindi: It’s so good to see Ram Sampath composing for a film again, after what feels like eons. It also sounds very unlike Ram Sampath’s body of work and is Arijit’s show all the way! It’s a beautifull ballad, however, with a tinge of Latino music, and terrific guitaring by Shomu Seal and Shon Pinto. And lovely verse by Irshad Kamil.

Ae Ri Sakhi – Subedaar (Akshay & IP) – Hindi: Former Faridkot members, Akshay Raheja and IP Singh, offer the only interesting song from Subedaar’s soundtrack! No doubt they reuse Amir Khusrau’s traditional sufi ‘Aeri Sakhi More Piya Ghar Aaye’ as the base, they do a terrific job with the recreation, with excellent singing by both IP Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, and the extensions (in terms of antara).

Unna Enni Unna Enni, Kuthuvilakkoliye, Mottu Vitta – Anthony (Ilayaraja) – Tamil: Unna eNNi is vintage Ilayaraja from a different time period! I was transported to the 1990s with the simple, earthy first interlude started playing. The tune is sparse and wonderfully melodic, straight out of Raja’s earlier repertoire, with an undercurrent of the harmonium’ish sound. Kuthuvilakkoliye is dead ringer for Raja’s iconic, ‘ThooLiyile Aadivandha’ from Chinna Thambi! In fact, after the pallavi, the anupallavi drops any pretence and heads directly to the older song’s template. A nostalgic whiff! Mottu Vitta took me to multiple Raja songs, including UzhappaaLi’s ‘Muthirai Eppodhu’, Bharathan’s ‘Punnagayil Minsaram’, and Mouna Raagam’s ‘Pani Vizhum Iravu’ though it is intentionally paced and orchestrated differently. To hear vintage Raja, that too in a Sri Lankan Tamil film’s soundtrack was not in my plan for 2026!

Maatikitaan Minorkunju – Thaai Kizhavi (Nivas K Prasanna) – Tamil: A rollicking, funky 80s pop style song from Nivas that, to me, seemed to alluding to Shankar-Ganesh’s Ranga (1982) number, ‘Pattukottai AmmalLu’. Sublahshini is the star of the song, breezing through the stylish rendition like only she can.

Pogaadhe – Oh Butterfly (Vaisakh Somanath) – Tamil: Oh wow, I least expected this! A flamboyant, expansive and beautifully conceived blues number in Tamil. From Sean Roldan, I can understand, but this is from Vaisakh Somanath and I had to look up who he is (not to be confused with singer Vaisagh). While Kapil Kapilan is stupendous with the singing, Vaisakh does some great scatting in the backdrop too!

Uyire Uyire – Mental Manadhil (GV Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: While I am a bit surprised that Selva didn’t get Yuvan to compose music since his last 3 films did have Yuvan’s music. But GV Prakash has been a reasonably frequent collaborator with Selva and here, the composer does a very good job with the deep melancholy in the melody, accentuated by Kapil Kapilan. But strangely, I was reminded of Anirudh’s ‘Enna Solla’ from Thangamagan when the interlude starts bang in the middle of the song!

Aasa KalavaaNiye – Vadam (D.Imman) – Tamil: A rocking Imman number after quite some time (if I overlook his fairly good music in the Kannada film, Elumale, and ‘Othukkiriya’ from Blackmail last year). This is also perfectly in the Imman zone – he takes a deeply lush melody and layers it in unusually lively and rhythm orhcestration and the result works wonders. And then there is the Shanmugapriya raaga based first interlude that works even better!

Anaga Anaga America – VISA – Vintara Saradaga (Vijai Bulganin) – Telugu: Breezy melody with the right amount of levity in the catchy hook. Plus, Sanjith Hegde. Vijai has an effortless winner here.

Chaatu Chaatu – Purushaha (Shravan Bharadwaj) – Telugu: Good to see Shravan Bharadwaj picking up steam, again! This one has Chinmayi doing a stellar job with the melody. The flow of the tune feels almost hymnal, with the cadence beign really interesting and the strings offering superb backdrop. Shravan even interjects in an almost Rahman-style humming in the first interlude.

The First Breeze – Emo Emo Idi (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Telugu: I think I am sensing the musical signatures of Mickey J Meyer and Hesham Abdul Wahab merging When I first heard this (half) song, I was sure it was by Mickey. When I noticed Hesham’s name as composer, I was a bit flummoxed! It’s a gorgeous, sweeping melody, no doubt, and made better by Karthik’s song… but it’s also a bit of everything both composers have thrown at us over the years!

Aaya Sher – The Paradise (Anirudh) – Telugu: Just when I thought Anirudh was getting repetitive, he dropped a banger like Monica last year. This year, it is Aaya Sher. With a grand, anthemic sound and high-pitched singing by Addula Jangireddy and Arjun Chandy, the song just roars!

Rubaroo – Dacoit (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: I didn’t expect Bheems to headline a film like this… a pan-Indian, multi-lingual release at that. But the composer is mighty impressve both with the composition and his singing here! It’s an easily likeable melody with a captivating pan-Indian hook! And Chinmayi’s singing is an icing in the cake! This is also the third Chinmayi song in this Weeklies!

Madhuram – Sathi Leelavathi (Mickey J Meyer) – Telugu: I wrote about Karthik singing for Hesham that sounded also like Mickey’s song… above… and here’s Karthik singing for Mickey, but there’s no Hesham undertones here! It’s very Mickey and easy on the ear, though I thought I heard Karthik struggle a bit, particularly in the ‘Okko kshaNam O vintha’ part, which is quite unusual!

Kaanaathe – Spa (Ishaan Chhabra) – Malayalam: I was less interested in Ishaan’s obvious-retro in the film’s first single (Hridayavathi), but in Kaanaathe, the composer has a genuinely interesting idea. What starts off a semi-classical (Hindustani music as used in Malayalam films) melody gets spiked with what felt like British Underground sounds in the background and the result is quite eclectic! Shreekumar Vakkiyil sings it in all seriousness across both parts!

Yahin Guzaar Doon – Amaal Mallik (Hindi/Indipop): The soft and likeable melody reminded me of some Anu Malik song from the distant past, most probably featuring Alka Yagnik, though I couldn’t pinpoint which one. Both Amaal Mallik and Shreya Ghoshal do a great job with the singing, expectedly.

Kaundamani – Maizu & Richard (Tamil/Indipop): The song, while being perfectly catchy and racy, is utterly nuts when it comes to lyrics! ‘Vaaila Konjam Mixture, Vechaan Paaru Sixer’… recalling pop culture references from movies And even though I thought the title refrain was about Goundamani, it could also be a fangled way of saying ‘Count the money’

Baraati Drop – Parvatish Pradeep (Hindi/Malayalam/Indipop): This is the most unusual song I have heard in recent times! It starts off in Hindi, then moves to Malayalam, and then uses an appropriation of what sounds like Shankar Jaikishen’s ‘Hawa Mein Udta Jaye’ from Barsaat (1949) for a prominently repetitive musical phrase! But somehow, it all gels perfectly with each other, like most things from Kerala.

Nonsense – Jay Stellar, Ilayaraaja (Malayalam/Indipop): Hahahahahahahaha! This has to be the most insane sampling of ‘KiLiye KiLiye’ that has taken a second life after being used in Lokah recently. Jay doesn’t use the singing part alone, but also background sounds from the original, including snatches of the rhythm and it blends beautifully with the frenetic rap! And you have got to see the music video featuring Angry Birds… totally trippy

Jeepan Waleya – Raj Ranjodh, ft. Ammy Virk (Punjabi/Indipop): When the entirety of Punjabi pop music seems to be hip-hop oriented, it is great to hear lilting Punjabi sound, but with the perfect balance of modern sounds.

(Spotify’s playlist is missing one song – Love Insurance Kompany’s version of Enakena, so I have added the original from Aakko)

Title song – Do Deewane Seher Mein (Shreyas Puranik) – Hindi: It’s not easy to compose over the title of an already iconic song, and in this case, the odds are fully against composer Shreyas Puranik, given that the original is the Gharaonda classic composed by Jaidev and written by Gulzar (and sung by Bhupinder Singh and Runa Laila). Incidentally, recreated version of the original features in this soundtrack, with mild tinkering by Jackie Vanjari. But Shreyas veers completely off the original in every way and produces a crackling, energetic number with stellar singing by both Sonu Nigam and Aishwarya Bhandari! The tune riffs more about the RD Burman style of music and this becomes even more evident with the interludes and the flashy antara.

O’ Romeo, Jalwa, Vaada Hai – O’ Romeo (Vishal Bhardwaj) – Hindi: The title song is almost an Ilayaraja 1980s song with its guitar’y swagger and mildly retro rhythm. Arijit Singh is brilliant, as usual, but it is Vishal who impresses more with a really cool tune. Jalwa is quite a surprise, sounding like it was out of Maachis and not O’ Romeo! Soba Singh Sitara’s full-throated singing makes it a great listen. Ananya Wadkar’s Vaada Hai is yet another surprise! Gulzar’s lovely lines and that sparse, obviously-retro music work wonderfully for this melody. O’ Romeo is a great comeback for Vishal the composer – this is a well-rounded, very listenable soundtrack overall.

Mann Hawa – Assi (Rochak Kohli) – Hindi: Mohit Chauhan breezes through a warm, easily likeable melody with a pleasant ‘Mann Hawa’ hook making a mark rooting the song beautifully.

Vaan Vaan – Idhayam Murali (Thaman S) – Tamil: The second Mohit Chauhan song this week after Assi, but in Tamil! When Mohit goes, ‘Vaan Vaan Vaan Vaanam Enakena Siru Mazhai Thoovadha’, I was taken back to A R Rahman’s Jeans number, Anbe Anbe – ‘Aiyo Punnagayil Idhayathai Vedikkathey’ But I really liked what Thaman has concocted here, particularly the first (only) interlude and the entire anupallavi! The melody goes beautifully perpendicular to the pallavi, and Thaman skillfully brings it back to the ‘Vaan Vaan’ hook.

Seelay Seelay – 29 (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: I would have mildly preferred another singer for this otherwise-gorgeous song, particularly when Sean goes, ‘Nenjam Polambudhey’, I was more worried that he was hurting inside and wanted to console him. But I’m fairly attuned to his voice’s idiosyncracies beyond complaining occasionally about it now. In any case, Chinmayi joins in the anupallvi and as a duet the melody is quite striking.

Enakena – Love Insurance Kompany (Anirudh) – Tamil: Anirudh brings back his own sleeper hit from 2015 (from the film, Aakko). Considering it was Vignesh Shivan who wrote the song even back in 2015, and Sony that released the original too, it feels like a calculated effort to bring the song back in a new movie. And now it has a ready, prepared audience! It sounds as it should – like one of Anirudh’s earlier-phase’s music and probably makes you miss that phase’s Anirudh given the man’s reasonably more monotonous output these days.

Pathu Kadal – My Lord (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: This is the kind of song that Sean truly excels in, with its rich melody and the occasional twist in the tune that makes me sit up! While Sean sings it well, it is Srilakshmi Belmannu’s portions that hold the twist – her vocal humming holds that twist—a note that sounds outside the structure of the song—and it is quite fascinating!

O Nesthamai, Naa Praanam, Naato Raa Ila, Varaale Panche, Naa Kallalo, Baundhi Baandham – Couple Friendly (Aditya Ravindran) – Telugu: When I placed this film’s ‘Naalo Nenu’ at No. 11 of my top 20 Telugu songs of 2025, I had no idea that the rest of the soundtrack was going to be this good! O Nesthamai is almost Santhosh Narayanan in its approach, with a serene, guitar-backed whispery melody and a gorgeously sweeping hook (“O Nesthamai”). Aditya is outstanding withe vocals. Kapil Kapilan gets two songs—Naa Praanam and Naato Raa Ila—and both are lively, with energetic sounds and thoroughly engaging tunes. Varaale Panche is absolutely fascinating! Pradeep Kumar sinks into the ebbs and tides of Aditya’s grand melody so well. In particular, the way Aditya layers the drums for the ‘Varale Panche’ phrase is lovely. Surprisingly, the soundtrack of 8 songs has only female-led songs. Shakthishree Gopalan’s Naa Kallalo has better melodic content than Sublahshini’s Baundhi Baandham and is easier to fall for. But the latter has the edge with its kuthu rhythms and more swagger in the music. It’s just February and this is already my top Telugu soundtrack of 2026 (till another soundtrack overtakes it in the rest of the 10 months). I really, really look forward to what Aditya Ravindran is going to compose next!

Chandamama – Funky (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: Eswar Dathu’s earthy, slightly unusual vocals adds a specific charm to the otherwise familiar tune by Bheems.

Kallonu Neeve – Hey Bhagawan (Vivek Sagar) – Telugu: Not the best from Vivek Sagar in recent times, but he does have a captivating hook in ‘Kallonu Neeve’ and the entire pallavi seems to be crafted to accomodate this hook. And the song’s anupallavi is a lot more interesting, free of trying to fit the hook. Anurag Kulkarni (and Ramya Behra) can hardly go wrong with a tune like this.

Majako Mallika – Kattalan (B. Ajaneesh Loknath) – Malayalam: There’s something connected to Anirudh’s Coolie chartbuster, Monica, in this song, though I am unable to explain what it is exactly But Ajaneesh does a terrific job with the racy tune and the catchy backgrounds, handled very well by both Anand Sreeraj and Bhadra Rajin. Just like Monica, there’s a Mallika leading the lyrics and the tune is equally language-agnostic!

Kaattuchembakam – Pallichattambi (Jakes Bejoy) – Malayalam: Considering Jakes composes quite a bit in Telugu too (among other languages), the song ends up sounding like it could have been a Telugu or a Tamil song too, particularly the catchy ‘Kaattuchembakam’ hook. That’s not a complaint, but an observation that even Malayalam film music, that manages to retain (to a large extent) its own musical idioms, is perhaps evolving. Another case in point – Kannada composer Ajaneesh’s new song from Kattalan that also seems language-agnostic (see below). What is also particularly interesting is Vishal Mishra’s Malayalam debut (along with Aavani Malhar) and he does a very good job! On a related note, Kayadu Lohar seems to be everywhere these days – this is the third new song in this playlist featuring her, besides Funky’s (Telugu) Chandamama and Idhayam Murali’s (Tamil) Vaan Vaan!

Kaathirunnu – Sukhamano Sukhamann (Nipin Besent) – Malayalam: Without knowing who the composer was, I would have guessed Shaan Rahman’s name! I don’t think I have heard Nipin’s music earlier, but while the other 3 songs from this film didn’t work all that much for me, this one easily works. It’s easy on the ear, has Vineet Srinivasan’ish vocals by Devanand SP (and Maria Martin) and a likeable hook too.

Jalpari – Faheem Abdullah, Huzaif Nazar, Rather Hashim (Hindi/Indipop): Sounding a bit like early-days Mithoon (who hardly sounds like that anymore these days), the composition, credited to all three (Faheem Abdullah, Huzaif Nazar, and Rather Hashim) feels like it could have been inside Saiyaara’s soundtrack. It’s a propulsive tune with excellent singing by the three singers, with Amandeep Singh Soni’s guitars keeping the proceedings compellingly interesting.

Shabnam – Aayu (Hindi/Indipop): I have heard a couple of earlier songs by Aayu and didn’t think much about his oeuvre so far. But in Shabnam, he seems to be trying something different – there’s a hypnotic melody at the center (sounded like Punnagavarali raaga, the one behind Aigiri Nandhini) that he cleverly blends across the song with different shades including the rap portions.

Paagalpan, Sitara, Muskurata Jaun, Shambo – Paagalpan (Vishal Mishra) – Hindi/Indipop: Vishal Mishra’s independent album has 16 songs! While most of them are quite listenable (I had written about Kya Bataun Tujhe two weeks ago), there is also a sense of sameness to many of the songs. Where Vishal breaks the monotony, the tunes and his singing shine. The title song builds the mellow, moody melody progressively and takes on a vibrant background when Reet Talwar joins Vishal. The song crescendoes with an unusual and surprising twist! Both Sitara and Muskurata Jaun gain from their anthemic, Coldplay’ish sounds. Shambo is my pick of the album! Where I was expecting a conventional devotional song, Vishal surprises with a superb hardcore rock outing, but with perfectly devotional lyrics!

Ishq Ka Fever, Paan Ki Dukaan – O’Romeo (Vishal Bhardwaj) – Hindi: A haunting melody by Vishal and sung by Arijit! Plus Gulzar’s lines! This is a beautiful song, with some nifty musical touches by Vishal in the background that offers an undercurrent of restlessness even as the core melody is sedate! In comparison, Paan Ki Dukaan is something I would expect from Shankar Ehsaan Loy in their heydays. It’s catchy, no doubt, and the second ‘Neeche Paan Ki Dukaan’ with a tune twist is a neat surprise.

Pudikadhu, Kannukkulle – Kadhal Kadhai Sollava (Sharreth) – Tamil: Sharreth composing, in itself, is something worth looking forward to. The melody reminded me of half a dozen older songs, including Rahman’s Tenali number ‘Swasame’. Some similar raaga, I suppose. Kavivarman’s lines have some interesting thoughts like, ‘Ranganathan Theru illaadha Chennai Pudikkadhu’, and ‘Content paakaama Instavil like poda Pudikkadhu’ But this ‘heroine-intro’ type situation, like ‘Chinna Chinna Aasai’ is from a different century and is more likely to be axed in the movie, sadly. Nivas does well with the singing, keeping it light and frothy. Sharreth does extraordinarly well in the other song, Kannukkulle! The tune is heady, and the nuances the composer layers work wonders! For starters, consider the almost non-stop, long’ish pallavi! Then, when the ‘Paarvai Theera Theera’ line arrives, Haripriya’s one word echo adds a lovely backdrop layer. And the two interludes! This is vintage Sharreth delivering wonderfully.

Thaai Kizhavi Vaaraa – Thaai Kizhavi (Nivas K Prasanna) – Tamil: After Bison, Nivas K Prasanna handles another rustic number though it sounds more like a Coke Studio Tamil song (not that it is a bad idea). Sivakarthikeyan’s vocals help the lively, rhythmic song immensely, and the thavil-nadaswaram combo keeps the song engaging. Nivas’s flourishes keep coming at surprising spots, like that ‘Ey Rangamma’ start for the anupallavi and the music after ‘Kayee Veral Kutheetti’!

Edhukku Dhan Indha Kaadhal, Ennai Polave, Morattu Muttal – With Love (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: Sean Roldan ropes in Yuvan Shankar Raja for Edhukku Dhan and almost makes him sing adequately well! But it’s the tune that keeps the song steadily listenable, particularly the way it bridges the deeply melodic, violin-backed beginning and the racy Edhukku Dhan hook. With Ennai Polave, Sean hands over the same tune of ‘Ayyo Kaadhale’ to Sublahshini and her unique vocal timbre makes a terrific difference to the familiar tune. Morattu Muttal is the soundtrack’s surprise package! The serene rock ballad style melody works very well with Sean’s own singing. Mohan Rajan’s lines are a hoot – when Sean sings, ‘Naan thaniyave polamburene’, the parallel line goes, ‘Nee Thaniyave Polambuda’

Innenthe – Prakambanam (Bibin Ashok) – Malayalam: A very, very Gopi Sundar’ish melody from Bibin Ashok at least till the 2:10 mark. The flute and guitar-layered melody is easy to like, and Anand Sreeraj, Ayraan’s singing makes it all the more enjoyable. After the 2:10 mark though, the soft melody transforms into a racy rock track and it is the melody’s strength that this too actually works!

Bheegi Bheegi – A R Rahman, ft. A R Ameen and Jasleen Royal (Hindi/Indipop): Rahman’s melody is effortlessly captivating, but it is the singers who don’t scale up to it. Ameen’s voice sounds flat and gets the nuances flatly too. Jasleen does comparatively better, given her experience. This tune deserved considerably better singers, though. If only the makers of this song spent as much time and effort in picking better singers as they did with the stars for the music video (Dulquer Salman and Mrunal Thakur). But if the starting point was to launch Rahman’s son again in Hindi, then this is what we would end up with.

Tu Jaane Hai Kahan – Mikey McCleary & Suraj Gulvady, ft. Lucky Ali (Hindi/Indipop): When Lucky Ali goes ‘Hmmmm’ and ‘Tu…’, my mind completes it and goes back to his iconic ‘O Sanam’ from the 1990s! This song, I believe, has been crafted specifically to evoke memories of O Sanam, and it doesn’t too badly on that front. Lucky’s voice carries enough nostalgia to make this work.

Chaap Tilak – Laikey Laikaa (Faridkot – Rajarshi Sanyal & IP Singh) – Hindi: This is a huge surprise! First, would this qualify as Faridkot’s proper Bollywood debut? I know that their song ‘Jehda Nasha’ was used in An Action Hero, but it was recreated by Tanishk Bagchi. So, this may be their original Bollywood debut and it is a pulsating banger. The second, bigger surprise is Rasha’s singing! She sounds absolutely fantastic! The tune allows her a full-throated rendition and she delivers brilliantly!

Aasma Aasma – Do Deewane Seher Mein (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Hindi: Hesham’s Hindi debut!! There’s that trademark Hesham sound written all over the song plus the soul of Rahman’s Pachai Nirame (which appears in so many songs anyway). It’s a gorgeous sweeping melody that is very easy to like. The singers, Jubin Nautiyal and Neeti Mohan do a great job even as Hesham himself sings the ‘Mangalyam Thandhunane’ portion mid-way! In comparison, the other song from the soundtrack (Tera Mera Saath) by ‘White Noise Collectives’ seemed mighty templatized and generic.

Jee Liya – Tu Yaa Main (Adarsh Gourav & Aditya N.) – Hindi: Trust Bejoy Nambiar to ensure interesting music for his films regardless of who the composer is/composers are! Here, the film’s leading man, Adarsh Gourav gets co-composer credits alongside Aditya N! Adarsh sings it too, along with Lothika! It’s a slickly produced cozy earworm of sorts with a catchy synth layer. Lothika’s vocals provide a gentle lift, creating a nice chemistry between the singers.

Aashiqon Ki Colony – O’Romeo (Vishal Bhardwaj) – Hindi: If only Sachin-Jigar hadn’t prepared us with their brand of techno-mujra style music starting with ‘Aaj Ki Raat’, this song, sung by Madhubanti Bagchi (again!) would have sounded wonderfully fresh. Still, thanks to Gulzar’s lines at least, it manages to make a mark, and Madhubanti continues to do a stellar job as well.

Thangame Thangame – Idhayam Murali (Thaman S) – Tamil: Yet another variation to what Thaman has mastered as an art already (which peaked with ‘Tum Tum‘ from Enemy). The hook is less impressive than Tum Tum, but continues to work reasonably well… for now.

Gaabara Gaabara – Couple Friendly (Aditya Ravindran) – Telugu: With ‘Naalo Nenu‘, composer Aditya Ravindran definitely made me wonder who this is… so much that the song was in my top 20 Telugu songs of 2025. Then I realized that he is a singer who often sings in Santhosh Narayanan’s compositions in Tamil! Now, he produces an encore, though not one that can top Naalo Nenu. Santhosh Narayanan is a spirited choice for the singer and the song’s feel too falls into the kind of music one expects from Santhosh – a raucously bouncy song, with even a unexpectedly somber turn at the 2-minute mark (Naake Nene…)!

Mahadeva – Chinna Chinna Aasai (Govind Vasantha) – Malayalam: Whoa! This is an absolutely unexpected stunner from Govind! It’s haunting, gripping, and immersive at the same time – a slow-burning devotional, hymnal-sounding melody that dipes into atmospheric melancholy effortlessly. Govind builds tension with minimal piano and subtle strings at first, gradually introducing choral layers and rhythmic pulse that evoke a ritualistic trance. It all works brilliantly.

Muddu Magale – Landlord (B Ajaneesh Loknath) – Kannada: Ajaneesh does something exceptionally where most other composers are reduced to utterly generic work. Consider Anirudh’s father-daughter song in Jana Nayagan, for instance – it almost plays in auto-pilot. But Ajaneesh not only had a deeply engaging father-daughter song in Maharaja (Thaaye Thaaye), but does equally well here, in Muddu Magale too! There’s a genuinely impactful and lush melody at the base of the song and Shashank Sheshagiri’s singing elevates it several notches.

Hi Jawani Kacchi, Jara Jara – Gandhi Talks (A R Rahman) – Marathi: Rahman reuses bits of Francis Lai’s Theme from Love Story (or, ‘Where Do I Begin?’. You may remember Ismail Darbar’s reuse in ‘Chaand Chup Badal Mein‘ from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, or even Suresh Peters’ ‘Mughilenna Mazhaiyenna‘ from his outstanding pop album, ‘Minnal’) to construct the core of Hi Jawani Kacchi and it meanders interestingly enough thanks to Bela Shende’s singing (Shreya Ghoshal in the Hindi version). Jara Jara, on the other hand, is an absolutely beauty, with exquisite singing by Anandi Joshi (and Abhay Jodhpurkar. who joins in the antara)! Even though I was reminded of S. P. Balasubrahmanyam-composed ‘Idho Idho En Pallavi‘ from Sigaram, it is at best a residual memory from the first 2 words’ melody alone, nothing more. This is one Rahman’s best in recent times.

Kya Bataun Tujhe – Vishal Mishra (Hindi/Indipop): A standard-issue Mithoon-style heartbreak ballad that makes a dent mainly because of Vishal’s thoroughly engaging vocals. The overall production is ambitious and impressive – Kandarpa Kalita’s guitar stands out easily, as also the overall production by Vishal Mishra and Vaibhav Pani.

Ini Ondraai – Nishad G./Indoencers (Tamil/Indipop): An earnest, big-hearted, symphonic Tamil indie from Nishad! Suthan Bala’s wordplay is truly wonderful, rhyming “Pazhayadhai” and “Pudhu Vidhai” with effortless charm. The tune’s ups demand a lot from Vijaynarain and he rises to the occasion impressively. Nishad G stages the song like a mini-suite – intimate piano and guitars at the start, gradually giving way to full-band heft, strings, and choir!

Kaane – Haniya Nafisa (Malayalam/Indipop): Haniya blends her intimate vocals with a warm, guitar-driven arrangement (by Raunaq), underscored by a tasteful groove. The result is tantalizingly good and hugely listenable, if only a bit too short!

Tulasi – Sumedh K (Kannada/Indipop): Sumedh K, the young composer who turned heads with ‘The Scooter Song’ in Su From So is back in his elements with his own music removed from the clutches of a movie script. He chooses a Purandhara Dasa kriti—Elamma Tulasi—to adapt and coats it in a hugely creative, ambient electronic soundscape that reminded me of Abhijit Pohankar’s musical style (remember ‘Piya Bawari Albeli‘?). The way he lands the first ‘Tulasi’ call-out and the brilliant music just after it (just after the 1-minute mark) is delightful! A special mention about the music video directed by Vishno Rao too – there’s a beautiful nuance used in the video’s idea using a little girl and the older one… you would realize it after watching the video fully!