‘Paayal’
Maati Baani, featuring Shankar Tucker and Ankita Joshi
The Maati Baani duo — Kartik and Nirali — have been producing consistently interesting, nuanced and enjoyable compositions since they started. Their latest, ‘Paayal’, is a welcome addition to this list. Based on raaga Durga, with a smattering of raaga Basant, the melody is easy on the ears, and is superbly sung by Nirali and Ankita Joshi, complete with a lovely exposition of the raaga. There’s also Shankar Tucker’s magic with the clarinet, making the song so much better.
‘Medapoompattum Chutti’
Karinkunnam 6s (Malayalam)
Music: Rahul Raj
Rahul Raj pulled this off last year too, with Vijay Yesudas, in Kohinoor... the song was ‘Hemanthamen’, an instantly likeable and wonderfully breezy melody. In ‘Medapoompattum Chutti’, he ropes in Najim Arshad to sing the incredibly gentle melody that is reminiscent of Yennai Arindhaal’s ‘Unakkenna Venum Sollu’. It has an oh-so-lovely lilt and Rahul layers the melody first with a fantastic vocal chorus and then, starting with the first interlude, a beautiful strings set, as the song progresses, to great effect.
‘Behooda’
Raman Raghav 2.0 (Hindi)
Music: Ram Sampath
‘Behooda’ is a throwback to the older days when Hindi films used to have a song eulogising the villain, talking about how bad and evil he (usually a 'he'; very rarely a 'she') is. But this was always a bit exaggerated and it went well with the over-the-top villains of yore. ‘Behooda’, however, is in the similar vein, but talks almost affectionately about the film’s psychopath serial killer. Varun Grover goes for the jugular in narrating just how evil this man is, with delightfully wicked lyrics that cover a whole gamut of badasserry.
‘Hare Rama’
Badmaash (Kannada)
Music: Judah Sandhy
No, Lord (Hare) Rama is not the Badmaash, hopefully. The song is in the same genre as the Tamil song, ‘Singam Pola Nadanthu Varaan Sella Peraandi’ that Paravai Muniyamma sings amidst flying henchmen in Dhool. In this case, it is Raghu Dixit stretching his vocal chords quite literally to sing this anthemic and highly bombastic number. Forget the film’s hero (Dhananjaya) getting off say, a hospital bed, to demolish the villains... even you’d feel like getting off whatever you are up to punching the air a few times.
‘Avalum Naanum’
Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (Tamil)
Music: A. R. Rahman
Rahman has previously made music with lines from Tamil literature. Kadhalan’s ‘Indiraiyo Ival Sundariyo’ and Bharathiyar’s ‘Suttum Vizhi’ from Kandukondain Kandukondain are good examples of songs that made it to the soundtrack. In ‘Avalum Naanum’, Rahman uses lines from Bharathidasan and layers it on a tune that is serene and graceful. There’s a distinct air of M.S. Viswanathan in the composition that Vijay Yesudas sings with a flair that is so reminiscent of his father. R.K. Prabhakar’s solo violin in the first interlude adds considerable charm to the song.
