From Dhadak To My Story – A Weekly Roundup Of Film Music

It's a very good week when you get new music from Ajay-Atul and Shankar Ehsaan Loy (and A R Rahman).

Ishq Di Baajiyaan from Soorma (Hindi)

First off, the song from Soorma, by the trio. They already had a solid start to the year with Raazi, but they up the stakes with 'Ishq Di Baajiyaan'! This is a song that could have easily been sung by Shankar Mahadevan (who does the backing vocals), but leading man Diljit Dosanjh brings his own earthy Punjabi-ness to the vocals. The music, in true trio-style, has a mature sensibility in every way. The tune gets incredibly immersive with the antara, and the small touches like the reverberating "Na ja aankhon aankhon mein hi rehna" phrase and the delightful outburst of a chorus (Kabhi usey noor noor kehta hoon, Kabhi main hoor hoor kehta hoon) add to the song's considerable charm.

Title Track from Dhadak (Hindi)

Coming to the duo (Ajay-Atul), they had produced a mind bogglingly brilliant soundtrack for the Marathi original of Dhadak (Sairat). So it looks like an impossible task to top that with the Hindi remake that comes with a Rajasthani backdrop. But Ajay and Atul are very good as composers, and their title song for Dhadak, while not going one up on Sairat's title song ('Sairat Zaala Ji'), is still a beautifully expansive melody to sink into. The bridge to the (Tu ghata hai phuhaar ki, Main ghadi intezaar ki, Apna milna likha issi baras hai na) main hook (Jo meri manzilon ko jaati hai) is a vintage Dharma Productions stamp! Interestingly, the sweeping strings all through the song takes the song closer to Sairat's 'Yad Lagla'!

Alathi Anbai and Enn Uyire from Asuravadham (Tamil)

Thaikkudam Bridge-fame Govind Menon had a long overdue Tamil debut in Oru Pakka Kathai last year, after a stellar but short run in Malayalam. But that was just a single and the soundtrack or the film is nowhere in sight. Thankfully, his first full Tamil album released last week – Sasikumar-starrer Asuravadham. A short (only 3 songs) soundtrack with 2 songs sung by Ananthu. Probably because of the singer, the songs do sound a lot like composer Santhosh Narayanan's, particularly 'Alathi Anbai'. The other song, 'Enn Uyire' goes off more in Govind's style with a poignant melody and beautifully realized interludes. There's just one place where Ananthu goes 'Vaazhve' that would remind anyone of Anbe Sivam's 'Yaar Yaar Sivam'. And yes, like Sanjay 'Leela' Bhansali, Govind calls himself Govind Vasantha (replacing Menon with his mother's maiden name!) in this soundtrack!

Collegee Agelona from Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi (Telugu)

Not to be left behind, the Telugu film industry throws up two vibrant songs this week! The first one is by the superbly in-form Vivek Sagar – the 2nd song from Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi. The song, 'Collegee Agelona', is a delightful pastiche led by a frenetic Electro Swing sound, and adding many other things in the mix. It's a heady sound that works instantly.

Idhenaa Nijanga from Aatagadharaa Siva (Telugu)

The other song, 'Idhenaa Nijanga', from the film Aatagadharaa Siva, is Kannada composer Vasuki Vaibhav staking a confident claim in Telugu land! He does reuse his own song 'News Nodi' given this is the Telugu remake of the Kannada film Rama Rama Re, but the package works once again.

Dadda Song from Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu (Kannada)

Vasuki Vaibhav also has a new Kannada song this week, incidentally! The film's name is quite a mouthful and is even located in Kerala where Kannada is also spoken – Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu! The song, 'Dadda Song', is typically Vasuki – whimsical, with a wonderfully corny edge to depict the travails of Praveen, a schoolboy who is deemed a dud by almost everyone!

Mizhi Mizhi from My Story (Malayalam)

To close this packed week, a song from Kerala. Composed by Shaan Rahman, 'Mizhi Mizhi', from the film My Story. The main melody is entrancing, with that 'Uyiril Neeye' hook, and as the song progresses, Shaan places Shreya's and Haricharan's respective 'Uyiril Neeye' to start as one is ending… and creates a beautiful effect.