As 2025 enters its final day, welcome to the 16th edition of this yearly ritual of mine, one that has been deeply enriching and incredibly frustrating in equal measure! Personally, this hasn’t been a very pleasant year for me – this final quarter has been especially horrendous, causing me to drop two reviews I was really hoping to do, Metro… In Dino and Tere Ishk Mein. That also means that this year the roundup is going to be a shorter one, for which I apologise. I have only been able to work on four lists this year, my original foursome – the best of the year from Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and the indie/pop scene. I hope to be able to do the proper roundup in 2026. Onto the lists then, everything else regarding the roundup remains the same; I have gone by the wiki catalogue of this year’s releases for the three film lists, and I have created playlists on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. And there’s the consolidated playlist right here for anyone who doesn’t want to go through the trouble of the whole article:

All In One Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and peaceful 2026, may we have a lot more great music to savour through the year!

And shoutout as usual to the amazing @athulct for consistently creating artwork that is cooler than the content I put out!

Bollywood

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

After a bleak looking first half of the year, Bollywood music scene seemed to work overtime in the second half to make up a decent output for 2025. We had some trusted combos like Anurag Basu-Pritam (Metro… In Dino) and Aanand L Rai-A R Rahman-Irshad Kamil (Tere Ishk Mein) deliver wonderfully, while Aamir Khan-Shankar Ehsaan Loy in Sitaare Zameen Par sadly didn’t produce anything half as memorable as TZP. One of the year’s other highlights was the two part soundtrack of Nishaanchi 1 and 2 – Anurag Kashyap going multi-composer for a change (Manan Bharadwaj, Anurag Saikia, Aaishvary Thackeray, Dhruv Ghanekar) and still managing a great set of songs, especially from Bharadwaj and Saikia. Most of the sequels of the year had forgettable music, but Dhadak 2, despite having the odds stacked against it – the movie it was a remake of, Ajay-Atul who did the first part being replaced by a multi-composer lineup etc. – had a very enjoyable set of songs. Among the rest, Amit Trivedi had his best year in a long time, delivering some quality songs across multiple movies, although his best work, IMO, happened in Tamil (Bad Girl). Sachin-Jigar continued to have a busy year, with their highlight of course being the blockbuster Pardesiya that stood out as a rare positive in Param Sundari. Vishal Bhardwaj, Rochak Kohli, Vishal Mishra and Shashwat Sachdev were a few others who had a prominent year.

30 Saathi (Phule) – Rohan-Rohan | Kausar Munir | Monali Thakur
29 Chal Chhod Na Yaar (Pune Highway) – Shor Police | Sudeep Naik | Siddharth Mahadevan, Varun Jain, Shashwat Singh
28 Kya Karun (Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan) – Vishal Mishra | Vishal Mishra | Vishal Mishra
27 Teri Yaadein (Mannu Kya Karegga) – Nishant Ramteke | Sharad Mehra | Raghav Chaitanya
26 Galatfehmi (Nadaaniyan) – Sachin-Jigar | Amitabh Bhattacharya | Tushar Joshi, Madhubanti Bagchi
25 Uyi Amma (Azaad) – Amit Trivedi | Amitabh Bhattacharya | Madhubanti Bagchi
24 Mausam (Metro In Dino) – Pritam | Qaiser-Ul-Jafri, Sandeep Shrivastava | Arijit Singh
23 Pul (Crazxy) – Vishal Bhardwaj | Gulzar | Vishal Mishra
22 Rendezvous Raja (Nishaanchi 2) – Anurag Saikia | Shashwat Dwivedi | Madhubanti Bagchi, Anurag Saikia
21 Haseen Pareshaaniyaan (Kaalidhar Laapata) – Amit Trivedi | Geet Sagar | Jubin Nautiyal, Shahid Mallya, Deepali Sathe
20 Lori (Aachari Baa) – S. Prasad | Priyanka R Bala | Shreya Ghoshal
19 Patang Ki Dor (Inn Galiyon Mein) – Amaal Mallik | Punarvasu | Armaan Malik, Palak Muchhal
18 Rab Ne Kiya Faisla (The Rabbit House) – Padmanabh Gaikwad | Vaibhav Kulkarni, Navdeep Panchal Shubh | Papon, Ananya Wadkar
17 Yun Hi Chale Gaye (Crazxy) – Osho Jain | Osho Jain | K.S. Chithra, Sarthak Kalyani
16 Raat Bhar (De De Pyaar De 2) – Aditya Dev, Payal Dev | Kumaar | Aditya Rikhari, Payal Dev
15 Yaariyaan (Ghich Pich) – Rohit Sharma | Shellee | Devender Pal Singh
14 Das Haasil (Metro In Dino) – Pritam | Sandeep Shrivastava | Raghav Chaitanya, Neeti Mohan
13 Deewana Deewana (Tere Ishk Mein) – A.R. Rahman | Irshad Kamil | A.R. Rahman
12 Saiyaara (Saiyaara) – Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, Arslan Nizami | Irshad Kamil | Faheem Abdullah
11 Preet Re (Dhadak 2) – Rochak Kohli | Gurpreet Saini | Darshan Raval, Jonita Gandhi, Rochak Kohli
10 Pardesiya (Param Sundari) – Sachin-Jigar | Amitabh Bhattacharya | Sonu Nigam, Krishnakali Saha, Sachin-Jigar
9 Baar Baar (Mrs.) – Sagar Desai | Neeraj Pandey | Palak Muchhal
8 Yaar Mere (Homebound) – Amit Trivedi | Varun Grover | Javed Ali, Papon
7 Qubool (Haq) – Vishal Mishra | Kaushal Kishore | Armaan Khan
6 Ishq Jalakar (Dhurandhar) – Shashwat Sachdev, Roshan | Irshad Kamil, Sahir Ludhianvi | Shashwat Sachdev, Shahzad Ali, Subhadeep Das Chowdhury, Armaan Khan
5 Dhuan Dhuan (Aap Jaisa Koi) – Rochak Kohli | Gurpreet Saini | Sanjith Hegde
4 Soja (Nishaanchi) – Manan Bhardwaj | Manan Bhardwaj | Vandana Sinha, Prajakta Shukre
3 Ul Jalool (Gustakh Ishq) – Vishal Bhardwaj | Gulzar | Shilpa Rao, Papon
2 Usey Kehna (Tere Ishk Mein) – A.R. Rahman | Irshad Kamil | Nitesh Aher, Jonita Gandhi
1 Mann Ye Mera (Metro In Dino) – Pritam | Neelesh Misra | Vishal Mishra

Malayalam

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

With his outstandingly diverse work in Ponman and Painkili early in the year, it looked like Justin Varghese would comfortably be my composer of the year in Malayalam, but that was before Jakes Bejoy delivered the knockout punch in Lokah! Jakes has always excelled in folk-flavoured soundtracks (his work in Ayyappanum Koshiyum will forever rank among his best for me), and in Lokah he was able to take that folk penchant to a new level of grandeur. That and his work in Narivetta, also a very folk-infused album (not a big fan of his work in Thudarum; felt a bit too derivative and hence cramping his style), mean that the honour is shared between both Jakes and Justin. Mujeeb Majeed was another man who had a great year. We had two movies throwing back to the 80s sound quite effectively – Mujeeb’s Tamil soundtrack for Kalamkaval and Prashant Pillai‘s work for the Michael Jackson tribute that was Moonwalk. Speaking of retro throwbacks, Basil CJ – a man I rarely see in the scene despite being an incredible talent – delivered a soundtrack for the movie Ithiri Neram that has 6 well-made songs, each over 5.5 minutes in length, none of this 2-3 minute track nonsense. Forgot the last time I listened to a soundtrack like that. And after years of doing 3/4 songs in multiple movies post their brilliant debut back in Iyobinte Pusthakam, Neha-Yakzan finally got a proper 8-song soundtrack with Nellikkampoyil Night Riders, and did a fine job in it. The Thallumaala team of Vishnu Vijay and Khalid Rahman got back together in Alappuzha Gymkhana, and the result, albeit not as iconic, was still a thoroughly engaging piece of work. Justin Prabhakaran, who very nearly became my rare entry across all three languages (had to bump his Aap Jaisa Koi song off the Hindi list, unfortunately), continues to have a nice run with the Anthikkad family, having delivered across two of their movies this year (Hridayapoorvam, Sarvam Maya). I have also snuck one entry from 2024 into this list, a lovely song by PS Jayhari from the thoroughly endearing kids’ movie Sthanarthi Sreekuttan that I only discovered after my roundup last year.

30 Arikil Etho Novin (Machante Maalakha) – Ouseppachan|Sinto Sunny|Najim Arshad, Mridula Warrier
29 En Vaighai (Kalamkaval) – Mujeeb Majeed|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sindhu Delson, Sreerag Bharathan
28 Sambrani Penthiri (Vyasanasametham Bandhumithradhikal) – Ankit Menon|Vinayak Sasikumar|Adheef Muhamed, Ankit Menon
27 Maayum Maayum (Narivetta) – Jakes Bejoy|Vinu Kidachullan|Sruthi K. C.
26 Puthu Mazha (Sarvam Maya) – Justin P|Manu Manjith|Shakthisree Gopalan
25 Arike (Vala: Story of a Bangle) – Govind Vasantha|Rafeeq Ahammed|K. S. Chithra
24 Veyiloli Vitharum (Nellikkampoyil Night Riders) – Neha-Yakzan|Manu Manjith|Sachin Warrier, Neha S. Nair
23 Kanmanippoove (Thudarum) – Jakes Bejoy|B. K. Harinarayanan|M. G. Sreekumar
22 Heart Attack (Painkili) – Justin V|Vinayak Sasikumar|Fejo
21 Hatja (Alappuzha Gymkhana) – Vishnu Vijay|Suhail Koya|K. S. Harisankar, Vishnu Vijay
20 Malayajaavilolam (Jangar) – Bijibal|B. K. Harinarayanan|Sithara Krishnakumar, K. K. Nishad
19 Aarorum (Am Ah) – Gopi Sunder|Rafeeq Ahammed|Zeba Tommy
18 Kollam Paattu (Ponman) – Justin V|Anwar Ali|Resmi Sateesh
17 Jaalakkaari (Balti) – Sai Abhyankkar|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sai Abhyankkar, Sublahshini
16 Love Bite (Dheeran) – Mujeeb Majeed|Sharfu|Anne Amie, Gichu Joy
15 Kansoochi Thumbaal (Sthanarthi Sreekuttan) – P. S. Jayhari|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sooraj Santhosh, Saindhavi, M. M. Manasi
14 Vida Parayaam (Hridayapoorvam) – Justin P|Manu Manjith|Navaneeth Unnikrishnan, Devu Mathew
13 Minnalvala (Narivetta) – Jakes Bejoy|Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri|Sid Sriram, Sithara Krishnakumar
12 Paranje Paranje (Lokah) – Jakes Bejoy|B. K. Harinarayanan|Anuradha Sriram, K. C. Balasarangan, Dr. Neethusha, Anila Rajeev, Ajmal Fathima Praveen, Amritha Rajan, Aavani Malhar, Sony Mohan
11 Neeyorikkal (Ithiri Neram) – Basil CJ|Basil CJ|Sithara Krishnakumar, Viswajith
10 Viral Thodum (Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal) – Rahul Raj|K. S. Usha|Sruthy Sivadas
9 Baby Baby (Painkili) – Justin V|Vinayak Sasikumar|Himna Hilari, Hinitha Hilary, Lalitha Vijayakumar
8 Chiriye (Rekhachithram) – Mujeeb Majeed|Suhail Koya|Kapil Kapilan
7 Salsa – Marakaam Marakaam (Moonwalk) – Prashant Pillai|Sunil Gopalakrishnan|Hanan Shah, Mridul Anil, Preeti Pillai, Prashant Pillai
6 Kaadhal Ponmaan (Nellikkampoyil Night Riders) – Neha-Yakzan|Vinayak Sasikumar|Neha S. Nair, Vishnu Vijay
5 Azrael (L2: Empuraan) – Deepak Dev|Murali Gopy|Usha Uthup
4 Kandu Kandu (Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira) – Justin Varghese|Suhail Koya|Aavani Malhar
3 Varum Pokum (Alappuzha Gymkhana) – Vishnu Vijay|Suhail Koya|Sangeeth, Vishnu Vijay
2 Queen of the Night (Lokah) – Jakes Bejoy|Zeba Tommy|Zeba Tommy
1 Paka (Ponman) – Justin Varghese|Suhail Koya|K. S. Chithra, Justin Varghese

Tamil

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

There were multiple composers who delivered good songs across multiple albums this year – Sean Roldan, Santhosh Narayanan, G V Prakash Kumar, A R Rahman, but the one who impressed me the most was Nivas K Prasanna, who had his biggest project to date in Bison Kaalamaadan and handled it brilliantly. It was only Kumki 2, out of his 4 movies this year, that he disappointed in. The year also saw they much-hyped debut of Sai Abhyankkar in Dude, and the not-so-hyped Tamil debut of a bunch of others, the best among them being Amrit Ramnath (Bombay Jayashri’s son, for the uninitiated) in 3BHK – it was the latter’s debut that I found to be a more solid one, he even bettered his Malayalam debut from last year (Varshangalkku Shesham). Ilaiyaraaja had a few offbeat movies this year, but his biggest achievement, arguably the biggest achievement by an Indian musician this year, was of course the premiering of his Symphony No.1, Valiant in London’s Eventim Apollo (an event I was fortunate to attend). It was gladdening to see Kalyani Nair‘s Indian Choral Ensemble become more mainstream this year – I hope that continues into next year as well. What ideally shouldn’t continue is the Tamil fad of non-playback singers singing and ruining songs which was rampant this year as well, but I have minimal hopes of that happening. From a subtle nod to the audio cassette era with the Side A-Side B trend from a couple of years back (which continued in 2025 as well), Tamil film music took things to the next level by launching a “mini cassette” for the Prabhu Deva-A R Rahman movie Moonwalk earlier this month. Waiting to see what other revivals happen in 2026!

30 Theeratha Aasai (Enai Sudum Pani) – Mikkin Aruldev | Vasanth Balakrishnan | Naresh Iyer, Shweta Mohan
29 Kathiri Veyilil (Sumo) – Nivas K. Prasanna | Mohanrajan | Pragathi Guruprasad
28 Veezhadhe Va (IPL) – Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy | Aakash V., Tamilarasan Ra | Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy, Punya Selva, Aakash V., Tamilarasan Ra
27 Kanavugal Indri (Mask) – G. V. Prakash Kumar | Kaber Vasuki | Sublahshini
26 Aagasa Veeran (Thalaivan Thalaivii) – Santhosh Narayanan | Vivek | Pradeep Kumar, Dhee
25 Yen Uyire (Phoenix Veezhaan) – Sam C. S. | Karunakaran | Vijaynarain, Maanasi G Kannan
24 Valiye Valiye (Aaromaley) – Siddhu Kumar | Vignesh Ramakrishna | Sooraj Santhosh, The Indian Choral Ensemble
23 Thullum Nenjam (3BHK) – Amrit Ramnath | Karthik Netha | Shreya Ghoshal, Amrit Ramnath
22 Neelothi (Sirai) – Justin Prabhakaran | Sarathi | Sooraj Santhosh, Chinmayi Sripada
21 Kanne Kanmaniye (Nizharkudai) – Naren Balakumar | Padmaja Sriram | Saindhavi
20 Golden Sparrow (Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam) – G. V. Prakash Kumar | Arivu | Sublahshini, G. V. Prakash Kumar, Dhanush, Arivu
19 Kanne Kanave (DNA) – Sreekanth Hariharan | Karthik Netha | Sreekanth Hariharan, Sireesha Bhagavatula
18 Edho Pesa Thaane (Bun Butter Jam) – Nivas K. Prasanna | Vijay Sethupathi | Siddharth, Shilpa Rao
17 Bejaara Aanen (Love Marriage) – Sean Roldan | Mohan Rajan | Sivaangi Krishnakumar
16 Panimalare (Kaantha) – Jhanu Chanthar | Kutti Revathi, Sivam, Deepika Karthik Kumar | Pradeep Kumar, Priyanka NK
15 Yennai Izhukkuthadi (Kadhalikka Neramillai) – A. R. Rahman | Vivek | Dhee, A. R. Rahman
14 Mullai Vaasam (Thirukkural) – Ilaiyaraaja | Ilaiyaraaja | Ranjani
13 Mugilin Meley (Vanangaan) – G. V. Prakash Kumar | Selvamira | Saindhavi
12 Monica (Coolie) – Anirudh Ravichander | Vishnu Edavan, Asal Kolaar | Sublahshini, Anirudh Ravichander, Asal Kolaar
11 Kanimaa (Retro) – Santhosh Narayanan | Vivek | Santhosh Narayanan, The Indian Choral Ensemble
10 Muttha Mazhai (Thug Life) – A. R. Rahman | Siva Ananth | Chinmayi Sripada/Dhee
9 Oorum Blood (Dude) – Sai Abhyankkar | Paal Dabba | Sai Abhyankkar, Deepthi Suresh, Bhumi
8 Kalloorum (Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2) – G. V. Prakash Kumar | Vivek | Haricharan, Shweta Mohan
7 Iragey (Tourist Family) – Sean Roldan | Mohan Rajan | Vijay Yesudas
6 Please Yenna (Bad Girl) – Amit Trivedi | Kaber Vasuki | Maalavika Manoj
5 Edharkkaaga Marubadi (Retro) – Santhosh Narayanan | Vivek | Punya Selva/Ananthu
4 Oru Kana (3BHK) – Amrit Ramnath | Sri Ganesh | Haricharan
3 Cheenikkallu (Bison Kaalamaadan) – Nivas K. Prasanna | Mari Selvaraj | Chinmayi Sripada, Vijay Yesudas
2 Vazhithunaiye (Dragon) – Leon James | Vignesh Shivan | Sid Sriram, Sanjana Kalmanje
1 Anju Vanna Poove (Thug Life) – A. R. Rahman | Karthik Netha | Charulatha Mani/A R Rahman

Indian Indie/Pop

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

As always, this section only constitutes my picks from the indie and pop stuff I managed to listen to this year. And among those, the most formidable work came from Nishad G with his debut album Life Until 23 (another work I really wanted to review but couldn’t manage to). Have seen him provide deep insights into a lot of compositions over the years from his Indoencers account, and have marvelled at the level of knowledge he possesses at such a young age, so this album turning out this good wasn’t really a surprise. It was also nice to see Agam come out with another album after a long gap. Two of my favourite Malayalam composers, who did not have any movie projects this year – Vidyasagar and Sushin Shyam – surprised with non-film releases this year. Vidyasagar’s song seems to be part of an album, so I look forward the rest of it coming out in 2026.

30 Nindiya – Akash Tripathi, Ramil Ganjoo, Vidhya Gopal
29 Mukilpoovin (Adobe Abode) – Vidyasagar, Jasim Jamal, Rakshita Suresh, Vimosh Venugopal
28 United by Hip Hop – Paal Dabba, Reble, vichaar, 99side
27 Yeno Indru (Think Indie) – Rakhooo, Anand Kashinath, Vaisagh
26 Zindagi – Bhoomika Yellow B, Dheeraj Banerjea
25 Tere Siva Re (In Case We Forget) – The Yellow Diary, Lisa Mishra
24 Suno Dil Ki (Khud Ko Miloon) – Taba Chake
23 Dobara – Arjun Kanungo, Akbar Wasif
22 Mirza – Neeti Mohan, Adarsh Rao
21 Ve Mundeya – Tesher, Jonita Gandhi
20 Vizhi Veekura (Think Indie) – Sai Abhyankkar, Sai Smriti
19 Jogiya (Bhoomi 2025) – Salim-Sulaiman, Sonu Nigam, Paradox, Shraddha Pandit
18 Adhoori – Kutcheri, Varijashree Venugopal
17 Naranga Paal – Gabri, Hrishi
16 Yen Ithanai (Life Until 23) – Nishad G, Vijaynarain, Rishi K.
15 Ab Chhalakte Hue (Bhoomi 2025) – Prithvi Gandharv, Hariharan, Salim-Sulaiman, Ali Ahmad Jalili
14 Samandar – Santanu Ghatak, Nilanjan Samadder
13 Dil Ka Pata – Masala Coffee
12 Vidiyal – Sreekanth Hariharan
11 Ray – Sushin Shyam, Vinayak Sasikumar
10 Karmi (Umoja) – Shanka Tribe, Neha S. Nair
9 Talafi (Na Gul Na Gulistan) – Parvaaz
8 Azaa (Nayi Baat) – Faridkot, Himani Kapoor
7 Sapphire (Play) – Ed Sheeran, Arijit Singh
6 Konjamachum – Vijaynarain, Priyanka NK, Super Subu
5 Kagaz – Garvit-Priyansh
4 Sunset Prayers (Life Until 23) – Nishad G, Mohini Dey, Patrick Bartley
3 Sivanar – Sid Sriram
2 Saadho (Sabr) – The Anirudh Varma Collective, Pavithra Chari
1 The Silence that Remains (Arrival of the Ethereal) – Agam

The post Music Aloud Playback – Best Indian Songs of 2025! first appeared on Music Aloud.

Songs and soundtrack credits at the end.

One thing I like about Mohit Suri vis-à-vis the music in his films is his practice of regularly refreshing his composers (even while maintaining the same sound), which has led to him introducing a host of new artists over the years. Even in Saiyaara, you can see a few new names in the credits. Before going there though, also present in the lineup is the director’s one constant since his Murder 2 days, Mithoon. And Mithoon’s Dhun, which he also writes (bit of a Words hat-tip in his lines it would seem – “tere iss dil ko churaane ke liye..hai yahin ek dhun” a la “words are all I have to take your heart away”? The song is even called “tune”! ), comes with the familiarity that has riddled a lot of his songs post Tum Hi Ho; that piano refrain, the fact that Arijit Singh is behind the mic, all being contributing factors. The title song sees another of Suri’s recent regulars, Tanishk Bagchi (another thing I appreciate about the director – leveraging the “original” side of Bagchi rather than employing him for more remixes, albeit with mixed results) collaborating with two debutants, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami (check out their indie portfolio, they’ve created some impressive Kashmiri folk-based stuff). This too starts in a familiar fashion, Abdullah with a soulful delivery of a melancholic melody backed by Bagchi’s resonant piano phrases, before more layers get added on (some big names here – Warren Mendonsa and Kalyan Baruah on guitars, Krishna Kishor on drums etc) drawing you further and further into the song. That rousing segment in the second verse (yaadon ke taare..) took me back to days when we used to have bands from across the border like Jal, Roxen etc. The reprise version strips away the heavy arrangement elements, replacing them with acoustic guitars, flute and tabla/dholak. Writer Irshad Kamil fashions this as a response to the original lines while retaining a couple of refrains including the titular one. Shreya Ghoshal delivers in style as she always does, while Nizami joins her towards the end with a sufi-esque alaap. I liked the fact that they got Shreya to hum the hook that gets played on violin and guitars in the main version.

My current favourite from the soundtrack is Sachet-Parampara’s Humsafar, thanks primarily to the solid melody that they set the song to; big fan of that humming refrain from the prelude that reappears through the track in multiple forms. Fine job from Irshad Kamil on the lyrics once again, and that intense walt-y metre gives it the additional punch. As do the guitars (Kalyan Baruah, Bibhash Buragohain, Sagar Sathe) dominating the backdrop. Barbaad sees another debutant – Rishabh Kant aka The Rish who composes and writes the piece (have to say I prefer him in his former role). Breezy song that is delivered well by Jubin Nautiyal, with some nice work from the composer, especially in the interludes (saaz by Arbaz Khan in the first, sarangi by Dilshad Khan in the second). Like Saiyaara, this one too has a reprise version that is quite differently arranged from and much shorter than the main version. Composer does manage to retain the atmospheric feel of the track though, in this Shilpa Rao-sung version. The haari main outro is a nice touch. Vishal Mishra is the man tasked with giving us a respite from the sombre mood, and he does it well alongside lyricist Raj Shekhar, with the sprightly Tum Ho Toh. A very hummable melody that Mishra sings himself, joined in the second half by another promising-sounding debutante, Hansika Pareek.

Saiyaara. A soundtrack that is very much consistent with the Mohit Suri brand, and my favourite from that category in a long time.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Humsafar, Saiyaara, Tum Ho Toh

Soundtrack Credits

Song: Saiyaara
Music: Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, Arslan Nizami
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil
⁠Singer: Faheem Abdullah
Director of Choreography: Vijay Ganguly
Music Production: Tanishk Bagchi, Ganesh Waghela
Additional Production: Krishna Kishor⁠
Mixed & Mastered By: Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)
Recording Engineer: Calvin Fernandes
Recording Studio: Aural Dimension Recording Studio
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand
Guitars: Kalyan Baruah, Warren
⁠Piano: Tanishk Bagchi
⁠Rhythm: Krishna Kishor
Bass: Napier Peter Naveen
Keys: Rajesh, Melvin
Chorus (Female): Kamalaja, Alisha, Fathima, Aarthi
⁠Chorus (Male): Rahul, Suganth, Abijith, Sanjay

Song: Barbaad
Music: The Rish
Lyrics: The Rish (Rishabh Kant)
⁠Singer: Jubin Nautiyal
Director of Choreography: Vijay Ganguly
Music Production and Programming: DJ Phukan⁠
Mixed & Mastered By: Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)
Recording Studio: Trinity Sounds Studio
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand
Live Sarangi: Dilshad Khan
Electric Saaz: Arbaz Khan
Electric Guitars: Ishan Das, Daanish Sharma, Arbaz Khan, The Rish
Acoustic Guitars: Ishan Das, Arbaz Khan
Live Synthesizers: The Rish, Asad Shabbir
Backing Vocals (Female): Harjot Kaur

Song: Tum To Toh
Music: Vishal Mishra
Singers: Vishal Mishra, Hansika Pareek
Lyrics: Raj Shekhar
Director of Choreography: Vijay A Ganguly
Music Production: Vaibhav Pani
Arranged By: Vishal Mishra
Mixed & Mastered By: Trihangku Lahkar
Music Assistants: Kumar Gaurav Singh, Trihangku Lahkar, Bitupon Boruah
Recording Engineer at VMS: Trihangku Lahkar
Recording Studio: VMS
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand
Acoustic & Electric Guitar: Kandarpa Kalita
Additional Guitars: Vaibhav Pani

Song: Humsafar
Music: Sachet-Parampara
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil
⁠Singers: Sachet Tandon, Parampara Tandon
Director of Choreography: Vijay A. Ganguly
Intro Ad-lib Lyrics: Prashant Pandey
Music Production: Sachet-Parampara, Nikhil-Swapnil, Swapnil Tare, Vaibhav Pani, Raghav Sharma
Mixed & Mastered By: Shadab Rayeen at New Edge Sound Studios
Recording Studio: SP Studios
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand
Guitars: Sagar Sathe (at YRF Studios)
Electric and Acoustic Guitars: Kalyan Baruah
Additional Electric Guitars: Bibhash Buragohain
Beatboxers: Ishita Jagta, Shivali Shripad Joshi, Sadhana Bhikaji Tawde

Song: Dhun
Song Composed, Arranged & Produced By: Mithoon
Lyrics: Mithoon
Singer: Arijit Singh
Director of Choreography: Vijay A. Ganguly
Music Production: Godswill Mergulhão
Creative Head (Dhun Song): Anugrah
Mixed & Mastered By: Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)
Recording Engineer: A Manivannan, Eli Rodrigues
Recording Studio: Living Water Music
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand
Assistant Mixing Engineer: Michael Edwin Pillai
Music Assistants: Anugrah, Godswill Mergulhao, Eli Rodrigues, Kaushal Gohil
Guitars: Kalyan Baruah
Mithoon’s Management: Vijay Iyer
Mithoon’s Staff: Navnath Bacche, Ganesh Raut & Sanjeev Utekar

Song: Saiyaara Reprise – Female
Music: Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, Arslan Nizami
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil
⁠Singer: Shreya Ghoshal
Alaap Vocals: Arslan Nizami
Director of Choreography: Vijay A. Ganguly
Music Production: Tanishk Bagchi, Ganesh Waghela
Additional Production: Krishna Kishor⁠
Mixed & Mastered By: Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay)
Recording Engineer: Vedant Uttarkar
Recording Studio: The Sanctuary Audio Visual Studio
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand

Song: Barbaad Reprise – Female
Music: The Rish
Lyrics: The Rish (Rishabh Kant)
⁠Singer: Shilpa Rao
Director of Choreography: Vijay A. Ganguly
Music Production & Arrangement: The Rish (Rishabh Kant)
Mixed & Mastered By: Hanish Taneja (Studio Alika)
Recording Studio: YRF Studios (By Abhishek Khandelwal)
Music Supervisor: Yash Anand
Acoustic and Electric Guitars: Bhushan Chitnis
Additional Guitars: Bibhash Buragohain
Live Piano and Synthesisers: Rishabh Kant
Backing Vocals: Akanksha Bhandari

The post Saiyaara – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack) first appeared on Music Aloud.

Songs and album credits at the end.

While listening to the Rochak Kohli songs from Aap Jaisa Koi, I happened to browse through his portfolio on wiki. It is mental that over the 13+ years the man has been active in the industry, there’s only been two instances of him handed an entire soundtrack (unless I overlooked something else)! And it is not even for lack of quality – the man has been pretty consistent with his output through this period. Really wish more makers would be confident about working with Rochak. Coming back to this movie, the composer does a tidy job of the 40% of the soundtrack that he is given. Jab Tu Sajan’s simple, understated melodic piece is tailormade for Mohit Chauhan, and Mohit Dogra’s work on the plucked strings dominating the soundscape gives it an almost unplugged feel at times. My favourite bit though is the Dhuan Dhuan portion sung by the chorus in double-time towards the end of the song. Incidentally this refrain is what kicks off Rochak’s other song, Dhuan Dhuan, which is pretty much the antithesis of Jab Tu Sajan. After borrowing the first three lines from that chorus though, this one goes on a darker, classical-tinged (jog raaga I think?) route. Lovely composition this one, and Sanjith Hegde is a great choice to deliver the vocals as he particularly excels in the soaring portions of the piece. Neat work from lyricist Gurpreet Saini across the two songs as well, drawing a contrast between the two moods quite effectively.

Which brings us to the Meenakshi Sundareshwar team’s half of the song – composer Justin Prabhakaran and lyricist Raj Shekhar reuniting with director Vivek Soni. And if you started listening to this album without this information beforehand, Mila Tujhe should instantly make you realise that – the song is a straight-up throwback to Tu Yahin Hai (minus the kuthu segment of course); that waltz meter, vocalisation of rhythm, and the words capturing the magic of new-found love. None of this makes the song any less of a delight to listen to, of course, and that is probably why they went for this formula yet again! Beautiful singing by Vishal Mishra and Prateeksha Srivastava, supported by some charming work in the backdrop from Padmaja Sreenivasan (credited for “additional vocal effects”, which I assume refers to the acappella-esque vocalisations, and harmonies). Abhay Jodhpurkar who prominently featured in Meenakshi Sundareshwar gets to head the serene Saare Jag Mein. The song carries a prayer-like feel about it, love the subtle use of the sitar (Kishore Kumar). Aanandi Joshi, another singer from the Meenakshi lineup, joins Abhay towards the end as the song finishes with a flourish in an explosion of sargam, kathak bols and a slew of folk and classical percussion. The album ends on a lighter note with Jaadu Wali Chimki sung by indie musician Vidhya Gopal, Devenderpal Singh and Vijay Dhuri. The quirky tone of the song along with the folk flavour makes for an endearing combo, and the cutesy touches the singers add to their rendition (Vidhya in particular is in good form) enhances the appeal.

Aap Jaisa Koi. A solid sophomore effort in Hindi from Justin Prabhakaran, alongside the reliable Rochak Kohli. And thanks to the makers for not subjecting us to a remix of the original Aap Jaisa Koi!

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Dhuan Dhuan, Mila Tujhe, Jaadu Wali Chimki

Soundtrack Credits

Jab Tu Sajan
Singer: Mohit Chauhan
Music Composer: Rochak Kohli
Lyricist: Gurpreet Saini
Music Producer: Rochak Kohli, Sharan Rawat
Guitar & Plucks: Mohit Dogra
Mix & Master: Eric Pillai
Music Supervisor: Azeem Dayani
Sr Associate Music Supervisor: Tanvi Asher
Jr Associate Music Supervisor: Vasundhara Misra

Mila Tujhe
Music Composer: Justin Prabhakaran
Lyricist: Raj Shekhar
Singer: Vishal Mishra, Prateeksha Srivastava
Additional Voice Effects: Padmaja Sreenivasan
Music Producer: Justin Prabhakaran
Song Mix: Balu Thankachan
Song Mix Assisted: Paul Daniel J, Sreenivasa Sharma
Song Master: Gethin John
Additional Programming: Sebastian Sathish, Dishon Prince, Barath Dhansekar, Beven Elankumaran and Dan Kristen
Recording Engineers: Rujpjit Das, Vishnu Raj M R, Senthil Prasad and Harsh Bhoir

Dhuan Dhuan
Singer: Sanjith Hegde
Music Composer: Rochak Kohli
Lyricist: Gurpreet Saini
Music Producer: Sharan Rawat
Mix & Master: Eric Pillai
Music Supervisor: Azeem Dayani
Sr Associate Music Supervisor: Tanvi Asher
Jr Associate Music Supervisor: Vasundhara Misra

Saare Jag Mein
Singers: Abhay Jodhpurkar, Aanandi Joshi
Lyrics: Raj Shekhar
Backing Vocals : Umesh Joshi, Vijay Dhuri, Siddhant Karawde, Pragati Joshi, Arohi Mhatre Nayak, Aditi Prabhudesai
Violin: Akkarsh Kashyap
Acoustic Guitar , Nylon Guitar , Electric Guitar , Bass Guitar: Keba Jeremiah
Sitar: Kishore Kumar
Tabla, Dholak, Dholl, Duff, Satti, Manjeera, Ghatam, Gada Singari, Small Percusions: Shruthiraj, K V Balu
Konnakol: Ashwin Subramaniyan
Additional Rhythm Programming: Barath Dhanasekar
Voice Editor: Shree Shankar (Pitch Worxx)
Musicians Co-ordinators: Antony Raj (The Station Inn), Nirmal Raj (Hymn Studio), Nishant Agarwal ( Mumbai )
Recording Engineers: Rujpjit Das ( Playhead Studio) , Vishnu Raj M R (2barq), Harsh Bhoir (Asia Music Vision, Mumbai)
Song Mixed By Balu Thankachan (20db Black)
Mixing Assisted By: Paul Daniel J , Sreenivasa Sharma (20db Black)
Song Mastered By: Gethin John At Hafod Mastering, Wales, Uk
Song Composed And Arranged By: Justin Prabhakaran

Jaadu Wali Chimki
Music Composer: Justin Prabhakaran
Lyricist: Raj Shekhar
Singer: Devender Pal Singh, Vidhya Gopal
Additional Voice: Vijay Dhuri
Music Producer: Justin Prabhakaran
Song Mix: Balu Thankachan
Song Mix Assisted: Paul Daniel J, Sreenivasa Sharma
Song Master: Gethin John
Additional Programming: Sebastian Sathish, Dishon Prince, Barath Dhansekar, Beven Elankumaran and Dan Kristen
Recording Engineers: Rujpjit Das, Vishnu Raj M R, Senthil Prasad and Harsh Bhoir

The post Aap Jaisa Koi – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack) first appeared on Music Aloud.

Songs and musician credits (to be updated as I get more info) at the end.

When the 15 second soaring segment from Vinveli Nayaga dropped as part of Thug Life’s first look a few months back, I expected it to be some kind of a mystical piece. Instead, what greeted me in the soundtrack was a blast of nostalgia! A pulsating piece that could easily work as the theme song of any of the several action-adventure shows from the 90s that a lot of us grew up watching. Composer A R Rahman was perhaps going for some kind of anime inspired theme here (judging by the Japanese phrases uttered by Kamal Hassan at a point etc) – he of course spruces it up amply with expansive violins and a well-employed chorus (love that operatic second interlude!). Shruti Haasan is a great choice to lead the proceedings, and A R Ameen chips in well with the English refrain. Add Karthik Netha’s words to the mix, and this is a hero anthem that is delightfully different from the ones we are used to. The highlight of Jinguchaa for me is that immensely catchy title hook delivered by Vaishali Samant and Shaktisree Gopalan (especially love it when it is a call-and-response between the two), one that the song keeps coming back to even as the melody flows along different routes in each verse (and a third voice joins in as well on occasion – a competent Adithya RK).  Keba Jeremiah and Keith Peters are unsurprisingly brilliant on the guitars, but it is the brass section that makes this the most boisterous of all the wedding songs that the A R Rahman-Mani Ratnam team have given us (I have made a compilation of those many wedding songs here, in case you are keen on doing a recap!). I am eagerly waiting for the full video to be released, even the snippets that are in the lyrical video are so infectiously joyful! Jinguchaa isn’t the only song that finds great use of horns. My favourite bit of, rather the only segment I enjoyed from Sugar Baby is the close to one minute bit that starts around the 1:27 mark with an eruption of horns and drums, adding to the song’s intrigue. Found the song pretty disappointing otherwise, especially since it starts with that very promising oriental twang (shamisen, I am guessing?) et al. Alexandra Joy, Shuba and Sarath Santosh handle the vocals here.

In his movies from around the mid-90s, director Priyadarshan used to do this little thing that I quite liked – while something was going on in a scene, a conversational snippet from some background character(s) not in the scene would echo across the soundscape, giving that sequence something of an ethereal touch. That is what came to mind as I heard the faint background dialogues in Anju Vanna Poove – the song I was most excited about pre-release, and has turned out to be my favourite from the soundtrack. One of the main reasons for my excitement was Charulatha Mani, and she sounds wonderful here with her soulful rendition of the serene, folk-flavoured melody. Adding to the atmospheric vibe of the song are the twinkly percussive notes (marimba or kalimba I guess), the occasional synth sounds (continuum fingerboard?), and the gentle flute phrases (not sure if some of those are synth-generated as well). The most brilliant thing about the arrangement is the composer’s employment of the thoroughly endearing children’s chorus. Took my mind back to Gurus of Peace, a song that was incidentally also based on a folk piece – Poraalae Ponnuthaayi. And like Poraalae, this one too has a sad version sung by A R Rahman himself. The melody and lines remain the same but the arrangements turn much more sombre, starting with a dramatic violin prelude. The cheery elements in the original version are pretty much all stripped away in favour of pensive sounds of piano and strings. Rahman’s own poignant rendition – the best he has sounded in a long time – that truly drives home the pain and melancholy. The way Muththa Mazhai starts – the tanpura strains, the classical flavour (puriya dhanashree raaga), sensual overtone – a Hai Rama comparison was inevitable. But of course, the composer pivots into qawwali mode just under a minute into the track, switching to a lighter raaga as well in the process. Had I not already known that this song had a qawwali element, I might have enjoyed that transition even more, but the sudden eruption of tablas at Innum Varum Endhan Kadhai was still a pleasant surprise. The melody, a female voice at the lead, the rhythm etc. made me wonder if there is a subtle nod to Naushad’s Teri Mehfil from Mughal-e-Azam (a song which incidentally also inspired Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Shikayat not so long back). Speaking of the female voice, I do believe that Dhee isn’t perfect in this song, in the more classical heavy bits you can feel a bit of dissonance with her style of singing (which Chinmayi pulled off amazingly in the audio launch version), however, she does a great job over the rest of the song. And while the outpouring of support for Chinmayi around the song has been great, I also feel that the pile-on against Dhee’s version has been unfair, and I don’t buy the theory that ARR was forced to use her instead of Chinmayi because of the ban – if he was indeed looking for a replacement for Chinmayi, I doubt he would have gone to a singer whose style is totally different from hers. This is the version Rahman chose to go with in the album, and it should have remained that way. That said, the resurgence of support for Dhee in recent days, including Chinmayi’s praise in interviews, has been gladdening. Anyway, those were my tuppence on the matter, back to the song. Love the addition of the pakhawaj/mridangam to the percussion around the second reiteration of the title verse. Even the male chorus reiteration in the second interlude gets a fillip with the female chorus joining in. Modifying the final chorus melody to enable a seamless segue back to the puriya dhanashree melody is a brilliant touch from the composer. As is Dhee’s Innum Varum Endhan Kadhai fade-out into a whisper, to the accompaniment of the gentle smattering of tabla and harp. What continues to rankle me as I listen to the song though, is the use of the phrase Dum Maaro Dum – what is that even doing in such a song?! Rakshita Suresh is outstanding in the sultry Engeyo that really deserved to be a longer piece. But even in that short duration, we are treated to a delectable mix of jazz and flamenco. Lovely use of trumpet here, standing out among the other instruments. O Maara by Paal Dabba and Let’s Play by thoughtsfornow are the only songs that have failed to make much of an impression on me – between the two though, I prefer the former, especially for the guitar solo towards the end!

Thug Life. A thoroughly entertaining soundtrack from A R Rahman for his mentor that features the most diverse spread of genres that we have heard in an ARR album in a long time!

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Anju Vanna Poove, Vinveli Nayaga, Muththa Mazhai, Engeyo

Song Title: Vinveli Nayaga

Song Composed and Arranged by A.R.Rahman

Lyrics: Karthik Netha

Singer: Shruti Haasan

RAP Performed by: A.R. Ameen

RAP Written by: Prashanth Venkat

Music Supervisor: Nakul Abhyankar Prashanth Venkat

Project Manager: Karthik Sekaran

Drums: Kumaran S S

Budapest Scoring Orchestra –

Recording Studio : Rottenbiller Studios

Conductor: Peter Illenyi

Orchestra Indian Representative- Balasubramanian G

Session producer: Bálint Sapszon

Recording Engineer: Viktor Sazbo

Librarian: Agnes Sapszon, Kati Reti

Choral Arrangemet – Arjun Chandy

Choral: Deepthi Suresh, Aparna Harikumar, Aparna Narayanan,

Nayansee Sharma, Arusha Balu, Sarath Santhosh, Abijith Rao,

Shenbagaraj, Narayanan, Sai Sharan

Additional Orchestral Programming: Shubham Bhat

Orchestrators: Samarth Srinivasan, Nipun Bhatnagar

Additional Programming: Pawan CH

Sound engineers-

Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai: Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran, Sathish V Saravan, Bharath Arjunan, Aravind Crescendo

AM Studios, Chennai: Sivakumar S, Pradeep Menon, Krishnan Subramanian, Aravind MS, S Padmasharan

Panchathan, Mumbai: Nitish R Kumar, Harshil Pathak, Naval Chikhliya , Dilshaad Shabbir Shaikh

Uno Records, Chennai (Live Drums Recording)-

N. Kiran Surath

Assisted by – R.Sivasathya

Song Mixed and Mastered by Nitish R Kumar

Dolby Music Mix and Technical Lead: Riyasdeen Riyan

Musicians Co Ordinators: Samidurai R, Abdul Haiyum

Song Title: Jinguchaa

Song Composed and Arranged by A.R.Rahman

Lyrics: Kamal Haasan

Singers: Vaishali Samant, Shakthisree Gopalan & Adithya RK

Guitars: Keba Jeremiah

Bass Guitar: Keith Peters

Flute: Kamalakar

Music Supervisor: Nakul Abhyankar

Project Manager: Karthik Sekaran

Additional Programming: Santhosh Dhayanidhi, Prashanth Venkat

Rhythm Programming: Kalyan

Vocal Supervision: Sarath Santhosh, Suryansh, Sreekanthan Hariharan, Haston Rodrigues

Sound Engineers:

Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai –

Senior Engineers: Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran

Assistant Engineers: Satish V Saravanan, Bharath Arjunan, Aravind Crescendo

Panchathan, Mumbai –

Dilshaad Shabbir Shaikh, Harshil Pathak, Naval Chikhliya

Mixed by Nakul Abhyankar, Suresh Permal

Mastered by Suresh Permal

Dolby Atmos Mix and Head of Technicals: Riyasdeen Riyan

Musicians Coordinator: Samydurai R, Abdul Haiyum

Song Title: Sugar Baby

Song Composed and Arranged by A.R.Rahman

Lyrics: Siva Ananth and A.R. Rahman

RAP: Shuba

Singers: Alexandra Joy, Shuba, Sarath Santosh

Music Supervisor: Nakul Abhyankar Prashanth Venkat

Project Manager: Karthik Sekaran

Musicians: Sax – Omkar Dhumal, Trumpet – Angelin

Choral Supervisors: Suryansh, Arjun Chandy, Sarath Santosh, Sreekanth Hariharan

Additional Programming: P A Deepak, Nakul Abhyankar, Prashanth Venkat

Sound engineers-

Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai: Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran, Sathish V Saravan, Bharath Arjunan, Aravind Crescendo

AM Studios, Chennai: Sivakumar S, Pradeep Menon, Krishnan Subramanian, Aravind MS, S Padmasharan

Panchathan, Mumbai: Harshil Pathak, Naval Chikhliya , Dilshaad Shabbir Shaikh

Big Whisker Studio, Goa: Akash Kumar

Song Mixed and Mastered by P A Deepak

Dolby Music Mix and Technical Lead: Riyasdeen Riyan

Musicians Co Ordinators: Samidurai R, Abdul Haiyum

Song: Muththa Mazhai
Singer: Dhee
Lyrics: Siva Ananth
Music: A.R. Rahman

Song: Anju Vanna Poove
Singer: Charulatha Mani
Lyrics: Karthik Netha
Music: A.R. Rahman

Song: O Maara
Singer: Paal Dabba
Lyrics: Paal Dabba
Music: A.R. Rahman

Song: Engeyo
Singer: Rakshita Suresh
Lyrics: Siva Ananth
Music: A.R. Rahman

Song: Let’s Play
Singer: thoughtsfornow
Lyrics: thoughtsfornow
Music: A.R. Rahman

Song: Anju Vanna Poove (Reprise)
Singer: A.R. Rahman
Lyrics: Karthik Netha
Music: A.R. Rahman

The post Thug Life – Music Review (Tamil Soundtrack) first appeared on Music Aloud.

In the midst of Cold War tensions, when diplomacy often took the form of strategic military alliances and economic aid, a more soulful ambassador took centre stage: jazz. This quintessentially American art form, born out of struggle and improvisation, found itself crossing borders, not with treaties and guns but with melodies. Between the United States and India, jazz became more than just music; it became a bridge—one that carried ideas of freedom, dialogue and creativity in both directions.

Setting the Stage: Jazz Meets India

As the US sought allies in a world divided between democracy and communism, India stood as a critical player in the Non-Aligned Movement. For the American State Department, jazz presented an unorthodox yet powerful instrument of diplomacy. Starting in 1956, the U.S. State Department sponsored Jazz Ambassadors to Africa, Latin America, the Near East, the Middle East and Asia. Jazz’s roots in African American struggles for equality and its improvisational spirit symbolised the democratic ideals the US hoped to promote. The State Department-led programme promoted jazz as a symbol of American culture and racial harmony, carefully selecting artists based on musicianship, patriotism and band diversity. “America’s public image in the developing world needed a little spit and polish — and so the US decided to send artists around the world to demonstrate that Americans were open and fun, superior to namby-pamby ballet,” explains Naresh Fernandes, author of Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay’s Jazz Age (2017).

India, freshly post-colonial and exploring its cultural identity, found in jazz a compelling resonance. The music’s ethos of freedom and individuality mirrored the country’s own narrative of liberation and self-expression. It wasn’t long before the first jazz ambassadors—giants like Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, and their troupe of musicians—arrived on Indian shores, carrying their trumpets, saxophones, drums and pianos as tools of dialogue.

Dizzy Gillespie: A Sonic Pioneer

In 1956, Dizzy Gillespie brought his bebop brilliance to India and Pakistan among other countries in the Third World captivating audiences with his performances. Gillespie and a group of some 20 people—in Gillespie’s words, “an American assortment of blacks, whites, males, females, Jews, and Gentiles”, were sent on tour. The U.S. government wanted to send a signal that bigotry was waning at home, and, again in Gillespie’s words, “They [foreign audiences] could see it wasn’t as intense because we had white boys and I was the leader of the band. That was strange to them because they’d heard about blacks being lynched and burned, and here I come with half whites and blacks and a girl playing in the band. And everybody seemed to be getting along fine. So I didn’t try to hide anything. I said ‘Yeah…we have our problems but we’re still working on it. I’m the leader of this band, and those white guys are working for me.’ That’s a helluva thing.”

But it was more than leading a band and playing notes. In jam sessions with local musicians, Gillespie blended the improvisational energy of jazz with the intricate rhythms of Indian ragas. It was a meeting of two musical worlds that spoke the same language of creativity. Gillespie embraced the local music, leading to Rio Pakistan (1958), one of the first numbers to introduce a raga improvisation in American jazz, blending his trumpet with Stuff Smith’s violin.

These collaborations weren’t just symbolic; they sparked something profound. Gillespie left South Asia with his bebop enriched by the improvisational techniques of Indian classical music. South Asian musicians, especially in Pakistan, in turn, began experimenting with jazz’s fluidity, setting the stage for a cultural dialogue that would reverberate for decades.

Brubeck and the Rhythms of “Take Five”

In 1958, the Dave Brubeck Quartet toured India, landing in Bombay, where Brubeck’s warped piano led him to a local store and a jam session with sitarist Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan.

In Madras, the Brubeck Quartet met mridangam maestro Pazhani Subramania Pillai (PSP), known for his rhythmic mastery and elegant presence. PSP gave Joe Morello a masterclass in Carnatic tala patterns, inspiring him to adapt mridangam techniques to his drum set using his fingers instead of sticks.

A couple of days later, All India Radio (AIR) broadcasted their jam session on Voice of America, with the legendary Willis Conover introducing the mridangam and jazz drum set. One diary entry by Paul Desmond, the Quartet’s saxophonist, from his days in Madras reads, “Another session with Indian musicians at All India Radio – pretty much a mutual admiration society for rhythm men. Joe impressed by hand technique, odd meters.”  

The music journalist Philip Clark wrote, “The two percussionists set a ferocious tempo, Morello answering Subramania Pillai’s percussive jabs and scrapes by firing rhythms back, his sticks ricocheting against the wooden rims of his drums. Having already learned the significance of 2+2+2+3 for the Turkish psyche, Brubeck wanted to test how compatible the blues and Indian music could be, and the improvisation soon turned into a blues. The opening of his solo was drowned out on the recording by Morello and Subramania Pillai’s sweet thunder, but Brubeck’s piano suddenly zoomed into focus and his light-touch, spidery lines steamrolled toward orotund block chords”.

Released in 1959 and initially overlooked, Take Five—featuring Morello’s refined 5/4 groove—unexpectedly soared up the charts, turning into a breakout hit. The album’s success encouraged the Brubeck Quartet to further experiment with unconventional time signatures.

Another origin story behind Take Five can be traced back to Leslie Godinho, a Goan drummer, who introduced the conga to Bollywood music in the song ‘Sar jo tera chakraye ya dil dooba jaaye’. Louiz Banks recalls, “Take Five was the outcome of Leslie’s few drum lessons to Joe Morello on odd time signatures and Paul Desmond and Dave Brubeck got the idea for a tune in 5/4 .. the result was TAKE FIVE and the rest is history… and various other jazz groups ventured into the domain of odd time signatures.. but nothing can take away the popularity of 4/4 and 3/4 …these rhythms are very singable and danceable… the whole history of jazz standards, broadway songs, popular music stands firmly on the strong pillars of 4/4 and 3/4 … but inventive jazz musicians have delved into odd time signatures like 5/8,7/8,9/8,11/4,13/4, etc and made it work for jazz interpretation…. In many ways apart from other cultures India is the land for odd time rhythms… it’s quite natural for musicians to play a tune in 11/4, 13/4, 9/8, … the favourites being 7/4,7/8 and 5/8…..BUT OF COURSE, YOU CANNOT JIVE TO THIS MUSIC !! But Indian dancers are quite comfortable with these odd time rhythms …..”

After returning from the tour, Brubeck recorded Jazz Impressions of Eurasia, featuring “Calcutta Blues,” one of the first jazz pieces to blend Indian melodic and rhythmic elements.

Duke Ellington: Elegance Meets Tradition

In 1963, Duke Ellington brought his sophisticated orchestral jazz to India. Prior to his departure to India via West Asia, he predicted how the visit would impact his music, “With this much beauty in India—the music, the scenery, the colors, the people—there is bound to be some effect on my music, but I cannot tell now exactly what it will be…I prefer to absorb everything, to drink it all in, and then to have it come back to me naturally. I want it to be an external process; I want it to be reflection and not refraction”.

Interactions with West Asian as well as Indian musicians during the tour, including the tabalchi, Pandit Chatur Lal, led to the 1967 album Far East Suite. In the opening movement, “Tourist Point of View,” baritone saxophonist Henry Carnell plays a diminished scale ‘snake charmer’ motif, a stereotypical musical signifier of the ‘mysterious’ East. In another movement, “Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah),” a brass instrument briefly mimics the drone of a tanpura, before changing pitches. The concept album also dedicated one movement to Agra. Such inspirations aside, the 1963 tour was cut short while the orchestra was performing in Turkey, by the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22.

Ellington’s engagement with Indian musicians sparked admiration on both sides. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan in collaboration with the sitar player, Ustad Rais Khan of the Kirana gharana, released Raga, Jazz Style in 1968, blending Hindustani classical music with Bollywood flourishes and jazzy motifs inspired by Duke Ellington’s orchestration. Leslie Godinho’s restrained drums and the soulful meanderings of Manohari Singh (R.D. Burman’s music arranger) on saxophone interspersed with fiery solos on the sitar showcase an early fusion of ragas with jazz.  

During the tour, an eighteen year old Amjad Ali Khan played sarod with the orchestra. Further, Ellington’s fascination with Indian classical music’s rhythmic complexity and emotional depth found expression in his performances. Indian audiences, captivated by the grandeur of his arrangements, saw in Ellington a bridge between the precision of Western orchestras and the improvisational soul of their own musical heritage. As the Indian Express reported, “Duke Ellington’s Orchestra played the poetry of jazz. We lost our hearts.”

Armstrong’s India: Jazz for the Masses

Perhaps no jazz artist made as deep an impact on India as Louis Armstrong. When “Satchmo” toured in 1964, he didn’t just perform—he electrified. Massive crowds gathered to witness his iconic trumpet playing and his unmatched stage charisma. Armstrong’s ability to connect with audiences transcended language and culture. He arrived in India to a warm welcome, with HMV Records placing a grand “Welcome Satchmo” ad in The Times of India. Despite the Pope’s concurrent visit, Armstrong, already popular through films and his hit Hello Dolly, drew packed audiences across the country.

Louis Armstrong’s 1964 India tour introduced New Orleans jazz to Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta, inspiring musicians like Anthony Gonsalves (later to be immortalised in the song “My Name is Anthony Gonsalves” from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony) and Chic Chocolate to blend jazz with Indian classical music, paving the way for Indo-jazz fusion. His visit sparked a jazz revival in clubs like Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel and influenced numerous Bollywood film scores.

A Legacy of Exchange

These tours were not one-sided. American jazz musicians carried home Indian influences that reshaped their work, while Indian musicians integrated jazz into their local scenes. Bombay became a hub of this fusion, with figures like Leslie Godinho and Chic Chocolate leading the charge. Chic, often called “India’s Louis Armstrong,” blended jazz with Goan traditions, carving out a distinctly Indian jazz identity.

By the 1970s, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson added another layer to this narrative, delivering a powerful rendition of “We Shall Overcome” in New Delhi. Her performance, attended by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, underscored the shared struggles and aspirations of two democracies.

The jazz tours of the Cold War era were more than just cultural showcases; they were reciprocal exchanges that reshaped both American and Indian musical landscapes. What began as a diplomatic effort to promote American ideals evolved into a dynamic fusion of jazz and Indian classical music, paving the way for Indo-jazz experimentation. Artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong left India enriched by its rhythmic complexities, while Indian musicians embraced jazz’s improvisational freedom in clubs and Bollywood scores. The tours cultivated a cross-cultural dialogue that transcended politics, reinforcing jazz as a universal language of freedom, creativity and connection. Today, Indo-jazz fusion stands as a testament to the power of music to bridge traditions, inspire innovation and foster enduring artistic legacies.

Vivek is a writer based in Bangalore and founder of the Nenmi9 Fellowship.

PS: If reading that piece has put you in the mood to explore some Hindi film songs with jazz influence, we have that covered for you already! Here’s our playlist covering jazz-based Bollywood songs from across ages – available on Apple Music and Spotify!

The post Swinging Across Borders: Jazz, India and the Cold War first appeared on Music Aloud.

Just a little over a day left before we complete the first quarter of this century. In last year’s roundup, I had featured nine different lists, the most I have ever done. Ironically, this year, due to some not-so-happy personal circumstances, I have only been able to complete four lists as of now – Bollywood, Malayalam, Tamil and Indian Indie/Pop, the least I have ever done. However, this post will be a work-in-progress – I promise to continue working on this in the first half of January and finish with at least 7-8 lists. So, for the moment, hope you enjoy this partial roundup!

Took a bit longer than expected to finish off the rest of my roundup, so decided that I might as well time it with Music Aloud’s 16th birthday! So I have added four more lists as promised – Telugu, Web Series, Kannada and Marathi. Couldn’t find time to do Coke Studio, sorry about that. So if you are still in the mood to catch up on some of 2024’s best, scroll down!

And thanks again for all the support across these 16 years of our existence – we hope it continues for long. Also do follow our instagram page if you aren’t yet – we are hoping to get a bunch of activities going there this year!

Shout-out to the amazing @athulct for helping with the artwork this year as well!

Like last year, I have created an All In One playlist for the benefit of anyone who doesn’t want to go through the individual lists and would rather shuffle-play the entire thing:

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Happy listening, and wish you all a lot more wonderful music in 2025!

Bollywood

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

It was a slightly better year for Bollywood compared to recent past. Thanks partly to some makers with great sense of music reuniting with their trusted composers – Imtiaz Ali with A R Rahman (Amar Singh Chamkila), Sriram Raghavan with Pritam (Merry Christmas), Kiran Rao-Aamir Khan with Ram Sampath (Laapataa Ladies), Siddharth Anand and Vishal-Shekhar etc. And partly to Sachin-Jigar going on a run evocative of the early days of their mentor Pritam, in more ways than one. The Besharam Rang-fuelled “electro ghazal” (for want of a better phrasing) trend gained further pace this year – we got some good numbers in the genre. Alongside the usual suspects, it was nice to see the return of some names I would love to see more of in Hindi, like Joi Barua, MM Kreem, Karan Kulkarni etc. and a bunch of new ones like Hunny-Bunny and Mayukh-Mainak.

1 Vida Karo (Amar Singh Chamkila) – A R Rahman|Irshad Kamil|Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi
2 Raat Akeli Thi (Merry Christmas) – Pritam|Varun Grover|Arijit Singh, Antara Mitra
3 Dheeme Dheeme (Laapataa Ladies) – Ram Sampath|Swanand Kirkire|Shreya Ghoshal
4 Kasturi (Amar Prem Ki Prem Kahani) – Prasad S|Kunaal Verma|Arijit Singh
5 Aaj Ki Raat (Stree 2) – Sachin Jigar|Amitabh Bhattacharya|Divya Kumar, Madhubanti Bagchi
6 Mirza (Maidaan) – A R Rahman|Manoj Muntashir|Richa Sharma, Javed Ali
7 Bekaar Dil (Fighter) – Vishal-Sheykhar|Kumaar|Vishal Mishra, Shilpa Rao
8 Tauba Tauba (Bad Newz) – Karan Aujla|Karan Aujla|Karan Aujla
9 Saathiya (Yudhra) – Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy|Javed Akhtar|Pratibha Singh Baghel, Vishal Mishra
10 Thehar Zara (All India Rank) – Mayukh-Mainak|Varun Grover|Vishal Bhardwaj
11 Sajni (Laapataa Ladies) – Ram Sampath|Prashant Pandey|Arijit Singh
12 Tu Kya Jaane (Amar Singh Chamkila) – A R Rahman|Irshad Kamil|Yashika Sikka
13 Mere Mehboob (Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video) – Sachin-Jigar|Priya Saraiya|Shilpa Rao
14 Tu Hain Toh (Mr. & Mrs. Mahi) – Hunny-Bunny|Sagar|Neeti Mohan
15 Nazar Teri Toofaan (Merry Christmas) – Pritam|Varun Grover|Papon
16 Kisi Roz (Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha) – MM Kreem|Manoj Muntashir|Maithili Thakur
17 Higher (Woh Bhi Din The) – Joi Barua|Joi Barua, Irshad Kamil|Jonita Gandhi
18 Kiddan Zaalima (Crew) – Vishal Mishra|Raj Shekhar|Vishal Mishra
19 Moh Na Laage (Dukaan) – Shreyas Puranik|Siddharth-Garima|Arijit Singh
20 Ta Ra Ta Ra Ta (Do Aur Do Pyaar) – Subhajit Mukherjee|Trina Mukherjee|Vishal Dadlani
21 Dua-e-Khair (Ruslaan) – Bipin Das|Akashdeep Sengupta|Divya Kumar
22 Kya Hua (Blackout) – Vishal Mishra|Vishal Mishra|Vishal Mishra
23 Kahin Behti Hui (The Buckingham Murders) – Karan Kulkarni|Niren Bhatt|Rashmeet Kaur
24 Gum Ho Kahan (I Want To Talk) – Taba Chake|Taba Chake|Taba Chake
25 Ungliyon Pe (Love, Sitara) – Sangeet-Siddharth|Garima Obrah|Shalmali Kholgade, Anusha Mani, Harshdeep Kaur
26 Jao Ji Jao (Ulajh) – Shashwat Sachdev|Sudhanshu Saria|Garvit Soni
27 Gham Ka Rang (Tera Kya Hoga Lovely) – Amit Trivedi|Irshad Kamil|Deepali Sathe, Shashaa Tirupathi
28 Taras (Munjya) – Sachin-Jigar|Amitabh Bhattacharya|Jasmine Sandlas
29 Soni Soni (Ishq Vishk Rebound) – Rochak Kohli|Gurpreet Saini|Darshan Raval, Jonita Gandhi
30 Tenu Sang Rakhna (Jigra) – Achint|Varun Grover|Arijit Singh, Anumita Nadesan

Malayalam

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

While last year it was Tamil industry that featured my favourite music, this year it’s been Malayalam’s turn. One of the highlights of the year was Aadujeevitham – an album that should ideally have been A R Rahman’s return to Malayalam after over two decades, but ended up losing that spot to Malayankunju last year due to the huge delays in the project. What also did not help the soundtrack’s cause was the shoddy release on streaming platforms, but the album still had the composer acing the genre he always has – sufi. After the terrific Romaancham last year, Sushin Shyam was roped in for director Jithu Madhavan’s sophomore venture Aavesham in 2025, and the result was equally spectacular! Like in Hindi, we had some reliable composer-director combos delivering again – Prashant Pillai for Lijo Jose Pellisserry, Rex Vijayan for Aashiq Abu etc. I was happy to see two of my favourites from outside Malayalam – Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Vishal Chandrashekhar – make their Malayalam debuts. Hope to see more from them in 2025!

1 Periyone (Aadujeevitham) – A R Rahman|Rafeeq Ahamed|Jithin Raj
2 Nebulakal (Manjummel Boys) – Sushin Shyam|Anwar Ali|Pradeep Kumar
3 Madbhare Naina (Malaikottai Vaaliban) – Prashant Pillai|Preeti Pillai|Suresh Wadkar, Preeti Pillai
4 Jaada (Aavesham) – Sushin Shyam|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sreenath Bhasi
5 Aalunnu Neeye (Rifle Club) – Rex Vijayan|Anwar Ali|Pradeep Kumar, Sithara Krishnakumar
6 Mini Maharani (Premalu) – Vishnu Vijay|Suhail Koya|Vagu Mazan, Kapil Kapilan
7 Pokathe (Marivillin Gopurangal) – Vidyasagar|Vinayak Sasikumar|KS Harishankar, Shweta Mohan
8 Love Jawan (Nadikar) – Neha-Yakzan|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sangeeth
9 Poomani Maalika (Bramayugam) – Christo Xavier|Ammu Maria Alex|Christo Xavier
10 Kiliye (ARM) – Dhibu Ninan Thomas|Manu Manjith|KS Harishankar, Anila Rajeev
11 Illuminati (Aavesham) – Sushin Shyam|Vinayak Sasikumar|Dabzee
12 Jeevithagaadhakale (Varshangalkku Shesham) – Amrit Ramnath|Vaisakh Sugunan|KS Chithram, Sreevalsan Menon, Mithun Jayaraj
13 Premalola (Sureshanteyum Sumalathayudeyum Hrudayahariyaya Pranayakadha) – Dawn Vincent|Vaisakh Sugunan|Sushin Shyam
14 Oru Chillupaathram (Vivekanandan Viralanu) – Bijibal|Harinarayanan BK|Sithara Krishnakumar
15 Ormachottil (Secret Home) – Sankar Sharma|Manu Manjith|KS Chithra
16 Erivenal (Turkish Tharkkam) – Ifthi|Vinayak Sasikumar|Dana Razik
17 Punnaara Kaattile (Malaikottai Vaaliban) – Prashant Pillai|P S Rafeeque|Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Abhaya Hiranmayi
18 Neeyum Njaanum (Vishesham) – Anand Madhusoodhanan|Anand Madhusoodhanan|Mithun Jayaraj, Anne Amie
19 Nin Mizhiyil (Oshana) – Mejjo Joseph|Harinarayanan BK|KS Harishankar
20 Minnum Thaarangal (Kadha Innu Vare) – Ashwin Aryan|Ajeesh Dasan|Kapil Kapilan, Nithya Mammen
21 Dhurooha Mandhahaasame (Sookshmadarshini) – Christo Xavier|Mu.Ri|Ahi Ajayan
22 Manam Manam (Marivillin Gopurangal) – Vidyasagar|Vinayak Sasikumar|Hariharan
23 Nenjile (Oru Kattil Oru Muri) – Ankit Menon|Raghunath Paleri|Ravi G
24 Doorangal (Palum Pazhavum) – Sachin Balu|Suhail Koya|Sachin Balu, Bhadra Rajin
25 Aazhithiramaala (Pushpaka Vimanam) – Rahul Raj|Harinarayanan BK|Hesham Abdul Wahab, Sruthy Sivadas
26 Thorumee (Jananam: 1947 Pranayam Thudarunnu) Govind Vasantha|Anil Lal|Aavani Malhar
27 Maravikale (Bougainvillea) – Sushin Shyam|Vinayak Sasikumar|Madhuvanti Narayanan
28 Payye Payye (Level Cross) – Vishal Chandrasekhar|Vinayak Sasikumar|Devu Mathew
29 Pirakilaro (Pavi Caretaker) – Midhun Mukundan|Shibu Chakravarthy|Kapil Kapilan
30 Vidhumukhiye (Mandakini) – Bibin Ashok|Vaisakh Sugunan|Sooraj Santhosh, Anarkali Marikar

Tamil

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

In Tamil, the year primarily belonged to Sean Roldan, GV Prakash and Govind Vasantha, who delivered both in quality and quantity throughout the year. Ilaiyaraaja followed through on his work in Viduthalai 1, with an even better set of songs, while Santhosh Narayanan delivered a knockout in Vaazhai. ARR had a gem of a song in Oh Raaya with Ganavya, but on a soundtrack level there wasn’t much that stood out, despite the man composing for three movies during the year. His daughter Khatija had a promising composing debut in Minmini, however. Similarly for Anirudh it was only Neelorpam that I took away this year, a song that ironically did not even feature in the movie (the makers thereby ensuring that people took absolutely no positives from that movie). And to the industry in general, I would like to reiterate my two wishes from last year – to let playback singers sing all the songs, and for Anirudh to take up smaller scale projects.

1 Manasula (Viduthalai 2) – Ilaiyaraaja|Ilaiyaraaja|Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Ananya Bhat
2 Oh Raaya (Raayan) – A R Rahman|Dhanush|Ganavya, A R Rahman
3 Neelorpam (Indian 2) – Anirudh|Thamarai|Abby V, Shruthika Samudhrala
4 Mannavan (Election) – Govind Vasantha|Yugabharathi|Haricharan, Shweta Mohan
5 Thaensudare (Lover) – Sean Roldan|Mohan Rajan|Shaktisree Gopalan
6 Hey Minnale (Amaran) – G V Prakash|Karthik Netha|Haricharan, Shweta Mohan
7 Delta Kalyanam (Meiyazhagan) – Govind Vasantha|Karthik Netha|Govind Vasantha, VM Mahalingam, Senthil Ganesh
8 Otha Satti Soru (Vaazhai) – Santhosh Narayanan|Vivek|Kapil Kapilan, Aditya Ravindran
9 Un Azhagai Rasithu (Pon Ondru Kanden) – Yuvan Shankar Raja|Nixy|Haricharan
10 Sokka Naanum Nikiren (Boat) – Ghibran|Gold Devaraj|Sudha Raghunathan
11 Iruttu Kaattula (Viduthalai 2) – Ilaiyaraaja|Ilaiyaraaja|Suganthi
12 Paakura Thaakura (Emakku Thozhil Romance) – Nivas K Prasanna|Mohan Rajan|Kapil Kapilan
13 Chella Rangi (Ayalaan) – A R Rahman|Krithika Nelson|Sanjith Hegde, Shashaa Tirupati
14 Nenjodu Nee (Dear) – G V Prakash|GKB|Ravi G/Saindhavi
15 Poraen Naa Poraen (Meiyazhagan) – Govind Vasantha|Uma Devi|Vijaynarain, Kamal Hassan
16 Chillanjirukkiye (Lubber Pandhu) – Sean Roldan|Mohan Rajan|Pradeep Kumar, Sivaangi Krishnakumar
17 Railin Oligal (Blue Star) – Govind Vasantha|Uma Devi|Pradeep Kumar, Shaktisree Gopalan
18 Achu Penne (Ranam Aram Thavarel) – Arrol Corelli|Vivek|Shreya Ghoshal
19 Kalangaathey (JollyO Gymkhana) – Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy|Shakthi Chidhambaram, M Jegan Kaviraj|Sreekanth Hariharan
20 Thiraikadal (Guardian) – Sam CS|Uma Devi|Saindhavi
21 Megham Pol Aagi (Nirangal Moondru) – Jakes Bejoy|Thamarai|Kapil Kapilan
22 Por Theeruma (Birthmark) – Vishal Chandrashekhar|Navin B|Shibi Srinivasan
23 Uyirin Velichame (Vadakkupatti Ramasamy) – Sean Roldan|Sarathi|Sathya Prakash
24 Minikki Minikki (Thangalaan) – G V Prakash|Uma Devi|Sinduri Vishal
25 Sidu Sidu (Romeo) – Barath Dhanasekhar|Karthik Netha|Kapil Kapilan
26 Aruge Vaa (Raghu Thatha) – Sean Roldan|Bhagyam Shankar|Sean Roldan
27 Iru Perum Nadhigal (Minmini) – Khatija Rahman|Halitha Shameem|Shaktisree Gopalan
28 Saaral Aagindra (Marakkuma Nenjam) – Sachin Warrier|Thamarai|Shweta Mohan
29 Siragaatchi Poove (Idi Minnal Kadhal) – Sam CS|Kabilan|Priyanka NK, Kapil Kapilan
30 Appavin Thaalaattu (Alangu) – Ajesh|Mohan Rajan|Ajesh

Indian Indie/Pop

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

The biggest news on the indie front was of course Hanumankind and Kalmi’s Big Dawgs making it big internationally, debuting on Billboard Hot 100 et al. That aside, the star in the indipop scene was Sai Abhyankar, a boy who seems to be well poised to deliver on his musical pedigree (for the uninitiated, he is the son of singers Harini and Tipu), having produced two chartbusting hits in 2024 itself, and will soon be debuting as a movie composer as well. Like last year, I will be trying and working on a Coke Studio specific list covering all the current versions, but this year more brands looked to be going the Coke Studio route, most prominently Warner Music India with Maati. My usual caveat on this list still applies by the way – these are my favourites from whatever I meant to catch up on during the year, so apologise for any glaring omission.

1 Katchi Sera (Think Indie) – Sai Abhyankar
2 Big Dawgs – Hanumankind, Kalmi
3 Suprabhatham (Voyage 2) – Dhruv Ghanekar, Nandini Srikar
4 Bawla feat. Khan Brothers (Maati S1) – Mikey McCleary, Rani KoHEnur, Parth Parekh
5 Shik Shik Shik (feat. Dhee) – Santhosh Narayanan, Gana Muthu, Aditya Ravindran
6 Senti Akhiyan – Sona Mohapatra, Ram Sampath
7 Tumi – Nihira Joshi Deshpande, Santanu Ghatak, Ashwin Srinivasan
8 Kanavugal Kanden (100,000 Dreams) – Amrit Ramnath
9 Chhaila (Bhoomi 2024) – Shreya Ghoshal x Sunidhi Chauhan, Salim Sulaiman, Shraddha Pandit
10 Vaanmugil – Nishad G, Shashaa Tirupati, Sreekanth Hariharan, Anjana JP, Rishi K
11 Innevanavva – Bindhumalini, Prashanth Techno
12 Nange Allava (Sunjuice) – Sanjith Hegde
13 Puviul Naan (Divya Pasurams) – Ilaiyaraja, Sharreth, Vibhavari Apte Joshi
14 Baat Itni Si – Sheykhar, Pratibha Singh Baghel, Madhubanti Bagchi, Priya Saraiya
15 Kal Wo Hamaara Hai (First Act) – Amaal Mallik, Amole Gupte, Vaibhav Pani
16 Aasai Kooda (Think Indie) – Sai Abhyankar, Sai Smriti
17 Alayazhikal (Kappa Originals) – Neha Nair, Yakzan Gary Pereira
18 Shariyat-e-Dil (Songs of Trance 2) – Amit Trivedi, Papon, Rupali Moghe, A M Turaz
19 Love Like That – Jonita Gandhi feat. Ali Sethi
20 Jiya Laage Na – Rochak Kohli, Mohit Chauhan, Shilpa Rao
21 Din Jo Dhal Gaya – Vishal Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj
22 Evolution (Celestials) – Lydian Nadhaswaram, Rajhesh Vaidhya, S Akash, Naveen Napier
23 nadaaniyan – Akshat
24 Poti (Yezhundhen Nimirndhen Nadanthen) – Maalavika Sundar
25 Jaagan Jaago – Hriday Gattani
26 Elephant Crossing~(A Late Afternoon Special) – Edwin Raphael, Dhruv Visvanath
27 Le Ja Re – Tapas Kalai, Soultrax
28 Jatra (Voyage 2) – Dhruv Ghanekar, Vaishali Samant, Gina Mirenda
29 Mere Saamne – Santanu Ghatak, Ronkini Gupta, Irtiza-Asad
30 Kaafi Ho – Kakkey

Telugu

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

One of my favourites from the industry, Vivek Sagar, had a great 2024, featuring in a bunch of soundtracks that I enjoyed, although he was a surprising omission in Vivek Athreya’s Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, considering their previous two collabs. Saripodhaa instead went to Malayali composer Jakes Bejoy who has been steadily increasing his presence across Tamil and Telugu. While on the subject of Malayali composers, Gopi Sunder and Hesham Abdul Wahab also produced some great music this year. And then there were of course the industry regulars delivering the goods.

1 Nandanandana (The Family Star) – Gopi Sunder|Anantha Sriram|Sid Sriram
2 Sooseki (Pushpa 2: The Rule) – Devi Sri Prasad|Chandra Bose|Shreya Ghoshal
3 Sarada Saradaga (Saindhav) – Santhosh Narayanan|Ramajogayya Sastry|Anurag Kulkarni
4 Sun Chaliya (Darling) – Vivek Sagar|Kasarla Shyam|Anurag Kulkarni
5 Kurchi Madathapetti (Guntur Kaaram) – S Thaman|Ramajogayya Sastry|Sahithi Chaganti, Sri Krishna
6 Ade Nenu (Bachhala Malli) – Vishal Chandrashekhar|Krishna Kanth|SPB Charan, Ramya Behera
7 Athiloka Komalangi (Manamey) – Hesham Abdul Wahab|Lakshmi Priyanka|Arvind Venugopal
8 Paruge Vintha Paruge (Bhamakalapam 2) – Prashanth R Vihari|Rehman|Ritesh G Rao
9 Srimathi Garu (Lucky Baskhar) – G V Prakash Kumar|Sri Mani|Vishal Mishra, Shweta Mohan
10 Chuttamalle (Devara) – Anirudh|Ramajogayya Sastry|Shilpa Rao, Anirudh
11 Madhuramu Kadha (The Family Star) – Gopi Sunder|Sri Mani|Shreya Ghoshal
12 Sandamaama (Swag) – Vivek Sagar|Ramajogayya Sastry|Rhithwik S Chand
13 Gaganaala (Operation Valentine) – Mickey J Meyer|Ramajogayya Sastry|Armaan Malik
14 Oh My Lily (Tillu Square) – Achu Rajamani|Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Ravi Anthony|Sreerama Chandra
15 Neeli Meghamulalo (35 Chinna Katha Kaadu) – Vivek Sagar|Bharadwaj Gali|Prithvi Harish
16 Whistle Theme Song (Naa Saami Ranga) – M M Keeravani|Chandra Bose|Sandilya Pisapati
17 Sammohana (Manamey) – Hesham Abdul Wahab|Ramajogayya Sastry|Shweta Mohan
18 Gulledu Gulledu (Mechanic Rocky) – Jakes Bejoy|Suddala Ashok Teja|Mangli, Sai Veda Vagdevi
19 Kissik (Pushpa 2: The Rule) – Devi Sri Prasad|Chandra Bose|Sublahshini
20 Prema (Honeymoon Express) – Kalyani Malik|Kittu Vissapragada|Anurag Kulkarni
21 Mari Antha Kopam (Bachhala Malli) – Vishal Chandrashekhar|Purnachary|Sai Vignesh
22 Cheliya Chelu (Siddharth Roy) – Radhan|V Yeshasvi|Sanjith Hegde
23 Sarango Saranga (Sarangapani Jaathakam) – Vivek Sagar|Ramajogayya Sastry|Armaan Malik
24 Manasuna Manasu (Dhoom Dhaam) – Gopi Sunder|Ramajogayya Sastry|Vijay Yesudas, Harini Ivaturi
25 Sitar Song (Mr Bachchan) – Mickey J Meyer|Sahithi|Saketh Komanduri, Sameera Bharadwaj
26 Ticket Eh Konakunda (Tillu Square) – Ram Miriyala|Kasarla Shyam|Ram Miriyala
27 Yedo Yedo Maaya (Bhimaa) – Ravi Basrur|Kalyan Chakravarthy|Anurag Kulkarni
28 Chinna Idi Vintha Lokam (35 Chinna Katha Kaadu) – Vivek Sagar|Bharadwaj Gali|Vijay Prakash
29 Ullaasam (Saripodhaa Sanivaaram) – Jakes Bejoy|Sanare|Krishna Lasya Muthyala, Sanjith Hegde
30 Oh My Baby (Guntur Kaaram) – S Thaman|Ramajogayya Sastry|Shilpa Rao

Web Series

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Like Jubilee and Modern Love Chennai last year, there were two music-heavy (more specifically classical music-heavy) web series in 2024 as well – Heeramandi and Bandish Bandits 2. The former being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial debut (and composing debut, of course) in the web series space, and the latter the second instalment of the musical series that had previously had SEL at its helm. The makers decided to give a large chunk of Bandish Bandits 2 soundtrack to a bunch of relatively newer crop of composers, and they came through wonderfully – pretty much matching the quality of the first season! Citadel: Honey Bunny, Raj and DK’s Indian spinoff of the international series, also featured some great songs. Since I did not have the time to delve into music from web series from around the country in much detail, the list is largely focused on Hindi language series, with a smattering of Malayalam and Tamil.

1 Chaudhavi Shab (Heeramandi – Hindi) – Sanjay Leela Bhansali|A M Turaz|Shreya Ghoshal
2 Sur Hi Parmaatma (Bandish Bandits 2 – Hindi) – Siddharth Mahadevan-Souumil Shringarpure|Sameer Samant|Shankar Mahadevan
3 Ghum Hain Kahin (Citadel: Honey Bunny – Hindi) – Aman Pant|Ramil Ganjoo, Akhil Tiwari|Papon
4 Paathi Murinju (Manorathangal – Malayalam) – Ouseppachan|Shibu Chakravarthy|Sithara Krishnakumar
5 Khwaab (Panchayat Season 3 – Hindi) – Anurag Saikia|JUNO|Gauranga Shekhar
6 Sapnon Ka Karobaar (Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper – Hindi) – Ram Sampath|Farhan Memon|Meenal Jain
7 Saiyyan Hatto Jaao (Heeramandi – Hindi) – Sanjay Leela Bhansali|A M Turaz|Barnali Chattopadhyay
8 Hichki 2.0 (Bandish Bandits 2 – Hindi) – Siddharth Pandit|Alok Ranjan Srivastava|Swaroop Khan, Poorvi Koutish
9 Yeh Safar (Citadel: Honey Bunny – Hindi) – Sachin-Jigar|Priya Saraiya|Shilpa Rao, Osho Jain
10 Ee Naadu (Perilloor Premier League – Malayalam) – Mujeeb Majeed|Shabareesh Varma|tsoj
11 Jee Loon (Gyaarah Gyaarah – Hindi) – Taliz|Ginny Diwan, Rahi Sayed|Arijit Singh
12 Khwaish Adhoori (Call Me Bae – Hindi) – Rochak Kohli|Gurpreet Saini|Akanksha Sethi
13 Zaroori Toh Nahi (Citadel: Honey Bunny – Hindi) – Aman Pant|Akhil Tiwari|Kinjal Chatterjee
14 Kannadi Kadhal (Inspector Rishi – Tamil) – Ashwath|Bagavathy P K|Kapil Kapilan, Pop Shalini
15 Pyaar Hai (Mismatched 3 – Hindi) – Pina Colada Blues|Sagar Verma|Samahita Narang
16 Saavan Mohe (Bandish Bandits 2 – Hindi) – Siddharth Mahadevan-Souumil Shringarpure|Sameer Samant|Ankita Joshi, Krishna Bongane
17 Ek Baar Dekh Lijiye (Heeramandi – Hindi) – Sanjay Leela Bhansali|A M Turaz|Kalpana Gandharva
18 Eerolli (Perilloor Premier League – Malayalam) – Mujeeb Majeed|Suhail Koya|Sai Prabha
19 Door Hue (Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper – Hindi) – Ram Sampath|Puneet Krishna|Shreya Ghoshal
20 Thalavara Muriyave (Jai Mahendran – Malayalam) – Siddharth Pradeep|Arjun Ranjan|Bharath K Rajesh
21 Ishq Hai (Mismatched 3) – Anurag Saikia|Raj Shekhar|Romy, Amarabha Banerjee
22 Janaliloode (Manorathangal – Malayalam) – Bijibal|Santhosh Varma|Sowmya Ramakrishnan
23 Aasmaan Rootha (Panchayat Season 3 – Hindi) – Anurag Saikia|JUNO|Swanand Kirkire
24 Aashiyan (Love Storiyaan – Hindi) – Shantanu Dutta|Neha Karode|Jonita Gandhi
25 Kya Karun (Call Me Bae – Hindi) – Pranay Parti|Pranay Parti|Danish Sood

Kannada

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

As usual, my Kannada list is a compilation of songs I loved from the few composers I keenly follow – Ajaneesh Loknath, Charan Raj, Arjun Janya, Judah Sandhy, Nakul Abhyankar, Vasuki Vaibhav etc. There wasn’t anything that stood out to the level of Sapta Sagaradache Ello from last year, but some good music from across the board all the same.

1 Kannalli Kannidu (Bagheera) – B Ajaneesh Loknath|Pramod Maravanthe|Harshika Devanath
2 Nanage Neenu (Upadhyaksha) – Arjun Janya|A P Arjun|Rakshita Suresh, Vijay Prakash
3 Padhe Padhe (Hiranya) – Judah Sandhy|Pramod Maravanthe|Sanjith Hegde
4 Chandasina Chandadalli (Somu Sound Engineer) – Charan Raj|Dhananjay Ranjan|Siddhartha Belmannu, Meghana Bhat
5 Ninage Sigalu Eedina (Pranayam) – Mano Murthy|Chinmay Bhavikere|Shreya Ghoshal
6 Naa Geechida (Case of Kondana) – Gagan Baderiya|Vishwajith Rao|Venkatesh D C
7 Kavithe Kavithe (Yuva) – B Ajaneesh Loknath|Pramod Maravanthe|Sanjith Hegde
8 Maathu Sothu (Kotee) – Vasuki Vaibhav|Yogaraj Bhat|Armaan Malik
9 Nam Kathe Shuru (Back Bencherz) – Nakul Abhyankar|Dhananjay Ranjan|Chandan Shetty, Lavita Lobo
10 Romanchana (Juni) -Nakul Abhyankar|Pramod Maravanthe|Keerthan Holla, Ramya Bhat Abhyankar
11 Belagge Belagge (Laughing Buddha) – Vishnu Vijay|Pramod Maravanthe|Vijay Prakash
12 Kittale (Roopanthara – Midhun Mukundan|Raj B Shetty|Chaithra J Achar
13 Nanagantaane (Hiranya) – Judah Sandhy|Pramod Maravanthe|Supriyaa Ram
14 Naane Krishna Naane Shaam (Royal) – Charan Raj|V Nagendra Prasad|M M Manasi, Sanjith Hegde
15 Mana Mana (Kotee) – Vasuki Vaibhav|Yogaraj Bhat|Ananya Bhat, Siddhartha Belmannu
16 Back Bencherz (Back Bencherz) – Nakul Abhyankar|Dhananjay Ranjan|Vijay Prakash, Nischal Dambekodi
17 Soma Soma (Somu Sound Engineer) – Charan Raj|Dhananjay Ranjan|Swaroop Khan
18 Ramana Avatara (Ramana Avatara) – Judah Sandhy|Vikas Pampapathi|Kishan Bijjur
19 Bhuvana Hudukadidhe (Kerebete) – Gagan Baderiya|Ghouse Peer|Kapil Kapilan
20 Aparaadhi Naanalla (Bisi-Bisi Ice-Cream) – Nakul Abhyankar|Purandara Dasaru|Vasu Dixit

Marathi

Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Finally, Marathi. Just like with Kannada, a selection of songs from composers I love from the industry. Have to say the spread was a bit disappointing – people like AV Prafullachandra and Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj not featuring at all for instance. So much so that I had to choose the soundtrack of a movie that is only releasing in 2025, to make up the numbers. But that is a soundtrack I do want to talk about – Sangeet Maanapmaan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s return to Marathi industry after Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, and it is an equally monstrous soundtrack! Very classical-oriented and featuring a spectacular lineup of musicians; I am very surprised at how under the radar this album has gone. I really hope it gets its flowers when the movie is out later this year. I am also hoping to review it at some point. I have featured four of the songs in this list, but do make sure to check out the entire soundtrack – it has 14 songs!

1 Shura Mee Vandile (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy| K P Khadilkar|Aarya Ambekar, Shankar Mahadevan, Asmita Chinchalkar, Avadhoot Gupte
2 Naahi Me Bolat (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|K P Khadilkar|Priyanka Barve
3 Mrugtrushna (Hee Anokhi Gaath) – Hitesh Modak|Mandar Cholkar|Priyanka Barve
4 Title Track (Paani) – Gulraj Singh|Addinath M Kothare|Shankar Mahadevan
5 Zagamaga (Ole Aale) – Sachin-Jigar|Mandar Cholkar|Shalmali Kholgade, Avadhoot Gupte
6 Jahir Jhala Jagala (Yek Number) – Ajay Atul|Guru Thakur|Ajay Gogavale, Shreya Ghoshal
7 Amhi Ahot (Juna Furniture) – Hitesh Modak|Vaibhav Deshmukh|Ashish Kulkarni, Varun Likhate
8 Sajle Re Tujhyachsathi (Single) – Amrutosh Sunil Karanjkar|Mandar Patil|Chinmayi, Jasraj Joshi
9 Sangu Kasa Me (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Sameer Samant|Krishna Bongane
10 Me RaanBhaar (Hee Anokhi Gaath) – Hitesh Modak|Vaibhav Joshi|Bela Shende
11 Tu Abhaal (Yek Number) – Kunal-Karan|Kunal-Karan|Javed Ali, Ravindra Khomne
12 Phulpakharu (Ole Aale) – Sachin-Jigar|Mandar Cholkar|Rohit Raut
13 Chandrika (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Sameer Samant|Sonu Nigam
14 Sakhi Maze Dehbhaan (Hee Anokhi Gaath) – Hitesh Modak|Vaibhav Joshi|Salman Ali
15 Naachnara (Paani) – Gulraj Singh|Manoj Yadav|Adarsh Shinde, Aanandi Joshi

The post Music Aloud Playback – Best Indian Songs of 2024! first appeared on Music Aloud.

Soundtrack credits at the end.

Last year, while reviewing Amit Trivedi and Kausar Munir’s outstanding work in Jubilee, the track I named as my favourite was Saare Ke Saare, a composition that seemed like a tribute to Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye and Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari. In Amar Singh Chamkila too, my favourite song from A R Rahman and Irshad Kamil feels like a nod to Yeh Duniya in spirit; an artist lamenting and giving up on a society that treated them unkindly. Even musically, Vida Karo is crafted as a retro Hindi melody a la the Burmans etc (shades of khamaj raaga I thought, which incidentally the Burmans have employed for some real gems), except with a mix of Punjabi words (in which Kamil appears to tip his hat to Shivkumar Batalvi, who had a poem by the same title). Rahman keeps the orchestration at a minimal level; the gentle use of flute, piano and strings immensely accentuate the poignancy of the track. But it is the main man behind the mic – Arijit Singh – who truly makes you feel that lump in your throat with his measured yet incredibly effective delivery, reminiscent of yesteryear legends. And just as you are soaking in Arijit’s vocals, the composer – as he has done multiple times in the past to fantastic effect – throws a second voice late into the mix, the incredible Jonita Gandhi who matches the former pound for pound. The harmonies involving both singers in the final iteration of the opening verse is truly one of the highlights of the song. Ishq Mitaaye is a track very much identifiable as an ARR piece from an Imtiaz Ali movie (and not least because it is fronted by Mohit Chauhan )  – there’s a bit of Wat Wat Wat (Tamasha), Sheher Mein (Rockstar) etc about it. A routine Punjabi flavoured track that soars around the segments where the chorus joins Mohit (felt a bit of shivaranjani raaga flavour in these parts). The Main Hoon Panjab phrase packs quite a punch, especially with the context of the situation the song appears in the movie. It comes with a great visualisation as well. Another piece that is wonderfully choreographed in the movie is Naram Kaalja, a folk-heavy (and risqué) dance number that has the ladies of the film voicing their wildest desires – Irshad Kamil sort of flipping the narrative, as it were. Alka Yagnik, Richa Sharma, Pooja Tiwari and Yashika Sikka lead the vocals here that strike a fine balance between attitude and fun – the backing vocalists are also in great form with their little touches; loved that haaye mar jaawaan main gud khaake at the end of the second stanza! That said, I would have preferred a younger voice in place of Alka. Lovely woodwind solos by Paras Nath stand out in the instrumental passages, starting with the jodiya pava (I think) in the prelude.

The instrument that Amar Singh Chamkila is almost always seen with, the tumbi, finds its appearance in multiple songs from the album, understandably, but the best and most prominent use of the instrument happens in Tu Kya Jaane. A charming romantic melody from the composer, Tu Kya Jaane is a solo act by Yashika Sikka (is it just me or does she sound a bit like Neeti Mohan?), one that the singer knocks out of the park! So much to love about the singing here, like the multiple variations of the Tu Kya Jaane line (the movie version of the song features even more of these), especially that touch of melancholy every time she sings Tu Kya Jaane Meri Jaan instead of Tu Kya Jaane Mere Yaar. Also worth mentioning is the humming outro where the singer builds beautifully on the sarod solo (it sounds like sarod to me, but weirdly there is no sarod mentioned in credits – wonder if SM Subhani produced this sound on a banjo) from the first interlude. The dholak-led percussion brought to mind some iconic ARR compositions in a similar genre and mood, like Saawariya Saawariya and Kurukku Sirutthavale/Chalo Chale Mitwa. I have not been a big fan of ARR’s compositions in recent movies where he tries to pack multiple songs into one song. However, the composer’s paean to Amar Singh Chamkila titled Baaja is one case where those multifarious parts come together quite nicely. Although I am still bummed about how the ethereal opening segment by Suryansh gets cut off abruptly, the high energy bits that follow are entertaining as well, helped by the efforts of Mohit Chauhan, who plays the bard role very effectively, both behind the mic and – surprisingly – on-screen! Accompanying the opening credits, the song quite comprehensively sums up what Chamkila achieved with his songs, and the tumultuous period during which he did so – and therefore takes on an anthemic tone at times (a bit of sindhubhairavi raaga I think). Irshad Kamil is in incredible form here; his lines replete with colourful usages like social darinda (which he incidentally also employed in Imtiaz Ali’s previous film Love Aaj Kal, in the song Parmeshwara). Rahman’s orchestration here grows in intensity and grandness as it progresses, building up to a crescendo of sorts. It was also nice to hear a favourite of mine, Romy, debut with Rahman – his voice is quite prominent towards the frenetic closing segment. In Bol Mohabbat, the lyricist incorporates Baba Bulleh Shah’s words that perfectly encapsulate the essence of Chamkila’s quote from the preceding sequence. It isn’t the composer’s first day at the rodeo when it comes to adapting Bulleh Shah’s lines for sufi songs of course (I get a strong feeling that I have heard the mainu apni tod nibhavan de line in another ARR song, but I am unable to place it), so it comes as no surprise that the composition turns out as impactful it is. Rahman helms the vocals as well, and the instrumentation featuring the frame drum, an oud-like plucked string et al keep the sound quite rustic. Great piece to bring the fine soundtrack to a close.

Six songs that last just over 28 minutes. This is probably the shortest Imtiaz Ali movie soundtrack ever. But it is by no means less enjoyable than those previous soundtracks. It is amazing that after extracting two great soundtracks out of Pritam in his last two projects, the man just gets back with ARR and produces another beauty like it’s no big deal! Long may these partnerships continue!

PS: I have not included Amar Singh Chamkila’s original compositions featured throughout the movie in my review, more out of lack of time than anything else. So had to make a mention of Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra’s wonderful delivery of those songs. Also I loved how the Hindi translations were presented on screen!

Music Aloud Rating: 4/5

Top recos: Vida Karo, Tu Kya Jaane, Baaja

Soundtrack Credits

Songs Composed, Produced, Arranged by A.R. Rahman

Lyrics by Irshad Kamil

Music Supervisor – Hiral Viradia

Mixed and Mastered by Nitish R Kumar

Vida Karo

Singers: Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi

Additional Vocals: Hiral Viradia

Flute: Nikhil Ram

Chennai Strings Orchestra conducted by: Prabhakaran

Score transcribed by: Samarth Srinivasan

Tu Kya Jaane

Singer: Yashika Sikka

Additional Vocals: Sarthak Kalyani

Percussions and Tumbi: Vijay Yamla

Mandolin and Banjo: SM Subhani

Bass: Keith Peters

Baaja

Singers: Mohit Chauhan, Romy, Suryansh, Inderpreet Singh

Additional Vocals: Hriday Gattani, Dilshad Shaikh, Tajinder Singh, Devender Pal Singh, Aasa Singh, Arvinder Singh, Sarthak Kalyani, Gurtaj, Alka Yagnik, Hiral Viradia, Yashika Sikka, Divya Iyer, Aanandi Joshi, Poorvi Koutish

Live Rhythm played by: Omkar Salunkhe, Keyur Barve, Gautam Sharma, Arun Solanki, Deepak Bhatt

Live Rhythm arranged by: Parag Chhabra

Flute: Ashish Venkateswaran

Additional Orchestration by: Shubham Bhat

Sunshine Brass: Conducted by Lisa Sarasini

Chennai Strings Orchestra: Conducted by Yensone

Scores transcribed by: Samarth Srinivasan

Naram Kaalja

Singers: Alka Yagnik, Richa Sharma, Pooja Tiwari, Yashika Sikka

Additional Vocals: Pinky Maidasani, Shifa Ruby, Meenu Kale

Rhythm: Omkar Salunkhe, Hanif Aslam, Pratap Rath

Additional Rhythm Arrangement: Parag Chhabra

Flute: Paras Nath

Bass: Keith Peters

Ishq Mitaaye

Singer: Mohit Chauhan

Additional Vocals: Harshil Pathak, Sarthak Kalyani, Inderpreet Singh, Romy, Aasa Singh, Arvinder Singh

Bol Mohabbat

Singers: A R Rahman, Kailash Kher

Additional Vocals: Suryansh, Sarthak Kalyani

Frame Drums: Hamta Baghi

Additional Programming: Sarthak Kalyani

Sound Engineers :-

Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai

Senior engineers – Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran

Recording engineers – Sreekanth Hariharan, Sarath Santosh

Assisting engineers – Aravind Crescendo, Suryansh, Sathish V Saravanan

Panchathan Studios, Mumbai

Recording engineers – Dilshaad Shabbir Shaikh, Nitish R Kumar

Assisting Engineers- Harshil Pathak, Naval Chikhkiya

Head of Technical Services – Riyasdeen Riyan

Dolby Atmos Music – Riyasdeen Riyan

Musician Coordinators – R Samidurai, Abdul Hayum

The post Amar Singh Chamkila – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack) first appeared on Music Aloud.

Songs and soundtrack credits at the end.

Palestinian singer Sanaa Moussa, who previously featured in composer A R Rahman’s Muhammad: The Messenger of God and Dil Bechara (and interestingly had a special mention in Mimi despite not singing, perhaps for some kind of consultative role) delivers a folk song from her homeland titled Badaweih in Aadujeevitham. A song that relies almost exclusively on the singer’s skills as the composer keeps the backdrop very minimal and expansive (reflective of the landscape the visuals are likely to be set in, I reckon). And Sanaa delivers spectacularly, making the Arabic nuances sound deceptively simple, the way she sings it. The gospel choir-esque cameo from Deepthi Suresh is a lovely addition to the proceedings. Keeping up with the recent trend in ARR-composed movies, of having a promo song video featuring the musician, is the Hope Song. One that, as the title suggests, conveys a message of hope in these chaotic times. Five lyricists representing five different languages (Rafeeq Ahammed in Malayalam, Vivek in Tamil, Ramajogayya Shastry in Telugu, Jayant Kaikini in Kannada and Prasoon Joshi in Hindi) join hands with ARR to piece together this multilingual track that comes across as unremarkable, and heard-before despite all of their efforts. We have had some classics in this genre from the man, and this one doesn’t quite compare. Omane seems to be representative of the very few happy moments in the film; the romance between the lead pair leading up to their wedding, indicated by the oppana (celebratory dance form among Muslims) segment that the song segues into halfway through. There is a “set around water” kind of feel about the use of strings and percussion in this song (which the lyric video seems to reflect as well) – not sure if this is a deliberate choice to contrast with how the protagonist’s life turns out in the aridness of the desert. While Chinmayi’s singing is on point (some mispronunciations aside), her parts in this song did not quite work for me, something about the lyrical progression especially in the initial portions doesn’t really seem to gel well with the melody. Ergo, it is the chorus segment in the interlude and the oppana by Rakshita Suresh that I keep going back to. The transition from the oppana bit back to the main melody is really well done though, and Vijay Yesudas’s cameo deserves a mention too, particularly in the first stanza where his introduction happens alongside the gentle strains of the tabla tarang.

In a conversation with A R Rahman on Aadujeevitham’s official YouTube channel, Prithviraj says that the protagonist’s journey is about spirituality and faith, in a lot of ways. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise to see the composer knock it out of the park with the more spiritual themed songs. Istigfar brings to mind songs like Zikr (Bose The Forgotten Hero), songs where ARR eschews the filmi elements and produces a raw, honest to roots sufi piece that almost puts you in a trance. Adding immensely to the song’s feel is the heart-rendingly brilliant rendition by Faiz Mustafa (what a talent!), Raja Hasan (not sure if this is his first song for ARR; what a song to debut with, if so) and one of Rahman’s regular collaborators, Murtuza Mustafa (for the uninitiated, Faiz is Murtuza’s son). Felt shades of chakravaakam/ahir bhairav raga at times, although I could be wrong. And I found it quite fitting that the composer chose to end the song with the sallallahu alayhi wa sallam phrase that also closes out another iconic sufi song of his – Kun Faya Kun. If Istigfar hit you in the feels, wait till you listen to Periyone. It was not long ago that I reviewed a gorgeous song set to a seven beat cycle, Dheeme Dheeme in Laapataa Ladies. It was such a joy to listen to another belter in the same category here! Well, joy is not exactly the emotion you come away with after this one, especially if you have read the book as well. A melancholic tune (possibly gowri manohari raga?) that the very talented Jithin Raj aces, aided by Rafeeq Ahammed’s lines that are effective in conveying the longing and anguish – some water references here as well, to presumably drive home that earlier-mentioned contrast. Wonderful use of sarod and oboe (I think) in the two interludes. Navin Chander’s flute version of the song titled Benevolent Breeze adds one more layer of wistfulness for the fans – throwback to a time when ARR soundtracks used to feature an instrumental version of a track (or more). Can’t remember the last one before this, perhaps it was Sanjeev Thomas’s guitar rendition of Meherbaan (Ada). Coming back to the song here, Navin recreates the song’s melody to a tee. The chorus that sings the Periyone refrain etc in the main song are employed to add a lovely harmonic layer of humming here.

Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life). A R Rahman’s second Malayalam soundtrack in two years sees two of the most poignant sufi pieces he has created in quite some time!

PS: I wish the release and marketing of the songs had been handled better; the soundtrack is still available in three parts on Spotify, Apple etc.! And the lyric video for Omane looks to be very shoddily transcribed. Hopefully the makers address these issues soon.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Periyone, Istigfar, Benevolent Breeze, Badaweih

Soundtrack Credits

OMANE

SONG COMPOSED, PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY
AR RAHMAN

LYRICS
RAFIQ AHAMED
SINGER
VIJAY YESUDAS, CHINMAYI SRIPADA, RAKSHITA SURESH

ADDITIONAL VOCALS
NAKUL ABHYANKAR, SURYANSH, APARNA HARIKUMAR

MUSIC SUPERVISOR
PRASHANTH VENKAT

PROJECT MANAGER
KARTHIK SEKARAN

LANGUAGE SUPERVISOR
ARAVIND CRESCENDO

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
HENRY KURUVILLA, PRASHANTH VENKAT, NAKUL ABHYANKAR, SURYANSH

MUSICIANS
TABLA TARANG – SAI SHRAVANAM
CHENNAI STRINGS AND SUNSHINE ORCHESTRA
CONDUCTED BY JERRY VINCENT
SUPERVISED BY SHUBAM BHAT

SOUND ENGINEERS
PANCHATHAN RECORD INN
SENIOR ENGINEERS
SURESH PERMAL, KARTHIK SEKARAN
ASSISTANT ENGINEERS
ARAVIND CRESCENDO, SATHISH V SARAVANAN

AM STUDIO
AINUL HUQ, BHARAT ARJUNAN

RECORDING ENGINEERS
SREEKANTH HARIHARAN

MIXED AND MASTERED BY
SURESH PERMAL

DOLBY MUSIC MIXED AND MASTERED BY
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

HEAD OF TECHNICAL SERVICE
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

MUSICIAN COORDINATOR
SAMIDURAI R, ABDUL HAIYUM

PERIYONE

SONG COMPOSED, PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY
AR RAHMAN

LYRICS
RAFIQ AHAMED
SINGER
JITHIN RAJ

BACKING VOCALS
SREEKANTH HARIHARAN, SARATH SANTOSH, ARAVIND SRINIVAS, SHENBAGARAJ, APARNA HARIKUMAR, ANU ANAND, DEEPTHI SURESH, POOJA VENKAT

MUSIC SUPERVISOR
PRASHANTH VENKAT

VOCAL ARRANGEMENT
SURYANSH

PROJECT MANAGER
KARTHIK SEKARAN

LANGUAGE SUPERVISOR
ARAVIND CRESCENDO

MUSICIANS
PLUCKED INSTRUMENTS – SUBHANI
PERCUSSION – HARIPRASAD
STRINGS – SUNSHINE ORCHESTRA
CONDUCTED BY JERRY VINCENT
SUPERVISED BY SHUBAM BHAT

SOUND ENGINEERS
PANCHATHAN RECORD INN
SENIOR ENGINEERS
SURESH PERMAL, KARTHIK SEKARAN
ASSISTANT ENGINEERS
ARAVIND CRESCENDO, SATHISH V SARAVANAN

RECORDING ENGINEERS
SREEKANTH HARIHARAN, SARATH SANTOSH

MIXED AND MASTERED BY
SURESH PERMAL

DOLBY MUSIC MIXED AND MASTERED BY
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

HEAD OF TECHNICAL SERVICE
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

MUSICIAN COORDINATOR: SAMIDURAI R, ABDUL HAIYUM

BADAWEIH

PALESTINIAN FOLK SONG

MUSIC ARRANGED BY
AR RAHMAN

SINGER
SANAA MOUSSA – PALESTINE

ADDITIONAL VOCALS
DEEPTHI SURESH

MUSIC SUPERVISOR
PRASHANTH VENKAT

PROJECT MANAGER
KARTHIK SEKARAN

LANGUAGE SUPERVISOR
ARAVIND CRESCENDO

MUSICIANS
CHENNAI STRINGS
CONDUCTED BY JERRY VINCENT
SUPERVISED BY SHUBAM BHAT

SOUND ENGINEERS
PANCHATHAN RECORD INN
SENIOR ENGINEERS
SURESH PERMAL, KARTHIK SEKARAN
ASSISTANT ENGINEERS
ARAVIND CRESCENDO, SATHISH V SARAVANAN

AM STUDIO
AINUL HUQ, BHARAT ARJUNAN

MIXED AND MASTERED BY
SURESH PERMAL

DOLBY MUSIC MIXED AND MASTERED BY
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

HEAD OF TECHNICAL SERVICE
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

MUSICIAN COORDINATOR: SAMIDURAI R, ABDUL HAIYUM

BENEVOLENT BREEZE

SONG COMPOSED, PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY
AR RAHMAN

FLUTE
NAVIN CHANDER

MUSIC SUPERVISOR
PRASHANTH VENKAT

PROJECT MANAGER
KARTHIK SEKARAN

LANGUAGE SUPERVISOR
ARAVIND CRESCENDO

MUSICIANS
PLUCKED INSTRUMENTS – SUBHANI
PERCUSSION – HARIPRASAD

SOUND ENGINEERS
PANCHATHAN RECORD INN
SENIOR ENGINEERS
SURESH PERMAL, KARTHIK SEKARAN
ASSISTANT ENGINEERS
ARAVIND CRESCENDO, SATHISH V SARAVANAN

MIXED AND MASTERED BY
SURESH PERMAL

DOLBY MUSIC MIXED AND MASTERED BY
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

HEAD OF TECHNICAL SERVICE
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

MUSICIAN COORDINATOR: SAMIDURAI R, ABDUL HAIYUM

ISTIGFAR

SONG COMPOSED, PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY
AR RAHMAN
LYRICS
A R RAHMAN

SINGER
RAJA HASAN, FAIZ MUSTAFA

MUSIC SUPERVISOR
PRASHANTH VENKAT

PROJECT MANAGER
KARTHIK SEKARAN

LANGUAGE SUPERVISOR
ARAVIND CRESCENDO

PERCUSSION
HARIPRASAD

ADDITIONAL VOCALS
MURTUZA MUSTAFA

SOUND ENGINEERS
PANCHATHAN RECORD INN
SENIOR ENGINEERS
SURESH PERMAL, KARTHIK SEKARAN
ASSISTANT ENGINEERS
ARAVIND CRESCENDO, SATHISH V SARAVANAN

MIXED AND MASTERED BY
SURESH PERMAL

DOLBY MUSIC MIXED AND MASTERED BY
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

HEAD OF TECHNICAL SERVICE
RIYASDEEN RIYAN

MUSICIAN COORDINATOR
SAMIDURAI R, ABDUL HAIYUM

The post Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) – Music Review first appeared on Music Aloud.

Songs and complete soundtrack credits at the end.

If I were to rank my favourite musical instruments, one of the top entries would definitely be reserved for the African kora. An instrument that imparts an incredibly calming vibe, and therefore is often part of songs tend to be in that zone as well (remember this song from Raavan/Raavanan?). It is also an instrument that is unfortunately rarely employed in Indian music, so I have to rely on world music, or catching the instrument live (like this street performance I stumbled upon the other day). It was therefore that my ears perked up when I first listened to Sajni and heard strains of what sounded like kora kicking off the song. Got hold of the credits, and indeed it is Senegalese musician Vieux Cissokho at work. Cissokho and Bennett Sullivan on the mandolin (both instruments nicely complementing each other) dominate the backdrop of this wistful tune, even as Arijit Singh delivers the goods on the vocal front with practised ease. My favourite lines from the soundtrack appear in Doubtwa –Divyanidhi Sharma’s (also the movie’s additional dialogue writer) quirky mix of English and rustic phrases form the soul of this lively track where composer Ram Sampath smartly crafts an intriguing-yet-frivolous kind of a piece (love the use of horns!). And he could not have gotten a better candidate than Sukhwinder Singh (in fact the composer gets his choice of vocalists absolutely spot on for all four tracks) to sing this one – listening to the singer here made me think of songs in similar settings he has sung in the past, especially for Vishal Bhardwaj.

Nearly 11 years after he did a Beda Paar in Fukrey, Ram Sampath creates a second song under the same title – this time with lyricist Prashant Pandey – in Laapataa Ladies. And I am happy to report that this one has turned out way better than the older track, with its engaging folk melody delivered wonderfully by Sona Mohapatra and a zesty arrangement highlighted by the gabgubi, harmonium and mandolin. The album’s longest and best song goes to Shreya Ghoshal, who is unsurprisingly terrific on her part. The fact that this one is set to a seven beat cycle and is written by Swanand Kirkire brings to mind a song from the same team for Satyamev Jayate way back in 2012, O Ri Chiraiyya. While the similarity between the two songs pretty much ends with the abovementioned aspects, Dheeme Dheeme is as heart-tugging as O Ri Chiraiyya. Cracker of a tune which the composer treats gently, with very understated instrumentation – which reflects in the way Pratikhya Sharma’s backing vocals are employed as well. And the bonus – like kora in Sajni, here it is the harp, played by Lara Somogyi, accentuating the song’s soothing vibes. Love how the final minute is primarily an improv bit from Shreya to see out the song – nice touch that.

After a long break post Raees, it is good to see Ram Sampath compose for two movies in as many years. In Laapataa Ladies he also gets back with Aamir Khan Productions, a production house with which the man has had most success. And here too he comes up with a well-realised soundtrack, although I do wish it had more songs and that three of the four songs weren’t half-size. Nevertheless, hope to see the composer as active, if not more active, in the coming months!

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: It’s just 4 songs lasting under 13 minutes, go listen to the whole thing!

Soundtrack Credits

Song name : Beda Paar
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Prashant Pandey
Singer : Sona Mohapatra
Music Arranged & Produced by :  Ram Sampath & John Paul
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Backing Vocals : Shehnaaz Khan
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak

Song name : Doubtwa
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Divyanidhi Sharma
Singer : Sukhwinder Singh
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Backing Vocals : Alvin Presley & Ram Sampath
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak

Song name : Sajni
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Prashant Pandey
Singer : Arijit Singh
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Vocal Recordist : Sukanto Singha
Vocal Editor : Prithviraj Sarkar
Kora played by Vieux Cissokho
Mandolin & Dobro played by Bennett Sullivan

Song name : Dheeme Dheeme
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Swanand Kirkire
Singer : Shreya Ghoshal
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath & Arabinda Neog  
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Backing Vocals : Pratikhya Sarma
Violin & Viola played by Kailash Patra
Recorded at Neo Sound By Pranjal Borah & at A-Ray Studio by Monor Kotha
Harp played by Lara Somogyi
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak

Score credits

Music Composed By : Ram Sampath
Music Arranged & Produced By : Ram Sampath
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak & John Paul
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme

The post Laapataa Ladies – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack) first appeared on Music Aloud.

Songs and complete credits at the end (It is nice to see complete and properly annotated credits for the songs, with proper lyrical subtitles etc. Just an example of people who actually care about film songs putting them up for public consumption)

While working on my annual roundup for 2023 late last year, I noticed All India Rank among the 2023 movies listed in wiki, and was disappointed to see no songs associated with a movie directed by Varun Grover of all people. So it was really a happy surprise to notice the first single from the movie come out a few days back, and a full soundtrack soon after that. Which brings us to this review. The movie obviously released in cinemas on Friday, and one of the points common across reviews has been how this movie succeeds in evoking that 90s nostalgia. And this is mostly true of the movie’s songs as well. While introducing Noodle Sa Dil, Grover put out an amusing tweet about how they wanted to adapt Biddu-Alisha Chinai’s Made In India but ended up making it a tribute song due to budgetary reasons. And the song indeed a solid tribute, armed with a wonderfully done animation video that is full of 90s references, and Aditi Paul modulating her voice well to suit the era. Musically, however, debutant composers Mayukh-Mainak seem to draw more from a slightly older era of disco – Biddu’s own Nazia Hassan track Boom Boom was one of the songs that kept playing in my head as I listened to this one. Thoroughly enjoyed this one though, and not sure if Varun intended this, but apart from being a smart simile for the romantic entanglement, I found “noodle” quite a fitting choice of word for a movie that presumably portrays a lot of hostel life. Sab Achchi Baatein Hai has the lyricist in top form in his putdown of the idealism in our textbooks. The fact that one of the lead singers is Bodhisattva Sharma (Araham Khan, the other singer), the movie’s main man, lends well to the informal setting in which the song appears to be delivered.Quite liked the country-ish segues the composers take the song through from time to time. A hat tip also to the lovely flute phrases from Paras Nath. The rap track Choice Hi Nahi by Sumit Roy (who also supplies additional lyrics here) has some hard hitting (and very relatable) words, but musically there isn’t much that stands out here.

Varun’s intro for Theher Zara said that since this is a “sukoon aur thehraav ka geet”, it required a voice that makes us stop and introspect. And the makers do indeed the perfect choice in Vishal Bhardwaj. In the process of recording the veteran though, the composers also seem to have gotten influenced by VB’s repertoire, making Theher Zara sound more like a Vishal Bhardwaj song than a Mayank-Mayukh song. Good composition nevertheless, ID Rao’s sax/clarinet solos being another prominent element in the backdrop contributing effectively to the sukoon factor. My current favourite from the album is Haq Hai, particularly for the brilliantly amusing metaphors that the writer crafts out of engineering entrance fundas! Not to take anything away from the composers’ efforts of course, they produce an immensely hummable folkish tune to go with Grover’s words, and the ever dependable Shahid Mallya to deliver it – the singer seems to have made his voice a bit more nasal, which is a great touch here. Tapas Roy and Rickraj Nath’s work on the plucked strings also deserves a mention. Bringing up the rear of the album is surprisingly a guest composition, a 2021 indie song by Chitrangada Satarupa. While Not A Dream was most likely not composed for this movie, it still is a nice fit thematically. And a nice song too, a pensive melody rendered neatly by the singer-songwriter.

All India Rank. A commendable debut for Mayukh-Mainak, helped hugely by Varun Grover’s words. Even if the songs do not always land, full marks for staying true to the theme of the movie throughout.

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Haq Hai, Theher Zara, Noodle Sa Dil

Soundtrack Credits

All songs* composed and arranged by: Mayukh-Mainak
All songs* mixed and mastered by: Rupjit Das
Audio recording engineers: Rupjit Das, Mrinal Kanti Das
Lyrics* by: Varun Grover
Recording Studio: Playhead, Mumbai

(* except Not A Dream)

Sab Achhi Baatein Hain

Singers: Araham Khan, Bodhisattva Sharma
Chorus: Nachiket Lele, Chaitanya Mauli, Shubham Kabra, Arhaan Hussain
Guitars (Acoustic & Bass): Rickraj Nath
Strokes (Banjo, Mandolin & Dotara): Tapas Roy
Flute: Paras Nath
Percussion: Arun N. Solanki
Percussion: Bhaskarjyote Das

Choice Hi Nahin Hai

Singer and Additional Lyrics: Sumit Roy
Track coproduced by: “Roy”/RollsRoys
Keyboard programming: Mayukh – Mainak
Sorolin: Abhijit Mazumdar
Harmonium: Mainak

Noodle Sa Dil

Singer: Aditi Paul
Backing Vocals: Aditi Paul, Shreya Banik Biswas
Keyboard programming: Brince Bora
Guitar: Rickraj Nath

Thehar Zara

Singer: Vishal Bhardwaj
Guitars (Acoustic, Electric, and Bass): Rickraj Nath
Rhythm programmer: Sobuj Mukherjee
Clarinet, Sax: ID Rao
Voice recorded by: Debarpito Saha (Satya Studio)

Haq Hai

Singer: Shahid Mallya
Chorus: Shahid Mallya, Saheb Biswas
Guitars (Acoustic, Electric, & Bass): Rickraj Nath
Strokes (Ektara, Saaz, Mandolin): Tapas Roy
Ravanhatta: Abhijit Mazumdar
Percussions (Dholak, Bongo & Hi Percs) : Bhaskarjyote Das

Not a Dream

Written, composed, and sung by: Chitrangada Satarupa
Arranged and produced by: SambitC
Guitar, percussion, piano, bass and backing vocals by: SambitC
Vocal arrangements by: Isheeta Chakrvarthy
Mixed and mastered by: Adhiraj Singh

The post All India Rank – Music Review (Bollywood) first appeared on Music Aloud.