As 2018 is drawing to a close, MetroPlus listens to some singers-composers as they talk about their favourite film songs of the year
SUSHIN SHYAM:
I fell in love with ‘Kinavu kondoru’ from Sudani from Nigeria even before I saw the movie. I liked the progression of the song and the vocals of Neha Nair and Imam Majboor.
Other favourites are ‘Ranam’, the title track of Ranam, because the sound and treatment are new; ‘Nadotukku’ from Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri, especially the music production by Yakzan [Gary Pereira]; ‘Vaanaville’ from Koode, a soothing melody, and ‘Kadavathoru Thoni’ from Poomaram, a simple yet catchy song [by Leela L Girikuttan].
Sushin composed the tracks of Varathan, Maradona and Lilli
SHAAN RAHMAN:
‘Vaanaville’ from Koode has the right blend of music and visuals, something every composer count as a blessing. ‘Kalariyadavum’ from Kayamkulam Kochunni is a pleasing melody with excellent orchestration, complemented by good picturisation.
Shaan Rahman | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
‘Nee’ from Varathan has a modern orchestration, bringing in a new sound to Malayalam. Sreenath Bhasi’s voice was perfect and I don’t know why Sushin opted for him. Deepak Dev’s melody, ‘Panimathiye’ from Vallikkudilile Vellakkaran is close to my heart. It’s sung by Meenakshy, one of the contestants of a reality show that we had judged. And one song that really shook me up is ‘Poomothole’ from Joseph, sung by Vijay [Yesudas]. We haven’t heard such a melody in a long long time. Hats off to Ranjin Raj for the tune and the director for approving the song.
Shaan scored the tracks of My Story, Aravindante Athithikal, Njan Prakashan and Oru Adaar Love
ANAND MADHUSOODANAN:
Aravindante Adhithikal is the album of the year and my favourite in the list is ‘Aanandame’. It blends into the background score and is rendered beautifully by Anne Amie.
Anand Madhusoodanan | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
‘Puthiyoru pathayil’ from Varathan has a melodious, modern arrangement that conveys the mood of the situation. ‘Kondoram’ from Odiyan and ‘Poomothole’ from Joseph are soaked in Malayalitham [Malayali flavour], evoking nostalgia.
[Anand is the music director of Njaan Marykutty and Pretham 2]
SITHARA KRISHNAKUMAR:
‘Neermathalappoovinullil’ from Aami stands out because of the lyrics and the tune. It helped me relate with Madhavikutty as a reader and took me back to my school days. ‘Ore nila ore veyil’ from BTech, sung by Nikhil Mathew, is the kind of song that I love to listen to. It is one of my favourite compositions of Rahulettan [Rahul Raj].
Sithara Krishnakumar | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Other favourite tracks are ‘Kannane karimukil’ from Kammarasambhavam, sung by Haricharan and Divya [Divya S Menon], because of the arrangement and the singing, ‘Kanne thaimalare’ from Aravindante Adhithikal and ‘Kalariyadavum’, the duet by Shreya Ghosal and Vijay Yesudas from Kayamkulam Kochunni.
[The singer composed the title track of Katha Paranja Katha and is the co-composer of Udalazham]
KAILAS MENON:
Top on the list is the title track of Ranam, ‘Ranam’, composed by Jakes Bejoy. It is very stylish and it is the next step in Malayalam music. Mandhaaram, composed by Mujeeb Majeed, especially the songs ‘Pularimazhakal’ and ‘Kadalazham’, comes next. Other songs that I enjoyed immensely are ‘Vaanaville’ from Koode and ‘Nilapakshi’ from Maradona.
Kailas Menon
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
[Kailas tuned the tracks in Theevandi]
SAYANORA PHILIP:
In ‘Kaathale’ from Maradona, Sushin [Shyam] has scored a song in pucca alternative genre with a lot of freshness. ‘Aararao’ from Koode has many pluses — Raghu Dixit, the composer, has used instruments such as the banjo, mandolin, and guitar to give it a breezy feel; visuals are amazing and Anne Amie’s sounds awesome, especially her voice modulations. ‘Gypsy woman’ from Aadhi, written and sung by Pranav Mohanlal, and tuned by Anil Johnson is a unique track. An English number, it has been arranged in a live band mode. In ‘Nee’ from Varathan, Sushin has given an urban twist to a melody.
Sayanora Philip | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
‘Nisha shalabhame’, an M Jayachandran-composition rendered by Shaktisree in Hey Jude, is a beautiful composition. The song is catchy because of her voice modulations and melodic structure.
[The singer composed tracks in Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri and Mangalyam Thanthunanena]
JOB KURIAN:
Rex Vijayan’s tunes for Sudani from Nigeria, ‘Kinavu kondoru’ and ‘Cherukatha pole’ are outstanding as they blend beautifully with the narrative. ‘Aararo’ strikes a chord because of the singing and ‘Paranne’ is an uplifting song in the voices of Benny [Dayal] and the composer. Both are from Koode. ‘Chakkapattu’ from Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri has that folksy, rustic feel.
Job Kurian | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The singer composed two independent tracks, ‘Parudeesa’ and ‘Mulla’
Musicians’ choice:
* ‘Nee’ and ‘Puthiyoru pathayil’ [Varathan, Sushin Shyam]
* ‘Aararo’ and ‘Vaanaville’ [Koode, Raghu Dixit, M Jayachandran]
* ‘Kinavu kondoru’ [Sudani from Nigeria, Rex Vijayan]
* ‘Poomothole’ [Joseph, Ranjin Raj]
* ‘Kalariyadavum’ [Kayamkulam Kochunni, Gopi Sunder]
* Songs from Aravindante Adhithikal [Shaan Rahman], Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri [Sayanora Philip] and Maradona [Sushin Shyam], Ranam [Jakes Bijoy] and Odiyan (M Jayachandran)