Top Indian Songs of the week 22nd January 2023

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 22nd January 2023. We have 5 indie songs and 5 film songs in this list and at the top of the charts is a brilliant song that is bound to move you. 

1. Toot Hi Gaya

Producer: Durgesh R Rajbhatt

Composer: Durgesh R Rajbhatt

Lyricist: Saaveri Verma

Language: Hindi

Genre: Filmi Melody 

When we hear some great music, it conquers everything, and I just surrender to the beauty of the melody straightaway. It is even more satisfying when it comes from the least expected quarters, say like Bollywood. One such album in January has been 'Chhatriwala' and it has multiple composers but it works pretty well. Durgesh R Rajbhatt is the composer and producer for this song that breaks your heart thanks to the melody and singing. Himani Kapoor is just unbelievable with her vocals, as she gets every element of the pathos spot on. Himani was solid in 'Me Vasantarao' for the song "Tere Dar se" and here she is once again showing her sublime singing skills. Saaveri Verma's lyrics have an equally magnificent impact. Durgesh not only composes but sings it like a dream after the initial lines by Himani.

The use of the Tabla and Harmonium even while synths are being used and programmed is a wonderful combination. The interlude has some fast-paced acoustic guitars and strings sections executed and it stays brief moving into the stanza. It just keeps getting better with some solid vocals, the Sarangi and brilliant arrangements of instruments. I love how the stanza starts off with the guitars and when the lines repeat, they fade off and what we hear more is the Tabla and Sarangi combination adding immense delight.

The way the stanza ends is another highlight of the track having both vocalists singing in two different layers. The change of pitch is subtle and creative. The song bears some similarities to the wonderful track "Dil K Gehna" by Rajat Nagpal and Yasser Desai released in 2022. Durgesh had impressed me last year with a fantastic indie single called "Khat", so it was just a matter of time before he came up with something awesome again. 

@kapoorhimani @zeemusiccompany @durgesh_r_rajbhatt @thesaaveriverma 

2. Jaane Phirse Kaise (2022)

Composed, Written and Produced by Keshuv Huria

Vocals by Vidhya Gopal, Keshuv Huria

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop-Melody fusion

Keshuv is one talented musician who came out as a very distinguished student from KMMC run by AR Rahman. This is not the first time I have featured his music, and he seems to be growing from strength to strength. This very EP has a couple of very good songs and I did feature a song "Teri Meri Kahani" which featured Sumedha Karmahe, and Keshuv has roped in some fantastic singers for the songs like Hansika Pareek. This one has another renowned singer who is quite suited for anything even remotely classical. Vidhya Gopal is the female lead vocalist Keshuv has written, composed, performed and produced this ravishing song that impressed me the most for its trajectory and stricture that never even sounded run-of-the-mill for a minute duration.

Lascid plays the guitars and Dotaara and the talented Reena Gilbert is the mixing and mastering engineer. The vocals are endearing and we have a faint Violin, Guitars and Keyboards. Vidhya and Keshuv combine and start performing the vocals in Harmony and the eerie pathos element is sustained. In the stanza, I love the line "kal ko hum jo, rahe na rahe, rahega sada yeh afsana". Vidhya sings with just restrained control and she also delivers in the lower pitch. The outro on Keys is quite interesting and has that resemblance to the "Forrest Gump" OST soundtrack right at the beginning when the feather moves around in the air in the opening shot. The artwork is by Mriganka Bhuyan. 

 @keshuv_huria @vidhyagopal.musical @lascid_ @reena.gilbert @a_m_o_r_f_o_s

3. Better Place (2022)

Performed by Bulli Bainbridge, Shalmali Kholgade

Written by Bulli Bainbridge, Juhi Sharma

Produced by Bulli Bainbridge

Language: English

Genre: Ballad

This EP 'Seasons' had some enjoyable music and the ones I loved the most are 'Betterplace' and 'Monochrome' featuring Shalmali Kholgade and Nushious respectively. Bulli Bainbridge a.k.a. Zain Calcuttawala is the composer and producer and he writes this tailor-made song for Shalmali. Juhi Sharma has penned the lyrics along with Zain. The violins, violas and Piano give an enraged entry like the way the curtain rises before a Broadway musical. Zain does a brilliant job producing this track and Shalmali is equal to the task.

The strings section drops in intensity and after that, it is the Piano we also hear the adrenaline drop for Shalmali and all of it is intended. But just when she delivers the line " But without a sound, I scream" she ups the ante aided by the intense strings in the background. The harmonies 

@shalmiaow @andrewtmackay @siddharthbasrur @raghavmeattle @nushious @bohemiajunction @juiekablooey

4. Another Avenue

Written and Composed by David Britto

Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Jason D'Souza

Vocals by Riya Duggal 

Language: English

Genre: Synth-pop

 David Britto makes it a hat trick now with 3 consecutive singles being featured among India's best weekly music, but I can confidently say that this is his best work yet. This synth-pop beauty is written and composed by David, with production by Jason D'Souza. Riya Duggal is on fire and the vocals do the lion's share of pulling the song into a higher orbital of quality and likability. The lead guitars, bass and Keyboards are scintillating right from the start, but you do feel the magnetism when Riya sings "when your eyes intertwine with me, my oh my". The backing vocals support well but the song gets a good shift with the heavy Keys and Riya goes "Do I need to spell it out".

I get the feeling David has given the entire gamut of creative freedom for Riya to explore her vocals and delivery these lines devoid of shackles. The lines might be the same but Riya has got different ways of executing them vocally, singing with a different style and an attached vibrato every time. The use of drums, rhythms and harmonies keep the interest intact. The DOP is Erika Besterwitch and all the art direction is by Tanvi Shah. 

@dave_arrows @jasonmxaudio @the_duggal_gal @bestie.erika @tanvi_joel 

5. Maati Ko Maa Kehte Hain

Singers: Sonu Nigam & Rochak Kohli

Music Composer: Rochak Kohli

Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir

Music Production, Mix & Master: Aditya Dev

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad

Well, the movie has gotten pretty average reviews and some even gave downright bad ones. The music however isn't as bad with this particular song touching my heart. Maybe it was Manoj Muntashor's lyrics, Sonu Nigam's throbbing and endearing and emotional vocals or Rochak Kohli's music, or just a combination of all these. The backing vocalists do a fine job in creating that setting as well thanks to Vivek Naik, Rahul Chitnis, Santosh Bote & Sagar Lele. Once Sonu starts, you are in dreamland with goosebumps every other second. Mohit Dogra plays the guitars, and we have Azeem Dayani and Piyush Agnihotri assisting as music supervisors and music assistants respectively. This is a patriotic song and the usual style of slow rendition with an anthem-styled humming all come into play.

The underlying tune is what makes the cut and Rochak deserves praise for that. The persistent presence of the strings section during the stanza works like a wonder. Aditya Dev is the song's producer and he also is the mixing and mastering engineer. The section is written by Prakash Varma but the instrumentalists are Prakash Varma, Chandan Singh Jawda, Sanjeev Rao & Sandeep Thakur on Violin, Sushil Varma, Abhijit Mazumdar, Dharmendra Jawda & Sanjay Varma on Violins and Viola. There was a tinge of Raag Desh and some Raag Pilu that I could hear. The recording engineers are Rahul Sharma Subhashree Das and Samir Dharap. Rochak nicely introduces the percussion and horns section as well to create that feeling of fervour and pride. 

 @rochakkohli @sonunigamofficial @manojmuntashir @azeemdayani @adityadevmusic @iammohitdogra 

6. Main Teri Hi Rahoon

Singers: Akhil Sachdeva & Shirley Setia

Music: Akhil Sachdeva

Lyrics: Akhil Sachdeva

Music Production: Vaibhav Pani

Language: Hindi

Genre: Filmi Pop

The multiple composer concept for movies never quite works at least in Bollywood as I feel they never understand the album's briefing well, collectively as a team. But for this movie 'Chhatriwala' we have 2 outstanding songs by 2 different composers. This is a breezy, loop-worthy track composed, written, and performed by Akhil Sachdeva. The guitars are solid right at the start and we know it is thanks to Vaibhav Pani's production expertise. Shirley Sethia brings a very fresh and fun perspective through her vocals aided by Vaibhav and Rohit Kulkarni's guitars. I love how Akhil enters the fray with his beautiful line "tujhe dekh kar jee rahaa hoon".

The highlight is the title line as both lead vocalists render it with passion and poise. I can hear the sound of a slide guitar as well in the background. Shirley sings the same line "tujhe dekh kar" but at this sexy low pitch that will bowl anyone over. Vaibhav gets the saxophone in the interlude and the song just gets increasingly beautiful thanks to the melody in the stanza. The track is mixed and mastered by Ajinkya Dhapare with Virat Bhushetty assisting. 

 @sachdevaakhilnasha @shirleysethia @vaibhavpani @rohitkulkarni88 @ajinkyadhapare

7. Thanimaiyile

Music Composed and Produced by Harish Venkat and Prashanth Techno (Madley Blues)

Lyrics - Harish Venkat

Vocals - MS Krsna

Language: Tamil

Genre: Ballad/Lullaby

These guys Madley Blues are sincere and talented and I am happy that they landed a good project on Sony LIV called " Story of things". The album has at least 2-3 very beautiful songs, but what impressed me more was the BGM score for the web-series. However, this song which has two versions is an absolute ripper. I loved both versions but I am featuring the one sung by MS Krsna who does valiantly against a version sung by the majestic Pradeep Kumar on vocals. If a vocalist even makes his/her version half as memorable as the version by Pradeep, that is a fabulous feat but Krsna here goes for the kill and I really couldn't pick a favourite between the two.

I do sense some fragments of Raag Bihag in the song and I feel like standing up in clapping my hands for the melody and production by Harish Venkat and Prashanth Techno. Keba Jeremiah plays the guitars impressively as always. The solo violin piece by Raghavasimhan is one of the best moments of the track. This lullaby will take you into a sone of utmost tranquillity. The sound engineers are Vishnu Raj, Hariharan and Paul. Harish Venkat is the lyricist

 @prashanthtechno @madleyblues @mskrsnamusic @kebajer

8. Dastaan

Performed by Rahul Makhija

Written by Rahul Makhija

Language: Hindi/English

Genre: Indie Pop

Rahul Makhija reached out to me about his new song which he has written, composed and performed. I always approach such songs with an open mind and devoid of any preconceived notions, and here too I came out on the side, surprised and glad that I listened to the track. I loved how Rahul used Hindi and English lyrics alternatively in the song for every line that he delivered. Rahul's forte was his strong, stable and pleasing vocals and he utilises them with great efficacy.

Rahul also gets a lot of elements right using the perfect mix of Keyboard, rhythm programming and harmonies. To make a sad story of losing a loved one sound refreshing and upbeat through sounds, tone and notes felt very spiritually uplifting. The guitars, bass and Keys combine quite beautifully throughout the track. I already am building in expectations for Rahul's future projects.

@rahulmakhijaa10

9. Ho Jaane Do

Singers: Raashi Sood, Raghav Meattle  

Lyricist: Dilwala, Raghav Meattle

Music Producer: Ashish Zachariah

Composers: Raashi Sood, Raghav Meattle

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie pop

Big Bang Records is certainly doing a commendable job, of promoting new talent and supporting well-produced music. Raghav Meattle, Heer Kamdar, Harshit Agarwal and Vishesh Ghate deserve credit for that. It was Akshath Acharya's 'Noor' last week and now Raghav and Rashi Sood compose and perform this ravishing track. Raashi Sood has been quite consistent in the indie space and this will be one of her excellent singles, as the song progresses I became more engrossed. The production is fantastic with the keyboards, rhythms and guitars. Let us not be surprised because it is the work of Ashish Zachariah who is a very dependable and intelligent producer.

Raghav and Raashi coming together vocally is a delight, and the bridge section is a welcome segment that shows the composing skills of the duo. Vivek Thomas does the Stereo as well as the Dolby mixing and mastering. Towards the end when the lead vocals sing "Kho jaane do, jo bhi hota hai, ha aa aa, woh ho jaane do", excels with the synths and strings in the background. Raghav and Dilwala pen the lyrics. 

 @bgbngmusic @raghavmeattle @dilwalaoriginal @ashish.zachariah @vivekthomasproductions @raashisood 

10. Mallika Mallika

Singer : Ramya Behara

Music Director: Mani Sharma 

Lyricist: Chaitanya Prasad 

Language: Telugu

Genre: Filmi Melody

This is one movie which has garnered a lot of public interest, being a period film from Tollywood after the successes of Bahubali and RRR. I am keen because of the cast that mainly has Samantha in it. Moving on to the music, the movie has one of Tollywood's most famous and established composers in Mani Sharma, and with this song, he has done pretty well in meeting those expectations. Ramya Behara sounds like the perfect choice for delivering this with an innate sweetness. I'm yet to explore the tracks in other languages and if she has done with convincing diction. After her initial lines, the harmonies amplify the impact of the song, especially with the change in tempo and intervention of rhythms and percussions, like the Thavil.

Chaitanya Prasad is the lyricist. The song to me has influences of Raag Yaman and that becomes apparent in the Flute solo by Kamalakar in the interlude. The stanza is short and that is the only place I was disappointed. The second interlude is a beautiful solo on the Santoor by Satyendra Singh Solanki. The track is produced by Rakesh Venkatapuram. 

@ramyabehara @tipsteluguofficial @chaitanyaprasadlyrics @svr.ranjith @rakeshchary16 @kamlakarkkrao @satyendra.singh.solanki @janishaikhyaqub