Top Indian Songs of the week 23rd March 2025

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Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 23rd March 2025

1. Haiyodi

Music composed, arranged & produced by Dhibu Ninan Thomas 

Lyrics: Krithika Nelson 

Singer: Kapil Kapilan

Language: Tamil

Genre: Alt-Rock

Mood: Romantic

When I listen to this song by the fabulous composer-singer combination of Dhibu and Kapil, I am reminded of another fantastic song. 'Adiye' was a song that mesmerised the whole nation, and for those who didn't know Kapil Kapilan, it put him on the pan-India radar. This splendid Alt-Rock melody is composed, arranged and produced by Dhibu Ninan Thomas with lyrics by the talented singer-songwriter Krithika Nelson. Was it a conscious decision to use 'Haiyodi' as the catchphrase and title after the success of 'Haiyoda' by Anirudh for the album ' Jawaan'?

Either way, this is a much better song in comparison, for me at least and Kapil Kapilan elevates it to another orbital altogether. Keba Jeremiah's guitars and Naveen Napier's bass are piling on the scintillating effect and Dhibu combines the purity of Raag Abheri (Bhimplasi) with the energy of rock music. The male chorus joins in to provide impetus to the line "anbe nee anjamal nenjai killi sellathe", thanks to Dhibu, Aravind Srinivas , Sarath Santhosh , Saisharan , Shenbagaraj and Narayanan Ravishankar. 

When it is Kapil's turn to join and sing the line, the strings section is a beautiful arrangement in the background, played by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and this section is arranged by the amazing Kalyani Nair. I love the confidence and trust Dhibu has in giving some of the best songs to Kapil, and the way he provides an unabated vocal exhibition in return is a testament to a great team. The swaras are being performed by Kapil at breakneck speed, and it is beautiful to hear the backing vocalists sing "hey hey kadhal" along with this.

Sruthiraj is on the Tabla and Ashwin Sivadas plays the drums. I love we have the backing vocalists sing the line "nenjukkule vedikkathe" and then with Kapil following it up "un perai sonnale", but the highlight here is Kalyani Nair's string arrangements that are mesmerising. Kapil shines with some unbelievable stuff he does in the higher vocal register. Listen to the aalaap in the outro and stay dumbstruck. The tracks are mixed by Balu Thankachan (20 dB, Chennai), and mastered by Shadab Rayeen (New Edge Studios, Mumbai). The recording engineers are Maniratnam, Bence Bobak, Vishnu M N and Paul Daniel. 

@dhibuninanthomas @kapilkapilan @officialanagha @princepicturesindia @madrashe @napier_naveen @kebajer @singer_narayananravishankar @aravindsrinivas_official @shenbagarajg @kalyaninair86 @sivadasashwin

2. Fariyaad

Vocals, Lyrics, Composition: Inayat Kaur Bajaj

Language: Hindi

Genre: Alt-Rock

Mood: Energetic

She is a precocious talent with terrific vocal control and abilities. Inayat Kaur Bajaj has been featured many times by me and she has been on Indian Idol Season 14. Here is a new single where she doesn't restrain and goes all out with her insane vibrato, and why not? Inayat inspires many youngsters who are writing songs, as she writes the melody, and lyrics and performs the vocals on this one. Listen to her go as she sings "Ab toh Main kya karoon" with some falsetto and the landing notes on the last word, almost impossible to achieve. 

Suyash Gabriel is on drums, Anahita Singh plays the gentle Piano and the guitars are played by Solomon Konwar and McGilheri(Vinod Arora). The song gets into a blistering mode as we get to the chorus segment with the heavy rock genre being explored in drums and guitars and Inayat soars into the pitch notes, emoting all the aggression with style. One just can sit and listen to this splendid vocal performance by Inayat and maybe say to yourself " Main aur kya karoon". 

Once we get a solo on electric guitars in the interlude, Inayat executes the same notes with stunning perfection, giving a classical touch to the fast-paced aalap. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Mukul Jain at Ferris Wheel Studios. The recording engineers are Solomon, Mukul and Rohan Vashisht, the technical engineer. 

@inayatkaurbajaj @mixbymukul @ferriswheelstudios @itsanahita.singh @suyashgarbriel @mcgilheri

3. Chemical Rain

Lyrics, Vocals by Shivang Arora 

Music Produced by Shivang Arora

Language: English

Genre: Rock

Mood: Trippy

Shivang Arora begins proceedings by guiding us with the rhythm guitar, and a hint of the electric guitar and drums combine to give us the beautiful concocted sound of rock music. With the tempo, tone and Shivang's vocals, I am reminded of the band 'The Fray' and their works like 'You Found Me' and 'How to Save a Life'. Raghav Bhutani is the drummer and Ameen Singh plays electric guitars and bass. Shivang writes the melody, lyrics and produces his soothing roc. 

I love the lines when he sings " No, This aint no destiny, the rebel raven sings", falling in love with the notes here. The amplification of sound and energy happens with the heavy guitars accompanying the line "soakin' floatin' in the chemical rain". This is where we get a dose of another supreme talent called Komorebi, and she makes this chemical rain into a thunderous shower with her synths. Wait for some revelation in the outro as Ameen simply decides to go ballistic and at the end of the song you won't know if it was the chemical rain or the guitars that melted your face. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Shivang and the video is shot by Nitin Rohilla. 

@shivang.wav @reghev_drums @dopameen23 @komorebi.music @somethinginthewav @iamnitinrohillaa @mgmhindia

4. Draining Out

Vocals, Lyrics, Composition: Mary Ann Alexander 

Music Producer: Soorya 

Language: English

Genre: R&B

Mood: Groovy

Mary Ann Alexander is that kind of an irresistible force in Indian music in the indie space and you will be sucked in by her writing and vocals as she sings "draining out", and by the drained of it, drained of all your energy. Allan Varghese is on keys and Soorya amps up the oomph with all the programming and production boosters to this saucy single. Mary Ann sets the stage on fire with her delivery, colouring the track with such undeniable style and elegance. 

The confidence and attitude with which she delivers lines like " Should have been up in the morning, It's late I got boxes to check don't be yawning" and her wit and intelligence in songwriting come through with "neck and neck, unacceptable, respect is collectable". The gentle Saxophone interventions playing in the background keep me interested thanks to Gautam David's prowess. Amrith Raghunathan is the recording and mixing/mastering engineer, Lekha Rathnam handles the photography. 

@mary.ann.alexander @sooryawho @doc.awes @allanfromtheotherside @gautam.david @lekharathnam @poly_face_pug

5. Ethili Neeye

Singer - Damini Bhatla 

Composer - Damini Bhatla 

Lyrics: Naveen Bharathi 

Producer: lil help 

Language: Tamil

Genre: Synth Pop

Mood:

It is nice to see Damini Batla explore other languages after working predominantly in the Telugu indie space. Not only does she possess a good voice, but she also has a knack for writing good songs. Her melody is rich, and she brings about some freshness by allowing the notes to move across a few scales. A champion guitarist Baidurjya Banerjee, knocks you down with every pluck of the electric guitar.

Naveen Bharathi writes the Tamil lyrics and Damini sizzles when she sings "Patta Kaayam koochal podum" and when she finishes the vibrato-heavy lines "ellame pechil thaane endrum", she conquers you entirely. My only complaint is that this pre-chorus line appears in the 3-minute song just once. The chorus segment ( with influences of Raga Keeravani) gets a little help from the music producer lil help and he loads the background sound with some terrific synths and rhythms. 

Baidurjya electrifies with his intervention and the verse is where the Piano and rhythms alone accompany mildly. This allows Damini to dominate vocally and exhibit the classical Carnatic-styled delivery, where we get to hear notes of Raaga Kaapi and Shanmukhapriya. The tracks are mixed and mastered by lil help. SP Abhishek does the vocal supervision, and the recording engineers are Kadri Ashwin and Ajinkya at Sounds Right Studio, Chennai and The Sonic Station, Mumbai. 

@daminibatlach @lyricist_naveenbharathi @plslilhelp @baidurjyabanerjee @potraitsbythepixelfarmer @iammounikachenna @limitless_greenz @modemhive 

6. Grandma Song 

Music Production - Thaman.S 

Singer : Vaikom Vijayalakshmi 

Lyrics: Viveka 

Programmed & Arranged by Thaman S 

Language: Tamil

Genre: FOlk-Pop fusion

Mood: Spooky

Thaman showed great promise a few years ago with his ability to produce excellent music, that cut across genres and demographics. But his continued efforts in masala movies are beyond disappointing. Finally, he seems to have regained some traction since 2024 and this song is one example of that. The song is performed by Vaikom Vijayalakshmi and the lyrics are penned by Viveka. The fright elements begin straight away in the intro as we hear the Violas and Cellos by Sandilya Pisapati, he also plays the solo violin. 

The chorus team of singers elevate the background sound of mystery further performed by Adviteeya, Pranati and Keerthana. The live percussions by Anandan Sivamani and Thaman combine with the synths to create the awe and shock effect. The lyrics by Viveka tell a scary story of an approaching phantom based on all the frightening stories we would have heard as kids. All the additional programming is by Shashank Alamuru, Hari S R & Osho V. The guitars are played by Subhani and Subhashree. The fantastic strings section in the outro is performed by MACEDONIAN SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA FAME’S , with coordination by Andrew T Mackay at Bohemia Junction. 

@musicthaman @viveka_lyricist @sandilya_pisapati @andrewtmackay @osho_venkat

7. Story Of

Composition, Lyrics: No Neighbours Around

Language: English

Genre: Rock

Mood: Energetic

This rock band "No Neighbours Around" doesn't have to be worried about being noisy. Having said that, their brand of music is not noisy but has a nice tone to it. Vishwesh Siva is the frontman on lead vocals and bass guitars, Vignesh Siva is the lead guitarist and engages in backing vocals, with Vikas Gotla on drums. 

The pacy and string acoustic guitars along with the heartfelt vocals frag you deeper into the song. I love the melody " Strangest thing, the stories of me, My heart goes cold from the stories I'm told". The drums guitars and bass now combine to create the sound of beautiful rock music that takes me back to RHCP's "Californication". Vignesh sizzles on the guitar solo energizing the listener. 

The tracks are recorded, mixed and mastered by Sonal Siby at Muzico Studio. Maya Santhanakrishnan handles the covert art and video. 

@rhinestoneeyed @muzico_studio @meghatrax @sonalsiby @mayasanthanakrishnan @thew.ishspecial 

8. Manam Peyyum 

Song Composed, Arranged and Programmed by Sam CS 

Singers: Karthik, Shweta Mohan 

Lyrics: Vinayak Sasikumar

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Light Music / Pop

Mood: Romantic

Sam CS is one of those composers who silently keeps producing hits and very enjoyable music at a fairly consistent run rate. Sam's strong points always remain his melody writing and his choice of vocalists. Here too it is Karthik and Shweta Mohan who deliver their lead roles brilliantly and with Sam's arrangements of live instrumentals. The acoustic guitars, bass, keys and rhythms make it a wonderful pop single.

The string section arrangements in the background add such a fantastic layer that touches the heart. The solo violin intervenes, like in the interlude and the melody written for it is stunning, with the execution up to the task. Shweta's typical delivery of the higher pitch notes makes this song stick to the mind long after its completion. 

@samcsmusic @_shwetamohan_ @karthikmusicexp

9. Thattathil

Music Composed and Produced by Sreehari K Nair 

Lyrics: Sharfu 

Singer: Sreehari K Nair 

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Light Music

Mood: Romantic

It is all Sandeep Mohan in the intro playing the delightful Banjo and the guitars as we slowly delve deeper. Sreehari K Nair sings the song's pallavi with such divinity and it is like he is enjoying the melody he crated. The song is also produced by Sreehari with lyrics by Sharfu. The song gets a facelift in energy with the chorus singers viz. Abhijith Damodaran, Amal C Ajith and Vaishnav Krishna perform the anupallavi section "Ranjhana Ranjhana". The notes written for this segment are truly mesmerising.

The Mandolin interlude by Sandeep and the heavy rhythms, guide us through to the stanza where Sreehari's raw vocals keep this tune earthy and lovable. The song's instrumental arrangements are rich and the use of guitars, Banjo and the Mandolin create the perfect pathways for the song to march forward in delivering the sweet melody. The recording engineers are Akshay Kakkoth and Nishanth BT, with Sai Prakash handling mixing and mastering at My Studio Cochin. 

@sreehariachunair @shamzuzayba @sharfu_amishaf @nimna_fathoomi @akshay_kakkoth @saiprakashh @gibsandeep @abhijit_damodaran_