Top Indian Songs of the week 26th February 2023

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 26th February 2023. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.

1. Ori Vaari

Composed, Arranged and Programmed by Santhosh Narayanan

Telugu Lyrical writer: Shreemani

Singer: Santhosh Narayanan

Language: Telugu

Genre: Ballad/Alt-Rock fusion

I keep telling in my reviews, that there is none like his, and Santhosh Narayanan is the most talented composer and producer in India today and that has been the case for the last 5-7 years at least. Some could dismiss it saying that it is just my opinion, well then you better stop reading this and start listening to the number 1 song in India for last week. You can then make up your mind. 

It is very heartening to see Santhosh or SaNa as he is known, make inroads to Tollywood, and Mollywood too. Back in December, we saw his work for the Sony Liv web series 'Faadu' in Hindi. Getting back to this track, Ori Vaari is the original Telugu song but has been simultaneously released in Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. The song is a testament to SaNa's unmatched ability to combine diverse genres within one track, use solid instrumental arrangements and produce the track with an enviable style. 

Only a composer with terrific vision can even get the groundwork laid and see through its perfect execution. The song starts off with SaNa's inexplicably magnetic voice and the sound of the glass percussion played by him. Aditya Ravindran plays all the additional keys and he has now become SaNa's most trusted aide. I just cannot imagine this song without the impact of the bass guitars and it is played by Rupendar Venkatesh like an unassailable champion. Santhosh will be remembered as one solid composer who used bass guitars in all his compositions to the fullest potential, a feat like Maestro Ilaiyaraja. 

The interlude is mesmerising with the strings section, thanks to Fame's Skopje Studio Orchestra (Macedonia) with Sasha as conductor and our won Karthik Manickavasakam arranging the strings to perfection. Joshua Rodrigues at the Bohemia Junction is the Orchestra coordinator. The interlude section reminds me of the interlude of "Vennilave Vennilave" from 'Minsara Kanavu' composed by AR Rahman. It probably has influences of Raag Pilu (Kaapi in Carnatic). Then the stanza begins and we have the wonderful Piano and continuous riff of the strings in the background staying right after the interlude. The chord progression and the way the notes are composed are a testament to SaNa's capability. 

The masterstroke comes late in the stanza and you keep listening to the way the line "Kannelallo Saagdholina, Idichesi Vadhileshinaa" ends. The backing vocals and notes drop off like from the top of a cliff and this suddenness and unexpected shift is what makes SaNa truly great. The second interlude is another piece of genius with the Clarinet, and the bass guitars accompanying like Robin for Batman. The 2nd stanza is completely different and it moves the style of the song itself from a Ballad, pathos song to an Alt-Rock number. Words can never be enough to appreciate the work of SaNa and his team of musicians. The 2nd stanza also makes me wonder if there is some influence of either Dharmavathi Ragam or Madhuvanthi Ragam.  

Pranav Muniraj plays the acoustic guitars, while in this section it is Aditya Ravindran blasting away on the electric guitars. The stanza gains traction and we hear the rhythms, guitars and trumpets all converging and delivering excellence. The song is recorded by Santhosh, Pranav, Rupendar and Karthik and the mixing and mastering are done by Santhosh and Rupendar. Meenakshi Santhosh is the musicians' coordinator. Santhosh sings this brilliantly making it his best vocal performance yet. The lyrics is written by Shreemani. 

@musicsanthosh @adityaravindran95 @karthikmanickavasakam @rupendar_venkatesh @pranavbalu @shreemani_lyricist @musicsoundart 

2. Shehzada

Singer: Sonu Nigam

Music: Pritam

Lyrics: Mayur Puri

Music Arranger and Programmer - Aditya Pushkarna, Jim Satya, Sunny M.R. & Amey Ghule

Language: Hindi

It is redemption time, the moment when Pritam shows to the world that he has still got it and he is not going away anywhere yet. The 4 other songs that I have heard are below par, but the title track is what salvages Pritam and restores faith in his abilities. The song is performed by the one and only Sonu Nigam who has a ball delivering this song. Mayur Puri writes the lyrics and we have 4 talented musicians bringing their heads together to arrange and program this track.

If you listen to the song you will know that the arrangements are grander than life and the lion's share of credit for the song's brilliant impact must go to Aditya Pushkarna, Jim Satya, Sunny M.R. & Amey Ghule. It is fantastic to know that the top 2 songs in the country have employed some magnificent Orchestra and live instruments in a time when 1 Min Music and Lo-fi and EDM styles completely dominate the scene. Kudos to DJ Phukan, Sunny and Ashwin Kulkarni for the brilliant sound design. Just like song no. 1, we have the FAME'S Skopje Studio Orchestra on the strings section. 

The Orchestration is by Andrew T Mackay and orchestra coordination is by Joshua Rodrigues. The song begins with the splendid drums by Gary Novak and it feels like you are listening to Savage Garden's 'The Animal Song'. The brass section is grand and feels like one Jazz Ensemble in full force. The Trumpets, Trombones are upping the ante and Sonu's energetic singing is nothing short of brilliant. Aniruddh Anantha and Pranav Gupta are the sound engineers and Aniruddh along with Dev Arijit handles the vocal conducting and backing vocals design. 

There are so many things happening, with the live instruments ad despite that Sonu never fails to grab your attention. The line "Banoonga Hai Vaada" with the dropping tempo, and extravagant trumpets is wonderful to hear. Kudos to Shadab Rayeen who has mixed and mastered the track along with assistants Pukhraj Sonkar and Anup Gandharla

@sunnymr @adityapushkarna @_amey_ghule_ @jimsat @ipritamofficial @sonunigamofficial @musicsoundart @shadabrayeen @pranavgupta_27 @aniruddhanantha @ashwinkulkarni89 @dev_arijit9 @musicsoundart @mayurpuri @iamdjphukan @gary_novak 

3. Chandni & Dil Dariya

Singer: Aditya N. (Chandni) & Nayantara Bhatkal (Dil Daariya)

Composed by: Alokananda Dasgupta

Lyrics: Rajeshwari Dasgupta Ghose

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad (Chandni) & Retro Dance Pop (Dil Daariya)

We are nearing 'International Women's Day' and it is perfectly appropriate that we have a brilliant song composed by one of India's most talented female composers in Alokananda Dasgupta. Just like I tend to weed out the really bad songs in the first 10 seconds, over here it took me the same time to gauge the splendid potential and likability in this song. Jonathan Dreyfus plays the Cello and the Viola and they can already be heard creating magic in the background. Aditya. N a.k.a. Meadows & Rust is the vocalist who is gently serenading us but Alokanada and Jonathan decide to distract us beautifully with the additional string arrangements. 

Amandeep Singh and Tanmay Pawar have played the guitars and Tamnay handles all the additional guitar arrangements. The song oozes quality and reminds us of those times when Shankar Ehsan Loy used to rule Bollywood. Aditya's vocals sound like Sonu Nigam's when he decides to give every note an emotional touch. He also must be credited and appreciated for the wonderful production of the song along with Amandeep. Just as Aditya sings these lines, we get a delightful male humming in the background, and it feels like Alokananda and the team decided to never give the listener any break from quality. 

The lines "dhuaan mein kal chupa hai" feels like Raag Yaman to me and it adds to the beauty of the overall track. Jonathan also plays the wonderfully reverberating flute and Clarinet. Alokananda does very well in creating a divergent tune without sticking around a few set of predictable notes. The lines "dil dukhaye, manaye, suljaye, samjhaye chandni" were like a breath of fresh air and came very unexpectedly after the prior set of lines. 

The Piano is played by Alokananda and Aditya, and the Mandolin is played by Tapas Roy and Aditya. The song is one of the two songs composed by Alokananda in the album "Shiv SHashtry Balboa" that are uplifting. All the production, programming and arrangements are by Aditya N and Amandeep with Anupam Roy doing the mixing and mastering. 

The other track 'Dil Dariya' feels like an ode to old Hindi melodies of the 1970s as well as the style of Latin Jazz. The team that created this song is entirely the same as the earlier song and we have Rajeshwari Dasgupta Ghose who has written the lyrics, production by Aditya and Amandeep and Anupam Roy on mixing, and mastering. The vocalist is an indie artist, and singer-songwriter Nayantara Bhatkal a.k.a. Silent Ocean. She has brought amazing thrills and frills into the vocals as all of the tender vocals and the mild but noticeable vibrato adds weight to the genre. The use of the guitars, Accordion and rhythms add great beauty and the line "masti kiye kiye kiye" is such an earworm. 

@alokanandadasgupta @adityan28 @nayantaramusic @rajeshwaridasguptaghose @mandolintapas @tanmay_aavishkaar @positronic_dream

4. Saajna

Performed by - Deep Desai, Deval Panchal

Written by - Deep Desai, Medha Antani

Produced by - Siddhant Mishra

Language: Gujarati

Genre: Indie pop

I have always wondered why no great indie music from the culturally rich state of Gujarat. Finally, the wait seems to be over with this brilliant single. The quality is top-draw and I will keep waiting for his next work. Deep Desai and Medha Antani have composed the tune and written the lyrics respectively with Deval Panchal on vocals. The rhythms and keys are just beyond excellent and that is why the producer Siddhant Mishra deserves a massive round of applause. 

My favourite line is "Prem ni pehli kaboolat thava de ne rajuaat thava de ne saajna". The emotions rise not just because of the notes and composition but also thanks to the heartfelt singing. Deep and Deval join in on the humming bits as well. Most musicians today will be happy with 2 mins of music and just end the song with a couple of hummable lines. Deep and the team go further and do what music lovers expect of them i.e. give a full song with interludes and stanza. The landing from the stanza is brilliant with the rhythms and strings section and bass pumping up the energy. 

@welcome2deepspace @medhaantani @devalvijaypanchal @hersh.desai.9 @siddhant581

5. Oohale Oosule

Music Arranged & Composed by Anudeep Dev

Lyrics: Suresh Banisetti 

Singers: Anudeep Dev, Lakshmi Meghana 

Genre: Filmi Melody/ Blues

Language: Telugu

I was approached by Anudeep Dev recently saying that he would like to know how his recent composition was. I was extremely elated and thrilled to hear the song which felt like a Blues and Jazz extravaganza. Anudeep and Lakshmi Meghana are unstoppable as vocalists, improvising and resorting to any boundaries. 

Joel Sastry is the lead guitarist and also the bassist and if you pay enough attention Joel is probably the unsung hero of the song. I had to congratulate Anudeep for this deep, and unpredictable stanza. Let the skill and creativity flow. This part when the stanza begins feels like "Oru Poongavam" sung by Janaki and composed by Ilaiyaraja in the old album "Agni Natchathiram". The song turns out to be a guitarist's delight and Lakshmi excels in her delivery especially her style and the low pitch lines. The track is mixed and mastered by Abin paul and recorded at Quirky Vox Studios, Hyderabad. 

@anudeep.dev @joelsastry @lakshmimeghana @sureshbanisetti_lyricist @sonymusic_south @mixwithabin 

6. Goldfish

Singers: Aishwarya Rangarajan, Nishan Rai

Lyrics: Kaviraj

Song Arranged And Composed By Arjun Janya 

Keyboard Programming: Sharan Rao 

Rhythm Programming: Andruson Andru 

Language: Kannada

Genre: Filmi pop

You really cannot keep this guy away. Arjun Janya would have to be one of the finest and deserves much more recognition for his work. A song that starts with a peculiar similarity to AR Rahman's 'Dil Se' title track and even though the tempo is different and the time signature is different. Andruson Andru is the rhythm programmer and Sharan is on Keys. As Aishwarya Rangarajan starts singing the lines, I also feel a close similarity with 'Indian Rain' by Colonial Cousins. 

If Aishwarya's voice and delivery were touching and romantic, the male humming was not too far behind in impact with all the oomph. Nishan Rai is the male vocalist singing the beautiful title line. David Selvam, Arjun's close aide has played the Mandolin, electric and acoustic guitars and Sam Akash is the bassist. We can also hear the beautiful background Orchestra thanks to Sunshine Orchestra and arrangements of woodwinds, strings etc by Sharan Rao. The stanza is just as beautiful as the opening lines. The thumping rhythms towards the end and Aishwarya's dreamy humming just colour the song with prettiness. David Selvam is the mixing and mastering engineer for the track. 

@aish_rangarajan @davidselvam_official 

@sharanraomusic_official @andrusonandru 

7. Manasin Pathayil

Composed And Arranged By: Kedar

Singer: B Murali Krishna

Lyrics: B K Harinarayanan

Additional Programming: Nakul Abhyankar

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Indie pop

The slow guitars played by Keba Jeremiah feel like a stream of water flowing gently and touching the feet. B Murali Krishna is the male lead vocalist who acts as an accomplice in duping our minds and taking us to a calmer and gentler place compared to the fast world we continue to live in. The Cello by Balaji stands out. Kedar has composed and arranged all additional programming by Nakul Abhyankar. So these guys are responsible for the beauty of the solo Violin, and the full strings section in the background. 

Keba also plays the electric guitar and the bass. Look out for the wonderful arrangements including vocal harmonies which keep following in the layers beneath. The solo on the electric guitar is pumped up and Pradeep Menon is in charge of all the mixing and mastering. Al Nishad and Manoj Raman are the music supervisors, with N Harikumar on sound mixing and Sreejith Sreenivas on sound design. 

@kedar_music @alnishad @kebajer @nakulabhyankar @b.muralikrishna_ @harinarayanan.b.k

8. Hak Tera Hai

Singers: Mandy Gill & CHARAN

Music: Utkarsh Dhotekar

Lyrics: Siddhesh Pornima Patole

Rap Lyrics: CHARAN

Music Made in association with Shraanti Studios

Music Arrangement and Production: Utkarsh Dhotekar

Language: Hindi

Genre: Rap-Anthem Fusion

The trumpets start playing and you know you are in for a solid ride. It feels like a fabulous anthem something we would be hearing in a sports drama movie. Utkarsh Dhotekar scores for this song and he also produces it, and I'm so glad to hear his work after "Raah Dikha De" in 2022 which was easily in the top 5 Hindi songs of the year. Utkarsh handles all the brilliant arrangements as well and for a song like this someone like Sukhwinder Singh was needed. Don't worry, Mandy Gill and Charan have got that covered in that department. 

The guitars are solid thanks to Roland Fernandes who also plays the bass and let us also pay attention to the keyboard and rhythms, as Utkarsh leaves no stone unturned. One of the highlights is the male backing vocalists joining on a very hummable chorus. Ashwin Kulkarni, Utkarsh and Aniruddh Anantha form the chorus. Things keep getting better in the song as we have a fantastic Rap section. This can be a huge lesson for many composers who want to bring multiple genres into one song. This is how it gets done. 

CHARAN performs and writes his Rap section lyrics while the rest of the track has lyrics written by Siddhesh Pornima Patole. When I hear the song there is a very recognizable similarity in style to Vishal Mishra's "Udta Teetar" from the album 'Saand ki Aankh". The mixing and mastering engineer is Ashwin Kulkarni and Aniruddh does the vocal design. Samir Dharap is the recording engineer. 

@utkarshdhotekar @charanmusic @rolandfernandes25 @sid.patole @aniruddhanantha @ajayanvenugopalan 

9. I miss you Amore

Performed by - Amaal Mallik, Matteo Bocelli, Prakriti Kakar, Sukriti Kakar

Written by - Amaal Mallik, Kunaal Vermaa, Matteo Bocelli, Shridhar Solanki

Produced by - Amaal Mallik

Source: Capitol Records

Langauge: Hindi

Genre: Balllad

his song has some great elements and two things I loved were the use of English lyrics for a style that we are more used to in Bollywood melodies and the quality of the underlying melody itself. Amaal Mallik has composed and produced this beautiful track and we have Amaal, Matteo Bocelli, Prakriti Kakar and Sukriti Kakar on vocals. Kunaal Vermaa and Shridhar Solanki write the Hindi lyrics with Matteo Bocelli on the English words. 

The combined effect of the Piano and its mildness, the Violin and its reverberating pathos and finally the acoustic guitar and its romantic colouring combine so well together even before the first word is uttered. Prakriti and Sukriti get the emotional rendering on point. The accompaniment of guitars and violin in the background with the thumping Tabla sounds like a match made in heaven. Matteo Bocelli is an Italian vocalist and pianist and is the son of renowned Opera Superstar Andrea Bocelli he is ravishing with his voice and English words in a very Indian tune. 

The arrangements and production are phenomenal and there is not a second the song makes you lose interest, the bridge section also is well-composed. 

@amaal_mallik @kunaalvermaa @matteobocelli @sukritikakar @prakritikakar 

10. Disco

Music, Performed by - Green Park

Lyrics, Vocals - Arpan Kumar

Additional composition - Ashrey Goel

Language: English

Genre: Disco-Pop

A delightful track, this is called 'Disco' and it is part of the band's debut EP called 'All My Pictures Have Grown Smiles'. I will be listening subsequently to the rest of the tracks. The band has Amartya Ghosh as the lead guitarist and Arpan Kumar as the frontman. The song is loaded with goodness from lead guitars, drums and bass guitars and the unifying factor is Arpan's vocals.

Ashrey Goel does the additional composition with Arpan on lyrics. I love the interlude around the 2nd minute with the drums and guitars fighting for attention. The track is mixed by Sidharth Gupta, mastered by Andrew Garver and all the artwork is by Rishabh Bhan Singh. 

@allparksaregreen @arpankumar90 @amartya.ghosh @ashreygoel @medicatedmints @hocus.pokeusss @andrew144audio @sirfpaudhon.sepyaar