Top Indian Songs of the week 30th April 2023

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 30th April 2023. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.

1. Gau Nako Kisna

Music Composed, Arranged, Produced & Conducted by Ajay - Atul

Lyrics: Guru Thakur

Singers: Jayesh Khare, Mayur Sukale

Additional Vocals: Ajay Gogavale

Language: Marathi

Genre: Folk/Retro 

Ajay-Atul are a Gold Standard in Indian music and despite my being in Mumbai for more than 18 years, it was only 7 years ago that I discovered their talents only when I sat in the theatre ready to watch 'Sairat'. I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard the opening music with strings and the horns section and finally that solo flute. They are one of the best in the country and that gets proven time and again like when I heard this album "Maharashtra Shaheer" and this song is nothing short of mindblowing. 

We get a retro production in this song thanks to all the instrumental sounds and the kids' chorus is a very strong factor that influenced me in placing this song right at the top of the charts. The list of fantastic singers includes Aaradhaya Singh, Rannvijay Singh, Vedaa Mahajan, Anushree Pasi, Aanya Jain, Yash More, Aniket Das, Tanishka Nandi and Diya Wadkar. Ajay and Atul have composed, arranged, produced and conducted all the strings section and other orchestral instruments.

The highlight line has to be the title with all the kids singing it in full zest and the percussions coming thick and fast. The percussionists are Pratap Rath, Krishna Musale, Satyajit Jamsandekar, Prabhakar Mosamkar, Raju Kulkarni and Dipesh Varma. The strings section plays non-stop in the background and that becomes Ajay-Atul's signature move. The interlude has a wonderful folkish female chorus consisting of Pragati Joshi, Aarohi Mhatre, Mrunmayee Dadke, Madhura Paranjape, Seema Lele and Sonali Karnik. 

Jayesh Khare is a young boy who sings like a professional with years of experience and he has been a wonder with his singing videos going viral on YT. His vocal strength and ability to do these ghamakas put us in awe and shock. Kudos to Ajay and Atul for recognising such amazing talents and giving them opportunities like this. Mayur Sukale and Ajay Gogavale also join in on the vocals, and the second stanza is dominated by the great vocals of Mayur and Ajay-Atul excel by creating a different stanza altogether and this has influences of Raag Pilu. Jayesh continues to do things with his vocals that astound and it is like almost carries this song on his tender shoulders. 

Varad Kathapurkar plays the flute solo towards the end and this song is mixed brilliantly by Vijay Dalal, assisted by Chinmay Mestry and mastered by Gethin John. Guru Thakur is the lyricist for this song. 

@ajayatulofficial @jayesh_khare_official @guruthakurofficial @sanashinde @atul.ajayatul @mayursukale @mrunmayeedadke @paranjapemadhura @sonalikarnik @varadflute_official @chinmay.jpg

2. Waari Waari

Composer & Vocalist: Reeshabh Purohit

Lyrics: Nisha Satpute

Music Production: Atharv Joshi

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical

I have been so fond of Reeshabh Purohit as a vocalist and even more as a composer, that whenever I see that he has a new song release, expectations reach sky-high. The fact that he never fails to impress every single time shows that he is one of the finest talents in the Indian Indie music space. Reeshabh composes and lends his voice to this semi-classical fusion with Atharv Joshi's production. Nisha Satpute writes beautiful words.

The Keys are mild and you are struck by the beauty inherent in Reeshabh's voice. Here too we have influences of Raag Pilu and according to Reeshabh we also have another beautiful Raag Jaijawanti in play in the song. Atharv plays the harmonium in the background and also the guitars. Shadaj Godkhindi wows you with the touching flute solo in the interlude, and he impresses with those perfect interventions in the stanza. Reeshabh weaves magic in the stanza with an elaborate and melodious composition and Atharv is in top form arranging all these instruments and getting the sounds of Keys and guitars to perfectly complement the other elements of the song. 

The mix engineer is Nandini Samanta and Ronak Runwal does the mastering. Atharv and Shubham Shah are recording engineers. The amazing artwork is by Nikhil Kaul. 

@reeshabhp @nasatpute @infinite_diver @shadajgodkhindi @ronakrunwal @nandinisamanta_ @shbhmmm @framebyframer

3. Karen Kya

Music and Singer: Rochak Kohli

Lyrics / Poetry: Dr Akhtar Shumaar

Music Production, Mix and Master: Aditya Dev

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ghazal/Pathos

Rochak Kohli has been around for many years now and it is only in the last 1 year or so that I have found some of his work to be excellent. He scored music for a song sung by Sonu Nigam for 'Mission Majnu', but this far exceeds the quality of anything I have ever heard from the composer. This is sung and composed by Rochak, with the fantastic poetry of Dr. Akhtar Shumaar. 

The story goes that Rochak came across this poem and when he reached out, he had discovered the sad demise of Dr. Akhtar. His family decided to hand over the rights of the poem to Rochak and Dr. Akhtar must be smiling in heaven listening to this wonderful song and its outcome thanks to all the brilliant musicians involved. 

This has a Ghazal-esque nature in the tone and tempo and when he repeats the lines "ajab dil kee" the solo violin by Manas Kumar struck my heart, no words can describe the sadness in my heart when I heard that and the immediate joy listening to the quality of music all at once. The stanza arrives and we continue to hear Rochak in fine form vocally and score-wise and we still hear the Violin interventions. 

The strumming on the acoustic guitars along with the Piano brings in some Western colour to the song but it is ultimately the Violin that thrills and creates the spills. This time when I heard the stanza I could feel the combined effect of the acoustic guitars, bass guitars, keys, violin and Tabla. When you hear music like this, Karen Kya? Mohit Dogra plays the guitars and Shobhit Banwait is on the Tabla. This song is produced with great flavours by Aditya Dev and he is the man responsible for getting all these arrangements done, he is also the mix/master engineer. 

@rochakkohli @akhtarshumaar @adityadevmusic @shobhitbanwait @iammohitdogra @manasviolin @sukriti_vk @ingroovesindia

4. Khud Se Mohabbat

Lyrics, Composition, Vocals - Navjot Ahuja

Music production by: Waqt Ka Khel

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie pop

Live instrumentalists breathe life into a song and no matter how much important the vocalist and producer are, the instrumentalists can never be discounted. Take this song for example, even before anything is uttered by Navjot Ahuja the singer, we have Rajat Gupta's guitars and Kaustubh Gaurav's bass just acting like opening batsmen who have already seen off all the difficult overs and have set the stage for late order batsmen to come and consolidate. 

In simple terms, I am saying well begun is half done and Navjot starts with some low-key energy and a sense of gravity and that is intriguing. It makes you pay further attention to the lyrics like listening to a story and the song is written, composed and sung by Navjot Ahuja with solid production by Wakt Ka Khel. The message is pretty important 'to love thy self'. As we move ahead Nihaal Sharma joins in on the fun of playing the drums, and when the line is sung "teri parwa tu khud hi karle, teri baatein tu khud hi sun le", it feels inspiring and musically backing vocals join in on the last words "khud hi karle" and " "Khud hi sun le" to add more impact.

Later on, the song gains some traction and tempo and it now feels less morose. The drums get more energetic and the introduction of the strings section just makes this gold glitter better. Kudos to the band Wakt ka Khel for their brilliant production bringing in the electric guitar, solo violin and all other elements. Mukul Jain does the mixing of this song at Ferris Wheel Studios.

@navjot_ahuja @kaustubh_gaurav @rajat.on.strings @nihaalsharma_ @waqt.ka.khel @ferriswheelstudios @mixbymukul 

5. Bad Manners Title

Composed, arranged & programmed by: Charanraj

Singer: Usha Uthup

Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan

Language: Kannada

Genre: Dance-pop

He is whacky, dependable and constantly creative, is Charanraj and he is without a shred of doubt of the top 5 music composers in India today. The first point is to even dream of getting the super-famous Usha Uthup to deliver this as the lead vocalist and the second is the fact that the tone and style of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' as the source of inspiration for a song that is titled 'Bad Manners'. Usha Uthup has an enviable vocal texture and her energy always hits the roof, so she is correctly chosen as the lead singer for this upbeat dance-pop single. 

The chorus singers ante up the title line when she goes " He's got the bad... bad manners" and we have Chetan Naik, Madhwesh Bharadhwaj, Ganesh Karanth, Vihan Arya, Damodar Nayak and Nikhil Parthasarathy. The song's programming and arrangements are just perfectly done and you can hear synths, trumpets, rhythms and guitars piling on the intensity. Sruthiraj and the team handle the percussions. 

I'll tell you where Charanraj is unique and a cut above the rest of the musicians because many in India could have just ended up copying the dance and synth-pop style without applying their brains and creativity. Charanraj shows his mettle in the stanza which has such an Indianised melody attached to it. Venkatesh G Bhat plays the harmonium and this song has some fabulous sound engineers viz. Divine Joseph, Vishnuraj MR, Adil Nadaf, Aniket Mohanty and Sachin Dodamani. The song is written by Dhananjay Ranjan and mixed/mastered by Sujith Sreedhar. 

The trumpets, the vocals by the lead and backing vocalists, and their grunts like Michael Jackson all steal the show. Well done Charanraj!

@charanraj27185 @usha.uthup @sujithsreedhar 

6. Tukde 

Song Composed by: Vikram Montrose

Song Arranged, Programmed & Sound Design by – Vikram Montrose

Singer: Roshni Saha

Lyrics: Azeem Shirazi

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad

Roshni Saha, the vocalist and Vikram Montrose, the composer have both been mentioned by me thanks to their impressive work. Roshni got featured in a song composed by Anurag Saikia many months ago and when I recently did a video review of the EP 'Selfiee', the only song in that forgettable EP was 'Vaar' composed by Vikram Montrose. Anyway getting back to this song, Vikram makes a 180-degree shift from 'Vaar' and gives us a very enjoyable ballad.

The Keys are so mild and even when the rhythms join, they stay away from interrupting or overpowering the fantastic vocals of Roshni. She gets a tone that borders on pathos, but that doesn't mean her delivery is flat. The line for example "mujko laga , ki tu hi hai" has that mild ghamaka and she steals the show. 

Vikram's production is unique and he decides to introduce the Harmonium, played by Ali Aslam Shah, out of the blue, that is impressive because until then the keyboards and rhythm programming were of a much different tone. The song is arranged and programmed by Vikram and he even works on the sound design and that he is whey deserves all the praise for the fantastic output. 

The stanza is an exhibition of Vikram's ability and commitment to create a full-fledged song without resorting to just a few lines, the longer we hear, Roshni gets creative and she improvises with excellent ghamakas at every turn and the last 90 seconds is a 'Roshni' show that you wouldn't want to miss. 

@missmisfitsaha @azeemshirazi @vikrammontroseofficial @

7. Thinking Ahead of Time

Vocals, Guitars, Synths - Ishan Kumar

Written, performed - Purple Cassette

Language: English

Genre: Alt-Rock

This two-piece band has released an EP and I am yet to listen to the other tracks, but as of now, I loved the title track and Ishan Kumar and Siddharth Rajan deserve some attention from music lovers. Ishan is the frontman and he is the lead vocalist and guitarist and he also handles all the dreamy synths. Siddharth is the funky bassist who ups the ante on the groove quotient in the tracks. 

For this EP, they have Nishant Rastogi on drums and the mixing and mastering is done by Abhishek Sekhri at the Kintsugi Studios. The guitars do most of the talking in the song at least for starters and we find the style oozing both from the lead and bass guitars. Nishant's drums make you just tap your feet but Ishan rises above all these elements and succeeds in getting your undivided attention thanks to his vocals. The solo on the guitar is face-melting good and these moments make me proud of Indian music and its standing in the realm of global music. 

Having started things back in New York, the band's understanding of global music is pretty solid and they can only rise from strength to strength given how astounding their music and potential are. Dity Mistry handles all the artwork. 

@goya.music @aarav.music @purplecassettemusic @ishan1892 @siddharthrajan @nisrammusic @vishwamr @ditiim 

8. Wish I got more time

Performed by Nidhi Wagle

Written by Nidhi Wagle

Produced by Animesh Panigrahi

Language: English

Genre: Ballad/Pop

Back in December 2022 I hurriedly made sure I featured Nidhi Wagle's single because I somehow forgot about her song which was released a few months earlier. I would never want to make that mistake again. Nidhi is blessed with amazing vocal abilities, and you don't have to take my word for it. 

Listen to every syllable, note and word she utters and her impeccable vocals will make you go insanely in love. The song is written, composed and performed by Nidhi. The Pianos drive home all the slow pathos needed to get the message and tone of the song right and credit goes to Animesh Panigrahi for the arrangements, programming and overall production. He is responsible for inducing the right emotions, instrumentally but let us remember that Nidhi's passionate and apt delivery are spot on as well. 

Nidhi writes with great depth and meaning and none of this impact would be complete without some strong and relevant lyrics. The arrangement of backing vocal harmonies and the thumping rhythms make every second of this single loop-worthy. Rahul Agrawat has mixed and mastered the song. The song is dedicated to Nidhi's dog Yuki that passed away in 2021. There is no better way to pay tribute than music of this kind. 

@nidooox @mixedbyrahul @amines.wav

9. Awbawsh

Music, lyrics and vocals – Anupam Roy

Arrangement, programming & guitar – Ritaprabha “Ratul” Ray

Recorded by Debojit Sengupta

Mixed and mastered by Srirup Chatterjee

Language: Bangla

Genre: Alt-pop

It has been too long since I have featured Anupam Roy in my weekly charts and that sounds absurd, considering he's one of the most consistent and talented singer-songwriters in the nation. 'Awbawsh' is some dreamy pop and Anupam has composed the tune, written the lyrics and performed but another fantastic guitarist/producer Ritaprabha Ray does all the arrangements and programming as well. This according to me was the best song in the album 'Adrishyo Nagordolar Trip'. 

The guitars by Ritaprabha draw you in immediately and feels like the soundtrack from 'Inception'. Anupam impresses as usual with his vocals and he is aided by keys, synths, rhythms and that eerie-sounding electric guitar solo from time to time. The song is pretty straightforward but its solid production gets you hooked on it. We have Deboji Sengupta as the recording engineer and Srirup Chatterjee is the mix & master engineer. 

@aroyfloyd @ritaprabharay 

10. Aazhi Thedi

Composed and Arranged: Govind Vasantha

Lyrics: Sharafu

Singers: SidVoc, Prarthana Indrajith

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Filmi Melody

'Aazhi Thedi' is the clear winner in the recent EP 'Adi' composed by Govind Vasantha and he adorns this track with some terrific arrangements as always. Sidharth Sudheer a.k.a. SidVoc and Prarthana Indrajith are the lead vocalists with Sharafu's lyrics.

I got a sense that the song may have influences from Hindolam Ragam, but when I discussed it with a few more knowledgeable people, I realised there could be more of a Suddha Dhanyasi Ragam in this. I am impressed with SidVoc's mellifluous vocals and I hope to hear more of him in the coming days. I love the anupallavi part where both the lead vocalists sing in unison.

The flute solo doesn't just begin in the interlude, it starts just a few seconds away in the background with SidVoc's lead vocals going on. Govind's creativity shows in the stanza, especially in the lines that start, as he moves away from the song's underlying melody and attempts something more fun. The outro is beautiful with the flute solo. Rajan KS has mixed and mastered the song and Avinash Satish and Nishanth are the recording engineers. 

@prarthana @sidvoc @avinashsathish

11. Chal Na Udte Hain

Singer, Composer, Lyricist – Ravikesh Vatsa

Music Producer – Ashish Chakrabarty

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical fusion

Music like this elevates my spirit and creates hope that we have so much talent. Ravikesh Vatsa has written, composed and sung this touching and inspiring semi-classical-styled song. 

The Sitar by Bhagirath Bhatt is inviting and Ravikesh and producer Ashish Chakrabarty never look back. The modern elements and soundscapes come from the Keys and rhythms, but we get some beautiful Indian classical Jugalbandi thanks to the duel between Sanchit Chaudhary on the solo Violin and Bhagirath on the Sitar. I would have however preferred some adjustments made to the vocals. The singing in many instances was a little flat and acoustically the focus on the vocals was much less compared to the Violin and Sitar. 

I am not sure if it was something that should have been handled in the mixing sessions by Ashish, or whether Ravikesh himself should have sung with a little less angst and much more energy and passion. 

@ravikesh_vatsa @ashishchakrabarty @bhagirath.bhatt @sandhit_violonist_official 

12. Jaane Kaise

Performed by MaddBayy, Recroit

Written by Navinthran Ramasamy, Niraj Patel, Raghav Tripathi, Rohit Tripathi

Language: Hindi

Genre: Classical/Pop fusion

Recroit's music was impressive with the duo of Raghav Tripathi and Rohit Tripathi getting their beautiful single 'Kasoor' featured back in Feb 2023. They are back again, and this time they are working with the musician duo MaddBayy comprising Navinthran Ramasamy and Niraj Patel. 

The guitars and rhythms are the binding agents for this song that brings these musicians from USA and India together and based on the vocals we can make out the portions delivered by the two duos. Recroit adds the Indian classical touch with their singing and the brilliant segment is when the Sitar comes in as the interlude, and it goes on further in the background making it a beautiful piece of production by Niraj and Raghav.

The singing keeps getting better with great improvisations and well-executed ghamakas and when the title line is delivered I get a sense of Raag Yamunakalyani. The artwork is by Neil Pillay and the mix/master engineering is done by Niraj and Navin

@maddbayy @recroitmusic @neilboyyy 

13. Vasantha Panchami

Music Composer : M S Baburaj

Lyrics : P Bhaskaran

Orchestra Arrangements: Bijibal, Rex Vijayan

Singer: K S Chithra

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Fimli Melody

The only reason this song is at number 13 and not number 1, is because it is a remake of an old hit by M S Baburaj which was sung by S Janaki. The movie 'Neelavelicham' is itself a reboot of the old classic 'Bhargavi Nilayam' and all the songs of the original have been recreated. This one is sung by KS Chitra and all the fantastic arrangements are by Bijibal and Rex Vijayan.

The song reminds me of the great Tamil number 'Paavadai thavaniyil partha uruvama' sung by TM Sounderrajan. KS Chitra smashes this with her impeccable vocals and who can believe that this woman is not a contemporary vocalist? Rajesh Cherthala hypnotises with his flute solo in the interlude and then as the stanza begins we hear Jithu Oommen on the Tabla, Anurag R Nayan on acoustic and bass guitars. The strings we hear are played by usual suspects Francis Xavier, Herald, Josekutty, Jain and Francis.

I lost track of time and space when KS Chithra hit the high notes in the stanza, and no words can describe her abilities. Bibin Ashok plays the keys, and Manonmani is on the Sarangi. Rex Vijayan has mixed and mastered the song. 

@bijibal @rex_vijayan @rajeshcherthala @manonmanisarangi @anuragrajeevnayan @bibinashok

14. Areikeyonnu Kandoru Neram 

Music Composed, Arranged and Produced - Sachin Shankor Mannath

Singers – KS Harisankar, Nithya Mammen

Lyrics - Vinayak Sasikumar

Just have a look at the lead vocalists for this song and you know you are in for a treat. KS Harisankar is one of India's top 5 male playback singers according to me and Nithya Mammen is an absolute treat to hear, especially for Shreya Ghoshal loyalists. Sachin Shanor Mannath is the man behind the composition, arrangements and production 

Sumesh Parameshwar is setting your headphones on fire with the guitars and he is also the bassist here. Harisankar and Nithya go about their business with some high-standard vocals and I love the line in the anupallavi that goes "namme maatum mohathinalum". Sachin's strong hand on keyboards makes things quite interesting and we also hear the strings section in the background. 

The interlude has some savvy guitar riffs, a flute solo by Josy Alappuzha and a male-female chorus on humming comprising S Adithyanarayanan, Roopini Ravindran and Pooja Venkatraman. The stanza sounds pretty standard but then a line by Nithya Mammen surprises with its notes being unpredictable. Nithya and Harisankar combine to sing the pallavi and anu pallavi towards the end and that sounds fantastic. Vinayak Sasaikumar is the lyricist for the song. 

Sai Prakash and Midhun V are the recording engineers. Abin Pushpakaran has mixed and mastered with Lakshmikanth M doing the vocal tuning and KD Vincent as the musicians' coordinator. 

@sachin.mannath @vinayaksasikumar @harisankar_ks @nithyamammen @parameswarsumesh @josyflute @roopiniravindran @s.adithyanarayanan @v___pooja @saiprakashh @midhindev @abinpushpakaran