Just a little over a day left before we complete the first quarter of this century. In last year’s roundup, I had featured nine different lists, the most I have ever done. Ironically, this year, due to some not-so-happy personal circumstances, I have only been able to complete four lists as of now – Bollywood, Malayalam, Tamil and Indian Indie/Pop, the least I have ever done. However, this post will be a work-in-progress – I promise to continue working on this in the first half of January and finish with at least 7-8 lists. So, for the moment, hope you enjoy this partial roundup!
Took a bit longer than expected to finish off the rest of my roundup, so decided that I might as well time it with Music Aloud’s 16th birthday! 
So I have added four more lists as promised – Telugu, Web Series, Kannada and Marathi. Couldn’t find time to do Coke Studio, sorry about that. So if you are still in the mood to catch up on some of 2024’s best, scroll down!
And thanks again for all the support across these 16 years of our existence – we hope it continues for long. Also do follow our instagram page if you aren’t yet – we are hoping to get a bunch of activities going there this year!
Shout-out to the amazing @athulct for helping with the artwork this year as well!
Like last year, I have created an All In One playlist for the benefit of anyone who doesn’t want to go through the individual lists and would rather shuffle-play the entire thing:
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
Happy listening, and wish you all a lot more wonderful music in 2025!
Bollywood
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
It was a slightly better year for Bollywood compared to recent past. Thanks partly to some makers with great sense of music reuniting with their trusted composers – Imtiaz Ali with A R Rahman (Amar Singh Chamkila), Sriram Raghavan with Pritam (Merry Christmas), Kiran Rao-Aamir Khan with Ram Sampath (Laapataa Ladies), Siddharth Anand and Vishal-Shekhar etc. And partly to Sachin-Jigar going on a run evocative of the early days of their mentor Pritam, in more ways than one. The Besharam Rang-fuelled “electro ghazal” (for want of a better phrasing) trend gained further pace this year – we got some good numbers in the genre. Alongside the usual suspects, it was nice to see the return of some names I would love to see more of in Hindi, like Joi Barua, MM Kreem, Karan Kulkarni etc. and a bunch of new ones like Hunny-Bunny and Mayukh-Mainak.
1 Vida Karo (Amar Singh Chamkila) – A R Rahman|Irshad Kamil|Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi
2 Raat Akeli Thi (Merry Christmas) – Pritam|Varun Grover|Arijit Singh, Antara Mitra
3 Dheeme Dheeme (Laapataa Ladies) – Ram Sampath|Swanand Kirkire|Shreya Ghoshal
4 Kasturi (Amar Prem Ki Prem Kahani) – Prasad S|Kunaal Verma|Arijit Singh
5 Aaj Ki Raat (Stree 2) – Sachin Jigar|Amitabh Bhattacharya|Divya Kumar, Madhubanti Bagchi
6 Mirza (Maidaan) – A R Rahman|Manoj Muntashir|Richa Sharma, Javed Ali
7 Bekaar Dil (Fighter) – Vishal-Sheykhar|Kumaar|Vishal Mishra, Shilpa Rao
8 Tauba Tauba (Bad Newz) – Karan Aujla|Karan Aujla|Karan Aujla
9 Saathiya (Yudhra) – Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy|Javed Akhtar|Pratibha Singh Baghel, Vishal Mishra
10 Thehar Zara (All India Rank) – Mayukh-Mainak|Varun Grover|Vishal Bhardwaj
11 Sajni (Laapataa Ladies) – Ram Sampath|Prashant Pandey|Arijit Singh
12 Tu Kya Jaane (Amar Singh Chamkila) – A R Rahman|Irshad Kamil|Yashika Sikka
13 Mere Mehboob (Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video) – Sachin-Jigar|Priya Saraiya|Shilpa Rao
14 Tu Hain Toh (Mr. & Mrs. Mahi) – Hunny-Bunny|Sagar|Neeti Mohan
15 Nazar Teri Toofaan (Merry Christmas) – Pritam|Varun Grover|Papon
16 Kisi Roz (Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha) – MM Kreem|Manoj Muntashir|Maithili Thakur
17 Higher (Woh Bhi Din The) – Joi Barua|Joi Barua, Irshad Kamil|Jonita Gandhi
18 Kiddan Zaalima (Crew) – Vishal Mishra|Raj Shekhar|Vishal Mishra
19 Moh Na Laage (Dukaan) – Shreyas Puranik|Siddharth-Garima|Arijit Singh
20 Ta Ra Ta Ra Ta (Do Aur Do Pyaar) – Subhajit Mukherjee|Trina Mukherjee|Vishal Dadlani
21 Dua-e-Khair (Ruslaan) – Bipin Das|Akashdeep Sengupta|Divya Kumar
22 Kya Hua (Blackout) – Vishal Mishra|Vishal Mishra|Vishal Mishra
23 Kahin Behti Hui (The Buckingham Murders) – Karan Kulkarni|Niren Bhatt|Rashmeet Kaur
24 Gum Ho Kahan (I Want To Talk) – Taba Chake|Taba Chake|Taba Chake
25 Ungliyon Pe (Love, Sitara) – Sangeet-Siddharth|Garima Obrah|Shalmali Kholgade, Anusha Mani, Harshdeep Kaur
26 Jao Ji Jao (Ulajh) – Shashwat Sachdev|Sudhanshu Saria|Garvit Soni
27 Gham Ka Rang (Tera Kya Hoga Lovely) – Amit Trivedi|Irshad Kamil|Deepali Sathe, Shashaa Tirupathi
28 Taras (Munjya) – Sachin-Jigar|Amitabh Bhattacharya|Jasmine Sandlas
29 Soni Soni (Ishq Vishk Rebound) – Rochak Kohli|Gurpreet Saini|Darshan Raval, Jonita Gandhi
30 Tenu Sang Rakhna (Jigra) – Achint|Varun Grover|Arijit Singh, Anumita Nadesan
Malayalam
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
While last year it was Tamil industry that featured my favourite music, this year it’s been Malayalam’s turn. One of the highlights of the year was Aadujeevitham – an album that should ideally have been A R Rahman’s return to Malayalam after over two decades, but ended up losing that spot to Malayankunju last year due to the huge delays in the project. What also did not help the soundtrack’s cause was the shoddy release on streaming platforms, but the album still had the composer acing the genre he always has – sufi. After the terrific Romaancham last year, Sushin Shyam was roped in for director Jithu Madhavan’s sophomore venture Aavesham in 2025, and the result was equally spectacular! Like in Hindi, we had some reliable composer-director combos delivering again – Prashant Pillai for Lijo Jose Pellisserry, Rex Vijayan for Aashiq Abu etc. I was happy to see two of my favourites from outside Malayalam – Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Vishal Chandrashekhar – make their Malayalam debuts. Hope to see more from them in 2025!
1 Periyone (Aadujeevitham) – A R Rahman|Rafeeq Ahamed|Jithin Raj
2 Nebulakal (Manjummel Boys) – Sushin Shyam|Anwar Ali|Pradeep Kumar
3 Madbhare Naina (Malaikottai Vaaliban) – Prashant Pillai|Preeti Pillai|Suresh Wadkar, Preeti Pillai
4 Jaada (Aavesham) – Sushin Shyam|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sreenath Bhasi
5 Aalunnu Neeye (Rifle Club) – Rex Vijayan|Anwar Ali|Pradeep Kumar, Sithara Krishnakumar
6 Mini Maharani (Premalu) – Vishnu Vijay|Suhail Koya|Vagu Mazan, Kapil Kapilan
7 Pokathe (Marivillin Gopurangal) – Vidyasagar|Vinayak Sasikumar|KS Harishankar, Shweta Mohan
8 Love Jawan (Nadikar) – Neha-Yakzan|Vinayak Sasikumar|Sangeeth
9 Poomani Maalika (Bramayugam) – Christo Xavier|Ammu Maria Alex|Christo Xavier
10 Kiliye (ARM) – Dhibu Ninan Thomas|Manu Manjith|KS Harishankar, Anila Rajeev
11 Illuminati (Aavesham) – Sushin Shyam|Vinayak Sasikumar|Dabzee
12 Jeevithagaadhakale (Varshangalkku Shesham) – Amrit Ramnath|Vaisakh Sugunan|KS Chithram, Sreevalsan Menon, Mithun Jayaraj
13 Premalola (Sureshanteyum Sumalathayudeyum Hrudayahariyaya Pranayakadha) – Dawn Vincent|Vaisakh Sugunan|Sushin Shyam
14 Oru Chillupaathram (Vivekanandan Viralanu) – Bijibal|Harinarayanan BK|Sithara Krishnakumar
15 Ormachottil (Secret Home) – Sankar Sharma|Manu Manjith|KS Chithra
16 Erivenal (Turkish Tharkkam) – Ifthi|Vinayak Sasikumar|Dana Razik
17 Punnaara Kaattile (Malaikottai Vaaliban) – Prashant Pillai|P S Rafeeque|Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Abhaya Hiranmayi
18 Neeyum Njaanum (Vishesham) – Anand Madhusoodhanan|Anand Madhusoodhanan|Mithun Jayaraj, Anne Amie
19 Nin Mizhiyil (Oshana) – Mejjo Joseph|Harinarayanan BK|KS Harishankar
20 Minnum Thaarangal (Kadha Innu Vare) – Ashwin Aryan|Ajeesh Dasan|Kapil Kapilan, Nithya Mammen
21 Dhurooha Mandhahaasame (Sookshmadarshini) – Christo Xavier|Mu.Ri|Ahi Ajayan
22 Manam Manam (Marivillin Gopurangal) – Vidyasagar|Vinayak Sasikumar|Hariharan
23 Nenjile (Oru Kattil Oru Muri) – Ankit Menon|Raghunath Paleri|Ravi G
24 Doorangal (Palum Pazhavum) – Sachin Balu|Suhail Koya|Sachin Balu, Bhadra Rajin
25 Aazhithiramaala (Pushpaka Vimanam) – Rahul Raj|Harinarayanan BK|Hesham Abdul Wahab, Sruthy Sivadas
26 Thorumee (Jananam: 1947 Pranayam Thudarunnu) Govind Vasantha|Anil Lal|Aavani Malhar
27 Maravikale (Bougainvillea) – Sushin Shyam|Vinayak Sasikumar|Madhuvanti Narayanan
28 Payye Payye (Level Cross) – Vishal Chandrasekhar|Vinayak Sasikumar|Devu Mathew
29 Pirakilaro (Pavi Caretaker) – Midhun Mukundan|Shibu Chakravarthy|Kapil Kapilan
30 Vidhumukhiye (Mandakini) – Bibin Ashok|Vaisakh Sugunan|Sooraj Santhosh, Anarkali Marikar
Tamil
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
In Tamil, the year primarily belonged to Sean Roldan, GV Prakash and Govind Vasantha, who delivered both in quality and quantity throughout the year. Ilaiyaraaja followed through on his work in Viduthalai 1, with an even better set of songs, while Santhosh Narayanan delivered a knockout in Vaazhai. ARR had a gem of a song in Oh Raaya with Ganavya, but on a soundtrack level there wasn’t much that stood out, despite the man composing for three movies during the year. His daughter Khatija had a promising composing debut in Minmini, however. Similarly for Anirudh it was only Neelorpam that I took away this year, a song that ironically did not even feature in the movie (the makers thereby ensuring that people took absolutely no positives from that movie). And to the industry in general, I would like to reiterate my two wishes from last year – to let playback singers sing all the songs, and for Anirudh to take up smaller scale projects.
1 Manasula (Viduthalai 2) – Ilaiyaraaja|Ilaiyaraaja|Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Ananya Bhat
2 Oh Raaya (Raayan) – A R Rahman|Dhanush|Ganavya, A R Rahman
3 Neelorpam (Indian 2) – Anirudh|Thamarai|Abby V, Shruthika Samudhrala
4 Mannavan (Election) – Govind Vasantha|Yugabharathi|Haricharan, Shweta Mohan
5 Thaensudare (Lover) – Sean Roldan|Mohan Rajan|Shaktisree Gopalan
6 Hey Minnale (Amaran) – G V Prakash|Karthik Netha|Haricharan, Shweta Mohan
7 Delta Kalyanam (Meiyazhagan) – Govind Vasantha|Karthik Netha|Govind Vasantha, VM Mahalingam, Senthil Ganesh
8 Otha Satti Soru (Vaazhai) – Santhosh Narayanan|Vivek|Kapil Kapilan, Aditya Ravindran
9 Un Azhagai Rasithu (Pon Ondru Kanden) – Yuvan Shankar Raja|Nixy|Haricharan
10 Sokka Naanum Nikiren (Boat) – Ghibran|Gold Devaraj|Sudha Raghunathan
11 Iruttu Kaattula (Viduthalai 2) – Ilaiyaraaja|Ilaiyaraaja|Suganthi
12 Paakura Thaakura (Emakku Thozhil Romance) – Nivas K Prasanna|Mohan Rajan|Kapil Kapilan
13 Chella Rangi (Ayalaan) – A R Rahman|Krithika Nelson|Sanjith Hegde, Shashaa Tirupati
14 Nenjodu Nee (Dear) – G V Prakash|GKB|Ravi G/Saindhavi
15 Poraen Naa Poraen (Meiyazhagan) – Govind Vasantha|Uma Devi|Vijaynarain, Kamal Hassan
16 Chillanjirukkiye (Lubber Pandhu) – Sean Roldan|Mohan Rajan|Pradeep Kumar, Sivaangi Krishnakumar
17 Railin Oligal (Blue Star) – Govind Vasantha|Uma Devi|Pradeep Kumar, Shaktisree Gopalan
18 Achu Penne (Ranam Aram Thavarel) – Arrol Corelli|Vivek|Shreya Ghoshal
19 Kalangaathey (JollyO Gymkhana) – Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy|Shakthi Chidhambaram, M Jegan Kaviraj|Sreekanth Hariharan
20 Thiraikadal (Guardian) – Sam CS|Uma Devi|Saindhavi
21 Megham Pol Aagi (Nirangal Moondru) – Jakes Bejoy|Thamarai|Kapil Kapilan
22 Por Theeruma (Birthmark) – Vishal Chandrashekhar|Navin B|Shibi Srinivasan
23 Uyirin Velichame (Vadakkupatti Ramasamy) – Sean Roldan|Sarathi|Sathya Prakash
24 Minikki Minikki (Thangalaan) – G V Prakash|Uma Devi|Sinduri Vishal
25 Sidu Sidu (Romeo) – Barath Dhanasekhar|Karthik Netha|Kapil Kapilan
26 Aruge Vaa (Raghu Thatha) – Sean Roldan|Bhagyam Shankar|Sean Roldan
27 Iru Perum Nadhigal (Minmini) – Khatija Rahman|Halitha Shameem|Shaktisree Gopalan
28 Saaral Aagindra (Marakkuma Nenjam) – Sachin Warrier|Thamarai|Shweta Mohan
29 Siragaatchi Poove (Idi Minnal Kadhal) – Sam CS|Kabilan|Priyanka NK, Kapil Kapilan
30 Appavin Thaalaattu (Alangu) – Ajesh|Mohan Rajan|Ajesh
Indian Indie/Pop
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
The biggest news on the indie front was of course Hanumankind and Kalmi’s Big Dawgs making it big internationally, debuting on Billboard Hot 100 et al. That aside, the star in the indipop scene was Sai Abhyankar, a boy who seems to be well poised to deliver on his musical pedigree (for the uninitiated, he is the son of singers Harini and Tipu), having produced two chartbusting hits in 2024 itself, and will soon be debuting as a movie composer as well. Like last year, I will be trying and working on a Coke Studio specific list covering all the current versions, but this year more brands looked to be going the Coke Studio route, most prominently Warner Music India with Maati. My usual caveat on this list still applies by the way – these are my favourites from whatever I meant to catch up on during the year, so apologise for any glaring omission.
1 Katchi Sera (Think Indie) – Sai Abhyankar
2 Big Dawgs – Hanumankind, Kalmi
3 Suprabhatham (Voyage 2) – Dhruv Ghanekar, Nandini Srikar
4 Bawla feat. Khan Brothers (Maati S1) – Mikey McCleary, Rani KoHEnur, Parth Parekh
5 Shik Shik Shik (feat. Dhee) – Santhosh Narayanan, Gana Muthu, Aditya Ravindran
6 Senti Akhiyan – Sona Mohapatra, Ram Sampath
7 Tumi – Nihira Joshi Deshpande, Santanu Ghatak, Ashwin Srinivasan
8 Kanavugal Kanden (100,000 Dreams) – Amrit Ramnath
9 Chhaila (Bhoomi 2024) – Shreya Ghoshal x Sunidhi Chauhan, Salim Sulaiman, Shraddha Pandit
10 Vaanmugil – Nishad G, Shashaa Tirupati, Sreekanth Hariharan, Anjana JP, Rishi K
11 Innevanavva – Bindhumalini, Prashanth Techno
12 Nange Allava (Sunjuice) – Sanjith Hegde
13 Puviul Naan (Divya Pasurams) – Ilaiyaraja, Sharreth, Vibhavari Apte Joshi
14 Baat Itni Si – Sheykhar, Pratibha Singh Baghel, Madhubanti Bagchi, Priya Saraiya
15 Kal Wo Hamaara Hai (First Act) – Amaal Mallik, Amole Gupte, Vaibhav Pani
16 Aasai Kooda (Think Indie) – Sai Abhyankar, Sai Smriti
17 Alayazhikal (Kappa Originals) – Neha Nair, Yakzan Gary Pereira
18 Shariyat-e-Dil (Songs of Trance 2) – Amit Trivedi, Papon, Rupali Moghe, A M Turaz
19 Love Like That – Jonita Gandhi feat. Ali Sethi
20 Jiya Laage Na – Rochak Kohli, Mohit Chauhan, Shilpa Rao
21 Din Jo Dhal Gaya – Vishal Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj
22 Evolution (Celestials) – Lydian Nadhaswaram, Rajhesh Vaidhya, S Akash, Naveen Napier
23 nadaaniyan – Akshat
24 Poti (Yezhundhen Nimirndhen Nadanthen) – Maalavika Sundar
25 Jaagan Jaago – Hriday Gattani
26 Elephant Crossing~(A Late Afternoon Special) – Edwin Raphael, Dhruv Visvanath
27 Le Ja Re – Tapas Kalai, Soultrax
28 Jatra (Voyage 2) – Dhruv Ghanekar, Vaishali Samant, Gina Mirenda
29 Mere Saamne – Santanu Ghatak, Ronkini Gupta, Irtiza-Asad
30 Kaafi Ho – Kakkey
Telugu
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
One of my favourites from the industry, Vivek Sagar, had a great 2024, featuring in a bunch of soundtracks that I enjoyed, although he was a surprising omission in Vivek Athreya’s Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, considering their previous two collabs. Saripodhaa instead went to Malayali composer Jakes Bejoy who has been steadily increasing his presence across Tamil and Telugu. While on the subject of Malayali composers, Gopi Sunder and Hesham Abdul Wahab also produced some great music this year. And then there were of course the industry regulars delivering the goods.
1 Nandanandana (The Family Star) – Gopi Sunder|Anantha Sriram|Sid Sriram
2 Sooseki (Pushpa 2: The Rule) – Devi Sri Prasad|Chandra Bose|Shreya Ghoshal
3 Sarada Saradaga (Saindhav) – Santhosh Narayanan|Ramajogayya Sastry|Anurag Kulkarni
4 Sun Chaliya (Darling) – Vivek Sagar|Kasarla Shyam|Anurag Kulkarni
5 Kurchi Madathapetti (Guntur Kaaram) – S Thaman|Ramajogayya Sastry|Sahithi Chaganti, Sri Krishna
6 Ade Nenu (Bachhala Malli) – Vishal Chandrashekhar|Krishna Kanth|SPB Charan, Ramya Behera
7 Athiloka Komalangi (Manamey) – Hesham Abdul Wahab|Lakshmi Priyanka|Arvind Venugopal
8 Paruge Vintha Paruge (Bhamakalapam 2) – Prashanth R Vihari|Rehman|Ritesh G Rao
9 Srimathi Garu (Lucky Baskhar) – G V Prakash Kumar|Sri Mani|Vishal Mishra, Shweta Mohan
10 Chuttamalle (Devara) – Anirudh|Ramajogayya Sastry|Shilpa Rao, Anirudh
11 Madhuramu Kadha (The Family Star) – Gopi Sunder|Sri Mani|Shreya Ghoshal
12 Sandamaama (Swag) – Vivek Sagar|Ramajogayya Sastry|Rhithwik S Chand
13 Gaganaala (Operation Valentine) – Mickey J Meyer|Ramajogayya Sastry|Armaan Malik
14 Oh My Lily (Tillu Square) – Achu Rajamani|Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Ravi Anthony|Sreerama Chandra
15 Neeli Meghamulalo (35 Chinna Katha Kaadu) – Vivek Sagar|Bharadwaj Gali|Prithvi Harish
16 Whistle Theme Song (Naa Saami Ranga) – M M Keeravani|Chandra Bose|Sandilya Pisapati
17 Sammohana (Manamey) – Hesham Abdul Wahab|Ramajogayya Sastry|Shweta Mohan
18 Gulledu Gulledu (Mechanic Rocky) – Jakes Bejoy|Suddala Ashok Teja|Mangli, Sai Veda Vagdevi
19 Kissik (Pushpa 2: The Rule) – Devi Sri Prasad|Chandra Bose|Sublahshini
20 Prema (Honeymoon Express) – Kalyani Malik|Kittu Vissapragada|Anurag Kulkarni
21 Mari Antha Kopam (Bachhala Malli) – Vishal Chandrashekhar|Purnachary|Sai Vignesh
22 Cheliya Chelu (Siddharth Roy) – Radhan|V Yeshasvi|Sanjith Hegde
23 Sarango Saranga (Sarangapani Jaathakam) – Vivek Sagar|Ramajogayya Sastry|Armaan Malik
24 Manasuna Manasu (Dhoom Dhaam) – Gopi Sunder|Ramajogayya Sastry|Vijay Yesudas, Harini Ivaturi
25 Sitar Song (Mr Bachchan) – Mickey J Meyer|Sahithi|Saketh Komanduri, Sameera Bharadwaj
26 Ticket Eh Konakunda (Tillu Square) – Ram Miriyala|Kasarla Shyam|Ram Miriyala
27 Yedo Yedo Maaya (Bhimaa) – Ravi Basrur|Kalyan Chakravarthy|Anurag Kulkarni
28 Chinna Idi Vintha Lokam (35 Chinna Katha Kaadu) – Vivek Sagar|Bharadwaj Gali|Vijay Prakash
29 Ullaasam (Saripodhaa Sanivaaram) – Jakes Bejoy|Sanare|Krishna Lasya Muthyala, Sanjith Hegde
30 Oh My Baby (Guntur Kaaram) – S Thaman|Ramajogayya Sastry|Shilpa Rao
Web Series
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
Like Jubilee and Modern Love Chennai last year, there were two music-heavy (more specifically classical music-heavy) web series in 2024 as well – Heeramandi and Bandish Bandits 2. The former being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial debut (and composing debut, of course) in the web series space, and the latter the second instalment of the musical series that had previously had SEL at its helm. The makers decided to give a large chunk of Bandish Bandits 2 soundtrack to a bunch of relatively newer crop of composers, and they came through wonderfully – pretty much matching the quality of the first season! Citadel: Honey Bunny, Raj and DK’s Indian spinoff of the international series, also featured some great songs. Since I did not have the time to delve into music from web series from around the country in much detail, the list is largely focused on Hindi language series, with a smattering of Malayalam and Tamil.
1 Chaudhavi Shab (Heeramandi – Hindi) – Sanjay Leela Bhansali|A M Turaz|Shreya Ghoshal
2 Sur Hi Parmaatma (Bandish Bandits 2 – Hindi) – Siddharth Mahadevan-Souumil Shringarpure|Sameer Samant|Shankar Mahadevan
3 Ghum Hain Kahin (Citadel: Honey Bunny – Hindi) – Aman Pant|Ramil Ganjoo, Akhil Tiwari|Papon
4 Paathi Murinju (Manorathangal – Malayalam) – Ouseppachan|Shibu Chakravarthy|Sithara Krishnakumar
5 Khwaab (Panchayat Season 3 – Hindi) – Anurag Saikia|JUNO|Gauranga Shekhar
6 Sapnon Ka Karobaar (Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper – Hindi) – Ram Sampath|Farhan Memon|Meenal Jain
7 Saiyyan Hatto Jaao (Heeramandi – Hindi) – Sanjay Leela Bhansali|A M Turaz|Barnali Chattopadhyay
8 Hichki 2.0 (Bandish Bandits 2 – Hindi) – Siddharth Pandit|Alok Ranjan Srivastava|Swaroop Khan, Poorvi Koutish
9 Yeh Safar (Citadel: Honey Bunny – Hindi) – Sachin-Jigar|Priya Saraiya|Shilpa Rao, Osho Jain
10 Ee Naadu (Perilloor Premier League – Malayalam) – Mujeeb Majeed|Shabareesh Varma|tsoj
11 Jee Loon (Gyaarah Gyaarah – Hindi) – Taliz|Ginny Diwan, Rahi Sayed|Arijit Singh
12 Khwaish Adhoori (Call Me Bae – Hindi) – Rochak Kohli|Gurpreet Saini|Akanksha Sethi
13 Zaroori Toh Nahi (Citadel: Honey Bunny – Hindi) – Aman Pant|Akhil Tiwari|Kinjal Chatterjee
14 Kannadi Kadhal (Inspector Rishi – Tamil) – Ashwath|Bagavathy P K|Kapil Kapilan, Pop Shalini
15 Pyaar Hai (Mismatched 3 – Hindi) – Pina Colada Blues|Sagar Verma|Samahita Narang
16 Saavan Mohe (Bandish Bandits 2 – Hindi) – Siddharth Mahadevan-Souumil Shringarpure|Sameer Samant|Ankita Joshi, Krishna Bongane
17 Ek Baar Dekh Lijiye (Heeramandi – Hindi) – Sanjay Leela Bhansali|A M Turaz|Kalpana Gandharva
18 Eerolli (Perilloor Premier League – Malayalam) – Mujeeb Majeed|Suhail Koya|Sai Prabha
19 Door Hue (Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper – Hindi) – Ram Sampath|Puneet Krishna|Shreya Ghoshal
20 Thalavara Muriyave (Jai Mahendran – Malayalam) – Siddharth Pradeep|Arjun Ranjan|Bharath K Rajesh
21 Ishq Hai (Mismatched 3) – Anurag Saikia|Raj Shekhar|Romy, Amarabha Banerjee
22 Janaliloode (Manorathangal – Malayalam) – Bijibal|Santhosh Varma|Sowmya Ramakrishnan
23 Aasmaan Rootha (Panchayat Season 3 – Hindi) – Anurag Saikia|JUNO|Swanand Kirkire
24 Aashiyan (Love Storiyaan – Hindi) – Shantanu Dutta|Neha Karode|Jonita Gandhi
25 Kya Karun (Call Me Bae – Hindi) – Pranay Parti|Pranay Parti|Danish Sood
Kannada
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
As usual, my Kannada list is a compilation of songs I loved from the few composers I keenly follow – Ajaneesh Loknath, Charan Raj, Arjun Janya, Judah Sandhy, Nakul Abhyankar, Vasuki Vaibhav etc. There wasn’t anything that stood out to the level of Sapta Sagaradache Ello from last year, but some good music from across the board all the same.
1 Kannalli Kannidu (Bagheera) – B Ajaneesh Loknath|Pramod Maravanthe|Harshika Devanath
2 Nanage Neenu (Upadhyaksha) – Arjun Janya|A P Arjun|Rakshita Suresh, Vijay Prakash
3 Padhe Padhe (Hiranya) – Judah Sandhy|Pramod Maravanthe|Sanjith Hegde
4 Chandasina Chandadalli (Somu Sound Engineer) – Charan Raj|Dhananjay Ranjan|Siddhartha Belmannu, Meghana Bhat
5 Ninage Sigalu Eedina (Pranayam) – Mano Murthy|Chinmay Bhavikere|Shreya Ghoshal
6 Naa Geechida (Case of Kondana) – Gagan Baderiya|Vishwajith Rao|Venkatesh D C
7 Kavithe Kavithe (Yuva) – B Ajaneesh Loknath|Pramod Maravanthe|Sanjith Hegde
8 Maathu Sothu (Kotee) – Vasuki Vaibhav|Yogaraj Bhat|Armaan Malik
9 Nam Kathe Shuru (Back Bencherz) – Nakul Abhyankar|Dhananjay Ranjan|Chandan Shetty, Lavita Lobo
10 Romanchana (Juni) -Nakul Abhyankar|Pramod Maravanthe|Keerthan Holla, Ramya Bhat Abhyankar
11 Belagge Belagge (Laughing Buddha) – Vishnu Vijay|Pramod Maravanthe|Vijay Prakash
12 Kittale (Roopanthara – Midhun Mukundan|Raj B Shetty|Chaithra J Achar
13 Nanagantaane (Hiranya) – Judah Sandhy|Pramod Maravanthe|Supriyaa Ram
14 Naane Krishna Naane Shaam (Royal) – Charan Raj|V Nagendra Prasad|M M Manasi, Sanjith Hegde
15 Mana Mana (Kotee) – Vasuki Vaibhav|Yogaraj Bhat|Ananya Bhat, Siddhartha Belmannu
16 Back Bencherz (Back Bencherz) – Nakul Abhyankar|Dhananjay Ranjan|Vijay Prakash, Nischal Dambekodi
17 Soma Soma (Somu Sound Engineer) – Charan Raj|Dhananjay Ranjan|Swaroop Khan
18 Ramana Avatara (Ramana Avatara) – Judah Sandhy|Vikas Pampapathi|Kishan Bijjur
19 Bhuvana Hudukadidhe (Kerebete) – Gagan Baderiya|Ghouse Peer|Kapil Kapilan
20 Aparaadhi Naanalla (Bisi-Bisi Ice-Cream) – Nakul Abhyankar|Purandara Dasaru|Vasu Dixit
Marathi
Playlists: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
Finally, Marathi. Just like with Kannada, a selection of songs from composers I love from the industry. Have to say the spread was a bit disappointing – people like AV Prafullachandra and Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj not featuring at all for instance. So much so that I had to choose the soundtrack of a movie that is only releasing in 2025, to make up the numbers. But that is a soundtrack I do want to talk about – Sangeet Maanapmaan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s return to Marathi industry after Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, and it is an equally monstrous soundtrack! Very classical-oriented and featuring a spectacular lineup of musicians; I am very surprised at how under the radar this album has gone. I really hope it gets its flowers when the movie is out later this year. I am also hoping to review it at some point. I have featured four of the songs in this list, but do make sure to check out the entire soundtrack – it has 14 songs!
1 Shura Mee Vandile (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy| K P Khadilkar|Aarya Ambekar, Shankar Mahadevan, Asmita Chinchalkar, Avadhoot Gupte
2 Naahi Me Bolat (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|K P Khadilkar|Priyanka Barve
3 Mrugtrushna (Hee Anokhi Gaath) – Hitesh Modak|Mandar Cholkar|Priyanka Barve
4 Title Track (Paani) – Gulraj Singh|Addinath M Kothare|Shankar Mahadevan
5 Zagamaga (Ole Aale) – Sachin-Jigar|Mandar Cholkar|Shalmali Kholgade, Avadhoot Gupte
6 Jahir Jhala Jagala (Yek Number) – Ajay Atul|Guru Thakur|Ajay Gogavale, Shreya Ghoshal
7 Amhi Ahot (Juna Furniture) – Hitesh Modak|Vaibhav Deshmukh|Ashish Kulkarni, Varun Likhate
8 Sajle Re Tujhyachsathi (Single) – Amrutosh Sunil Karanjkar|Mandar Patil|Chinmayi, Jasraj Joshi
9 Sangu Kasa Me (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Sameer Samant|Krishna Bongane
10 Me RaanBhaar (Hee Anokhi Gaath) – Hitesh Modak|Vaibhav Joshi|Bela Shende
11 Tu Abhaal (Yek Number) – Kunal-Karan|Kunal-Karan|Javed Ali, Ravindra Khomne
12 Phulpakharu (Ole Aale) – Sachin-Jigar|Mandar Cholkar|Rohit Raut
13 Chandrika (Sangeet Maanapmaan) – Shankar Ehsaan Loy|Sameer Samant|Sonu Nigam
14 Sakhi Maze Dehbhaan (Hee Anokhi Gaath) – Hitesh Modak|Vaibhav Joshi|Salman Ali
15 Naachnara (Paani) – Gulraj Singh|Manoj Yadav|Adarsh Shinde, Aanandi Joshi
