2008- Year End Analysis

2008 has been a fabulous year for Hindi music, better than some of the other years of the decade. This is due to the fact that Bollywood is getting intensely competitve year by year. With close to 10 films releasing in a month, all that producers can hope for is the Fri-Sat-Sun weekend to get back their money.

As far as the music is concerned, A R Rahman has been the undisputed king of 2008. It has been one of his best years ever. All his albums, namely, Jodhaa Akbar, JTYJN, Ada, Yuvvraaj & Ghajini were very good. Also, he's been nominated for the Golden Globe awards from Slumdog millionare and has made us Indians proud.

Pritam too has had a very good year. Music sales wise, he's been number one, with Singh is Kingh, Race & Jannat being the top 3 best selling albums this year, together selling 50 lac units .

Vishal-Shekhar have also done very good work and are among the most sought after composers today, after OSO gave them the big break. They have Bachna Ae Haseeno & Tashan to their credit this year,together selling 30 lac units.

SEL have had an average year with a superb Rock On (showing their amazing versatility), but a below average Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic has done them no good. But their 2 songs from CC2C were good, though not great. I'm eagerly waiting for Zoya Akhtar's Luck-by chance,which i hope will have a great soundtrack.

It was very difficult to pick out 10 best songsof the year; therefore i have picked out 10 best albums of the year and mentioned the songs i like in those albums.

My top 10(hindi) are:

1.Yuvvraaj : Dil Ka rishta,Tu hi meri dost hai, Tu muskuraa & everything else!

2.Ghajini : Latoo,Aye Bachu,Guzarish

3.Rock On : All songs

4.Jodhaa Akbar : Jashn-e-bahaara,In lamhon ke daamon mein,Khwaja mere khwaja

5.Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi : Tujh mein rab dikhta hai,Phir milenge chalte chalte,Haule haule

6.Dostana : Jane Kyun,Shut up & bounce, Desi girl

7.Fashion : Mar Jawaan,Fashion ka jalwa,Kuch khaas

8.Race : Race saanson ki,Pehli Nazar, Zara zara touch me

9.Singh is King : Jee karda,Bas ek king,Teri Ore

10.Tashan : Dil Haara,Tashan mein,Dil Dance maare

Those which I wanted to include but couldn't fit in are JTYJN, Bachna Ae Haseeno,Jannat & Karzzzz


THE song of 2008(hindi) : Dil Ka Rishta



And in Tamil, I don't think there were even 10 albums that were worth listening to. However the following are my favorites :

1.Vaaranam Aayiram : All songs

2.Bheema : Oru mugamo,Siru Parvayale,Mudhal mazhai

3.Dhaam Dhoom : Anbe en anbe,Sakiye

4.Dasavatharam : All songs

5.Santosh Subramaniam : Adada adada


THE song of 2008(tamil) : Oh Oh Sanam


As seen, it's been a Harris show all the way, except for some nasal intervention from Himesh, who produced a superb Dasavatharam.

Villu

Devi Sri Prasad has always impressed. Be it Mayavi, Aaru, Sachin, Mazhai, Something Something or Santosh Subramaniam. Being a Tollywood import himself, this time he brings with him a whole set of singers from there, to sing for Villu.

They say where there's a villu, there's a way. What about this villu?

1. Hey Rama Rama : Undoubtedly the Vijay entry song, it portrays his larger than life image,and has Kovai Sarala to pep things up a little bit. Surprisingly the song is not too loud but a very decent hear, far better than many of his recent intro songs.

2. Nee Kobapattal : This song has exactly the same kind of feel, beats and instrumentation as Nee mutham ondru from Pokkiri and hence there's nothing new. Average.

3. Daddy Mummy : I remember bugging Mogi to explain in detail the meaning of "Puli maanai vettai dhan aadidume kaatil,maan puliyai vettai dhan aadum idam kattil", acting as though i couldn't comprehend anything. Daddy Mummy takes vulgar lyrics to a different level altogether, making it an all time high.

4. Are you crazy : Lasting just 46 seconds,this track consists of Nayanthara throwing insults at Vijay, but the way it's been made into a tune is innovative.This will most probably be played only in the background.

5. Jalsa : The Jalsa line is catchy and the rest of the song isn't bad too. The song hints at a dance showdown between Prabhu Deva &Vijay, which means that the success of this song depends on the video as well. Nayanthara & a certain DSP are also mentioned. I scratch my head and begin to wonder who this DSP could be and then suddenly it strikes me! Devi Sri Prasad of course! Isn't that smart?

6. Vaada Maapilley : A very enjoyable village folkish track, this song is small too and before you realize, it's over. There's also Vadivel's gibberish in the middle but otherwise the song is good.

7. Dheemthanakka Thillana : Other than the fact that DSP himself is singing it, there's nothing much to this song with silly lyrics. Average.


Devi Sri Prasad continues to impress. There's nothing great in this album, but it's more than enough for a Vijay movie. All the best for Kanthasamy, dude.