Attar Falellaan
The latest single from Indian-American singer and YouTuber Vidya Vox, featuring Devenderpal Singh, is an Indo-Western fusion pop track with electronic beats guaranteed to get your head bopping and your body grooving.
The song’s title Attar Falellaan literally means “overflowing with fragrance”, a phrase often used in Punjabi songs to describe someone’s intoxicating presence or captivating aura. In line with her signature mashup style, the song weaves together verses in both English and Punjabi.
Released on June 20 on all major music streaming platforms, the Bollywood-inspired tune doesn’t skimp on Vidya’s trademark airy vocals, which harmonise seamlessly with Devenderpal’s effortless, soulful voice. The music video was released a day later and showcases the singers performing a duet against a cinematic backdrop in the rural hillside.
Vidya currently has 7.62 million subscribers on YouTube and shot to fame when her mashup cover of The Chainsmokers’ Closer and Kabira from the 2013 Hindi film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani starring Ranbir Kapoor went viral eight years ago.
Ace
Vijay Sethupathy’s poker-themed Tamil film premiered in theatres worldwide on May 23 and recently became available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Despite lacklustre reviews from critics, it currently ranks third in Prime Video’s Top 10 shows in Singapore.
Ace was primarily shot in Perak, Malaysia, with key scenes filmed in the districts of Ipoh and Taiping. It fits the plot, which follows ex-convict Kannan (Sethupathy) who moves abroad to start afresh and falls for the hyper-independent Rukku (Rukmini Vasanth). When she needs money to get out of a difficult situation, Kannan turns to an illegal gambling den introduced to him by his sidekick (Yogi Babu), banking on his poker skills to bail them out.
The rest of the film suffers from an identity crisis, fluctuating between romantic comedy and crime thriller, with a random bank heist thrown in. That said, the film is worth a watch, thanks to Sethupathy and Babu’s solid comedic chemistry that will keep you entertained throughout its runtime.
Two and a Half Story
A poignant novel about the trials of motherhood written by Anagha Paranjape-Purohit traces the storylines of three women who navigate a maze of abandonment, adoption and abortion.
The characters in Two and a Half Story aren’t just there to serve the plot, they’re given space to reveal themselves through emotional depth and introspective monologues. The mother-daughter relationship is not romanticised, and such an authorial intention is unexpected for a first-time novelist.
Anagha is an architect and environmental planner by training, holding degrees from the University of Pune and Arizona State University with a career spanning 24 years. The book was released globally on June 2 and is available on Amazon Singapore.
