he following review is by a user and is not IndiaGlitz's take towards anyone or anything. Written by Ramesh Ganapathy
Much anticipated, skeptical, unbelievable, worried are some of the
adjectives that have been used with NEP in the past week leading to its
launch. Now that the time has come, it's time to see if the Maestro will
be able to deliver with an album on which everybody has his or her eyes
on. And trying to pass judgment will probably be the toughest thing
I've done yet. Anyway, here goes...
Saayndhu Saayndhu - Yuvan Shankar Raja, Ramya (Upvote)
Saayndhu Saayndhu is the opening song of the soundtrack and is not a
first- time listen for all of us. If you have been following things
around, you'd probably heard it somewhere over the past month. It looks
like an offbeat, slow, modern song for the most of it but orchestrations
in the interludes indicate otherwise. Chords, and few clarinet pieces
that add a sensual feeling to the song heavily back the lines
throughout.
Yuvan takes up most of the lines in the track and it's seems to be
down his corridor of emotional but kind of sluggishnes(remember
Kaatrukulle from Sarvam?). At the high-pitched notes, he is impressive.
Ramya gives you an impression with the few lines she gets, and almost
sounds too western in the final parts of the song. I can already start
imagining how the visuals will be for this one.
Kaatrai Konjam - Karthik (Upvote)
Kaatrai Konjam, the first song in the album takes you back to the 80s
instantly. The short prelude by the male backup voices, percussion that
stops and with the track and the entire orchestration reminds you of an
era that is almost never seen today in Kollywood. Clarinets, strings,
flutes, pianos and vocal chords all adore the song magnificently and are
available to enjoy in the first interlude. If anything, the charanam is
reminiscent of Illayaraja's classics and by the time it settles in, you
are glued to the song.
Karthik takes on the track and tries to bring in some youthful
exuberance to the retro-like composition and succeeds. With all his
subtlety in the pallavi and flowing vocals in the charanam, things
become ever so gorgeous. Na Muthukumar's lyrics hitting the right notes
(Illayaraja's masterful notes, that is) seem more soothing than usual.
Just two songs down, and I am already preparing myself to be bowled out.
Mudhal Murai - Sunidhi Chauhan (Upvote)
If you thought the lines 'Neethane En Ponvasantham' was going to be
used as a gooey romantic catchphrase throughout the film, you might be
wrong. It turns out that Illayaraja has different plans. With Mudhal
Murai, he composes a dark, strong cry of anguish (or agony, or anything
similar). The repetitive strings maintain the tone of the song through
interludes that are focused on not straying
from the purpose of the song. The violin (which almost sound like
another lead) accompanying the most dramatic lines are brilliant. This
one is packed with so much detail that it will take you hours of playing
over before you realize how good a job Illayaraja has done.
No many voices in the industry can make an impact like Sunidhi
Chauhan's and choosing her is probably the best thing that could happen
to song after the composition. Everything she does sounds perfect - the
emphasis on strong words, the short yet expressive end to phrases and
especially how she treats the not-so-short lines. Talk about taking a
song and going ballistic all over it!
Vaanam Mella - Illayaraja, Bela Shende (Upvote)
Definitely village-ey, I thought after reading the name, but I was
wrong. Vaanam Mella is a blend of genres, and the orchestral of the
introduction of the song tells you why. When it soon settles into
Illayaraja's voice, things just seem no natural and beautiful. I
honestly don't think anyone else but him can pull off something close to
this.
The last time we saw Illayaraja and Bela Shende come together, we got
called beautiful number in 'Machchaan Machchaan'. This one is similar,
and even better. The maestro's subtle voice and Bela Shende's magical
vocals that always sound sweet add more and more plaudits for it. And
not for the first time in the album, Na Muthukumar's pen has found the
right words, without over-exaggerating or over-emphasizing, but still
capturing the poetry in emotions.
Pudikale Maamu - Suraj Jagan, Karthik (Upvote)
With typical college-hero introduction song, the soundtrack takes a
pleasant turn with Pudikala Maamu. Comparing with 'Yethi Yethi' (again
Gautham Menon, but with Harris) offers a lot of retrospect. Illayaraja
is more confident in leading with the vocals and the percussion makes
way for the singer to make an impression, making the lyrics a lot more
expressive. Suraj Jegan, known from 'Give Me Some Sunshine' from 3
Idiots sounds like a rugged young Hariharan who is totally psyched about
being a teenager.
Just when you think the song was totally hip and western, it takes a
wicked turn and become a folky number in the latter half. Na Muthukumar
deserves come credit again on his part for this. Why it was composed
this way is unclear and the sudden change doesn't help the song much.
However, Karthik and the very down-to earth percussions sound natural
and rebellious. Some retro touches here and there and it suddenly
becomes a wise man's song. It will totally take you by surprise.
Yennodu Va Va - Karthik
Yennodu Va Va is another track that is a leaf out of Illayaraja's
rich music from the 80s. It might sound a bit old fashioned for today's
generation, but the slow paced beats and straightforward lines aren't
enough to write it off. The singer pausing between lines now and then
indicates that the song is clearly old- fashioned, just like it did with
the first track. With his composition, Illayaraja makes the pallavi a
bit serious and the charanams more casual.
This is the third song for Karthik in the soundtrack, and he gets an
opportunity to showcase his different sets of skills. Versatile as he
is, it doesn't take long for you to forget (temporarily of course) his
renditions in the other renditions as you listen to this one. Na
Muthukumar's lyrics don't have the same impact here as they did in
'Kaatrai Konjam'. Good to listen, still.
Pengal Yendral - Yuvan Shankar Raja
Six songs into the album, I finally hit a song that I couldn't enjoy
much. For some reason, this one sounds a lot like Yuvan composed it. The
added rock effects, overly dark tones and continuous beats are not very
common for Illayaraja. And in all fairness, it doesn't really come
closing to expressing agony. Instead, the track seems to have taken the
wrong lane and turned into hatred lane.
What is with Yuvan and 'i-hate-you-love-failure-songs'? He is quickly
becoming the master of such songs, and somewhere in Tamil Nadu, there's
probably a bunch of lonely sad boys who are worshipping him for it.
Also, the continuous bashing of love and also probably the heroine along
with the usual hate feeling, which follows right after love, is highly
overdosed. Shocking, after so many good numbers.
Sattru Munbu – Ramya
The last track of the album is almost as dark as the previous one.
For some reasons, the sad songs have gotten piled up at the last. The
right place for ‘Sattru Munbu’ would have been before ‘Mudhal Murai’ for
it’s a diluted and more-mature version of it (the love scale always
goes from mature to crazy). The orchestral is also a bit soft and the
string section is a lot more prominent. The interludes however try to
reflect on both on the magical love that has been lost and the disaster
that’s about to follow. It’s slow, but more than bearable.
Ramya looks to be a good singer, and the frailty in her voice (like
that of the sad heroine) is almost felt. But, this is more of a dead-end
song when you have Sunidhi Chauhan on the other end. I felt that it’s
more likely to be used as a background score.
Phew. This was probably the toughest music review I have written
until now. One, it took me a lot more listens before I could judge a
song properly and two, I was quickly running out of technical words to
praise Illayaraja’s work. Packed with a lot of amazing (truly)
compositions, this one is gonna be a roaring hit with everyone, the
young and the old. Illayaraja might be old, but some of his numbers come
close to sweet sixteen like anyone else’s. And when they do, they blow
you away.
Rating – 4/5 – for some Illayaraja magic that never grows old.
Verdict – This man can still (and probably always will) weave magic!