Nandhalala – Music Review

Nandhalala – Album of lullabies!
Ilayaraaja joins hands with the ‘fearless director’ Mysskin for Nandhalala. All the five lyricists have wrapped up highly aesthetic words for this film. As this film is about the quest of a mentally retarded fellow and a kid, the songs are pleasant, positive and poignant.

Male Harmony

Ilayaraja,  K.J.Jesudas, Master Yatheeshwaran, Vijay Yesudas, Madhu Balakrishnan

Female Harmony

Swetha, Saroja amma

1. Mella oorndhu oorndhu****

Singer: Ilayaraja

Lyrics: Na.Muthukumar

A beautiful Ilayaraja number with child sensibility. Sounds like ‘Maina kunju’ and ‘Vandhaal Vandhaal’.This song evinces Ilayaraja’s inimitable Orchestration and instrumentation talents for which he is known for. The piano interludes and chorus adds on to the school rhyme effect of this serenade. Muthukumar has penned a riddle like ‘who am I?’ lyrics with Nietzsche overtones for this song and successfully keeps us guessing till the very end. Another song to the ‘anjali’ genre!

2. Onnukkonnu*****

Singer:  K.J Jesudas

Lyrics: Mu.Mehtha
Only in a very few songs tune, rhythm, voice, instruments and lyrics sweetly fall in place as in a cup of fruit salad with ice cream. Mehtha’s flawless lines explicates the soul of the film. Simple tune and sparingly used equipment make this song another feather in Ilayaraja’s crown. For Jesudoss, this song is Kanne Kalaimane part2. Another Ilayaraja classic for the dark and warm evenings. Right song for this sick world!

3.Thaalattu***

Singer: Ilayaraja

Lyrics: Muthulingam
Typical Ilayaraja’s Amma song. Begins like ‘Thenpandi seemaiyile’ and proceeds like ‘Aalolam paadi’.Full of native instruments and customary lyrics. Mesmerising Ilayaraja’s voice breaks down once a while portraying the powerful feel of the song. An ordinary song with a maestro’s finish.

4. Kai veesi*****

Singers: Vijay Yesudas, Swetha, Madhu Balakrishnan

Lyrics: Pazhanibharathy
An awesome melody, celebrating life, rooted in hardcore Ilayarajaism. Reminds us of ‘Ilangaathu veesuthe’. The flute piece which runs along this number is memorable. Though not innovative interms of instrumentation, the wondrous tune tells it all. Once again a number with ‘anjali’ feel- collective joie de vivre.

5.Elilea****

Singer: Saroja Amma
A gypsy song with a voice and an instrument. The language is  a strange conglomerate of many Indian languages. Though gives us a sick feeling, the rising tempo vividly showcases the meaning of the song. Mysskin’s attempt to do something fresh and original is clearly seen in here.

6.oru vaandu koottame****

Singers: Ilayaraja, Master Yatheeshwaran

Lyrics: Kabilan
A colorful number with a pot-pourri of voices and instruments. Master Yatheeswharan’s voice alternates beautifully with Ilayaraja’s. Must be a road song with fun all along. The tune is native but grand.The violin interlude of this song will haunt you for a long time even in your fantasies. Since this film is about children and from a child’s point of view, Ilayaraja’s numbers for this film remind us of the film ‘anjali’.

Neither with rap nor hip-hop, Ilayaraja scores a triple ton in Nandhalala. Mysskin is adorable for requesting all the songs in pure tamil. It is all about mother and love!

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Sakkarakatti – Music Review

Sakkarakatti- Electrifying youth vibrancy!

Album name : Sakkarakatti
Release date : 11.7.08
Music Director : ARRahman
Number of Tracks : 6

Male harmony

Benny Dayal, Blaaze, ,Javed Ali, A R Rahman, Henry, Krish and Naresh Iyer

Female harmony

Chinmayi, Madhushree, Viviane Chaix and Indai Haza

The long awaited soundtrack of the movie Sakkarakatti has hit the stores yesterday. Rahman has scored half a dozen bright and colorful songs for this ‘Shanthanu’ starrer.

1. Taxi Taxi*****
Singers: Benny Dayal, Blaaze, Viviane Chaix and Javed Ali
Lyrics: Blaaze, Na Muthukumar, Viviane Chaix
Basically a friendship song like Mustafa, full of Blaaze’s Rap interludes, Vivian’s ooh laas and french chants. The rhythm of this song is pretty ordinary but the vocals and other additions take it to the next level. This song gives us the feel of a ‘Bollywood’ number. Lyrics bringout this ‘ipod’ age’s friends and their relationships with a bit of slapstick humour. Pals dont miss this!

2. Marudhani****
Singers: Madhushree, A R Rahman, Henry
Lyrics  : Vaali
Probably a heroine solo melody, with soft beats and chorus. Pleasant interludes and Rahman’s hummings complete this soft but quick number. This is the only song which contains ARR’s voice in this album. Dynamic Vaali’s lyrics are spoiled by Madhushree’s poor Tamil accent. So a kind request to Madhushree:’Please find a good tamil teacher before commiting your next Tamil song’.

3. I Miss You Da*****
Singers: Chinmayi, Indai Haza
Lyrics  : Na Muthukumar
Another solo female song in which ARR has experimented with converting different ordinary sounds into one sweet melody. Appears to be a fusion of pop music and dubstep genre. Chinmayi’s versatile voice realises ARR’s dream. Also the song progresses with ‘Adhiradikkaran’ kind of beats now and then. The chorus and beats are avant-garde. May demand a lot of listening before you love it. Muthukumar’s lyrics are very ordinary and fails to impress. The feel produced by this song is similar to the effect produced by ‘Maja Maja'(SOK) and ‘Kettena'(Desam). A song for the world!

4.Chinnamma****
Singers: Benny Dayal, Chinmayi
Lyrics  : Pa Vijay
A Tamil version of the song ‘Chinnamma Chilakkamma’ from Rahman’s soundtrack for the Hindi movie Meenaxi(2004). Though a repetitive seranade from ARR, not disappointing. Benny sings very similar to Sukhwinder, the singer of the original Chinnamma. But Benny beats Sukhwinder with his proper Tamil pronounciation. We could hear Sukhwinder’s humming at the end point of this song!. Benny’s adaptable voice eeks out his best at the high pitch areas. Chinmayi in this song sounds very different from ‘I miss you da’. Both the singers have given their maximum effort in this song. Pa Vijay’s lyrics have perfectly fit this Andhra folk song. The song begins like an old Telugu song played in an old philips radio. Fantastic! One of ARR’s best folk numbers. The Andhra feel reminds us ‘Errani Kurrani'(Kadhalan) song. With the usage of folk instruments and a few western equipment Rahman has challenged the kuthu song world!

5.Elay*****
Singers: Krish ,Naresh Iyer
Lyrics  : Na Muthukumar
Seems to be the ‘soul’ song of this movie. Full of guitar sounds, violin pieces and quick beats. Though the music is of the Rock genre, the lyrics and violin gives us ‘at home’ feeling. A positive and pleasant song which bridges east and west. Though a number of instruments are used, nothing goes haywire. Wonderful orchestration and coordination by ARR. In this song Muthukumar gains what he lost in ‘I Miss you da’ song. The song ends by providing us a jazz feel. Krish and Naresh sing exactly with the feel of south Indian boys. At times this song reminds us ‘Roobaaroo'(Rang De Basanti). But the utilisation of other instruments makes this song different.

6.Naan Epodhu****
Singers: Reena Bharadwaj
Lyrics  : Pa Vijay
Another reiteration from Meenaxi. The Same singer is called back. A wonderful North Indian style song, with a lovely tune and guitar interludes. Beautiful addition of effects at right times. Right choice of voice. Totally an awesome song. But, this awesome song is stained by the awkward pronounciation(Pen or pin??!!) of the singer. This is the third female solo song of this album and the shortest one. Pa Vijay’s romantic lyrics along with excellent instrumentation doesn’t fail to create the intended swooning effect. A sweet song!

-Spontic

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