Dhanam (Ilayaraja) - Music Review

After the grand success of Uliyin Osai album, Raaja is back with Dhanam. Dhanam offers seven tracks in total out of which only three songs are thoroughly enjoyable.

"Dhanam Dhanam" is a perfect kuthu number. Raaja’s folkish touch is seen through the entire song. "Ilamai Kanavugal" is a peppy song with all the ingredients to go well with masses. Accomplished singer Karthik’s rendition adds more charm and gives a good feel to the song.

"Kattilukku" is a usual song but thankfully saved by outstanding lyrics. Run-of-the-mill compositions are often saved by noteworthy lyrics. This is an example. Meaningful lyrics along with Raaja’s soulful vocals make this song worth listening. Raaja’s rendition is a great plus in this song.

"Kannanukku" is another good number in the album. A couple of highlights in this song are the well executed orchestration and the flute, violin interludes. All that you need to enjoy this slow song is patience. "Koothu onnu" and "Ulagam kedakkuthu" are below average numbers, the former is a kuthu number while the latter seems to be an item number. "Unakulle irukiren" is just a passable number that doesn’t offer enough scope to Sriram Parthasarathy to prove his talent. Surprisingly Raaja has used a piece of music in the first interlude which comes in “Selling Dope” of Pudhupettai.

Verdict of Vinith:
Dhanam doesn’t stand out as the composer’s last release Uliyin Osai did neither does it fail to impress you. Overall, Dhanam is a passable album. Definitely a treat for HC Raaja fans.

Star Rating: Between 2 to 2.5 Stars :-)

Regards,

Vinith

A threatening SMS

Friday - 8 Serial Blasts in Bangalore - 3 feared dead
---------
Saturday - 14 Serial Blasts in Ahmedabad - 30 Dead
---------
Next????

This is the headlines in all the dailies in India. Not only that, this has been the talk in every town in India.

People in major cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta, Delhi are living in fear, they are hesitating to go outside, they are worried about their relatives living in the other cities.

At this situation of high fear gripping the people in INDIA, there is an SMS which is being forwarded among people in India. Even I received this SMS. I was totally pissed off on reading this SMS and hence writing this post.

The SMS is "Next attack in Chennai? Terrorists are forming the word BACK. Bangalore Ahmedabad Chennai Kolkatta. They have announced red alert all over India today. Please stay safe. Dont go outside"

I have surfed enough to check if this is true and have confirmed that this is just a fake news which is being spread by some jobless people. Will people not be put under high tension through this SMS?

My instinct says that this is an attempt by some yougsters to ridicule others. Do they enjoy sending this kind of SMS and putting people under hyper tension. What pleasure are they getting in sending such idiotic SMS?

Some of my friends said that this SMS could actually be a caution given to people in Chennai and Kolkatta. But I don't think so.

May god save my country from Terrorists also from such jobless people who indulge in this kind of activities!!!

Did you receive this SMS? If so, I request you to delete this immediately, please do not forward it to others! Thanks!

Regards,
Vinith

Satyam (Harris Jeyaraj) - Music Review

Oh my god, what happened to Harris Jeyaraj? He could have adopted his usual style of drone composition. Composer’s last release was Dham Dhoom. Even though the album lacked uniqueness and gave a good nostalgic trip, we were atleast able to enjoy the songs for some weeks. It seems that Harris wanted to try something different in Satyam. Result: Satyam gets a place in the list of “Harris’ worst albums”.


Chellame chellame – Bombay Jayashree, Balram
Harris’ trademark melody song with his usual rhythm pattern and orchestration. Harris does win in this song! First interlude is packed with a soothing solo violin while composer’s conventional “keeyan muyyan (LOL)” humming forms second interlude. Bombay Jayashree and Balram are at their best once again.

Enanbe – Sahdana Sargam
When there is Harris’ album, there should be atleast one ““Have I heard this before?” song. Yes. You have one in this too. A melody song With Sadhana’s youthful voice. The song does impress you but only to some extent.

Paal pappali – Ranjith
A folk number with superannuated form of tune and lyrics. Nothing new in the way the song has been orchestrated. The song does remind you of “sarakku vachurukken” of Sahjagan.

Ada gada - Premji
The song is awful with a below average tune, boring orchestration, irritating lyrics. Better don’t even give a try to listen this.

Aaradi kaathe - Hariharan
Nothing new in this song. Typical orchestration for intro song, usual lyrics that praise the hero and boring vocals, these all join together in this song to put your ears in jeopardy.

Verdict of Vinith:
The album evinces either of the following (or both):
1. As a commercial movie Satyam demands such songs.
2. Harris is running short of tunes.

Star Rating: 2 stars

Regards,
Vinith

Plagiarism - Deva and SA Rajkumar

Deva, SA Rajkumar and two old songs!!!


Deva is one of the most sought after (for copying) music directors in Tamil. He has copied so many songs from various English bands. The list is really very long. You may check here for the lifted songs by Deva.

I feel that a small portion in the stanza of “Yaar solvadho” song from Kushi has been lifted off the humming piece in “Chittukuruvi mutham” song of Pudhiya Paravai (1964), music by Viswanathan Ramamoorthy.

Listen to Chittukuruvi humming,

Listen to Yaar Solvadho part,



Next one, S A Rajkumar’s

“Kaasu thedi povoma ekka” piece from “Pala palakkuthu pudhu nottu” song of Thulladha Manamum Thullum is as same as the “unmaiyodu uzhaikonum thane thannana, machan” piece of “Summa irundha” song from Madurai Veeran (1956) music by G Ramanathan.

Listen to Summa Irundha,



Listen to Kasu thedi,



Are these numbers lifted ones or just a coincidental ones? Tell me your opinion.
You can find two more such songs Ramesh’s blog here!

One of my favorite bloggers Emjay has classified Plagiarism into different types. I wish to ask him the type these above said numbers belong to!! Emjay, Your comments please!!! :-)

To download those bits,

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/17/1915834/Kushi2.mp3
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/17/1915834/Unmaiyodu.mp3
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/17/1915834/Chittukkurivi.mp3

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/17/1915834/Dhuttu%20dhuttu.mp3

Regards,

Vinith

My Current Play List - July 2008

Here is the list of latest songs am currently listening to!

1. Marudhani - Sakkarakatti - AR Rehman

ARR is back with his trademark melody. A feminine song with beautiful lyrics. Madhushree's voice is another plus. The keyboard/piano in the first interlude is enthralling. The ostinato "Marudhani vizhiyil" chorus is another "rango rangoli" which would be liked by all. The song would go well with the masses.

2. Saroja songs - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Cheeky, My life, Kodanu kodi and dosthu bada dosthu songs from this album are in loop. Refreshing Cheeky, Heavy metal My Life, Kuthu Kodanu Kodi and rhythmic Dosthu are all excellent compostions from Yuvan. Yuvan would surely win youngsters' hearts with this techno album.

3. Kahdal Siluvayil, Kangal Irandal - Subramaniapuram - James Vasanthan

Composer's debut composition is definitely promising. These two songs showcase his talents. Kahdal Siluvaiyil and Kangal irandal, both are refreshing composition with matured orchestration. The symphony in the former and the flute-symphony 2nd interlude in the latter enrich the quality of the songs. Shankar Mahadevan's vocals in Kadhal siluvayil is awesome.

4. Abinayam Kaatugindra, Pularkindra pozhudhu - Uliyin Osai - Ilayaraja

Uliyin Osai should be the best album of Ilayaraja in the recent times. All the songs are catchy in this album. Abinayam is a classical composition that reminds you of Azhagu Malarada song. Bombay Jayashree vocals are great plus points. Pularkindra pozhudhu song is another pick in the album with mindblowing orchestration. No other composer except Raaja could have given life to this album which needs a classical touch in all the songs. Once again Raaja at his best in using classical instruments such as Mridhangam, Flute, Violin etc.

5. Jaane tu meri kya hai (Jai) - Jane tu ya jane na - AR Rehman

A melody song with amazing vocals and mindblowing orchestration. An excellent song from this genius. The smooth flowing symphony in the 1st interlude is truly mesmerising. The chorus "Jaana..." is too good. "Kahin To" from this movie is also in my playlist.

Regards,

Vinith

Saroja - Yuvan Shankara Raja - Music Review

Saroja – Innovative, Unique, Stylish, Trend Setting!!!

Saroja is one of the most awaited albums of the year. The album turns out to be an outstanding album. The album has totally 6 tracks all with fresh music including one English song which is the highlight of the album.

Since Original CD's are yet to be released (on 18th), I'm not mentioning the singers' names in few songs. Will update the review once I get the CD.

Kodanu Kodi
A perfect Kuthu song. Starts with a fantastic prelude. No doubt, the song is all set to be another Thee Pidikka. The song will go well with masses. The female humming voice in the prelude, interlude and postlude is catchy. Singers have done their parts well.

Cheeky Cheeky
A song that praises women. The orchestration of this song is an example for Yuvan’s ability in handling songs of different genre. The predominant beats in the song is truly appealing. Bit sonorous at times but still a unique composition!

Dosthu Bada Dosthu - Haricharan
A friendship song, a breezy number with addictive rhythm. Vaali’s lyrics deserve a special mention here. “Kanvaugal Kaanalam, Kaariyangal Koodalam, kalam…kalam Abdul Kalam sonna varthaiku or Salam”. Song carries good interludes; in particular the second interlude is likeable.

Aaja Meri - Premji, Vijay Yesudoss
Marriage/Engagement song. A good peppy number with funny lyrics. Premji’s voice add more fun. The song neither disappoints you nor does it make you listen repeatedly. Is it just the Hindi lyrics or the whole orchestration that gives us a feel of Hindi music? A passable song.

Nimirndhu Nil - Shankar Mahadevan
The song starts will with a fantastic prelude but grows as rhymes. Shankar Mahadevan’s rendition and meaningful lyrics are great plus. But the song fails to impress mainly because of the insipid tune.

My Life - Tanvi
This English song is the highlight of the album. Orchestration is in par with English albums. The combination of Heavy metal and electric guitar works well in this song. A brave attempt from Yuvan. A special mention to Tanvi for excellent rendition. This song comes in background in movie. Hence they have shot a video for this song which features Yodhakka band. This promo video is currently being telecast in most of Tamil channels. The video is worth watching.

Verdict Of Vinith:

Saroja is a thoroughly enjoyable album. Yuvan has done a fabulous job. Having said that Sakkarakatti is the best album of the year (so far) in my last post, I don’t mind saying that Saroja has all the ingredients to compete with Sakkarakatti!!!

Star Rating: 4 Stars!!!

Regards,

Vinith

Sakkarakatti - Music Review

After a long wait, the Sakkarakatti songs are out.
The first half of 2008 did not have even one extraordinary album. In seventh month, Sakkarakatti turns out to be a great album with four amazing songs and two ordinary songs. Yes, the wait doesn’t disappoint.

Taxi Taxi – Blaze, Benny Dayal, Javed Ali
A peppy friendship song. When there is ARR, there is no dearth for innovation. Blaze at his best once again with English lyrics. This is surely going to be a chartbuster. The predominant beats in the background are truly catchy and add a special touch to the song.

Marudaani – Madhushree, A R Rahman
A soothing melody number with fantastic interludes. There is a good improvement in Madhushree’s diction. Her vocals add good charm to the song. The first interlude is truly mesmerizing. This is another best track in the album. A feminine song which will surely enthrall girls.

Chinnamma – Benny Dayal, Chinmayi
This folk song is the Tamil version of Meenaxi – Chinnamma track. I am a very big fan of the Hindi version. I am still listening to the Hindi version. But Tamil version somewhere fails to recreate the magic. If you haven’t heard the Hindi version, chances are there you will like this one very much.

Naan Epoudhu – Reena Bharadwaj
Another melody song in the album with neat orchestration. The water splash sound in the first interlude is enjoyable. Reena’s rendition is Ok.

Elay – Krish, Naresh Iyer
A run-of-the-mill tune but with an astonishing orchestration. The solo violin that comes in between and the guitar that is being played throughout the song are truly mind-blowing. Worth listening.

I Miss You Da – Chinmayi, Indai Haza
Despite Chinmay’s attractive vocals and powerful orchestration, the song fails to impress you due to an average tune.

Verdict of Vinith!

With four top numbers and two average songs, Sakkarakatti is the best album of the year 2008 (so far). Kudos to ARR!!!

A "Stinking Portal" on the web

India Search Portal – An atrocious website I have come across!!!

There has been a portal which doesn’t respect Cinema Legends, cinema artists and the visitors as well? Do you know it?

:-) "The portal’s address is not revealed here" :-)

This site is famous for writing movie reviews but in a different way. They just don’t write negative reviews. They also describe the cine artists as “kurangu”, “pisasu”, “madayan”, “fool”, “panni” and many more filthy words.

When visitors see such harsh, rude words about their favorite film stars, they naturally get pissed off. They are hurt!! So they write comments using unmentionable words. It’s human!!! Isn’t it?

But, the comments will not be published immediately. It will be edited by the author before it gets published. He removes all those bad words of visitors with a [tag] and publishes it. Some of the comments are not published. I had written a unbiased comment asking them for a clarification. It never came to limelight. This clearly evinces that the author/administrator is not dare to publish all the comments of visitors even though they are not filthy. This is not justice. The story doesn’t end here. The administrator/author replies the visitor’s comments. Their replies to irate visitors always start with “sori naayi”, “donkey”, “retard” etc. No author can tolerate rubbish comments about their article. They should adopt the method of giving sarcastic replies to those irate visitors rather than using abusive words which makes no difference between the author and the visitor.

So, ultimately visitors are made fool. Visitors’ words are hidden but author’s bad words are published. Is that the justice he shows towards the visitors?

Whose mistake is this?

I’m not supporting visitors who are posting thrash comments neither am I against them. But what makes them write such words? What kindles them to write such words? It’s ultimately the authors’ words towards the film stars. His words are the root cause for all these. My suggestion here is, they should not use such words in their review.

Here, I don’t say that they should give only positive reviews. Author has all the rights to write his/her opinion but in a way that it doesn’t hurt the fans and followers. Not only that, if they hide the unmentionable words of Visitors, then they should also not use any abusive words in their reply. That is perhaps the right way of treating their visitors.

I don’t mind saying that am one of those wounded visitors of that portal. But now I have stopped commenting in that portal.

Most of the bloggers, critics should have guessed the site I am talking about. Haven't you? If so, what do you feel about this article. Does this article make sense?


Regards
Vinith

Kuselan – Music Review – Why GVP?

One of the much awaited movies of the year is Superstar’s KUSELAN which is the remake of Malayalam classic “Kadha parayum pol”. Young talent GV Prakash has set tunes for Kuselan.
GVP’s tunes for this movie evince that this young talent is not matured enough to compose songs for a Superstar movie. Yes, the songs disappoint. However, the “Rajni” factor would make these songs a big hit.

Cinema cinema – Shankar Mahadevan – Sonorous Orchestration.
The overall orchestration reminds you of Mudhalvane song especially the chorus in the prelude. Shankar Mahadevan, as usual, has sung with a good energy. Rajni fans would surely enjoy the lyrics of Vaali that praise Cinema and Rajnikanth. “avar uruvam paru elimai, andha elimai thane avarukku vaimai… Thalai ganathidatha thalaivan, engal annan mattum than” is an example.

Sollamma – Hariharan, Sujatha – Pleasant Melody, pick of the album.
This song is the pick of the album. Hariharan’s and Sujatha’s rendition is definitely a plus. A neat melody with mild orchestration. Uniqueness in tune and freshness in the song are certainly missing.

Charai – Shreya Ghosal – Cool
A decent tune with shreya’s charming vocals. Good orchestration. The song is worth listening.

Om Zaarare – Daler Mahendi, Chithra, Sadhana Sargam – Mediocre
Tune seems to be okay but doesn’t really stand out. Daler’s rendition fails to impress you. This song again reminds you of “Vaaji vaaji” song of his uncle’s composition. Why GVP?

Perinba – Kailahs kher, Prasanna – Already played
No big difference between composer’s first composition “Veyilodu vilayadi” and this song.

Verdict of Vinith:

A mediocre album. GVP has not done something great to Kuselan. It’s P.Vasu’s mistake that he roped GVP in for this movie. Vidyasagar-Vasu-Rajni trio would have done something better for Kuselan.

A treat to Rajni fans but not to Music lovers. Better luck next time GVP!

Regards,

Vinith