Silambattam - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Well, I had decided not to review this album but I couldn't do it as I'm a huge fan of Yuvan Shankar Raja!

Simbu-Yuvan combo who is well known for grand albums such as Manmadhan and Vallavan has come up with a disastrous album.

The only best song in this album is “Machan machan” sung by his dad and Bela Shinde. A song with matured orchestration and nice interludes. Ilayaraja thoroughly enjoys his son’s composition!

“Where is da party”, is inspired from a very famous folk tune of Tamilnadu. Singers have made this bad song worse. I just couldn’t stand the female voice. There is something in her voice which made me press “Next” button, when I heard “Daamaalu dumeelu”.

“Nalam Thana” – An atrocious attempt at remixing an eternal classic song. Simbu’s voice is horrible. This is one of the worst attempts by Yuvan. This will surely win him so much of criticism. Simbu-Yuvan combo has committed a big sin through this attempt.

Vechukkava – With no change in the tune, charanam, or pallavi, this is a remake in the name of remix.

“Silambattam” sung by Shankar Mahadevan is the hero intro song with typical lyrics that glorify this talented (?) hero! Huh!

Verdict of Vinith:
A very bad album from this combo! More Simbu, less Yuvan!

Sensational Saroja followed by an Average Aegan and now a crap Silambattam. Yuvan’s career graph is lying low! Hope to see a better Yuvan in his next album!

Regards,
Vinith

Anandha Thandavam - Music Review - GV Prakash

No doubt. Anandha Thandavam is one of the very few best albums of 2008. GV Prakash Kumar is back with an excellent album after the last two disasters Kuselan and Seval. Anandha Thandavam album has five songs and one theme music.

“Megam” sung by Shankar Mahadevan is the pick of lot. With haunting flute interludes and meaningful lyrics that convey the pain of love failure, the song turns out to be a masterpiece. Shankar Mahadevan is becoming more versatile nowadays. This song is one good example.

The next best song in the album “Poovinai” sung by veteran Srinivas is a sure shot winner among lovers. The seductive female voice belongs to Shreya Ghosal who is at her best in this song too.

The fast paced “Kallil Aadum” has some innovative drum beats and excellent interludes. Singers Benny and Swetha have done their parts well. “Kanaa Kangiren” sung by three female singers Shuba Mudgal, Nithya Sri and Vinithra is instantly likeable. Usage of classical instruments such as Nadhaswaram adds good feel. Composer’s orchestration ability sparkles in this song.

The only song which did not impress me despite its grand orchestration is Naresh Iyer’s “Pattu Poochi”. The “Anandha Thandavam Theme” music, which is the instrumental version of “Poovinai” song, is absolutely mind-blowing. This one instrumental is very close to my heart.

Verdict of Vinith:
Anandha Thandavam music is sure to take GV Prakash to next level. The album is worth buying. I’m eagerly waiting to watch this movie! There is a very good improvement in GVP's compositions. Hope he continues with the same!

Regards,
Vinith...

Haunting Song

It is always a great pleasure to listen to a haunting/soothing song continually! Isn't it? Now, I've got one such song in my player which doesn't allow me to remove it from the list neither does it allow me to jump to the next song.

This is a simple melody with very minimal orchestration and powerful lyrics that express the pangs of separation (or a love failure). The solo violin in the second interlude and the female voice make my eyes wet. Kudos to this Trio!

Song: Anal Mele Panithuli
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Lyrics: Thamarai
Singer: Sudha Raghunathan

This song easily beats the other two gems, Mundhinam and Nenjukkulle!

Children of Heaven

Please spend Ten minutes in reading this review, and 90 minutes to watch this movie.
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Movie: Children of Heaven (1997)
Country: Iran
Director: Majid Majidi
Cast: Amir Farrokh Hashemian (as Ali), Bahare Seddiqi (as Zahra)
Awards and Accolades: Nominated for Oscar Award. Critically acclaimed.
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A simple tale of a brother and sister hailing from a very poor family. Zahra’s damaged shoes are given for repair. Ali goes and collects the repaired shoes. Ali keeps the shoes outside a shop and goes inside to buy provisions. Accidently a street peddler takes away the shoes along with the wastes. When Ali comes out, he finds the shoes missing. He returns home and informs this to Zahra. Zahra initially decides to inform this to parents but calms down as Ali convinces her that he would surely find the missing shoes. Siblings decide not to inform their parents about the missing shoes.

Ali comes up with an idea when Zahra asks him as what she would wear tomorrow. The idea is, Zahra will wear Ali’s shoes in the morning and hand it over to Ali. Ali would then wear it in the afternoon. Zahra agrees to this condition as she knows that her parents cannot buy a new one. They implement this idea and are quite successful in this. But everyday Ali goes late to school since he has to wait and collect the shoes from Zahra.

One day, Zahra finds her shoes on her schoolmate’s feet. Assuming that her classmate has stolen her shoes, she follows her and finds her house. She then takes Ali to her house to get the shoes. But they return after seeing her family situation which is worse than theirs.

Ali’s school organizes a running race. Ali who was not interested to be a part of the race at first, changes his mind later after he sees the poster which has the prize list. Third prize – A pair of sneakers. Ali breaks this news to Zahra and promises that he will end third in the race.

The race starts! Does Ali succeed in his attempt to win the sneakers? Was he able to keep the promise? Have they got the new pair of sneakers which they were yearning for? – Go, watch the movie!


Best parts of the movie!

Zahra and Ali’s splendid performance. Are these children from heaven?

Ali and Zahra communicate with each other by writing in their notebook. This is because they cannot talk about the lost shoes in front of their parents.

The movie carries very little music but aptly comes in the background. Rerecording for the racing scenes is brilliant.

Every time when Zahra runs to handover the shoes to Ali, I sit up.

The way Zahra tries to catch the shoe which falls into a gutter. The tension she shows on her face when running to catch the shoe is absolutely mind-blowing. This one scene left me at the edge of seat and my eyes were wet! Excellent GBM!

The whole running race episode. The way the director increases your tension during the running race. At one point during the race, Ali realizes that he is in the first place; so he slows down and lets two boys run ahead so that he can end third in the race. When Ali places himself in third position, a boy hits Ali wantonly and runs ahead; Ali falls down. Tension grips!

When Ali loses energy and slows down, the scene where Zahra runs fast to handover the shoes flashes his mind! He gears up and starts running fast! Re-recording for this running race is priceless. You’ll hear only the panting sound of Ali. This piece is very innovative! Again, my eyes brimmed with tears!

To conclude,
This movie is so realistic that almost every brother can relate this story and scenes with his life! The guy who is watching this movie would see himself in Ali and his sister in Zahra!

I strongly feel that this movie should be screened in every school for children on Children’s day! This is not a movie but a journey for me.

Regards,
Vinith...

Music Review - A Aa E Ee - Vijay Antony

A typical Vijay Antony Album! A mixed bag of one melody, one foot paced number and four kuthu songs.

TV-Serial title song type melody “Natta Nadu rathiri” is good to listen mainly for the orchestration. Packed with violin prelude and flute interludes. Amateurish voice of Sangeetha which suited the title song “Ennai Thedi” of Kadhalikka Neramillai TV Serial, doesn’t suit this song. The fast paced “Dingi Tappu” which is supposed to be a Nakka Mukka V2.0 is passable.

The title song “A aa e ee” song is a rhymes. The other three songs “Mena Minuki”, “Tappo Tappu”, “Kanni vedi” make the no of tracks Six. None of these impressed me.

Verdict of Vinith:

Large part of any Vijay Antony album is filled with kuthu songs. A Aa E Ee is of no exception. It’s high time that composer changes his formula and concentrates more on melody.

Regards,
Vinith...

Song Review – Mundhinam – Varanamayiram

What would be the outcome if a sweet tune with mesmerizing orchestration, excellent rendition and beautiful lyrics join hands?

Answer: A song like Mundhinam.

My pick of the album. Three people take credits for making this song a memorable one. Composer Harris Jeyaraj, Singer Naresh and Lyricist Thamarai.

Starting with Surya’s voiceover, every bit in this song is thoroughly enjoyable. Magnificent drum beats, enthralling saxophone interludes. You'll soon find the interludes here. Naresh Iyer’s cho chweet voice is the best choice for this song. Lyricist Thamarai’s lyrics carry much weight. I just got stuck to the line “Thulaa thattil unnai vaithu, nigar seiya ponnai vaithaal thulaabaaram thorkadho, perazhage”. Awesome!

Mundhinam Parthene – Naan yeppodhum ketpane :)

Kudos to the Team!

Need star rating? Well, 5 out of 5.

Music Review - Aegan - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Successful Ajith-Yuvan combo is back but with a disappointing album this time. Out of five songs, only two songs save the album.

Jazz melody "Hey Baby" sung by Shankar Mahadevan is a sure shot winner. With Yuvan’s brilliant orchestration and Shankar Mahadevan’s astonishing vocals, the song turns out to be the best in this album while the passable track “Odum Varaiyil” is greatly saved by the upcoming singer Bela Shinde. The charanam parts in this song are too good. “Kichu Kichu” did not impress me much despite its grand orchestration and beats. This is mainly because it sounds very similar to the orchestration of my favorite “Sei” song of Billa.

The other two songs "Hey Saala" and "Yahoo" are droning and dissonant pieces, mainly for mass hero.

Verdict of Vinith:
Aegan is strictly for Ajith fans and is out of satisfaction for other music lovers and Yuvan Shankar Raja fans.

Stars: 2.5 Stars

Straight from my heart:

I'm missing a solid melody this time also from my favorite Yuvan Shankar Raja. It's been long time since I heard a haunting, soothing melody from YSR. Waiting for atleast one melody in upcoming album Siva Manasula Sakthi. :(

Regards,
Vinith...

Song Review – Un Thalai Mudi – Kadhalil Vizhundhen (Vijay Antony)

One of the best songs of this year. Sorry last year. Yes, the audio was released in 2007.

I came to know about this song only after Sun Network started promoting this film by freeeeeeequently playing the songs in their channels.

The best part of the song is the saxophone in the prelude. I was stupefied when I listened to this prelude. Never thought that even Vijay Antony would come up with such a nice song. Next is the haunting flute (or some wind instrument?) interludes. The overall orchestration is very simple with mild percussions making the song so soothing to ears.

The only thing which spoils this beautiful song is the female voice which is not so sweet. Don’t know why Vijay Antony wanted Maya to sing in false voice. I’m not at all ok with that voice

Overall, a beautiful song!

Seval – GV Prakash – Music Review

A standard album for Hari movies with three melodies, and three kuthu songs.

Odamarathu Mullapola – Benny Dayal
A typical folk song. Same old tune, lyrics, orchestration which almost every music director in TFM has tried. Doesn’t make an impact.

Thulasi Chediya – Hariharan, Deepa Mariam
The monotonous tune is the main minus point in Thulasi Chediya. A melody which fails to impress you despite the excellent orchestration. I loved the violin piece that comes in the middle. Another “Thaaliye Thevai illa” for singer Hariharan.

Thaayaramma Thaayaaru – Karthik, Vadivel

An inane kuthu song. Karthik has thoroughly enjoyed singing. Vadivel’s voice that comes intermittently is enjoyable.

Namma Ooru Nallaarukku – Anuradha, Tippu, Manickavinayagam
I was instantly impressed by this song mainly because of the beats and the way GVP has fused the tune of “Sandaiku poren, neenga saatchiku vanga” lines of 16-Vayadhinile song at the end of Saranam.

Kannamma Kannamma – Vijay Yesudas, Gayathri

A passable melody. Nothing so great in this song.

Paarvayile Oru Yaekkam – Naresh Iyer

Best song of this album. A beautiful melody with gentle beats and haunting flute interludes. Naresh Iyer outshines in singing once again.

Verdict of Vinith:
An album for B and C centers. Definitely not for A center crowd! We cannot blame GV Prakash for delivering a dud album as he has exactly what Hari wants from any composer. GVP should strictly avoid composing for this kind of movies as we have got Srikanth Deva and D. Imman who have been doing this for years!

Stars: 2 Stars

Regards,
Vinith...

Vannathu Poochi - Rehan - Music Review

Vannathu Poochi is an upcoming movie which deals with the relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter. Songs are composed by debutant composer Rehan. Out of 7 songs, only two are listenable.

Aei Vangada – A folk song. No rhythm, no tune.

Ilamai Konjum – A dance number. Flows aimlessly. Really boring.

Kaatril Katril – A typical SA Rajkumar melody with Tabla in the background. Superannuated tune, orchestration, even the vocals.

Mazhai Varum – Another song with no solid melody or attractive beats.I just pressed "Next" button.

Ore Oru – Storytelling song. a.k.a Rhymes. Again "Next" button.

Oru Kudam – This is the best song in the album, sung by a girl. A haunting melody with mild orchestration. Child’s lively voice adds more charm.

Yarukulle Yaaro – Another good number in this album. Soothing tune with excellent male voice. The song does remind you of some other old song. But still, good to listen.

Verdict of Vinith:
Two songs are worth listening. Composer Rehan could have done more hardwork for this off-beat movie.


Stars: 2 stars

Regards,

Vinith

"Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu" by Selvaganesh - Music Review

Are you happy that TFM has got few good music directors such as James, Kumaran etc. If so, a good news for you. Next in the list of James Vasanthan, SS Kumaran is Selvaganesh who is making his debut in Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu. Brilliant compositions!

With Haricharan’s soulful rendition, and very soft tune “Uyiril” turns out to be the best song in this album. The opening Keyboard sounds lovely and is heard throughout the song in the background.

“Laysa Parakudhu”, a rhythmic melody very beautifully sung by talented Karthik and Chinmayi is another striking composition with interesting flute interludes. Karthik again at his best in “Pada Pada”, another melody with interesting orchestration and beautiful lyrics.

Selvaganesh shines well in the fast paced “Kabadi” theme song. Grand orchestration with racy percussions. Who else except Shankar Mahadevan sing this high pitched exhilarating song? His vibrant rendition is a definite plus.

Another "thiruvizha" song “Vandhanam” doesn’t impress you much as we have already got this type of song in Paruthiveeran, Subramaniyapuram and Poo.

Verdict of Vinith:

With three melodies, one fast paced and one folk song, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu is an excellent output of this debutant. Selvaganesh shines well in his debut. 2008 is definitely a great year for debutants it seems. James Vasanthan, SS Kumaran and now it’s Selvaganesh who is making a promising debut.

Stars: 4 stars.

For those who do not know much about Selvaganesh:
Selvaganesh is a world famous percussionist. He is the son of Vikku Vinayakram, a legend in Carnatic Music, who was nominated for Grammy Award in 1996.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thetakudi_Harihara_Vinayakram

Regards,

Vinith