Ravanan - AR Rahman's Musical

Hindi Ravan songs are out. Ravan turns out to be a stunning album from our Academy Award Winner! Simply out-of-the-world compositions with several new instruments and sounds. Rahman is genius.

Behene de muje, Katta Katta, Khile Re and Ranja Ranjha are my hot favorites. Addicted to these songs. I'm very much looking forward to the Tamil version 'Ravanan'. Just cannot wait to hear Shreya Goshal's voice in "Khili Re". I bet. This song will be more beautiful in Tamil. Such a melody it is.

I'm trying my best to avoid listening to the Hindi version as I'm more interested in it's Tamil version. Listening to Hindi version first will naturally put Tamil version one step below. Nah... I don't want this to happen.

Eagerly waiting for 'Raavanan'!

Vinith...

Keywords: Ravan, Raavan, ravanan, hindi, tamil version, rahman, mani ratnam, maniratnam, songs, album review, hindi ravan review.

Love you Sachin.....

I thought I should write an article about my love for ‘Lord’ Sachin Tendulkar when he hit 200 to raise the bar high. The right time is here now.

First of all, Congratulations Dhoni and Team for winning the trophy!

Ever since IPL began in 2008, I have been a full-time supporter for Mumbai Indians only for the ‘Sachin’ factor. Though he’d disappointed me in first two seasons, he has more than compensated in third season. He was on the roll since the first match. There has not been a single match where he got out without a boundary. Every match had moments that raised my eyebrows to express awe.

I have been a Sachin admirer, ever since the day I came to know about this genius. The admiration has never gone down, rather, increased day by day. Though I love watching Indian cricket matches, I’m confined to sachin’s game that no of minutes I sit and fix my eyes on TV is equal to the no of minutes Sachin stays on the crease.

I should admit that I’m admiring the Lord now, more than ever. His form in this IPL and his unparalleled 200* are the main reasons ;) From a ‘Fan’, I have moved to the next level ‘Devotee’. His form in this IPL has been wonderful. He has not only been a captain in this series. He has been a good leader. He has led the team to Finals. He has been a good motivator. His motivation has helped youngsters like Rayudu, Tiwari, Pollard to come up with match winning performances. Atop all these, he has scored 618 runs in only 15 innings that shows that he is the Best Batsman in this series. In all the ways, Sachin has raised the bar high and set example for others.

His commitment and dedication were on full display when he played a fantastic innings (48 runs) with stitches and plasters in two fingers. That says it all. He is the BEST.

Sachin, you may have lost the game. But you have won our hearts. We love you forever….forever…


Tons of love,
Vinith...

Bale Pandiya - Devan Ekambaram's impressive debut!

Devan Ekambaram, who has been a singer and occasional actor (Parthiban Kanavu, Unnale unnale), makes his debut as a music director in Bale Pandiya, an impressive album with some addictive numbers.

The pick of the album for me is "Happy", a capella song. The interesting aspects of this song are, the song has no music in the background, sung by 20 singers and the lyrics by Thamarai. A good amount of innovation has gone in. As the title implies, this song is sure to make listeners 'Happy' ;-) ;-)

'Sirikkiren', instrumental (Violin) version is a rocking stuff while the actual song is quite a fun to listen. Aaradha kobamillai and Kangale Kamalalayam are neat melodies with mild orchestration, excellently rendered by Raman Mahadevan and Mahalakshmi Iyer (Oh. We missed you) in the former and Unnikrishnan and Mrinalini in the latter.

The other two songs Ivan Thedal and the Title track 'Bale Paandiya' did not appeal to me in first few listens.

Overall, a very nice album. Considering that this is his debut, Devan Ekambaram has done an excellent job. Strongly recommended.

Tags: Bale pandiya songs review, bale paandiya music review, new bale pandiya, bale pandiya 2010 music, album, devan egambaram, piya, vishnu

Madharasapattinam - Music by GV Prakash

Madharasapattinam, is a period film that is set in the backdrop of pre-independence India. Considering the fact that period films are rare in Tamil Industry, the expectations for this album was really high. Here's my take on this album.

'Vamma Duraiamma' sung by Udit Narayanan, Cochin Hanifa (late), is a hilarious song where Udit explains an English woman (Amy Jackson), the tradition, practices, and kindness of Tamilnadu and Tamilians, while Haneefa (sounds like a tourist guide) takes care of translating it to Amy. The highlight of this song is clearly the 'literal' translation of Haneefa. Thoroughly enjoyable. This song should rock once the movie releases. We miss you Hanifa sir :-(

With a lengthy flute interlude and impeccable orchestration, lovely melody 'Pookkal Pookum tharunam', easily becomes the pick of the album. Roopkumar, though gives an excellent feel, is yet to get his diction fully right. OTOH, Harini rocks. The sudden shift to English verse (sung by Andrea) is noteworthy. 'Thaana thom thanana' piece is the highlight of this song.

'Kaatrile katrile', sung by Hariharan fails to impress despite the neat fusion of (old) 'Vandhe matram' in the interlude. The choice of singers in 'Megame Meghame' (sung by MSV, Vikram & Nasser) evokes an interest but the song falls flat.

Aaruyire Aaruyire is yet another beautiful melody with soulful rendition from Sonu Nigam and Saindhavi. The orchestration reminds me of some ARR works (though, there is nothing direct).

The 'Dance Theme', with the strains of "pookkal pookum' is likable while the other theme 'Feel of Love' is simply mesmerizing.

Talking about the Lyrics department, Na. Muthukumar (one of my favorite lyricists) has penned all the songs. Not outstanding. There are hardly any new lyrics in the songs. How many times are we gonna hear 'nee illaiyel nan illaiyE, nee pOgum anbe, nAn saagiren' kind of lyrics. Wake up Muthu ;) You can do better. I know ;) .

Verdict: A decent soundtrack. GV Prakash Kumar, could have worked more to make it a memorable album. Period film gives a wonderful opportunity to experiment and explore. GVP has not used this opportunity to the full extent.

Regards,
Vinith....

Keyword: Madharasapattinam songs review, madarasapattinam music, madharaspattinam album review, songs review, gv prakash kumar, madraspattinam review.

Paiya by Lingusamy - An Entertaining Cliche!

Paiya is a very good entertainer with good amount of romance, action, humor, excellent songs.

Plot:
Karthi, a job seeker, sees Tamanna in Bangalore and falls in love with her. One day, he takes the car to railway station to pick up his friend (the owner of the car). There, he happens to meet Thamanna again with a villain. Thinking that Karthi is a taxi driver, the villain calls him for a trip to Chennai. On the way, when Villain gets out of the car in a petrol bunk, Tamannah asks Karthi to drive away before the Villain returns. There begins the lovable journey. The couple go on for a journey from Bangalore to Mumbai. The obstacles they face in the journey form the crux.

Performance:
Karthi delivers a superb, lovable performance. Some of his expressions give us a feel that he is still stuck with Paruthiveeran. The complete transformation hasn't come yet. However, he does this role with ease. Thamannah as Charu looks gorgeous on screen and does her role perfectly. The girl in Karthi's friends gang catches our attention.

It was reported that Milind Soman has a vital role in this movie. What's that. LOL. He comes hardly for few scenes. Delivers some hindi dialogues and gets beaten by Karthi at the end. He has been wasted.

Villains usually shout in high decibel that tortures our hears. That is completely missing in Paiya which is indeed a good relief.

Technically:

Brilliant music by Yuvan, takes the movie to next level and makes it more entertaining. His songs have been placed aptly. We could hear a huge screaming, whistles from the audience for every single song. Kudos to Yuvan Shankar Raja. Suthudhe suthudhe song has been picturized with beautiful set by Art Director Rajeevan. Cinematography is okay.

Minuses:
There are many. To quote a few, same old story, predictable second half, too much of heroism. There is a scene near toll gate. Karthi and Tamahha on one side of the Toll gate, the villain gang is on the other side. The way Karthi escapes from the sight of the gang is ridiculous and damn silly. There are quite a few such scenes.

However, Thamanna and Yuvan make it worth watching. 80% of the movie happens in traveling that adds a special charm.

Overall: Go for it! First half is a high-way ride while second half has 'men at work. go slow' board at times. Good journey overall.

Keyword: Paiya, paiyaa, payya, karthi, thamannah, yuvan shankar raja, movie review, paiya music, background score, milind soman, linguswamy.