November Top listens

1) Thajam thajam... (Mahesh Saranya matrum palar, Vidyasagar)
2) Aavaram poo.. (Poo, S.S.Kumaran)
3) Siru thoduthaliley.. (Laadam, Dharan)
4) Where is the party?.. (Silambattam, Yuvan Shankar Raja)
5) Lesa parakkuthu.. (Vennila kabadi kuzhu, Selvaganesh)
6) Kanaa kangiren.. (Anandha thandavam, G.V.Prakash)
7) Ava enna.. (Vaaranam Aayiram, Harris Jeyaraj)
8) Vizhiyil vizhiyil.. (Mahesh Saranya matrum palar, Vidyasagar)
9) Makkah... (Laadam, Dharan)
10) Vaa vaa en devathaye.. (Abhiyum Naannum, Vidyasagar)

Abhiyum Naanum, Vidyasagar

Surprisingly, a "step-down" attempt from my favourite music director. I usually prefer his albums because all his tracks has versatality & more importantly head-phone friendly!! "Vaa vaa en Devathaye" & its miniature version "Moongil vittu" are listenable, both soul-fully rendered by Madhu Balakrishnan. The bhangra-ish interludes in "Pachai katre" rocks big time, but the main tune is pedestrian. Kailash kher leaves our ears burning, really, in both " Ore oru oorile" & bit song "Chinnamma kalyanam". The former is listenable, while the latter is completely atrocious. "Sher Punjabi", another bit song, falls flat completely. Even S.P.B's track doesn't impress us & the tune just goes without any aim. In addition we have instrumental tracks of "Vaa vaa", "Pachai katre" & "Ore oru", nothing much to say about them! After the stupendous Mozhi, which still runs in my playlist quite often, the much expected RadhaMohan-Vidyasagar combo disappoints , to say the least! Lets hope for a better picturisation atleast!!

Verdict: Extremely disappointing
Rating: **1/2

Probable list of songs in annual top 20

With just a month to spare, for bidding adieu to this gorgeous 2008, let me get a quick glimpse of good songs of the year so far. The tracks marked with a * are definite ones and $ in the bottom list.

*Nenjathiley / Kanden kanden (Pirivom Santhippom, Vidyasagar)

Solladi en idhayam (Kadhalil Vizhunden, Vijay Anthony)

*Manasukkul manasukkul (Anjathey, Sundar.C.Babu)

Dhayyare dhayya (Vellithirai, G.V.Prakash Kumar)

Enthan vanamum (Vazhthugal, Yuvan Shankar Raja)

$Needhana Needhana (Saadhu Miranda, Deepak Dev)

$Venmegam (Yaaradi nee Mohini,Yuvan shankar Raja)

$Yaaridam Naan (Pidichirukku, Manu Ramesan)

*Thendralukku Nee / Aavaram poovukkum (Arai En 305il kadavul, Vidyasagar)

*Palanadhu / Thaen thaen (Kuruvi, Vidyasagar)

$Yaaro manadhile (Dhaam Dhoom, Harris Jeyaraj)

Unnai thaan (Vallamai tharayo, Bharadwaj)

$Padaiththal kaaththal (Chakravyuhum,Karthik Raja)

Kadhal siluvayil /Kangal Irandal (Subramaniapuram, James Vasanthan)

Naan varaindhu vaitha / Adhai koodava (Jeyam Kondaan, Vidhyasagar)

*Marudhani / Chinnamma (Sakkarakatti, A.R.Rahman)

Aaja mera soniye / Dosth bada dosth (Saroja, Yuvan Shankar Raja)

* Mazhai nindra / Ippave ippave / Enna pulla (Raman Thediya Seethai, Vidyasagar)

Avaram poo (Poo, S.S.Kumaran)

Ava enna / Mundhinam (Vaaranam Aayiram, Harris Jeyaraj)

Lesa Parakkudhu / Pada pada (Vennila kabadi kuzhu, Selvaganesh)

Personal top ten- October

1) Ava enna..(Vaaranam Aayiram, Harris Jeyaraj)
2) Lesa Parakkudhu..(Vennila kabadi kuzhu, SelvaGanesh)-Review coming soon!!
3) Vaa vaa en devathaye..(Abhiyum Naanum,Vidyasagar)
4)Mundhinam paarthene..(Vaaranam Aayiram,Harris Jeyaraj)
5) Aavaram poo..(Poo, S.S.Kumaran)
6) Mazhai Nindra..(Raman Thediya Seethai, Vidyasagar)
7) Enna pulla...(Raman Thediya Seethai, Vidyasagar)
8) Nenjukkul Peidhidum..(Vaaranam Aayiram)
9) Ippave ippave...( Raman Thediya Seethai, Vidyasagar)
10) Aaja mera Soniye..( Saroja, Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Anandha Thandavam, G.V.Praksh

Again,this is what I call as a wholesome album!! And its G.V.Prakash springing back, after his disastrous Kuselan & Seval... Shubha Mudgal-Nithysree's number "Kanna kaangiren" is a complete track-stealer,starts-off well, meanders well & ends well!!! Yes, u can feel shades of Kannodu Kanbathellam here..but neglect it! "Kannil adum" made me shake the head & tempted my hands to press the << button. Fabulous vocals by Benny & Shwetha. "Pattu poochi" is a candyfloss- Naresh Iyer has been well utilized. "Megam Pole" reminds of A.R.R's compositions, yet eminently listenable. "Poovinai" also falls under the same category.

Rating : ****

Vaaranam Aayiram, Harris Jeyaraj

A pleasant surprise for me-Harris hater(I meant "post-Ullam Ketkume").. VA is a diverse & interesting soundtrack though the beats used are mundane. "Adiye Kolluthe" starts with a seemingly-jarring high-metal but very decently carved later on...Only thing is Shruthi Hassan didn't impress me much. "Nenjukkul Peidhidum" flows pleasantly..wah..thats Hariharan!! Sudha Raghunathan's rendition in "Anal Mele" is good but again the singer is under-utilized compared to her carnatic prowess..The track also has an uncanny similarity to Harris' earlier songs & sometimes the burgeoning tune makes us uncomfortable.. "Yethi Yethi" is a fast number and is good.. But the album's best soundtracks are "Mundhinam Paarthene Paarthadhum thotterene" (wow..excellent lyrics!!) and "Ava enna"..The former has Naresh Iyer & Prashanthini,pretty well sung..Karthik is just awesome & the background folkish beats just rocks big time... Overall its a one-step forward for Harris!! Keep it up!!

Verdict: Very good
Rating: ****

Quick review of missed-out soundtracks..

1) Kuruvi, Vidyasagar
Good tracks: Pallanadhu,Happy new year& Thaen thaen.
Bad tracks: Mozha mozha
Rating: ****
2) Dhaam Dhoom, Harris Jeyaraj
Good tracks: Yaaro manadhile, Anbe en anbe(but starting is lifed from "Ambuli mama" from Perazhagan)
The rest are average numbers. nothing much to rave about
Rating: ***1/2
3) Arai En 305il kadavul, Vidyasagar
Good Tracks: Everything, especially "Aavaram poovukkum" & "Thendralukku nee"
Deserves full credits!
Rating: *****
4) Saroja, Yuvan Shankar Raja
Good tracks: "Aaja mera soniye" & "Dosth bada dosth"
All others are average numbers.
Rating: ***1/2
5) Kadhalil Vizhundhen, Vijay Anthony(2007 actually!!)
Good tracks: "Solladi" & "Naaka Mukka"-the universal!!!
Bad tracks: Blatantly lifted "Unakkena Naan" (Composed by the director of the movie)
Rating: ***1/2
6) Alibaba, Vidyasagar
Good tracks: "Pudhiya paravai" & "Hara hara"
Bad tracks: The rest
Rating: ***
7) Muniyandi Vilangiyal moondram aandu(uuffffff!!), Vidyasagar
"Vidyasagar disappoints" to be simple!
Rating: **
8) Poi solla porom, M.G.Sreekumar
Nothing worthy to mention!!
Rating: **
9) Pandhayam, Vijay Anthony(??!!)
Irksome!!
Rating: *1/2
10) Dhanam, Ilayaraja
Fails to impress.. Bhavatharini should be shunned from singing!
But tunes are pretty average...Where is OUR maestro?
Rating: **1/2
11) Satyam, Harris Jeyaraj
Harris is in shortage of tunes!! "Chellame"& "En anbe" are quite passable
Rating: **1/2
12) Kuselan, G.V.Prakash
Nothing worthy!! But "Saaral" may fetch some bucks
Rating: **
13) Subramaniapuram, James Vasanthan
Heavenly- "Kangal irandal"(though a mish-mash of "Sudum nilavu") . The singers deserve a
grand applause. "Kadhal Siluvayil" has Shankar Mahadevan at his recent best!!
Rating: ****
14) Dasavatharam, Himesh Reshammiya
aarghh!!!!!"Mukundha mukundha" is ok
Rating: **
15) Vallamai tharayo, Bharadwaj
Wow!!! Pretty good. Listen to the simple tune of "Ennai thaan". Just grows upon you!
Rating: ***1/2
16) Santhosh Subramaniam, Devi Sriprasad
A simple copy-paste job!! But its pretty average
Rating: **1/2
17) Pidichurukku, Manu Ramesan
One of the under-rated album of the year.
Rating: ***1/2
18) Nepali, Srikanth Deva
naaahhh!!!
Rating: *1/2
19) Yaaradee nee mohini, Yuvan Shankar Raja
A good one but Udit Narayan prevents from rewinding!!
Rating: ***
20) Vellithirai, G.V. Prakash
Excellent soundtracks!! But "kanji paanayil" is a blatant copy of interludes & the main tune
itself!!!
Rating: **** minus 1/2 =***1/2
21) Anjaadhey, Sundar.C.Babu
A must-listen!Diverse soundtrack!!
Rating: ****1/2

Raman Thediya Seethai, Vidyasagar

Vidyasagar's 2nd best overall soundtrack this year after pirivom santhippom to be simple! Mazhai Nindra has all chances of topping the charts for this year.Excellent rendition by Kalyani (only vidyasagar makesbest use of her!!).Another highly recommendable track is Ippave Ippave by Madhu Balkrishnan & Harini.. Whatmore can u ask for if the tune is good... this song works magic in both!!The pathos-laden Enna pulla is the next best except that the composer-singer strains too much but this flaw is camouflaged bythe folkish backgrounds... Vanaithu vittu sung by Tippu is equally good...The bit song Nanba Nanba is too brief for the appetite!! Dj Dj disca podu though the only non-melody number is decently worked upon.

Verdict: A must-listen
Rating: ****1/2
Best track(s): Mazhai Nindra & Ippave ippave

August Top listens...

1) Mazhai Nindra..(Raman Thediya Seethai, Vidyasagar)
2) Marudhaani....{surprise new entry into MY list!!!!} (Sakkarakatti, A.R.Rahman)
3)Naan varaindhu vaitha...(Jeyam Kondaan,Vidyasagar)
4) Ippave ippave..(Raman Thediya Seethai,Vidyasagar)
5) Taxi Taxi...{another surprise number!!!} (Sakkarakatti, A.R.Rahman)
6) Yaaro Manadhile..(Dhaam Dhoom, Harris Jeyaraj)
7) Happy New year..(Kuruvi,Vidyasagar)
8) En Anbe...( Sathyam, Harris Jeyaraj)
9) Aavaram poovukkum...(Arai En 305il kadavul, Vidyasagar)
10) Saaral..(Kuselan,G.V.Prakash)

Top listens- July 2008

1) Adai mazhai kaalam (Jeyam Kondan,Vidyasagar)
2) Chinnamma chilukkamma( Sakkarakatti, A.R.Rahman)
3) Naan varaindhu vaitha ( Jeyam Kondan,Vidyasagar)
4) I miss u da..( Sakkarakatti, A.R.Rahman)
5) Happy new year(Kuruvi,Vidyasagar)
6) Avaram poovukkum( Arai en 305il kadavul, Vidyasagar)
7) Kanne.. (Mulla, Malayalam, Vidyasagar)
8) Kangal irandal (Subramaniapuram, James Vasanthan)
9) Thaen thaen..(Kuruvi,Vidyasagar)
10) Jashn-e-baharaa..( Jodha Akbar, Hindi, A.R.Rahman

Sakkarakatti, A.R.Rahman

"I miss u da" and "Chinnamma" , both with Chinamayee's vocals appeals quicker; the latter being the tamil-version of a Meenaxi track. "Taxi taxi" is a rap number which may take time to become a hit and has Blaaze coming over again."Elay" and "Naan eppodhu" reminds me some of Rahman's earlier compositions with more of konjum mainakkale touches in the latter. Again
"Maruthanee" is a good track but I could here some kadhal virus touches in the beginning. The same track reminds me of some Vidyasagar's tracks( Thendral and Gilli). I expected a Karthik track in this..alas got disappointed!! Anyways a hodge-podge attempt from Isaipuyal this time but sure of becoming a chartbuster.

Rating: ***1/2

Best track : Marudhaani

Jeyam Kondaan, Vidyasagar

"Adai mazhai kaalam" is on similar lines to his much recent 'Iru Vizhiyo' from Pirivom Santhippom yet eminently listenable. "Naan Varaindhi Vaitha suriyan" is also a pleasant melody but Madhusree's diction kills in otherwise mellifluous flow of Hariharan's voice. "Sutri varum Bhoomi" is good but not great. "Adhai koodava" is on usual trite. "Ore or" is just passable.

Rating: ***1/2

Best track: Naan varaindhu vaitha

Recent movies which impressed me.....

1. Pirivom Santhippom

Directed by Karu.Pazhaniappan ,who gave us the poetic "Parthiban Kanavu"(2003), is back in his third venture. The story revloves mainly around the gorgeous Sneha and her post-marital expectations. Cheran-the director as Natesan has adorned the role of Sala's(Sneha's) hubby. The story in a nutshell- Sneha is the only daughter to a well-to-do couple of Karaikudi and her marriage is fixed with Cheran-an engineer in Tamilnadu electricity board. Cheran's is a big family living together in harmony. Having brought up as a single child, Sneha is very happy being with a big family after her marriage. But Cheran wants to enjoy with his wife alone and plans himself for a transfer to a near-by hillstation. Sneha is attacked by boredom and is on the verge of a mental depression. How Cheran comes to learn about her difficulty forms the rest of the story.

A simple plot sans obscenity and violence in a seemingly-Vikraman style, but not though actually (OMG!!!) Karu.Pazhaniappan's attempt definitely needs to be applauded. The introductory scene with Sneha's gang of friends getting up after their sleep in Sneha's house itself shows Sneha's love for people in a most simple & effective way. The Chettiar wedding sequence and the melodious song "Iru Vizhiyo.." is a feast to watch. The family's goodness is not showcased through cinematic incidents or contrived sequences and is down-to-earth natural. The way Sneha mingles with the family members is very interestingly spawned.

Watching the post-interval part, though ennui-ridden & moving in a snail's pace, is much better than watching other craps dished out in recent past. The role of Jayaram-the town doctor is interestingly plotted and he takes the role of discovering Snehs's illness. M.S. Bhaskar in the 1st half & Ganja Karuppu in the 2nd have u in splits. Mouli & Mahadevan(Pithamagan's villain) plays the role of the fathers of the couple.

The music by Vidyasagar is a dulcet experience with excellent melodies like "Nenjathiley", "Kanden Kanden" and of-course "Iru Vizhiyo"... Except Nenjathiley others flow along with the movie and hence doesn't hamper the screenplay. The film has some flaws too but not jarring ones. It is hard to find a family without even a single antagonist. Why don't neither the couple nor the family meet once in a while, when they have such a thick bond of relationship? These flaws are definitely not loop-holes & can be considered necessary for the script to show the subtle human emotions.

A definite must for movie-buffs who appreciate sheer naturality....

Recent top listens....(mid-april)

1) Thendralukku nee Saral Mazhai..(Arai en 305il kadavul, Vidyasagar)
2)Aalankatti pei mazhai....(Inba,P.B.Balaji)
3) Mugam poo..(Thotta,Srikanth Deva)
4)Eh maamoo machi...(Kangalum Kavipaduthey...,Maestro Ilayaraja)
5)Oru manasula...(Nenjathai Killadhey,Prem Ji Amaren)
6)Oh baby....(Yaradee Nee Mohini,Yuvan Shankar Raja)
7)Yaaro Yaaro...(Inba,P.B.Balaji)
8)Mulumathy..(Jodhaa akbar,A.R.Rahman)
9)Mansukkul manasukkul...(Anjathey...,Sundar.C.Babu)
10)Kanden Kanden...(Pirivom Santhippom,Vidyasagar)

Top 10 recent listens....

Here it goes...
1)Sariya ithu thavara(Kalloori)-wonderful picturization and an excellent melody...never miss it!!
2)Nenjathiley...(Pirivom Santhippom)
3)Muzhumai Nila..(Vaazhthugal)
4)Kanden Kanden..(Pirivom Santhippom)
5)Enthan Vaanamum...(Vaazhthugal)
6)Soll Soll..(Pirivom Santhippom)
7)Kaathalikka Neramillai(Vijay TV fame)
8)Iru Vizhiyo..(Pirivom Santhippom)
9)Unnarugil Varugayil...(Kalloori)
10)Un mela aasaipattu...(Vazhthugal)

Vazthugal...CONGRATS YUVAN!!!

Yuvan has recovered from his dire straits....He has churned out somefresh and innovative tunes sans any inspirations...(except "Pookkal Rasithadhu")There isn't any specific pick-of-the-lot...."Enthan Vaanamum Neethan" isa very good melody and the in-between interludes "Un moochile enthan mugavari....(it goes on)" is heavenly...Haricharan deserves a special mention..."Un mela aasai pattu" is a slow hip-hop, Remember,such genre of songs are famous with Vidyasagar next to his melodies. Sriram Parthasarathy's rendition in "Muzhumai Nila" is awesome and is my personal favorite..."Pookkal Rasithadhu" looks very similar to "Ennammo Nadakkirathey"(Sandakozhi) and "Chinna Chinna" is not much convincing...


Verdict: Welcome back Yuvan...
Rating: ****

Bheema Review

I should have reviewed it long long before....And I had set my mind not to review any of Harris' compositions any more...And I had postponed this review after watching the picturisation...Alas!!!Both the songs & picturisation
makes me yawn...."Mudha Mazhai" is on similar lines to "Uyirile"(Vettayadu) and has worst picturisation...."Ragasiya Kanavugal" is a blatant copy of the evergreen "Senthamizh Thenmozhiyal Nilaavena Sirikkum Malarkodiyal..." ."Oru Mugamo" is again on similar lines to a Vettayadu song..."Enaduyire" is
an usual trite...."Rangu Rangamma" with unusual beats is the only saving grace though resembling "Raakkamma kayya thattu"....

Verdict: How did Bheema become a chartbuster?Thats Harris' magic!!!
(My personal)Rating: **

PS: Sorry if I was too harsh...Because I had been expecting Harris to be the next "Isaipuyal" till
his "Ullam Ketkume" flick...After that he was on his usual trite...