Music Review (Tamil): Viswasam

Music Review (Tamil): Viswasam
Music Composer: Imman

Adchithooku's tune is formally taken out of Imman's stock tunes and the pulsating energy by the Kaviraj's percussions leads the song. The video game synth sounds in the backgrounds prop up the song along with Viveka's lyrics invoking Mankatha is purely to evoke mass whistles in the theatre. Imman, Adhitya Gadhavi and Narayanan vocals are strictly satisfactory. Imman makes up for the blunder in the first song with a soothing melody Kannaana Kanney and Sid Sriram aces the tune brilliantly. The calming melody is accentuated by the brilliant arrangements where Prakash Sontakke's slide guitar deserves special mention. Thamarai's simple and beautiful lyrics complements Imman's tune perfectly. Prakash Sontakke shines in the song's instrumental version where  the melody sounds more beautiful with the slide guitar.


Vettikattu is another rural mass song led by punchy percussions and falls right into Imman's repertoire buttressed by Shankar Mahadevan's superlative singing. Though the tune is average, Manonmani's sarangi comes as a brief respite from the garish percussion sounds. Imman seldom goes wrong with Shreya Goshal number and Vaaney Vaaney is also another gorgeous melody where Hariharan joins to make this one an instant likeable number. The chorus rhythms scream Imman name and Manoj Kumar's violin is employed in a brilliant way accompanying the splendid rendition by the singers.Danga Danga is another tiresome number from Imman where Senthil Ganesh and Rajalakshmi's energetic vocals also fail to elevate the languishing tune.Riseup theme is perfectly functional one which may suit well with the visuals rather than as a standalone theme track. The theme track is monotonous and the konnakol bit work to its favour.

Verdict: Imman scores well with the melodies but rest of the album is strictly for Ajith fans and musically Imman continues to be in his well-known territory.

My Rating: 7/10

Pick of the Album: Kannaana Kanney, Vaaney Vaaney

P.S You can listen to the songs in Gaana.

Music Review (Telugu): Padi Padi Leche Manasu

Music Review (Telugu): Padi Padi Leche Manasu
Music Composer: Vishal Chandrashekar

The title song starts with the prominent humming by Armaan Malik and followed by the immersive melody, dominated by Kraven Stratfile's guitar strums. Sindhuri Vishal ably delivered the tune while the composer brilliantly blended Punya Srinivasa's Veena and Deepak Srinivas's Carnatic guitar. The tune reaches a crescendo with the title hook along with the live drums and composer wonderfully employed the catchy title hook throughout the song. Kallolam is another guitar-laden track which works remarkably with Anurag Kulkarni's splendid rendition. Composer utilized the chorus Prapachame loop effectively and conceived the free-flowing tune beautifully. Krishnakanth's lyrics especially, with the lines Kalisenduku Tondara ledule captures the outline of the script perfectly.

Vishal churns out another punchy rock base song Hrudhayam  Jaripe where the fusion of Classical elements and Kraven's guitar work effortlessly. Yazin Nizar steals the show with his pitch-perfect rendition and the singer's improvisation especially, in the title hook are a delight to hear while Punya Srinivas's veena deserves special mention in elevating the mood of the song with the minute-long showstopper piece towards the end. Sid Sriram who is regular in the Telugu albums this year especially after his stupendous success in Geetha Govindham croons the melancholy Emai Poyave. The tune blends well with the singer's vocals and he aces with his nuanced rendition while Vishal fills the arrangements with the lush electronic sounds throughout the track.Vishal Chandrashekar delivers another cracker of a song to his better half Sindhuri Vishal and the composer magically recreates the Karur Shivaramiah's Oh my lovely lalana. The result is a scintillating one especially with Karaharapriya as the base and Sindhuri Vishal doing her magic behind the mic makes this one an engaging listen in the album.Vishal Chandrashekar ends the brilliant album with the folksy Urike Cheli Chilaka and the song rides mainly on the Rahul Sipligunj and MM Manasi's stupendous rendition. Though the track can be visualised as the dance track, composer's nifty elements, especially with the synth sounds for the folk tune and the chorus portions make this one an enjoyable track.

Verdict: Vishal Chandrashekar delivers a stunning album with wonderful mix of melodies in his fourth Telugu outing. Hanu Raghavapudi extracts the best from the music director and reaches the high of his debut movie Andaala Raaksahi musically.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Pick of the Album: Padi Padi Leche Manasu, Oh my Lovely Lalana, Kallolam, Hrudayam Jaripe 

P.S You can listen to the songs in Youtube.

Music Review (Tamil): Petta

Music Review (Tamil): Petta
Music Composer: Anirudh

Marana Mass is the unlikeliest Rajini intro song and the track is strictly in Anirudh's zone. The tune is undeniably catchy one bordering on the Pothuvaaga En Manasu Thangam and the only grouse is SPB is relegated to just 20 seconds. The bass and the brass sections are super catchy and Anirudh delivers easily the cracker of a song for Rajini. Petta theme's obsessive and spooky sound is dominated by wonderful brass and screeching guitar sections. The theme has enough spark to excite the visuals and the track reaches crescendo towards the end with the relaxing tune structure. Ilamai Thirumbudhe rides well on the acoustic guitar and keys but the tune is pretty average while Anirudh's singing doesn't help the lacklustre tune. Madura Pettah with its loud local sound needs visuals to pop up. Petta Paraak's hard rock tune is sure to crack up the Rajini's fans and the screeching guitars are enough to make the fans crazy despite the functional tune from Anirudh.  

Singaar Singh is the most interesting instrumental and loved the way Anirudh mixed the percussions and brought out gloomy overtone to the instrumental with the rhythm structure with occasional clank sounds. Aaha Kalyanam is totally Anthony Daasan's show aided by Karthik's colloquial lyrics and the song provides enough fun till it lasts. Jithu theme also carries the brooding tone, however with the brilliant mandolin and percussion combo. Ullaalla is another super catchy Goan flavoured track from Anirudh while Nakash Aziz and Inno Genga deliver ebulliently especially loved the Nakash's casual singing. Anirudh does wonders in the arrangements lead by trumpet and though it sounds off key at some places. Kaali theme which featured in the trailer but it didn't work for me and may be with visuals it may blend well. Anirudh roped in Sarwar Khan and Sartaj Khan who crooned Haanikarak Baapu in Dangal and Anirudh brilliantly made them deliver local kuthu while filling the background with the wonderful layer of Sarangi apart from the obvious punchy percussions.

Verdict: After Santosh Narayanan, Anirudh delivers most un-Rajini soundtrack and though the album as a whole doesn't work as expected, due credit must be given to Anirudh for conceiving these tunes for Rajini movie. 

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Ullaalla, Marana Mass, Singaar Singh, Thappad Maara 

P.S You can listen to the songs in Youtube.

Music Review (Hindi): Kedarnath

Music Review (Hindi): Kedarnath 
Music Composer: Amit Trivedi

Namo Namo is smartly done remastered version of Amit Trivedi's Acheche Din from Fanney Khan where composer wonderfully insinuated the title hook and Kishore's Sitar does all magic to make the listeners hook till the end. Amit Trivedi delivers the tune effortlessly and brings the mood effectively with the chorus. Amit Trivedi churns out the delightful melody in Qaafirana where Arijit Singh and Nikhita Gandhi strike it big with the vocals especially husky Nikhita's vocals. Paras Nath's flute compliments the composer's sweet melody brilliantly. Though Sweet Heart is undeniably generic one from the tune to the arrangements, the track is sure enough to stay in the charts. The only solace being the Tapas Roy's Strokes in the arrangements. Jaan Nisaar comes in two versions with Arijit and Asees crooning the beautiful acoustic track and the soft rock arrangements gently embrace the listener's mood and complements the relaxing tune.

Verdict: Kedarnath definitely fails up to the benchmark set by the composer's previous collaboration with the director (Fitoor and Kai Po Che), however Amit Trivedi wins big in Qaafirana and Jaan Nisaar.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Qaafiraana, Jaan Nisaar(Asees Version)

Music Review (Telugu): Taxiwala

Music Review (Telugu): Taxiwala
Music Composer: Jakes Bejoy 

Ladies and Gentleman's rock and roll tune easily breeze through in the vocals of Hemachandra and the composer himself. The arrangements are spot on with easily hummable lyrics by Krishna Kanth while the intermittent humming amidst the screeching guitar makes this one an engaging listen. Maate Vinadhuga rides on the catchy title hook and enchanting techno sounds which are consistently engrossing especially with the sitar solos. Though the track doesn't come close to the Sid Sriram's best for Vijay Devarakonda, the singer able to pull off the tune effectively. Jakes Bejoy ups the ante with the bluegrassy Crazy car and the arrangements by the composer are top notch especially the trumpets and keys. The ebullient soundscape with absolutely enchanting interludes and Revanth Kumar's singing makes this one an easily crazy ride in the album. Jakes Bejoy ends the soundtrack with the melancholy Neeve Neeve where Shreya Goshal rules the strings-laden tune brilliantly.

Verdict: Jakes Bejoy makes his commendable Telugu debut befitting the soundtracks produced by the composer this year in Malayalam.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Crazy Car, Maate Vinadhuga, Ladies and Gentleman  

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Music Review (Tamil): Thorati

Music Review (Tamil): Thorati
Music Composer: Ved Shanker Sugavanam

Potta Kaadellam's refined folk arrangements are alluring especially few brilliant touches by the composer with the Ghatam and plucked strings in the interludes. The chorus portions and the pitch-perfect rendition by Chinna Ponnu, Gowtham Bharadwaj and Anitha Karthikeyan while Mannikka Vinayagam gives life to Snehan's wonderful lyrics about Keethari community. Kullanari another folk song which is more monotonous as far as the tune structure is concerned while the arrangements remain in the predictable territory and the song is elevated mainly by Anthony Daasan's rustic vocals. Kalyani Nair's humming in the prelude of Saukkaram Pottu takes us instantly to Ola Ola Kudisayila from Joker while Vijay Prakash and Kalyani Nair own the lovable melody with pleasant ghatam and Kanjira based rhythm structure. Composer employed Kalyani Nair's vocals beautifully to accentuate the mood of the song. Kalyani Nair returns for another lovely short song yelle yelle and the excruciatingly short duration is the only grouse in an otherwise lovely composition. Usura Urukki is also similar to yelle Yelle, short serene song backed by Vijay Prakash's vocals. Aal Illa rides mainly on the chinna Ponnu's fantastic affecting rendition and Ved Shankar's reverberating minimal sound in the background set the mood of the song perfectly. Jithin Roshan ends the soundtrack with the tantalizing instrumental scores love and Marriage.

Verdict: Ved Shankar makes a wonderful comeback with Thorati and reaches the high of the composer's best Azhaghu Kutti Chellam.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Yelle Yelle, Saukkaram Pottu, Potta Kaadellam

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Music Review (Tamil): Kaatrin Mozhi

Music Review (Tamil): Kaatrin Mozhi
Music Composer: AH Kaashif

Dirty Pondatti's whimsical cheesy lyrics is salvaged by AH Kaashif's wonderful mix of Goan percussions and composer employed wonderful sax solos. The arrangements are quite an easy earworm and the layering with Benny Dayal's vocals makes it an easy listen. Swagatha S Krishnan ably supports the song towards the end with her whispery rendition.Po Urave's arrangements have quite an uncanny shade of AR Rahman especially with the gloomy flute in the prelude and towards the end with a perfect jugalbandi with string sections. The song rides mainly on the Sid Sriram's towering vocals and the arrangements, however, the tune is pretty much an average one from the composer. Though the song doesn't match up to the Hindi equivalent Rafu, flute solos kept the listeners engaging till it lasts.

Kelambittale is a fun song from the composer and equivalent to Manva likes to fly from the original. Composer kept the buoyant mood of the song comparable to Hindi version and Kaashif throws in brilliant Nadhaswaram and Thavil solos. Nakul Abhyankar ably delivers the song with adequate fervour.Rekkai Thulirtha's initial staccato singing doesn't work but Jonitha Gandhi owns the ebullient song in the remaining portions while the composer kept the arrangements simple and complements the mood of the tune especially with the flute solo adorning throughout the song.

Verdict: AH Kaashif makes the satisfactory Kollywood debut with the light-hearted movie and though the album lacks the standout song, the feel-good tracks should go well with the movie

My Rating: 7/10

Pick of the Album: Kelambittale, Dirty Pondatti

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Music Review (Genius): Tamil

Music Review (Tamil):Genius
Music Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Silu Silu Silu Sil comes in three version, male version by Al Rufian of Pyaar Prema Kaadhal fame, female version by lovely Sadhana Sargam and kids version.  The male version is more trendy and punchy accentuated by the soft rock percussion sounds while Al Rufian aces the singing part effectually. The underlying mellow rhythm strums by Jeffrey Daniel is an absolute winner in both male and female versions.Sadhana Sargam's vocals are a delight to listen after a long time and the prelude humming is the enjoyable throwback moment for the fans of her voice. Yuvan brilliantly prefers buoyant arrangements with the violin solos and strings for this version with inspirational lyrics from Vairamuthu. The kid's version's arrangements also tread along the same lines of the female version except for the lovely rendition from the bunch of kids.

Vilayadumagane bridges beautifully the European'esque prelude and traditional simple chant-like tune built around the title hook. The gloominess in the track is evident from the prelude guitar strums followed by effective accordion bit by Rajesh Rangamani. The band of singers led by Priya Hemesh croons the song effectively.Yuvan created the Neengalum Oorum tune beautifully around the Vairamuthu's colloquial lyrics and adorned with the stylish arrangements featuring AalaapRaju's band. Though the track is short, the band's arrangements and Yuvan's hummable tune makes it easy to sail through the track. Srikanth aces the rendition while Priyamali backs him (pun intended) with the brief modish singing towards the end. The unarguable winner is once again by RajeshRangamani's accordion solos.


Verdict: Yuvan is on a roll this year and the composer delivered another short engaging and light-hearted soundtrack for Suseenthiran.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Silu Silu Sil (female version), Vilayadu Magane

Music Review (Tamil): Adangamaru

Music Review (Tamil): Adangamaru
Music Composer: Sam CS

Sam CS roped once again Sathyaprakash and Chinmayi for another dreamy melody after Uyir Uruvaatha from Iravukku Aayiram Kangal. Sam CS mixed the melange of sounds especially Seenu's stringed instruments backed by Keba Jeremiah's guitar. The buoyant tune and the ebullient celebratory arrangements accompanied by Chinmayi's wonderful classically inclined rendition makes this one an enjoyable listen. Aangu Vaangu's raucous energy and Sam CS's throaty rendition reminds us Adiye Ivala from Romeo Julient and the Imman'esque punchy rhythm prods the song forward. But the tune falls flat despite intriguing sounds in the interludes with extensive support from Sandeep Mohan's mandolin cues. However, the dishkiyaan sounds come off as a flaky one from the composer.

Sam CS conceived the brilliant grungy hard rock track Pachai Dhrogangal where the pulsating Keba Jeremiah's guitar strums and explosive rendition by Haricharan make this one a winsome one from the composer. Yugabharathi's rebellious and relatable lyrics are in sync with the gloomy makeover of the track and the movie's genre. Kaar Irul as synonymous to the title, the track is gloomy, however, the discordant tune structure doesn't work as expected. Sivam's throaty singing sets the tone for the song with adequate support from Keba Jeremiah's screeching guitar strums and Chennai Strings orchestra.

Verdict: Sam CS's Adangamaru has the right mix of melodies and hardcore rock tracks, however, the album works partially for the composer's exquisite arrangements.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the album: Saayaali, Pachai Dhrogangal 

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Music Review (Tamil): Sarkar

Music Review (Tamil): Sarkar
Music Composer: AR Rahman

Simtaangaaran makes us wonder, AR Murugadoss unable to get listenable track even with Rahman onboard for the movie and Vivek's lyrics makes this song even more terrible listen. The only solace being the Aparna Narayanan's brief verse and Kamalakar's flute portions intermittently. Oru Viral Puratchi's rock anthem easily works with the Keba Jeremiah's brilliant guitar strums and Vivek's hard-hitting lyrics taking a dig at the current political scenario of Tamilnadu should easily create enough spark similar to Mersal controversy. Rahman's neat arrangements, especially in the interludes, make this enjoyable in Rahman's vocals. Top Tucker is another mediocre track where once again Vivek's lyrics sabotage the techno track while Mohit Chauhan tries to elevate the song to some extent but still lyrics is a huge letdown. OMG Ponnu sounds like another Maacho but again Vivek's experimentation with lyrics backfired despite Sid Sriram and Jonita Gandhi's peppy rendition. CEO in the house is another techno-laden track bogged down once again by the lyrics and tune also strictly functional one from the composer.

Verdict: Thought Mersal was Rahman's weakest till now, but Sarkar trumps that easily with the dreadful lyrics and pretty functional tunes.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Pick of the Album: Oru Viral Puratchi

Music Review (Tamil/Telugu): NOTA

Music Review (Tamil/Telugu): NOTA
Music Composer: Sam CS

Yeththara Yeththara/ Yethikka Yethikka is loaded with techno sounds but the tune and the arrangements sound so disconnected except for the catchy title hook while Beeny Dayal's Tamil version sounds better compared to Yazin Nizar's Telugu version while Sunitha Sarathy and Swagatha S Krishna ace their respective parts effectively in Tamil and Telugu respectively. Raja Raja Kula is an easy winner from this album especially for the splendid Carnatic sargams by Swagatha S Krishnan and NithyashreeMahadevan in Tamil and Telugu while particularly loved the fusion of the female singer's vocals behind the heady techno sounds. Abhay Jodhpurkar fares well compared to the Anirudh Ravichander though he easily fits in the casual tune. The Rise of a leader and Power play sticks well with the genre of the movie underlying the monumental political drama and Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra builds up the grandeur effectively with the strings. The latter especially sounds tauter and build up the atmospheric sounds perfectly with the gloomy indispensable tone and ends with the Sekar's cello outburst. Hey Amaicha/ Hey minister is a short track which gives the nod to Rise of a leader but as overall the track falls flat and ends before making any impact. Yaar Kalikku/ yevari Paapam is another short track under two minutes with the dark grungy overtone which is apparent especially with SamCS/Sarath Santosh vocals.

Verdict: Sam CS's NOTA has very less to offer as a soundtrack, maybe the movie has huge scope for the background score.

My Rating:7/10

Pick of the Album: Raja Kula Raja, Power Play

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Music Review (Tamil): Chekka Chivantha Vaanam

Music Review (Tamil): Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
Music Composer: AR Rahman


Bhoomi's screeching guitar strums and Sakthishree Gopalan's alluring vocals carry the listeners to the world of ecstasy. Rahman weaves the unconventional tune around the Vairamuthu's beautiful verses while Shakthishree brings life to the words and especially the rendition of Idhayam Thaangumo stanza is pitch-perfect. Mazhai Kuruvi's tune is the easy throwback to good old Rahman days and he packed the tune with the ebullient arrangements and one wish that he could have roped some other singer rather than singing by himself. The singing sounds to be off key in high pitch verses, however, the lovable tune and the buoyant soundscape makes this one an easy earworm. The charanam easily reminds me of the Nendhukittaen from Star. Sevandhu Pochu Nenju has an instantly catchy hook and the track starts with the grim prelude while Rahman ups the ante with the Ada Naana Ada Naana verses by Sunitha Sarathy while Arjun Chandy and Sathyaprakash backs her effectively. The rousing techno sounds towards the end sounds to be an odd fit in the overall tune. Nee Kalla Kalavani's arrangements sound more like Kaara Aaattakaara while the unconventional meandering tune fails to clasp the listener, but the sound mixing is top notch especially with the Lady Kash's brilliant high pitch singing. Rahman's exotic sounding Hayati is astoundingly hypnotic especially with Mayssa Karaa's singing backed by explosive Shivang Vaishnav rap portions. The best of the lot is undeniably Madhura Marikozhundhae and it's a delight to listen to Anuradha Sriram's vocals and Rahman's minimal arrangements and the chant-like rendition by the lead singers Aparna Narayanan, Shwetha Mohan makes this one a mesmerising listening experience and one wishes that song could have been longer. Karthik is spectacular in calming Jazzy track Praaptham and the intense rendition with intermittent explosive burst make this one an enjoyable listen in the album. 

Verdict: The soundtrack doesn't match up to the bar set by the combo but the tracks are immensely enjoyable for the brilliant unconventional free flowing tunes and sound mixing.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Pick of the Album: Madhura Marikozhundhae, Bhoomi, Mazhai Kuruvi  

P.S You can listen to the album in Saavn. Totally hate the trend of single release and hopefully, Rahman's Sarkar will get the release as a complete album.

Music Review (Tamil): Raatchasan

Music Review (Tamil): Raatchasan
Music Composer: Ghibran

Ghibran churns out a winsome melody in Kaadhal Kadal Dhana and wonderfully weaved the melody in the backdrop of intriguing sounds especially in the Charanam portions. Ghibran beautifully mixed the sarangi synth sound effectively throughout the song while Sathyaprakash and Chaitra Ambadipudi's pitch-perfect rendition easily makes this one an enjoyable song with Umadevi's fine verses. Kannamma Kanvizhi's mood is set by the intense prelude and followed by Sean Roldan's reverberating vocals while Balaji's violin solos accentuate the melancholy effectively. Ghibran's brilliant arrangement kicks in the charanam portions with the consistent mix of strings and flute in the background.Ey Piriyame Piriyame's unconventional tune takes time to sink in, but the song turns out to be best in the short soundtrack after a few listen. The track starts with the buoyant guitar strums which pave way for the Pragathi Guruprasad's mesmerising vocals and Rathnakumar enters with the catchy hook Pera Solli. Maayangal Naanaada's funky rock base on the conventional pop tune is sufficiently engaging and the song sounds low key for the investigative thriller theme song. However, the tune work like a charm with ample support from the singers Yazin Nizar, Shabir and Ranjith.

Verdict: Ghibran continues his prolific output irrespective of the scope of music in the film and in Raatchasan also, the young composer impresses with the two melodies.

My Rating:7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Ey Piriyame Piriyame, Kaadhal Kadal Dhaana

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.