Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Music Review (Tamil): Adithya Varma

Music Review (Tamil): Adithya Varma
Music Composer: Radhan


Adithya Varma is a remake of the Telugu blockbuster Arjun Reddy with Vikram's son Dhruv in the lead and directed by Gireesaaya. Radha who helmed the original, scores music for the film. One wishes that Radhan could have gone for the Original track but given the chartbuster album for the original, makers decided to retain almost all the songs from the Telugu album.

Telusina Na Nuvvey comes as Edharkadi in Tamil version and the hard rock song composed by Radhan is definitely an earworm one. The punchy hook of the song, En swasam Neeye gives such an adrenaline rush which gels with the protagonist character and surprisingly Dhruv Vikram pulls off the track with his vocals. Dhooram is the breezy song of the soundtrack with the whispery vocals, however, Telugu version by Nikhita Gandhi fares better than the Dhvani Bhanushali's shaky vocals in Tamil. The tune remains to be an easily accessible one and the guitar laden background makes this track an extremely enjoyable one.

Yaarumilla starts off brilliantly with the mandolin phrase and Sid Sriram aces the tune with his classical improvisations. Though it takes time to strike out the thoughts of phenomenal singing by Revanth in Telugu, Sid Sriram makes an impact with his earnest rendition. Composer employed Sarangi brilliantly in the second interlude to set the tone of the song. The soundtrack's best song is definitely Amudhangalaal and the brilliant classical fusion song where the dubstep sounds are adorned with the classical instant addictive tune. Though Thamarai's lyrics don't match with the expectations, Radhan makes up for it with his gorgeous tune where the track reaches a crescendo with the bursting veena solo intermittently.

Kanaa is another gorgeously sung track by Krithika Nelson and the waltzy backdrop is a gobsmackingly delightful one to listen. The classical sargams are undeniably the highlight of the track and the composer is in spectacular form with respect to the arrangements where Radhan throws in beautiful slide guitar and accordion solos amidst the brilliant Krithika Nelson's vocals. Idhu Enna Maayamo is a slightly tweaked version of Emitemito and this one also follows the soft rock genre dominated by Guitar and live drums in the background. Sivakarthikeyan ably pulls off with the decent lyrics while Ranjith Govind gives a different tone when compared with the Telugu version especially because of the singer's improvisations. The only original song of the movie Yen Ennai is trademark Sid Sriram's bluesy base track and the tune gets much better in the Charanam portions. The arrangements are dominated by the guitars and the composer employed the rousing title hook effectually and also look out for the nicely done kazoo's bits in the interludes.

Verdict: Radhan reused the songs from the Telugu, but that doesn't take away the effectiveness of the soundtrack. The exquisite tunes and the inventiveness of the soundtrack make this one an enjoyable album in Tamil also. 

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Amudhangalaal, Kanaa, Edharkadi

P.S The edited version of the review is available here.



Saturday, October 12, 2019

Weekly Earworms - Week 5 (12/10/2019)

Weekly Earworms - Week 5 (12/10/2019)

Musically dull week with few Kannada songs standout.

Market Raja MBBS (Tamil): Simon K King: Kanne Karuvizhiye: Nowadays Chitra is relegated to mostly melancholy otherwise for the songs with high emotional values. Kanne Karuvizhiye is a song of this genre but Chitra owns the tune with her magnificent rendition while Simon K King kept the arrangements serene with huge support from Vishnu Vijay's woodwinds.

Ellidde Illi Tanaka (Kannada): Arjun Janya: Ellidde illi Tanaka: The title song from the Arjun Janya is definitely hummable with the classical bits thrown in generously along with the Tabla base while Sonu Nigam aces the rendition as usual.

Lungi (Kannada): Prasad K Shetty: Nagabeda Ande Naanu, Jothegitte Hejje: Nagabeda works effortlessly with the pleasant backdrop while Armaan Malik and Shweta Mohan's enjoyable rendition makes this one a delightful listen. Jothegitte Hejje's dreary soundscape definitely takes one back to Govind Vasantha's 96. Narayana Sharma's pensive rendition complements the tone of the song.

Made in China (Hindi): Sachin Jigar: Naari Naari: After the remake of Gujarathi song Odhani, Sachin Jigar remix the popular Arabic song Naari Naari. The title hook is undeniably catchy one and Vishal Dadlani easily owns the song. The catchiness factor in the song is intact with the remix also.

Houseful 4 (Hindi): Sohail Sen: Shaitaan Ka Saala: Bollywood's craziness with the remix continues and this time the remix of Tony Montana's Bala. The hook is definitely an appealing one but once couldn't tolerate the music video with an awkward choreography.

Pick of the Week: Ellidde Illi Tanaka, Nagabeda Ande Naanu.


Sunday, October 6, 2019

Weekly Earworms -Week 4



Meeku Maathrame Cheptha (Telugu): Sivakumar: Abadham: The vibe of the track is definitely Vivek Sagar's territory which treads between wacky and hypnotic zone. Chandana Raju's retro vocal blends well with the jazzy synth-soaked arrangements by the composer.

Malli Malli Chusa (Telugu): Shravan Bharadwaj: Chinuke: Chinuke is easily the best accompaniment to the composer's brilliant Malli Raava album. The breezy melody is adorned with the splendid flute solos throughout the track and Sai Charan ably delivers the tune.

Manoharam (Malayalam): Sanjeev T: Akale: After Kinavo, Sanjeev T conjures an expansive arrangement for the track Akale which starts with the melancholy before turning into a grungy soft rock track. Sid Sriram ably pulls off the tune and he is splendid when the tune reaches a crescendo towards the end.

Kaanadante Maayavadanu (Kannada): Gummineni Vijay:Yeshtu Chanda Ivalu: Singer turned composer Gummineni Vijay churns out an easily accessible semi-classical track which works effortlessly and much credits go to Santosh Venky's singing ably supported by Apoorva Sridhar. The track reminds the listeners of the recent smashing hit Inkem Inkem Kaavale especially Pallavi.

Mundina Nildana (Kannada): Vasuki Vaibhav: Innunu Bekagide: Mundina Nildana's soundtrack shaping up beautifully with the Manase Maaya from Masala Coffee band last week while Vasuki Vaibhav delivers another beauty in Innunu Bekagide. The gentle Tabla base by Gurumurthy Vaidhya adorns the beautiful tune which is sung by the composer himself.

Hi Hello Kadhal (Malayalam Short film): Vishnu Shyam: Vellai Poove: The Malayalam musical short film features a Tamil song composed by Vishnu Shyam and the melody is easily sing along one. Balram Iyer and Sruthy Sasidharan croon the song. The song effectively builds up the likable factor of the short film.

Ranganayaki Vol1 (Kannada): Manikanth Kadri: Krishna Nee Begane: The flimsy adaptation of the popular Yaman Kalyani based Vyasathirtha's Krishna Nee Begane by Manikanth Kadri is adequately enjoyable for the divine beauty of the tune itself. Manikanth adorns the tun with the Ganapathi's Mridangam and Tabla which serves as the wonderful base over which the song is structured.

Asuran (Tamil): GV Prakash Kumar: Blood Bath: The track is expectedly grungy and haunting with the roaring vocals of Arunraja Kamaraj. The tone of the track is set by prelude's thunderous sound and the Arunraja's lyrics about the revenge are also quite effective especially the tune gives the adrenaline rush with the Vaa Vaa hook.


Pick of the week: Innunu Bekagide, Vellai Poove, Akale



Friday, October 4, 2019

Music Review (Tamil/Telugu): Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy

Music Review (Tamil/Telugu): Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
Music Composer: Amit Trivedi



Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is one of the highly anticipated movies of the year with the brilliant line of actors Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachan, Vijay Sethupathi, Sudeep, Nayantara and Tamanaah. Amit Trivedi marks his south Indian debut with this soundtrack and the composer undeniably leaves his stamp in the tracks but with the mixed bag of tunes.

Paaraai Narasimha Nee Paaraai/ Jaago Narasimha Jaagore starts off beautifully with the serene prelude with the mellow Vishnu Vijay's flute paves way for the thunderous chorus sections. Though the tune is strictly perfunctory and dominated by percussion, Amit Trivedi packaged with the gorgeous Dilshad Khan's Sarangi and Seenu's strokes. Shankar Mahadevan, Haricharan and Anurag Kulkarni easily ace the rendition of Karky/ Srivennela Seetharama Sastry's glorifying lyrics about Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. Angam Unnidam/ Andam Ankitam: The tune fits well with the Anantha Sriram's lyrics than Karky's, however, the tune falters after an initial high. Nevertheless, Shashaa Tripati shines with her hypnotic rendition and ably supported by Vijay Prakash. Once again Amit Trivedi easily scores with the arrangements and this track is adorned by Kishore's Sitar and Punya Srinivas's veena especially look out for the melange of sounds amidst the jathis by Shashaa.

O..Syeraa: As expected the title song has a pompous orchestration but comes off as generic one except for the Seenu's contribution from the Saz/sarod in the interludes. The composer brings together Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal despite the latter appears only for the 40 seconds towards the end. Amit Trivedi ends the soundtrack with the anthemic Swaasalona Desame/Suvasamaagum Desame and though the track sounds too modern for the period of the movie, the composer did a wonderful job with respect to the arrangements especially the splendid first interlude with the thrumming percussion segues beautifully with the Naveen Kumar's stunning flute solo. Haricharan aces the rendition as usual

Verdict: Amit Trivedi matches the grandeur of the movie and the tracks are packaged well with the arrangements nevertheless one wishes that tunes could have been much better.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Andam Ankitam, Swaasalona Desame