Thoughts on Kadal
Chithirai Nela
Perhaps my least favourite song
in the album, Chithirai Nela is good,
but only just. Vijay Yesudas makes the song gloomy and the fake coastal accent
is not doing any help. Despite the voice, the song is soothing. But I doubt its
repeat value. Among giants like Moongil
and Nenjukkuley, this is one song I would
give a miss anytime. Vijay Yesudas runs the risk of
being his father’s shadow, someone to be used if and when Yesudas stops
singing. Also he sounds a bit like Unni Menon. The request is not to change the
voice, since it is not possible. The
emphasis is to develop a distinct style. As an example we have SPB and his son.
Their voices are similar. But, one can vouch and say that Kathal Sadugudu was not sung by SPB, that there was something so
non-SPBish about the song, that you can safely conclude that the song was not
sung by him, even though the voice reminds us of him.
Watch Out - See if you can
listen to traces of Tu Bin Bataye from Rang De Basanti and Mannipaaya from
Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya
Adiye
This is a "Jessie's Been Driving Me Crazy"
genre, even the situation too strikingly similar, where the hero asks his lover,
repeatedly, where she is taking him to. It has a 60s night club/ 20s Jazz Era
feeling, where the singer is having a perpetual vibration in his voice which
imperceptibly gives way to surprising ups and downs in his rendition making the
song a singer centric song rather than ARR's usual where the musical instruments
take the centre stage. The singer Sid Sriram mirrors a
younger Shankar Mahadevan. He has a distinct carnatic voice which has been used
in this seemingly western song. His variations add spice to an already unique
song in the album. The man has some range - his voice might shatter glass into
pieces. I just might have found my favourite singer after Shankar Mahadevan and
Sukhwinder Singh. The brilliance of the song is
that one could actually relate to the song even if the breezy western BGM is
replaced by a folk tune and it will still sound equally beautiful. And that,
people, is how ARR shines.
Addendum : It would be unfair not to give the imaginative lyrics its due. Was Karky high when he wrote Adiye, because it sure does look like it. He takes the song to another level when he says that the girl made his heart into a rope and pulled him along the rainbow path from earth to heaven. When he says that the girl drew wings on a fish and made it fly by throwing it into the sky , he proves that he is his father's son. Kudos! For a man who wrote "Google Google" this is definitely a new high. But then, even Vairamuthu wrote "Apple Penne" .
Addendum : It would be unfair not to give the imaginative lyrics its due. Was Karky high when he wrote Adiye, because it sure does look like it. He takes the song to another level when he says that the girl made his heart into a rope and pulled him along the rainbow path from earth to heaven. When he says that the girl drew wings on a fish and made it fly by throwing it into the sky , he proves that he is his father's son. Kudos! For a man who wrote "Google Google" this is definitely a new high. But then, even Vairamuthu wrote "Apple Penne" .
Moongil Thottam
Easily the best song of the
album, Moongil Thottam is what one
calls an inspired work by an inspired composer - lyricist duo. There is always
this expectation as to how big the explosion is going to be when Vairamuthu and
Rahman come together. No wonder Vairamuthu has won 4 of his last 5 National
Awards for a Rahman song.
Moongil Thottam is another superior work from both, with
Vairamuthu's lyrics blending seamlessly with the music. In fact the best two
songs - Moongil and Nenjukkuley has been penned by
Vairamuthu , showing why he is at the helm of modern Tamil poetry, and also
showing that one needn't be verbose and yet infuse magic in words. It’s as if
one could picturise the bamboo forest in a cold winter night, the air filled with the faint smell of the herbs, glowing under the shine of a full
moon, where the two young lovers are taking a walk; one could see the birds shaking
the water drops off their feathers near the river bank. I can keep talking about
the lyrics, so I switch to the music.
People say ARRs songs need time
to grow on you. When Raavanan released, I was massively disappointed. It took a month, on a cool August morning,
when even the sun hadn’t woken up, while I was in a near empty rusty
bus occupied only by a vegetable seller, other than me, going to the market
along with her large basket filled with fresh vegetables, travelling on a fly
over, with a train speeding, singing loudly into oblivion below us, for me to
go absolutely crazy over Kaatu Sirukki.Thankfully, I need not wait for a similar panoramic experience to happen again as far as Moongil
Thottam is considered. It instantly
clicked and has been on loop ever since, even as I write this now. I consider
myself unqualified to fill up my comments on the song as I will be kidding
myself. Just go listen to the song and you will understand what I am talking
about.
The singer Abhay Jodhpurkar is
excellent. This has been a quality of male singers chosen by ARR , they are
crystal clear and their voices have an out of the world yet grounded nature, be
it Naresh Iyer, Karthik or Benny Dayal except may be Sukhwinder Singh who gulps
certain words when he sings , very much like Mohit Chauhan in Rockstar. When I heard Harini in an
interview, that she has sung a song in Raavanan album, I was mega excited since
ARR brings the best out of her, only to be disappointed later to know that not
only was she not included, like adding insult to my injured ears, he made
Shreya Ghoshal sing one of the most average song produced by him, Kalvare Kalvare [listen to Kalvare sans
BGM - Shreya's voice is sprinkled with gold - no other explanation]. So, when
Harini made an appearance in this album for Moongil I was satisfied as a fan of
hers to know that she was given her due. There is always an echo that
accompanies Harini's voice. It has its own beauty, but her voice sounds better
without the usual echo which follows her like a Siamese twin. Harini sounds
young and refreshing, one of the main reason the song works big time.
Watch out – At 2:25 the song
enters “Sahana Saral Thoovutho” mode.
Elay Keechan
The song is about fishing,
fishermen and sea goddess. The last time I heard such a song about fisherman,
in main stream movie, made with care, was in Chemmeen. The song Kadalinakkare
is perhaps one of the most popular Malayalam songs, brilliantly composed by
Salil Chowdhary, penned by the legendary Vayalar and sung by Yesudas. May be Elay Keechan represents a shift in the popular culture about the idea of music in
the coastal life and that makes the song an important milestone in the history
of Indian music. Of course, the main attraction is that ARR himself has done
the honours by taking up the singer’s mantle. The last time, this composer sang
for Mani Ratnam in Guru in 2007.
As an explanation as to why mango people love Shah Rukh Khan a lot, some say that it is the way he speaks. When he talks in a TV interview or a random show, it appears as if he is reaching out to the audience; his warmth is spread to the listeners. I don’t know how many would agree with this, but this I can say for sure about ARR’s voice. Sometimes it just feels as if he is telling us, “You want to hear me sing? Ok. I am going to sing for you. Listen.” The difference between other singers and him is that, you cannot separate the voice from the personality. You will always have that sense inside you, that this is Rahman himself singing about big fishes and sail and blessings from god and sea goddess and you would keep thinking this guy is not at all the person we have been reading about; the one we have been seeing on TV! Madan Karky has written the lyrics and ably supports the music. The Hawaiian laziness blended with African vigour makes the song distinct. The guitar tunes are likeable and the chorus has also added energy to the song. Go listen to it.
Watch Out – See if you can
listen to traces of Mustafa Mustafa
(Kadhal Desam)/ Maana Madura
(Minsarakanavu) / Yaro Yarodi
(Alaipayuthey) in the song.
Nenjukkule
Shaktishree Gopalan, the female voice
in the crazy song “En Uchimandai” (Vettaikaraan), reminds me of singer Shobha
who asked the margazhi flower to give
her a spot in her lap to sleep. Her singing is similar to the one in Poraley Ponnuthaayi, where the singer is
brilliantly guided by the almost non-existent yet ever pervasive BGM. Vairamuthu has a way with
seemingly innocuous words sculpting them to give deeper meanings. Look at the
way he tells us that plastic bangles cannot make sounds like the glass ones as
a metaphor for the girl’s inability to express her feelings. The song has soothing, simple
orchestration. One would assume the composer took the essence of the great
oceans of the world and let out the stream of music from chords of waters.
There is a constant repetitive rendition of violin notes, may be as an analogy
for the waves which strike the coast repeatedly. The song has the never ending quality;
it doesn’t seem to take a pause. There is always the calmness and the gentle
procession of the instruments guiding the voice towards itself. It’s a watery
song. It’s a wonderful song.
Watch out – Reminds you a bit of
“Minnalai Pidithu” from Shah Jahan. [sorry]
Anbin Vaasale
In the book “A R Rahman – The Spirit of Music: Conversations with Nasreen Munni
Kabir” when asked about the importance of faith he says:
“Faith is far more complex than understanding things in black and white terms. There are many things we fail to understand. I don’t think we have the adequate language or words to describe it. Words themselves can cloud the power of understanding.”
Perhaps that is why he tries to make sense of God through a far more beautiful path of music.
Anbin Vaasale is a heavy orchestra song and that is deviant from
the ARR style of keeping the devotional songs simple, be it Anbendra from Minsarakkanavu or Khwaja
and Manmohana from Jodha Akbar. But the heavy orchestration
makes the song, stirring and electrifying. May be it is because of the innate
spirituality of the composer, or may be its the singer pouring his heart out, Anbin Vaasale is a song with substance, much more than those
belonging to popular genres. Haricharan's diction is
commendable where his words pierce through the ears with such clarity.
Especially when he sings the phrase Anbin
Vaasale, you can't help but get goose bumps. The orchestra is grand and
gives a rush to the listeners , occasionally losing its track in between , but
soon picking up its pace, that you can forgive the minor lapse.The lyrics are wonderful here,
where Madan Karky attributes the colour of the flowers and life beneath the
tree roots to god. May be that is what god is to man, someone to whom we can
attribute things that cannot be explained.
Watch out - Feel the same rush listening to Anbey Ithu from Rhythm
Watch out - Feel the same rush listening to Anbey Ithu from Rhythm
Magudi
Fanaa / Yaakai Thiri from Yuva
/ Aayutha Ezhuthu plus Thottal Poo
Malarum from New plus Irumbiley from Enthiran - that is Magudi
for you. The lyrics don’t make much sense, but who cares? Just dance your heart
out, if you are that person. It has an interesting cameo by Chinmayi. Even when
the woman talks; it sounds as if she is singing. As I said earlier, award for
the best cameo in a song goes to the one and only Chinmayi.
Watch Out – Chinmayi.
Posts
Nenjukulae is not like "Minnalai Pidithu” from Shah Jahan. This I can't agree.Other than that I agree with all your comments. I am amazed that being a malayali, you grasped the meaning of Nenjukulae which is totally a folklore Romance which is penned by Mighty vairamuthu...! Better learn to Write and Read Tamil. You will enjoy more of his words. You will be great writer machi... I have no doubts in that. I will be very proud to say my next generation by presenting your book to them one day saying I ‘am’ a friend to SRK :P
Now this post made me listen to all these songs more than once, and they are indeed interesting. All of the songs and the musical instruments are typically related to western music while the lyrics and style of singing and pronunciation are so totally the local and rural version of Tamil. These are poles apart but the fusion is very interesting. The lyrics of the songs that i DID understand (i did not understand elay keechan at all)are beautifully poetic inspite of the unconventional words and their sound inflections
@Azar
I know da, I did not mean that Nenjukkuley is a replica of Minnalai Pidithu. Both have the same breezy quality , that's all :)
@Akka
:D
Very detailed review sir. Loved it. Good that you talk a lot about lyrics as well, which is equally important for a film song. I liked the way you described when you fell in love with Kaattu Sirikki. Keep writing.