CORE 07: Dilli 6 - At It Again...

No wonder I am still a great fan of Rahman. His sheer genius proved once more in Dilli 6 or Delhi 6, the new movie to be released soon, starring Abhishek Bachan. You cannot expect anything but praise, so here is a rundown on the songs.

Masakali
The first time I heard this song, it was on Youtube and to say that I was disappointed is quite an understatement. Listening to the high quality songs, this song does grow on you. The Accordion on this is by the Maestro. The "Thampattai" in the middle of the song would definitely surprise you. The Violin going at the back reminds me of the 80s.Singing a laid back song, actually should sound lame, instead it brings a coolness factor to it. One of my favorites.

Singers: Mohit Chauhan

Arziyan
This one has the feels of Sufism and Ghazal to it. A nice melodious song, might not stick to everyone right away, but has the potential to become one. No surprises on this track.

Singers: Javed Ali, Kailash Kher

Dilli-6
The title track is small in length, running for less than 4 minutes. This one is to become a sure-fire hit. AR's harmony is at it again. The surprise of this song is the Spanish lyrics by Tanvi who did it for Sivaji as well. A very slow song, but with the correct rhythm, this song has a huge electronic flavour to it.

Singers: Blaaze; Benny Dayal; Vivinenne Pocha; Tanvi; Claire

Rehna Tu
A slow song with a mild and silky flavour to it, sung by the Maestro. One of my favourites. This songs grows on you and trust me, if you listen to it a few times, you will fall in love with this song. No great arrangements, but yet it sounds great. This surprise of this song is the featuring a new instrument that Rahman introduced during his concerts - The Continuum. This is a synthesizer used with a MIDI source. The beauty of this fingerboard is the variations it can produce unlike a traditional keyboard. Perfect for Indian classical, AR learnt to play this difficult instrument and comes up with a piece in the end and plays it himself. It is a surprise to hear an electronic version :)

Singers: A. R. Rahman; Benny Dayal; Tanvi

Hey Kaala Bandhar
The weirdest lyrics one can get. Karthik proves why he is touted to be the next SPB. The song starts in a . The English lyrics, is by Yogi B of Azhagiya Thamizh Magan 's Ponmagal fame. This song changes so much that it will leave you confused where it is going but will come back, so you get to enjoy as well.

Singers: Karthik; Srinivas; Naresh; Bony Chakravarthy

Dil Gira Dafatan
Ash King's rendition of this song is divine. Though the song starts like any other average number, the better part starts after the initial humming. Another excellent melody. A soothing song. The surprise comes after two and a half minutes, where he infuses a Irish sounding piece. He is at it again.

Singers: Ash King; Chinmayee

Genda Phool
This song is an adapted North Indian folk. The rhythm makes it extremely likable. The surprises are all over the place on this song. Listen to enjoy. Another laid back song, but will make listen to it over and over again.

Singers: Rekha Bharadwaj; Shraddha Pandit; Sujata Majumdar

Bhor Bhaye
This one is recorded over Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's voice as if Shreya Goshal is learning from his recorded songs. A pure Hindustani classical. No surprises on this one though. One of my friends listened to all the tracks and she picked this one as her most favourite.

Singers: Shreya Ghosal; Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan; Gujri Todi

Aarti (Tumre Bhavan Mein)
A typcal devotional song, or as they call it, an aarthi song. Rahman might make this devotional song a hit by rendering it in a movie and releasing it as a part of the album. The decision to include it in the album resides partially on the composer as well. This might become popular like "Ik Onkar"

Singers: Rekha Bharadwaj; Shraddha Pandit; Sujata Majumdar; Kishori Gowariker

Noor
This is a poem recital where Big B lends his voice. This reminded me of the work that AR did for Vairamuthu. I have to admit that I was not able to appreciate this one due to the lack of my As my Hindi skills.

Poem Recital: Amitabh Bachchan

Final Verdict: Rahman is at it again, so go get this one and add it to your collection.

CORE 01: Sakkarakatti - As sweet as it gets

Again, a long break. Rahman makes me come back. This time for the review of Sakkarakatti. I am not going to provide the professional review like everybody does, but rather the aspects that I like about the song.

Overall, this album has a huge electronic influence, but that is where the generalization stops. Read further for a track-by-track notes.

01 Taxi Taxi
This song has been on air for a while with all the promos. Highly repetitive. I don't want to use the term 'monotonous' as it is definitely catchy. A simple rhythm, three language lyrics... Tamil, English and French (In order of length used in the song). Of course, in Rahman style, there is a small Punjabi influence!!!@@##$$%% Crazy man.

Singers: Benny Dayal, Blaaze, Viviane Chiaxe, Javed Ali


02 Marudhaani
This is for the Rahman melody lovers. Madhushree does the soothing rendition with the not-so-soothing-but-blow-your-mind bass rhythm. Once again, Rahman hides a lot of sounds for you to discover everytime you listen to it. There is a simple piano piece with a mild wind of the flute. Though the credit says Rahman, don't think that this is a duet. Up until now, he had reserved it only for Lata. He and Hentry (I didn't spell it wrong) Kuruvilla does some humming.

Singers: Madhushree, A.R.Rahman, Hentry


03 I Miss You Da
Dominated by synthesizers. Not likely to be a hit song as Chinmayi whispers the song, but slowly. You be the judge.

Singers: Chinmayi, Indai Haza


04 Chinnamma
Yes. You guessed it right. The same Chinnamma from M.F.Hussain's Meenaxi. A few modifications in the effect, but yllables have been kept almost the same in the lyrics, preserving the originalty of the original version. Good job Pa Vijay! The best part is that this song doesn't require time to grow on you. It already did!

Singers: Benny Dayal, Chinmayi


05 Elay
Undoubtedly, the best track of the album. Sure to become a big hit. It might have already. Starts with a Guitar rhythm, exquisitively augmented by a solo violin. From the credits, I assume it is John Themis (He did some strings in Meenaxi too). Folks, don't come to me saying that this song sounds like Roobaroo from Rang De Basanti. It is not. A Guitar, a Violin and a Harmonica stand out among the instruments. A must-listen.

Singers: Krish, Naresh Iyer


06 Naan Eppodhu
This is Yeh Rishta from Meenaxi. No explanations required here I guess. Looks like the vocal supervisors would have had a tough time. Unlike Chinnamma, this song has been left unmodified.

Singers: Reena Bharadwaj


A few trivia about the songs.
1. Marudhaani and Naan Eppodhu were sung by Madhushree and Reena Bharadwaj respectively. None of them know Tamil. So what Rahman does is to get the service of Shreeni and Srinivasa Murthy (Yes, Rahman's arranger/conductor) for Vocal Supervision
2. The violin in 'Elay' can be found in Toss the feathers by Corrs. Of course, both Rahman and Corrs are one among the few who use Irish folk in their composition. So before you say Rahman copied, here is something for you.
3. Marudhaani has vocals by two technicians. One the great Rahman and his additional rhythm programmer Hentry Kuruvilla.

ATM: Withdraw your cash

After a very loooooooonnnnnnngggggg break got some time to pen down my thoughts. This time, a review of the soundtrack of 'Azhagiya Thamizh Magan'

Paisa Vasool... Two words for people intending to buy Azhagiya Thamizh Magan's audio CD. Here is my attempt in reviewing the songs of this album. I am writing this review after a countless number of listenings.


DISCLAIMER: I'm a hard core Rahman fan, being so for the past 15 years. So, the opinions might be biased ;) .

Track 1: Ellaappugazhum

This song is of the inspirational one. The songs starts with an electric guitar, then goes into a drums/tabla kinds for the rhythm giving a typical twist to the song. Just before the first Charanams comes the surprise where the songs goes into an orchestral mode (Western classical - I love western classical and I think he has gone into the mode with international assignments) with trumpets, violins with the tabla rhythms still in the background! The song has electronic piano supporting. A.R.Rahman sings this song and completes the song in a non-song fashion with a few recitals again, supported by orchestral instruments.

Track 2: Ponmagal Vandhaal

A remix of the hit Ponmagal Vandhaal from the 1970's Sivaji Ganesan starrer 'Sorgam'. Sung by Aslam and Ember Rap (Am not sure whether Rap is the part of the name). As spilled earlier, the song is heavily on the rap, but in my opinion Ember performs better than Blaze. Unlike a typical remix, the pace of the song was actually surprisingly slow. The song is an Indianized rap/funk with two small portions of the actual song (by TMS) used in between. The rap lyrics can causes a smile in the corner of your mouth.

Track 3: Nee Marilyn Monroe

A pop number (actually it has a mix of other genres as well... so am confused here) sung by Benny Dayal, Ujjayinee. The only aspect of this song that I didn't like was the use of "Jeniffer Lopez scanning" which I haven't been able to understand till now. I think some of the words were thrown in just to have the perfect stress for the syllable count. This is the song which took more listenings to understand the beauty. This song has a pinch of Bhangra interlaced in-between which changes to Reggae! A very soft song complemented by electronic backings.

Track 4: Valayapatti

The song starts with a mild Carnatic classical but gets a folk base with Thavil and Naresh Iyer and Ujjayinee's rendition. Madhumitha provides the female vocals. The song has an electronic chords in the begining. The piece before the first Charanam has a tinge of Rajasthani folk, reggae and Hisndustani. The Charanam goes into folk, which is taken over by Madhumitha into pukka Carnatic with three raagas. I love this specific part. The song proceeds with a Indian classical (got a feel of Tamil devotional songs :)). The chords reign supreme in this song. Makes you think how this man is able to mix this into a beautiful concoction. The result is stunning.

Track 5: Kelaamal Kaiyile

Undoubtedly my favourite song of this album. Sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and Saindhavi. Saindhavi's voice is on the higher end of the frequency spectrum :) but I like it. The song has a fast rhythm. The mystic rendition adds to the beauty. There is a place in the song which make me stereotype Sriram (Actually sounds similar to a song in Parasuram). The best part of the song is when the first Charanam ends and where Saindhavi starts "Paarkkum paarvai". The beats, chords, voice, everything, it makes you go into a state of joy, which can be expressed only by music and Rahman has done it to perfection. Makes me proud that I am his fan for all these years.

Track 6: Maduraikku Pogathadee

A folk song with Nadhaswaram, Thavil, Thappattai, Jalra. Benny Dayal, Archith and Dharshana are the lead vocals for this song. Perfect "Kuthu Paatu". The pronounciation in this songs are very hard (Everything on the 'Vallinam' side - Refer to Tamil Grammar). The highlight of this perfect song is the strong rhythms provided by Thavil and a surprising underlay of Electric and Bass guitar.


No wonder he has been rocking the music industry for so many years.

My Recommendations:

To Rahman-haters:
Don't buy this album, you will end up increasing your temper due to helplessness.

To Rahman's fans and music fans in general:
A definite buy. Don't get back to me after one listening. Let it grow for a few times at least. You will love this album. A hit from Rahman catering to a wide variety of target listening group.

Once agin, ATM - Paisa Vasool

Sivaji: Hear the name rumble

"Pera kaettaa summaa adhurudhillaaa..."

A punch dialogue from the Tamil blockbuster movie SIVAJI. Makes the crowd go crazy, not minding the long wait both for the movie to release and also outside the cinema hall.

I happened to catch the second day's show in Chicago. A very good attempt by Shankar, the man who is the Spiderman of Tamil Nadu. Everything is extravagant and makes sure that you get stuck in the web of magic he weaves every time with his movies.

Sivaji  - The Boss was no exception. A 3 hour 5 minute movie keeps the audience's mouth busy (Don't get anything wrong here). I was referring to laughing and whistling. I guess Shankar had put in an effort to make an ordinary story tailored to fit perfectly for Rajni, to fit perfectly his Larger-Than-Life image.

What is astonishing is the way he manages to pull it off. Now comes the part where many reading this blog might not like. A few flaws in the movie. I have read enough reviews of the movie listing its plus points as well as the minuses. Don't jump to conclusions that I accept logic-defying scenes in Hollywood movies. I do not accept them too.

SPOILER WARNING: For people who have not seen the movie yet, a word of caution, please do not read further.

The part when Rajini dies and comes back to life after many units of distance and time, comes back to life when Raghuvaran the doctor uses a Defibrillator to amazingly save his life. This was the major part that I was not able to digest.

Apart from that, the stunt scene in the music shop has Rajini hitting the goondas with instruments like Guitar. The villains fly off with the impact but nothing happens to the instrument! Come on!

Third one is when Rajini stabs a guy but he does it in a meticulous way where nothing happens to the fellow inspite of the serrated knife getting in by many inches!

Putting these Logic and Gravity defying acts apart, the movie was good. A nice & fast screenplay, excellent song picturization and the never-cloying style which says 'Rajini'. Vivek comes back to form.

All in all a very good entertainer. At the time of writing this blog, the movie has broken the record of highest per-screen average ever grossed for a film in the United Kingdom.

 Being a fan of A.R.Rahman and Shankar, this was what I would call a "Paisa-vasool" movie.

My recommendation: Must watch

Guru: Soul is where the soul is...

Hmmmm... My first blog. So invariably it is about the God of Music, the Mozart of Madras, A.R.Rahman, his recent album Guru.

Rahman, the genius personified, comes up with one another beauty - GURU. Joining hands again with Mani Ratnam, working magic since Roja.

Each track is a class act. The soul of the song comes from the soul that Rahman has put into it. Let me not delve into the review of each song explaining what it is. Instead I will stick to what and which part I like the most, that makes me want to listen once again. No explanation provided cos' I like it :)

Barso Re
The aalap before the first stanza.The start of both the stanzas.

Tere Bina
The sweet voice of Rahman.The way in which the first two lines of the first stanza starts, which goes like "Naaja".Percussion - You don't see Rahman using these type of "Normal" rhythm ;)

Ek Lo Ek Muft
The instrumental before first stanza. Harmony of female "lado lado" before the second stanza followed by the male harmony.

Mayya Mayya
Though the Violin reminds us of "Azhagiya Laila", the way the line Mayya Mayya is sung - Awesome. Rendition of "Ale ah hey ah hey"

Ay Hairathe
Background vocals of Rahman.Voice of Hariharan. Melts through your ears.

Baazi Laga
Honestly, very Non-Rahman-90ish music. So this is one of those "average" songs from Rahman. So not anything special.

Jaage Hain
One Word - Another Bombay Theme. Will love to listen continuously.