A.R. Rahman has come out with another splendid album in Jillunu Oru Kadhal. The audio was released on 2nd August. Jillunu Oru Kadhal (it's recently been renamed Sillunu Oru Kadhal to make it a more tamilified name) stars Surya, Jothika and Bhumika, among others. Directed by debutant Krishna, highlights include the mega budget, A.R. Rahman's music, R.D. Rajasekhar's cinematography and Vikram Dharma's stunt choreography.

1. Machakaari - Shankar Mahadevan, Vansundra Das

The album begins on a high note, quite literally, with Vasundra Das heading for her usual highs. Shankar Mahadevan come in humming what becomes the main tune of the chorus, and Rahman launches into his cacophany of beautiful sounds. The beat is fresh and addictive, as is a standard with Rahman since Roja. The charanam is nice and kind of melodic. The ending of the song is very nice, as all the elements of the song come together. The song ends with a bang, with a repetition of the cool 'Onnu, Rendu, Moonu' refrain.

2. Munbe Vaa - Shreya Ghoshal, Naresh Iyer

The song starts with a nice guitar opening. Shreya is the star of the song, with ample support from Naresh Iyer. I didn't like the opening chorus the first time I heard it, but I have since grown addicted to it. Especially the second pallavi, sung in chorus, "Rango, Rangoli..." It's simply heavenly, especially towards the end. A lovely romantic song.

3. Kummi Adi - Naresh Iyer, Swarnalatha, Seerkaali Sivachidambaram

What kind of psychopath will take the guy who sang Mayilirage and make him sing Kammakaraiyile, and then make him sing a folk song like Kummi Adi? Rahman would, and it works. Naresh Iyer is very versatile, and it shows in this song. He has quite a future. It's a good thing Rahman has made sure Naresh doesn't get trapped into a single image and exposed his versatility with stuff like Kammakarai and this. A foot tapping folk song with a catchy tune.

4. New York Nagaram - A.R. Rahman

A soulful melodic song from Rahman. As usual, his voice is marginalised by the instrumentals and percussion, but that's not really so much of a minus point except that the lyrics are hard to distinguish without a few hearings. The song evolves nicely to a nice ending. Very nice lyrics; they seem to be sung by Surya in some sad situation.

5. Majja Majja - Shreya Ghoshal, S.P.B. Charan

A sensual song from Rahman again. Shreya Ghoshal is great as usual, simply sensual with her konjufying voice. Charan is stunning, not because he's good but because he sounds exactly like his dad. The voice is almost ditto S.P.B. He doesn't have the same range, however, and doesn't impress as much. I think Rahman should have stuck to the original Thazhuvudu pair. Perhaps he's making way for the next generation to take over when the need arises? Anyway, the song starts with some weird sounds that are eventually quite addictive and an unusual beat that proves the same. I thought the transition into second interlude could have been better handled; it seems to sound as if the song is ending or something. Overall, a very nice song, just seems to miss the extra oomph S.P. Bala would have given.

6. Jillendru Oru Kadhal - Thanvi

The title song of the album. It really sets the tone for the movie and the album. It's a 70s jazz song like Vennila Vennila from Iruvar. The whole song is very playful, including the lyrics.
'kaalaiyil kadhali, maalaiyil kaadhali, velaiyil kaadhali, selaiyil kaadhali'. The opening is funky, and the song comes out well in the trailer of the movie. A really hip and funky song.

7. Maaricham - Karolisha, Aslam, Krishna

The funkiest song in the album, but also one which dissapoints a bit. The beats are crazy. The opening is nice, when the beat first takes hold with shattered glass. Karolisha goes to all kinds of vocal altitudes here. The male voice comes in in an interesting way. The whole song is really very upbeat and foot-tapping. I just don't like the way the song ends, it suddenly slows down, but it's probably situational.

Overall, a brilliant and addictive piece of work by A.R. Rahman. Jillunu Oru Kadhal will be an album to remember.

A small tribute to a great man from the film industry here, Vikram Dharma. Jillunu Oru Kadhal is the last movie he worked on before he died on June 28th. Vikram Dharma, who got the Vikram prefix after working on Kamal's Vikram, revolutionised fight choreography techniques and gave us many of the most spectacular fight scenes Tamil cinema has seen, like the underpass scene from Run. He was scheduled to choreograph for Mani Ratnam's Guru. We will miss you, Dharma.

Labels: Music Reviews

kanna wrote at 10:49 PM