RAAVANAN MUSIC REVIEW

Review by : Malathy Sundaram Music Director : AR Rahman Vocals : Vijay Prakash, Mustafa Kutoane, Keerthi Sagathia, Karthik, Benny Dayal, Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram, Shreya Goshal, Bhagyaraj, Rayhanah, Tanvi Shah. Lyrics : Vairamuthu Produced by Madras Talkies, this long-awaited movie brings together so many talents - Mani Ratnam directs, Suhasini Mani Ratnam pens the dialogues, Santosh Sivan cranks the camera, Vairamuthu handles the lyrics and Sabyasachi Mukherji designs the costumes. To top it all, our own A.R. Rahman takes charge of the music section. Explosive, isn’t it? The title itself suggests that ‘abduction’ could be the central theme of the story. By the way, the actors are Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Prithviraj, Karthik, Prabhu and Priya Mani. All lyrics are by Vairamuthu. Veera... Vocals: Vijay Prakash, Keerthi Sagathia, Mustafa Kutoane A taut tempo dictates this song which seems to touch lightly upon African music and rhythms. The

rhythms conjure up a dense forest atmosphere. The defiant tone of a man, who fancies himself as half-asura, half-God. May climb the charts. Usure Pogudhey... Vocals: Karthik An intense number with brooding drum work, violins and a wee bit of guitar. Very minimal input from instruments. The song reflects the agony of a man trying to reach out for the forbidden fruit. Excellent vocals from Karthik add a shine to this Kiravani scale-based song. Listen to it a couple of times and you are hooked. Kodu Poatta... Vocals: Benny Dayal A rather meaty song for Benny this time around and he has just let rip! The aggressive stance of a man, who does not like being fettered by anything. Well-knit drums and guitars convey the same emotion too, with only the instrumental interludes softening the song now and then. This song is an interesting mix of folk rhythms and Arabian music. Like an Abhang, this song suddenly picks up speed, but at the end. Kaattu Sirukki... Vocals: Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram This is a typical ‘Rahman formula’ number, but what rivets you here is the peculiar use of Anuradha’s voice as part of background music. Shankar Mahadevan and Anuradha vie with one another in bringing out minute ‘sangatis’ right through the song which keeps it lively all along. Dramatic lyrics (with exquisite imagery) that portray the moral dilemma of a modern-day Ravanan! Do we hear the Natabairavi scale? With good visuals, it could make an appeal. Kalvare... Vocals: Shreya Goshal Very soft and sensual use of flute (Navin) and sitar (Asad Khan) mesmerize you and so does Shreya’s voice. How beautifully she differentiates the three ‘la’ sounds in the line ‘vali migum idangal---.’ The tabla and ghatam add some more ‘sowkyam’ to this melody. You seem to hear Behag raga, but you can’t be sure. Has a vague S.D. Burman-ish appeal to it. Kedakkari... Vocals: Benny Dayal, Bhagyaraj, Rayhanah, Tanvi Shah This song is all about a rustic wedding celebration, but Rahman being Rahman, brings his own musical sensibilities into it and adds a lot of fizz. Such a happy use of oud, shehnai and nagaswaram! The orchestration too is very rich. This Sankarabaranam raga-based song may serve to lighten up our mood as we sit through this taut film. Verdict: The trilingual aspect of this movie seems to have steered Rahman into expressing himself a tad cautiously as far as Carnatic ragas are concerned. Nevertheless, this is a brisk and riveting album. The percussive aspect certainly deserves applause because of its muted nature. Though Karthik’s song looms large, all songs have the possibility of hitting the charts.