Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya - The Album

Songs: Aaromale; Hosana; Anbil Avan; Mannipaya; Vinnaithandi; Omana Penne; Kannukkul Kannai
Movie Name : Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya
Singers : Alphons Joseph; Vijay Yesudas, Suzanne; Devan Ekambaram, Chinmayi; AR Rehman, Shreya Ghoshal; Benny Dayal, Kalyani Menon; Naresh Iyer
Music Director : A R Rehman

First of all; shame on all of you who wrote your reports two days after the album released and gave it a lukewarm review!

After Arya-2, this is my first complete album review. A R Rehman shows yet another significant improvement in his standards with this album. This album, together with the background score goes to show what a good director and a good story can do to inspire the music director. After listening to the songs a bunch of times, I saw this movie and was amazed at how the songs were subtly introduced in the movie at various places. The music leading to the songs was tantalizing and made me crave for the songs even more. My mind had registered the preludes to the songs so well that I could not focus on parts of the movie, as the song had already started playing in my head.

Aaromale has a beautiful guitar prelude which is used brilliantly in the movie. Hosana is the instantly likeable song in this movie and it stays with you for a while. My favorite portion of this song is the rap interlude (done by Blaaze ?) Anbil Avan with its innovative use of church organ and sannai sounds is indicative of a wedding and a celebration. However the tune reminds you of "Illamai" from Godfather (also be Rehman). Mannipaya is all about Shreya's voice and what a voice it is! The prelude to the song is one of my favorite vocal preludes to a song, although Rehman decides to go a different way with the actual song. Karthik goes solo with Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya and carries the delicate tune with minimal instrumental support. Naresh does his own solo with Kannukkul Kannai which fits in very well in the movie. My favorite of this album is Benny Dayal's Omana Penne. The song makes me feel like I am gently bouncing off a cloud while falling asleep. I could not be more happy that Benny gets a fantastic song to show his talent once again. Take a bow, Benny.

With expectations rocketing since his Oscar win, Rehman delivers a humble soundtrack that keeps with the director's script. One of the questions everyone had was if Rehman would be able to establish some chemistry with Gautam Menon in Harris Jayaraj's absence. Rehman makes this project his own and moulds the way the movie impacts audiences. That, I think is a powerful statement!

Sundari

Song: Sundari
Movie Name : Dalapathi
Singers : SPB, S Janaki
Music Director : Illayaraja

If I have not said it before, let me say it now. And If I have said it before, let me say it again. I don't think I will see a composer who is better than Illayaraja in my lifetime. If this is a bias, I am happy that I am biased towards Illayaraja's music. The word genius can be used for a few music composers in the Indian film industry - Illayaraja, R D Burman and now A R Rehman.

When you talk about Illayaraja's greatest songs, you cannot help mention Sundari. What makes this such an awesome number ? Why is it among the greatest songs every composed in the Indian movie industry ? I am no expert, but let me try and elucidate. The song starts with a brilliant string prelude - one of Illayaraja's trademarks and strengths. The strings begin as if they are uncertain, and as if they do not wish to dominate the flute, that is about to join in. The flute prelude then sets the mood of this song. You immediately know that this is going to be a sad melodious song. Once the flute dies down, the violins take over and establish a royal command over the mood. This is a sad song but it is still a strong emotion. Now, as the prelude comes to an end, Illayaraja knows that the heart of the song is the vocals, and you have to hand it over to two great singers - SP Balasubramaniam and S Janaki. So as he wraps up, he makes you leave the violins in the background and progresses to silence, with a gentle rhythm as SPB starts off strongly "Sundari kannaal oru saedhi..". As he ends his first line, Illayaraja is not done squeezing the most out of this set up. He follows it with a melodious flute piece, to hand it over to the next line "...solladi innaal nalla thaedi" and now he wraps up with another flute interlude to hand it over to the female vocals from Janaki following the same format. And now is the time for the crescendo, the vocals rise with "Naanunnai neengamaatten neenginaal toongamatten". Now if you are Illayaraja, you have set yourself up brilliantly with this rise in vocals, the strings have found something to follow and so they do. The strings in the background that are looking for just this opportunity and as SPB goes to "saerndhade nam jeevane" they rise in the background to be heard again, and to garner attention. It is at this precise point that you realize the genius that is Illayaraja. You go back and listen to this song again and realize that the strings have always been in the background. That he has been creating a song within the song. The strings tell a completely different story, albeit in the background. He has chosen a moment when the vocals die down, to reveal the beauty of these strings. And you listen joyfully now, paying more attention to the strings and you marvel at the wicked genius that is Illayaraja. Granted that he came up with a brilliant tune for the vocals. Granted that he wanted to introduce strings in the background as violins bring out the sadness in a song like no other instrument. Now sit back and think what anyone would do with this set up and look at what Illayaraja has done. And as you listen a third and a fourth time, a wonderful feeling takes over as you think you have finally understood what this song is about. The music just fills you up like no other song you have ever heard.

As I listen to this song,I can picture Illayaraja and his humble harmonium. I can picture the genius with his eyes closed reading out notes as a nervous assistant tries to keep up with him and writes it down. It is not a small group of musicians mind you, this song needs a grand orchestra. Illayaraja has collected around 120 musicians to be in sync for this song. The orchestra is not sure what they are up for, as they listen to Illayaraja dictating the notes. As he is done, he turns towards them in an unassuming manner as they get ready to play. On cue, the violins start and as the music is played out, it is perfect. The musicians are astonished to hear what their instruments are churning out. They stand up and applaud at the end of the first prelude, tears rolling down some of their eyes. Every note has found its place and a masterpiece is born!