Originally published in The Hindu.
Athana azhagayum
Inimey Ippadithaan (Tamil)
Music: Santhosh Kumar Dayanidhi
Santhosh, who till recently was programming for A. R. Rahman (including Lingaa), makes his debut with this Santhanam-starrer and does pretty well for himself. The pick of the soundtrack is ‘Athana azhagayum’, which has a trendy pop sound sung confidently by Varun Parandhaman and incorporates a funky rock ‘n roll sound midway, besides a colloquial rap by Sofia Ashraf. The highlight of the song is the lyrics, where, for the first time in the history of films, the hero compares his lady love to a… mosquito, when he passionately pleads, ‘Korukkupettai kosu pola, enna neeyum thorathaadhey’!
Tompkins Square Park
Album: Wilder Mind (English)
Music: Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons’ third studio album is supposedly their evolution, given that their standard banjos and accordion sound has paved way to electric guitar and synth! It’s decidedly more Coldplay-ish, thanks to producers James Ford, known for his work for Arctic Monkeys, and The National’s Aaron Dessner. ‘Tompkins Square Park’, the moody break-up song is among the album’s best, with its expansive synth, bass and drum thump! It sounds great, no doubt, but not without a mild pang of what the band has left behind!
ABC ABC
Jaadugadu (Telugu)
Music: Saagar Mahati
Just when you are wondering if Mani Sharma is getting his act together after a brief period of poor form, his son enters the scene! Saagar uses his father’s tried and tested masala format aptly in his debut that includes this catchy duet by Vijay Prakash and Ramya Behara. The track’s sound is consistently engaging and with its thrumming rhythms, young Saagar seems to be on the way to a promising career!
Appankitta
Maanga (Tamil)
Music: Premji Amaren
Premji has scored music for a few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films and, given his pedigree, is dependably good and inventive across soundtracks, though it is his most ignored talent, with him being more keen on on-screen buffoonery. He seems to be indulging in composing almost with an ‘Evvalavo panrom, idha pannamaattoma?’ attitude. ‘Appankitta’ is what you get when Premji answers a brief from director Mysskin about a situation where a male dancer leads his now-familiar yellow-sari song. Premji sings it with the same quasi off-key-ness of Yuvan, but it is oddly endearing, as is his choice of layering the song with a zingy guitar.
Chinna paya vayasu
Kida Poosari Magudi (Tamil)
Music: Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja, even at his peak, has helped many first-time and unknown directors by composing music for them and by being the most saleable aspect of such films. Nowadays, besides the occasional big budget films like Rudramadevi, the veteran still seems to be helping out lesser-known, smaller films, though the effect isn’t quite like it used to be. One such film is Kida Poosari Magudi and the song, ‘Chinna paya vayasu’ seems to be a pleasant throwback to Oru Kaidhiyin Diary’s ‘Pon Maane Kobam Yaeno’, probably due to a possible Sivaranjani raaga connection. The strings, the interludes all work up a lovely whiff of nostalgia!
Listen to the song here.