‘Pothi Vacha’
Kodai Mazhai (Tamil)
Music: Sambasivam
There are two Ilaiyaraaja connections with this song from Kodai Mazhai. One is the obvious—the 1986 film, which had music by the Maestro. The second is even more obvious—the other ‘Pothi Vacha’ song from Manvaasanai. Composer Sambasivam’s tune too seems like Hindolam, the raaga used by Ilaiyaraaja in the Manvaasanai number. Sambasivam adorns his tune with lovely violins that almost seem to be cooing alongside Karthik and Parvathi’s excellent vocals, even as Vairamuthu uses a series of wishes to build the song.
‘Neeyen Sayahna Swapnathil’
Ma Chu Ka (Malayalam)
Music: Gopi Sundar
This is an almost ghazal-style melody that Gopi sings himself, with a rough edge that somehow seems apt for the tune. The melody is feather-light and immersive, thanks also the guitar and strings that the composer employs so well. There’s a short chorus-style piece that Gopi uses to bridge back to the pallavi that captivating.
‘Sakhi Re Kahe’ (Kaanha Mose)
Music: Hariharan and Akshay Hariharan for MTV Unplugged
This thumri, from MTV Unplugged Season 5 has a lovely jazz coating. The song was originally composed by Hariharan’s son, Akshay Hariharan for a film titled Black Home (called Kaanha Mose earlier). Atul Raninga’s piano has a consistently Ilaiyaraajaish touch—almost like the kind of piano usage by Ilaiyaraaja in Hindi songs, to be specific. Hariharan is—expectedly—stellar in his singing. Dilshad Khan on Sarangi and Atur Soni, on drums offer incredible support, even as D. Rao’s timely flute and sax interventions add great value.
‘Hone Do Batiya’
Fitoor (Hindi)
Music: Amit Trivedi
Director Abhishek Kapoor had earlier worked with Amit Trivedi in Kai Po Che to bring a distinct Gujarati flavour. In his Indian adaptation of Dickens’ Great Expectations, set in Kashmir, he gets Amit to infuse an authentic dose of Kashmiri music, thanks largely to Tapas Roy handling instruments like Saz, Rabab, Santoor and Bouzouki. In the soundtrack’s best, ‘Hone Do Batiya’, Zeb Bangash and Nandini Srikar play off each other’s parts, handling and handing back the lines beautifully, for the lilting melody Amit gives them. The tune has an almost retro feel, sounding like something out of the 60s Hindi film milieu, but with a significantly upgraded sound.
‘Hey Mama’
Sethupathi (Tamil)
Music: Nivas K. Prasanna
Nivas debuted with a fantastic soundtrack in Thegidi. But in the Vijay Sethupathi starring cop story, his music seems like a copout. He does get Hey Mama right, though. Anirudh gets the tune’s Madras swagger perfectly, amidst the punchy rock sound, punctuated by rap phrases and sax. While the lyrics offer standard hero worship tropes, one does wonder if the Tamil word ‘goyyala’ is appropriate enough for regular usage, and when it was unshackled from its supposedly less respectable origin (it is currently assumed to mean ‘duffer’, in a coarse way) when Vadivelu’s utterances in films used to be beeped out. Anirudh also seems be becoming a ‘goyyala’ loyalist given that he sang, ‘Kaanaama Poyitten Goyyala’ in the song from Vil Ambu, Aala Saachuputta Kannala.
