Review of my top 5 Tamil Film Albums of the year 2012

My Top 5 Tamil Film Albums Of 2012

Before I embark on my second post in my blog I must thank the people who read my blog and praised or criticised it. Both were very helpful. It was instrumental in making me write my second post so quickly!

I would be writing articles based on the two topics which interest Indians the most.

In this post I would be giving a small insight into my top 5 Tamil Film Albums of 2012.

(Note: I mean albums which have released till date. As there are albums to be released still this year, which include albums  composed by the Mozart Of Madras, AR Rahman)

I will try my level best to make this an unbiased review!

Now let’s get to the reviewing…..

5. The Albums which occupies the fifth position are two albums.

They are Saguni& Oru Kal Oru Kanadi.

Saguni had music composed by G. V Prakash Kumar. He had won enormous amount of accolades through the tunes which he composed in the film  Aadukalam.

It won many National Awards and even got the young composer the coveted National Award for Best Music Composer.  One would have expected music on similar standards from him in the film  Saguni. But unfortunately it didn’t live up to those expectations. 

But since the movie was  different with a completely different story( By the way what’s the story I couldn’t quite understand despite watching the film).

So keeping the movie in mind, there were a few songs according to me which made an impact. They were Manasellam  Mazhaiye  and Vella  Bombaram.

Manasellam was a beautiful melody. It had nice simple instrumentation. It was instantly likeable. It was aptly sung by Sonu Nigaam and Saindhavi. This is one song which would be heard many times for sure.

Vella Bombaram was a song which reminded of a song composed in a Govinda film. It had a comical use of instrumentation. But I must say that it was a fast paced number which was sung very well by Baba Sehgal and Priya Hemesh. It’s not a song you would expect from G.V Prakash Kumar. But I personally enjoyed the beats in the song.

Now  coming  to Oru Kal Oru Kanadi.

This was a film directed by Rajesh who directed brainless comedies such as Boss Engira Baskaran And Siva Manasula Sakthi earlier. Those movies had hardly any story but had some decent songs in them composed by Isaignani’s son Yuvan Shankar Raja.
  But for Oru Kal Oru Kanadi, Rajesh launched Udaynidhi Stalin as an actor ( I hope it’s his last outing as an actor!) and also this was the first time Harris Jayaraj  was working with director Rajesh disappointing many YSR fans. But I must say considering the lack of any story,  the music provided in this film was very nice.

Azhage Azhage had beautiful music and interludes. But I feel that a better choice of singers would have made the song a more enriching experience. But this song was really popular during and after the film’s release.

Akila Akila was a nice fast paced number catered to the youth and it worked in that aspect. It had the voices of Aalap Raju and Chinmayee crooning to the fast paced music of Harris. The interludes were amazing in this song. Another feather in the cap for Aalap Raju as a singer.

Adadu Oru is my favourite song of the album. It has brilliant guitaring and the instrumentation is top notch. And Karthik has sung the song very well.

Kaadhal Oru and Vennam Machan were bound to become mass hits. Kaadhal Oru was the usual fare from Harris. It had nice even toned singing coupled with guitaring and use of trumpets which according to some critics Harris should avoid. Overall it is a nice melodious number.

Vennam Machan is the kuthu number from this album. It has nice beats throughout the song. Singing by Naresh Iyer and Velmurugan enhanced the song even further. This is one song which every tamil film music lover would connect with very fast. It is bound to be remembered by non  Harris  Jayaraj fans too.

It was an experiment by Harris Jayaraj to compose music for  this film and I would say its not among his best albums but it was  a nice change and I personally would’nt mind another album from the Rajesh- Harris combo.

4. Taking the 4^th position is Thala  Ajith’s highly expected film Billa 2.

This film was the prequel to the highly successful Billa which had the Thala give  an outstanding performance.

But unfortunately in Billa 2, despite Ajith’s amazing screen presence, the film failed to impress many as it had no story and too much violence for family audiences to digest.(  But I am sure ardent Thala Ajith fans would disagree with me)

Now, coming to the review of the music of the film.

It had music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

It had a total of 5 songs excluding the theme music which was composed brilliantly and also picturised superbly.

Madurai Pannu was a song which promised a lot but failed miserably. As the general beats throughout the song remind us completely of Isai Puyal AR Rahman’s marvellous song Othagatha from the film Gentleman. Even the singing was average. It was not required  frankly speaking in a Thala film.

Even Idhayam, another song which had nice interludes, failed to click overall. It’s a nice song but could have been better with a better choice of singer.

With Unnakul Mirugam, YSR comes into his best form. Amazing guitaring can be heard throughout the song. Superb use of instruments. And Ranjith proved to be the perfect choice as the singer for this superb composition. And what added to the beauty of the song was how well Ajith was shown in the video of the song, which was one of the highlights of the film.

Gang Gang Gang is a song which would make Thala Ajith fans go delirious. Outstanding Music and even better singing and lyrics praising Thala, make this song a must hear. It’s most suitable to be played in parties. I love the beats of the song. I would request Yuvan to make more songs like this one.

And saving the best for the last, is the song Yedho Mayakam the song of the album. It’s a disco song. Superb music and outstanding rapping by Suvi Suresh makes this song among the top songs of the year for me. Even the picturisation of this song was superb.

Overall, I would want the combination of YSR- Thala Ajith to continue. This combination has produced some superb numbers.( Although being a huge Harris Jayaraj fan, I hope some day in the future, Thala Ajith could work with Harris Jayaraj.)

3. Clinching the 3^rd position coincidentally is the film 3.
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It had Dhanush and Shruthi Haasan acting in it. It had direction by Dhanush’s wife Aishwariya Dhanush who also happens to be Superstar Rajnikanth’s daughther.

So naturally, the music of this film was expected to be very good. And it did’nt disappoint.

Considering it had music by first timer Anirudh, I must admit it had some fresh and beautiful numbers in the album.

Each song had a theme to it and that made it a better hearing experience!!

First up in the album was Idhazim Oram, a beautiful song which aptly expresses the first love experience when two teenagers fall in love for the first time. Nice music coupled with good choice of singers make it a nice hearing.

Next up is Kanazhaga, the song which shows the two pratogoinists, expressing the love for each other for the first time. It was nicely sung by the lead pair of Dhanush & Shruthi Haasan. It had some amazing interludes in between the singing. I must say Anurudh really impressed me with the way he has composed this song.

The song which did’nt  get much fan following in this album but personally is my favourite song in this album is  Nee Partha Vizhugal. Outstanding music and singing which matched the tunes very well. For a debutant this song was just proof of the talent he has got. Although, it is a simple melody, this song ranks among my favourite songs for the year. I personally love melodious songs and that’s also why this impressed me so much.

The only song which was not impressive in this album was Come On Girls. A favourite among partygoers, this song is mainly a situational song. It had decent music and singing.

Then, a special mention must be given to the various themes Anirudh has composed for the film. In each theme, he has mixed various instruments and has produced some top quality music. My personal favourite is the Rhythm Of Love Theme.

Another of my favourite songs of this year would be Po Nee Po. It has lyrics which describle the pain of love aptly. The piano used throughout this song is magical. And even the screaming by Anirudh doesn’t deviate you from the main tune of the song. A really special mention must be given to  Mohit Chauhan. He has beautifully sung each line. Despite not knowing the language, I must salute Mohit for a fabulous effort.

Should I say anything about the song Why this kolaveri di? This song has got so much fan following that Anirudh is known as the Kolaveri di composer nowadays. It is a nice song which describes the condition of a soup boy well. It is nicely sung by Dhanush in the typical Chennai guy’s dialect. Mixing of English and tamil words are superb.

And finally, the remixed version of Po Nee Po is too good. It has the use of heavy guitaring and to add to that it has the presence of some high pitched singing which was very good.

Overall, it has been a very good start for Anirudh and lot would be expected from his future albums.

2. The Album which takes the runner’s up position is Maattaran.

Maattaran sees the return of the super successful trio of director KV Anand- Actor Suriya- and music director Harris Jayaraj after the film Ayan in 2009.

Naturally, expectations  would be high from the music of this film. This also brings back the  super hit combination of Suriya- Harris Jayaraj for the 6^th time.

Ayan’s music was critically acclaimed. It was very popular and all the songs were top chartbusters.

Maattaran has a total of 5 songs. And there is a separate lyricist for each song. That is quite a distinction.

The opening song of the album is Irattai Kattirae Idho. It has a nice peppy beat playing throughout the song. It has good singing. By listening to the lyrics one gets the feeling that this should be the opening song of the film. And the violin played at the crescendo of the song really enhances the quality of the song. This should definitely impress everyone who listens to it.

The next song in the album is Yaaro Yaaro Naan sung by Karthik. Harris Jayaraj sticks to the formula of giving a song for acclaimed singer Karthik to sing in a Suriya film. And I must say he doesn’t disappoint,  contrary to the feedback I received from my friends about this song. It has beautiful music. The interludes and crescendo have some nice simple indian instruments used. This song reminds us of Yamma Yamma from 7 Aum Arivu. Both describe the pain the protagonist feels after getting separate d from the person he loves.

The next song in the album is Theeyae Theeyae. This is a very different song coming through from Harris Jayaraj. It has different instrumentation from the type of songs we expect from Harris. It has nice beats and singing which matches the beats beautifully. Again Aalap  Raju has sung very well. He sings from the second part of the song and has made an  impact with his singing yet again.

Kaal Mulaitha is the next song. It impressed me straightaway with the instrumentation. It is a dance number and the dance form of Balle would be used in this song. Keeping that in mind the instruments and beats playing along with the song are really nice. Even the fluctuation in tone of singing is a noteable factor in this song. This song might take some time to like but it’s yet another experiment tried by Harris Jayaraj.

And finally, comes Naan Koni Raani, the favourite song of the album for me. It has naughty singing by Vijay Prakash and has the mesmerising voice of Shreya Ghoshal to accompany Vijay Prakash’s voice. And the instrumentation used in between the singing is definetly praiseworthy. And to finish the song karthik sings few lines which add to the beauty of the song.

Overall it’s a super album, but compared to other Harris albums it might be a bit different, but with a few hearings I am sure that this album would be liked by one and all.

Now, which is the album according to me which takes the pole position?..............................................

It is Gautham Vasudev Menon’s next film Neethane En Ponvasantham which has music by Isaignani Illayraja.

The director in Gautham Menon brings out the best from the music directors be it AR Rahman or Harris Jayaraj and its no different here.

As we get to see a fresh and youthful side of illayaraja  through this album. After a long time such a high profile film has been offered to Illayaraja and he doesn’t disappoint. And this album has lyrics by N.A Muthukumar replacing Gautham Menon regular Thamarai as lyricist.

The first song in this 8 song  album is Kaatrai Konjam. It has beautiful use of the trumpets throughout the song. It has a nice feel to hear throughout this song. And the singing only increases the quality of the song. The humming at the start and at the end of the album build the momentum of the song.

After a beautiful song to start the album comes a song which reminds us of the Isaignani at his prime. Simple music and beats and mesmerising voice of Karthik  make Ennodu Vaa Vaa a must hear for all music lovers. If u are in a bad mood I suggest you to hear this song and I am sure your bad mood will go away.

The next song in the album is the title track of the album. One would have expected a slow song as the title track but illayaraja took the complete u-turn and composed a fast passed song with heavy use of guitaring. The highlight of the song is the fast violining at the end of the song. Overall its an average song with singing by Sunidhi Chauhan being bad in the places where she has to sing in a high pitch.

Sattru Mumbru and Vaanam Mella are really nice songs. They are typical Illayaraja songs. The use of orchestration  make the music in these two songs so nice to hear. Even the songs have been sung very nicely respectively.

The next song to be reviewed is Pengal Yendral. It unexpectedly has use of heavy electric guitaring and high pitch singing by Yuvan Shankar Raja really compliment each other very well. It should easily connect with the youngsters for sure.

Anonther song which should get instant connect with youngsters is Pidhikile Maamu. It has beautiful guitaring playing in the beginning of the song also in the middle of the song. The singing by Suraj Jagan is good. The song takes a complete makeover at the end when folk beats are added to the song and karthik sings that part well. Overall with the lyrics and general feel of the song it should definitely become a super hit.

Finally coming to the song which would be tough to match. An irreplaceable song. That is the song Saayundhu Saayundhu. Outstading use of strings in the beginning to the use of piano and magical implementation of saxophone make this song the son g of the year 2012 for me.  Singing by Yuvan should win him awards for sure. It is the best song. And I request Isaignani to make few more versions of this song. As this song has captivating effect.



These are my top 5 albums of the year 2012..

If you happen to not agree to my choices then its fine, as everyone has their own likes and choices.

I hope to have interested people who might have not heard these albums earlier to hear them. And for people who have heard it, this is my opinion of the songs composed so far this year.