http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/13/south-tamil-music-review-vinnaithaandi-varuvaaya.htm
No other album has
raised such high expectations or created quite this much frenzy among
eager fans like Escape Artists' Motion Pictures' Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (Will
You Cross the Skies for Me?).
The Tamil movie has everything going for it namely Gautam Menon as its
director, Academy Award winner A R Rahman [ Images ] as its composer, and
lyricists like Thamarai, Kalyani Menon and Kaithapram.
With Simbhu and Trisha [ Images ] as the lead pair, VTV has been making
headlines ever since it was launched as a touching love story with music set to
blitzkrieg everyone's heart.
Add to that is the fact this is the
composer's return to Tamil after his Oscar success. So, does the
collection live up to the hype? Let's find out.
A guitar strums lazily, reminding you
very faintly of the old Wild West, and then morphs into something that
might be an ancient native Indian chant -- that's Aaromale, sung by Alphonse.
The lyrics in Malayalam seem to form a
neat accompaniment to the general structure of the song. There's a
soothing, gentle feel to the number, an experience that lets you sink
into it. The song proper starts some time later, with a faint strain of
violins somewhere far off. Even as Alphonse's voice rises to higher
octaves, the refrain hugs the original depths, supplying a many-layered
experience. An intense number, this.
You sit blinking when you listen to Anbil Avan as you're transported straight
to a church choir until you realize that
the song, rendered by Devan Ekambaram and Chinmayi, is actually a
conglomerate that describes two kinds of religious weddings.
The lyrics are all about eternal
bonding, unending love and essentially the basics of wedding vows. It's
got a peppy feel, full of happy anticipation, an eagerness to seek out
the next heady experience, supplemented by synthesized instrumental
arrangements. It seems a little like the Ibiza number -- but you're too carried
away by its zeal to notice that until the end.
On a half romantic, half mournful note, with a flute interlude begins possibly
the most publicized number of the album: Hosanna by Blaaze, Vijay Prakash and
Suzanne.
The musical arrangement somehow takes you right back to the early days of ARR
until you realize which number the refrain, Hosanna, bears a striking
resemblance to: Only Time, by Enya.
The rap segment closely follows the tune
as well; the lyrics celebrate the lover pining away for his beloved
until his world shrinks to just her. There's no denying that it's
romantic what with church bells pealing, complicated violin
arrangements and a chorus which all reach a crescendo in the finale.
It's a pleasant listen but still seems "inspired."
The violin rendition in the first few seconds of Kannukkul Kannai is enticing
and the number itself, rendered by Naresh Iyer in a fast-
and almost breathless manner that aims to bring the heady feeling of
being in love.
Aside from the violin segment, though,
you feel like this is a musical arrangement you've heard often in
Rahman's earlier albums, and faithfully mimicked by others following in
his footsteps. In terms of ARR numbers, it's pretty run-of-the-mill.
Shreya Goshal's melodious voice begins Mannippaya with anguish, and it morphs
gradually into a more gentle melody.
Remorse and forgiveness are the prevalent themes of this number, and
the soothing tones suit the sentiment, with ARR himself providing the
accompaniment.
Appealing, yes, but the lyrics have
precedence in this song and the tune seems to have been composed to
accommodate it. Even the flute segment reminds you of the signature
tune of Titanic [ Images ]. The kural couplets that suddenly appear take you
by surprise. They're a pleasant listen -- and then it's back to the meandering
tune.
Kalyani Menon and Benny Dhayal begin Omanappenne,
which seems like a fusion between western and classical music with a
violin suddenly launching into a classical melody at certain points.
And that's the essence of the whole song: a gentle composition which attempts
to crossover from one genre to another, while a nadaswaram makes a not
unwelcome appearance to add a different flavour to the
proceedings. Having said that, we've heard many such numbers from ARR
himself, and with more variation.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya,
accompanied by guitar strings and rendered by Karthik, comes in a
different fashion altogether. It's slow, introspective, and the general
tone doesn't seem to care much whether it hits the highs and lows of
notes in an approved manner, which is actually a plus.
The tune moves from contemplative to
contentment to interrogative, and that seems to be the essence of the
number itself: all the different emotions encompassed in one question.
It isn't possible to toss an opinion of
an A R Rahman album based on just one listen. This composer has a
talent for coming up with numbers that grow on you.
Lyricist Thamarai stands out, as well. Having said that it doesn't look like
VTV is one of his best efforts.
Blame the post-Oscar hype or the burden
of too many projects but aside from a few moments of brilliant heights,
ARR pretty much sticks to his proven template.
In this collection, he's gone more for
the western crowd, it seems and there's little space for
experimentation. A discerning music-lover might be left yearning for
something more. For diehard ARR fans though, it's a musical treat.
Rediff Rating:
