Good audio, bad video

It hurts to see songs really soothing to the ear, picturized in a non-imaginative way. Especially with the graphics taking over most of the background in the songs these days, it’s been long since one saw a natural picturzation of a good song.
The first one on my attack list would be the ever-refreshing – Kangalal Kaithu Sei, which was a gem of a sound track. But the bad picturization ruined it all, I will never forgive the artistes, choreographer, the director, and above all ARR for not having a peek into the video.

Now, the trailer of the Sakkarakatti (whose music I crave for, despite the very ordinary lyrics) shows another sad tale of a good music slaughtered badly in the video. The two minute clip on Youtube! (also echoing reactions from the audience) is such a sorry video again. The Chinnamma Chilakamma song in M. F. Hussain’s Meenaxi, though shot in a brothel, was picturized very aesthetically. But that is not the case of its Tamil counterpart, which looks like an 'ambulimama' song. The Taxi Taxi song, apparently re-shot to cater to the taste of the urban audience is still worse. I have no idea why there is such a sad end to these melodies. The only hope is on the picturization of Marudhaani, which should complement with the non-sensical lyrics – I hope the use of such lyrics is justified in the video.

Music still rejuvenates

An addendum to an earlier post about musical rejuvenation, or call it a sequel. The quality of Indian film music has mostly seen a downward trend these days, with most movies having soulless music, but there are a few movies with really good music. I list a few songs which I think are a class apart from the run-of-the-mill stuff.

A classical composition in Reethigowla raagam - Kangal Irandal from the movie Subramaniyapuram, is a sure shot on the list. Apparently the movie is refreshing too, so is its music. Two new singers with a classical background have made a big difference to this song. Takes you back to the good old feel of 1980’s (not that I know how it was!)

‘Ada – The way of life’ is a a long-delayed project of A. R. Rahman, and I feel it is the album of the decade with the class of songs varying over a decade. ‘Meherbaan’ by the Mozart of Chennai is a classic, and Gum Sum, a simple number is my next favorite.

The audio release of Ada was on the same day as that of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, I guess only Rahman can give two albums with different themes at the same time. Ada is a long-term classic, while Jaane Tu is an instant classic. One shouldn’t compare the two albums ever.

While I have written a lot of not-so-good things about the song Marudhaani in Sakkarakatti, this song along with all the other songs in the movie is my favorite. I miss you da is the best one, (even though people have mixed opinion about it) followed by Taxi, Chinnamma, and Elay. I am sure, I will have my girlfriend sing ‘I miss you da’ in the same cute way, or better – even cuter.

The title track of U, Me Aur Hum by Shreya Ghoshal and also by Vishal is one more of the good stuff in recent times, and surely suited the tempo of the movie as well.

The Konjum Mainakkale of 2008, ‘Mukundha Mukundha’ is something that made me wonder if Himesh Reshamiya had actually composed the song. A good devotional song sung by one of my favorites Sadhana Sargam, had a bad rendition on-screen with an over-acting Asin. A good work by HR, the lyricist and the singer too. Only if she had not sung Varam thaa as Varam dhaa, (at times I felt it would become Verandah :) ).

While all the songs in Jodhaa Akbar had good music, my favorite is In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein. Flawlessly rendered by Sonu Nigam and Madhushree, it indeed is a definite addition to the top romantic melodies of all time. And one more good thing about the movie is that all songs were picturized well in the movie (Hrithik in the state of trance in Khwaja Mere Khwaja was ……..)

Minnal Koothadum from Polladhavan is a good one too, with Bombay Jayshree giving her best again.

I also heard the songs from Dhaam Dhoom and Saroja, and am beginning to like a few. But not enough times as Sakkarakatti or Ada or Jaane Tu, to write about it.

As usual, ARR songs form a major chunk in this list. Plus, I am back to the habit of writing long blogs. Wonder who reads them though :)

When Penn became Pin…

Back to my usual topic concerning film music! Sakkarakatti does have its share of soul-stirring and foot-tapping numbers. But a few unpardonable slip-ups of the music director and the singers make the listening sound really funny at times.

Reena Bharadwaj, the lady best remembered for the masterpiece ‘Yeh Rishta’ in Meenaxi, and also for ‘Baba Kichu Thaa’ in Baba, is inexcusably bad in a few segments of the Tamil rendition of her masterpiece. She gets quite a few tough words right, while messing up easy words. The most noticeable being ‘Naan epodhu Penn aanen’ becoming ‘Naan Epodhu Pin aanen,’ – translating into when did I become a pin (instead of a lady). My friend Harish replied saying ‘eppo ATM card vanthutho appove PIN ayiten apdinu reply pannanum’ – ‘You should reply as ‘I became one, when I got my ATM card itself.’

Now coming to the other song by Madhushree – MarudhaaNi, which explicitly became Maruththaa nee at times, and ‘adi podi deepali’ became ‘atti potti deepali’. When the singer does such a great job with her voice, these errors can be ignored. But probably professional help with Tamil diction will help in the long run, especially in the times when North Indian singers win awards for songs in South Indian languages.

Anyways as I said in a previous post, it is not that my Tamil/Hindi is all that great, that I have authority to comment on these singers. But just a small sorrow (china varuththam) that the songs would have reached greater heights with better diction.

YouTube links for the songs:
MarudhaNi - http://youtube.com/watch?v=1xT9u_CJjNw
Naan Eppodhu - http://youtube.com/watch?v=b8MDls-ii5A

Cute moment in Jaane Tu, Music of Sakkarakatti and Tempe rain

In the movie Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, there was a really cute moment. While Genelia asks, 'How did the 5 years of college pass by so quickly?', the mother is quick in saying 'Phone pe beta!' (On the phone!). So very true! Be it the not-so-far times when we used landlines or now when we have the cellphones, I guess most of the time after college goes in phone calls :)

The new ARR album 'Sakkarakatti' sounds refreshing, with tunes set in a futuristic way, however the Tamil rendition of the two of the singers in their respective songs is not so good. While they have sung it really well, they should have paid more attention to their pronunciation. Since I am not a great speaker of Tamil, I have no qualms about listening to the songs the way they are. Benny Dayal and Chinmayi are two singers who have utilized their potential to showcase their talent. Hats off to both of them. Even the Chinnamma song from Meenaxi which is reused in this movie sounds very different. I miss you song, reminds one of so many things :)

It poured in Tempe last Sunday, for pretty long. Long enough to flood the roads and probably a few apartment complexes.