Monday, July 14, 2008

Kuselan Audio

Ever since Rajni became a superstar and became bigger than his movies, many of his films have come with the implicit warning that they will be liked only by the actor's fans(though of late, the films of many actors seem to fall in the same category). But the Kuselan soundtrack itself feels like it should have arrived with a similar warning label affixed to it. 3 out of the 5 songs in the album will give the fans goosebumps while making the rest of the listeners shake their heads at the blatant 'idol worship'.

Perinba Pechukkaara... is my favorite number, inspite of the rather obvious similarity to the composer's own Veyilodu Vilaiyaadu.... The lyrics, which eulogize Rajni, mesh well with the steady simple beats and catchy tune. Cinema Cinema... is kinda like Ilaiyaraja's Indiran Vandhadhum... in spirit as it praises cinema in the first para before getting down to singing Rajni's praises in the 2nd and 3rd stanzas. Shankar Mahadevan brings his usual enthusiasm and energy to the number(the song doesn't sound like a typical Rajni intro number and so GVP can probably be forgiven for not using SPB). Om Zaare... straddles a number of styles as it starts off in Egyptian style and ends with Malayalam chendai beats. The lyrics incorporate many of Rajni's past movies. As if Udit Narayan hadn't done Tamil enough damage, this song has Daler Mehndi making mincemeat of the language. Chaaral... and Sollammaa..., the two songs which I think are not picturized on Rajni, are simple in all aspects - tune, orchestration and lyrics. My favorite singer Shreya Ghosal sounds great as always in the former.

Overall, the tunes from music director G.V.Prakash are rather underwhelming but the lyrics make the songs - atleast 3 of them - music to Rajni fans' ears.

20 Comments:

At 11:26 PM, Blogger srijithunni said...

I think somehow G.V.Prakash, has had better luck as far as the picturization of his songs are concerned, thereby the music being elevated to a certain level. I'm sure same will be the case with Kuselan, especially the Cinema Cinema number.

P.S: Balaji, awaiting your review of Subramaniapuram eagerly. Loved the song Kangal Irandaal !

 
At 1:32 AM, Blogger Orange Fronkey said...

the songs are alright... cinema cinema & om zare are my faves... though om zare reminds me alot of "vaaji vaaji vaaji" from Shivaji movie... Sakkaraikatti's songs are out... they are ok, i like 1 lol.

You know what's a really good song? "Sutri varum boomi" in Jeyam kondaen.. very beautiful! should give it a listen

 
At 1:48 AM, Blogger D.E.V said...

"kuselan" has not got into my sistem yet, but at the moment i'm hooked up to "saakrakatti" day and night. 4 out of 6 songs are my favorite..i think "kuselan" songs may sound better once the film releases. Anyway "saroja songs are out cant wait to download it.... Looks like the 2nd half of the year we are getting some cool scores at last.

 
At 7:18 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

havent listened to the songs as yet but i hope to do so...not coz it stars rajni but coz its music director is g.v. prakash...though he hasnt reached his "kaadhal neruppin..." levels in a while, am confident that he belongs to the "talent to watch out for" category...i just hope that he gets the kind of scope for music that rehman got in his early years thro' directors like mani ratnam and balachander (duet, i think, is one of ARR's very best albums)

 
At 9:18 AM, Blogger Srivatsan Sridharan said...

BB,

Superstar has switched to fans mode long ago. If he tries to change it would be disaster of huge scale. It is better this way.

I don't want to see him do a Aarilirundhu Arupathu varai now, just like Kamal did Dasavatharam, if you know what i mean :). Did you read Baradwaj's writeup on Dasa?

 
At 10:46 AM, Blogger Filbert said...

Om Zaaraare is actually sounding better after repeated hearings and Daler's Tamil diction makes the listening experience all the more memorable :)

But seriously, GVP could have done so much more with such an opportunity. It is an altogether different matter that the songs will be raging hits after the movie releases, courtesy Thalaivar.

 
At 1:35 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

GV was my classmate till around 7th std I think. So sad to see him going in the wrong direction:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ER9mwuGCpU
Keith Urban's Somebody Like You

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wVuOOgSLIwI
GV's Sooriyane from Vellithirai

 
At 5:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lyrics? Listen to anyone of superstar's songs in the past decade, there will be one constant - Superstar on a lyrical-waxed pedestal of a demi-god. All purpose-driven songs that will send his fans into delirium...

 
At 10:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeyam Kondan seems like a genuinely good album. Reminds me so much of Vidyasagar during his "RUN" days. Hopefully he will keep this momentum. He is a good music composer who swings between a trough and crest all the time!

 
At 10:43 AM, Blogger mitr_bayarea said...

Balaji-

helpful review, just downloading the songs, yet to listen to them.

 
At 10:13 PM, Blogger Meera said...

I saw the new stills of Kuselan and am i looking forward to the movie or what. Usually i check out you site to read abt new updates and new pics. Since i havent seen this i thot i would let you know :)

 
At 1:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

For the last 15 years no Rajini film gave a good album. He tried 5 or 6 different MD's in that period. So obviously the problem doesn't lie with the music director.

 
At 10:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

to partially make up for B(usy)B(alaji)'s lack of posts:

we are puppets in the hands of God -- list two songs that convey this...

"poongathave thaazh thira vaa..." - who was the male singer?

two songs (one in 1997 and 2000) start with "oru naall..." - name the movies

who wrote the lyrics for "petta rap"

"naan messu kissu rendum kanda viswanathan daa" - name the movie

 
At 10:56 AM, Blogger Filbert said...

Ram,

Though I dont know the answer for the first 2 questions, the quiz is an easy one by your standards :)

2 songs start with Oru Naal - Devathai (Oru naal andha oru naal) and Kannukkul Nilavu (Oru Naal oru kanavu). Both are lovely songs by the Maestro!!

Pettai rap lyrics - Shankar (?!)

For the last question - Kaadhal Mannan (though I just can't stand MSV's voice in that song)

 
At 11:40 AM, Blogger Srivatsan Sridharan said...

"poongathave thaazh thira vaa..." - who was the male singer?

- Deepan Chakravarthy?

 
At 12:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

filbert, you got 3, 4 and 5 right. abt the quiz, yeah, I figured my quizzes were implying "see how much i know of thamizh cinema" than "see if you can answer this." so, i thought i would give a simpler quiz.

srivatsan, Yes, Deepan C.

 
At 10:35 PM, Blogger Balaji said...

srijith, i really hope vasu does a good job with the picturization :)

merino, 'om zarare' the song reminds u of 'vaaji vaaji'? only the stills looked really similar, I thot :)

will look for 'jayam konden' songs :)

skanda, just started listening to 'sakkarakatti'. nice songs. love 2 of them already :)

u're right. for a while there seemed to be no good albums and suddenly, there are quite a few out there and quite a few to look forward to :)

ram, i'd call this a weak album even compared to 'veyyil', 'kireedam' or 'oram po'. only the fact that its a rajni film saved him :)

srivatsan, oh yeah, no argument there. and yep, did read it. fantastic article as always :)

filbert, yeah 'om zarare' is growing on me too :)

anon, but not to this extent I think :)

anon, 'RUN' is 1 of my fav albums. if its anywhere close to that, i really need to look for 'jayam konden' songs :)

mitr, hope u'll write about them :)

meera, thot there were too few stills to merit a post :)

parthi, we'll agree to disagree on that :)

ram, agree with filbert. easy enuf that even i knew a couple of answers :)

 
At 10:39 PM, Blogger Balaji said...

sujay, just checked out the 'somebody like you' song. 'sooriyane' is just a complete copy. my respect for gvp just went down a few notches.

 
At 12:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

btw, the answer to q1 (in case anyone's still interested!) is "unakenna mele nindraay" (Kaal Kondu Aadum Pillai Nool Kondu Aadum Bommai) from "simla special" and "ellorum sollum paatu" (Naayagan Mel Irundhu Noolinai Aatuginraan...Naamelaam Bommai Endru Naadagam Kaatuginraan...) from "marupadium"

 
At 5:09 PM, Blogger The Talkative Man said...

bb,
I'm curious to know if subramaniyapuram wud be the first movie for which you'll give a 3+ in the last 1 yr and more :)

 

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