Aayirathil Oruvan Audio

Composer's Mix... is totally groovy with both the Tamil and English lines sung well and flowing perfectly with the song's tune. The Oh Eesaa... parts are particularly exhilarating with Karthik singing them with the right amount of intensity, invoking an image of people swaying and singing the lines with a kind of religious fervor. Maalai Neram... is a simple, no-frills song with low, unobtrusive guitar riffs. Andrea's voice sounds a little too deep and lacks the silkenness the song deserves but she is able to carry off the higher pitches decently. Dhanush sounds surprisingly good in the slow but catchy Un Mela Aasadhaan.... This is the tune Yuvan composed before splitting with Selvaraghavan and then used as Adadaa Vaa... in Sarvam but the different orchestration and lyrics hide the fact well enough. The lyrics, with words like Raasa/Rosa and Paappa/Thaappa, sound a bit old-fashioned but work well with the tune. Thaai Thindra Manne... is all Vairamuthu and Vijay Yesudas. While the former's lyrics brilliantly bring out the decline of a kingdom, the latter sings it with the requisite anguish. Among the two versions of the song, The Cholan Ecstacy mixes it with some upbeat Telugu parts while the Classical version sticks to pathos throughout. Pemmaane... is another pathos number, this time about people driven out of their homeland, sung with intensity by Bombay Jayasree. Indha Paadhai... is a slow but addictive number that grows on us. The lines(like Azhuvadhum Sirippadhum Un Velai; Nadappavai Nadakkattum Avan Leelai) are simple but kinda profound and G.V.Prakash sings them in a casual, carefree way that fits the tone perfectly. The King Arrives... and The Celebration of Life... are both instrumental pieces. The former starts slow but soon gets the regal touches the title implies while the latter has some catchy bits and reminds us of Billa's theme music at one point.

After some good-but-not-great albums like Veyyil and Aanandha Thaandavam, G.V.Prakash gets his first really high-profile project with Selvaraghavan's Aayirathil Oruvan. He has risen to the occasion admirably, showing maturity beyond his years. Eclectic and exciting, it definitively catapults him from the level of 'promising music directors' to the league of 'music directors who have delivered on their promise'.