Endhiran!
Drummer Sivamani famously tweeted that the audio of Endhiran was bigger than Kadhalan or Jeans.With hype like never before("Sun" news will reach new heights soon:"Endhiran releases soon" will precede "Earthquake kills 1000"),Rahman should have felt heavily burdened.Rajini+Shankar+Sun Pictures is a heady concoction.Rahman somehow manages to stay out of this limelight and comes up with the OST of "Endhiran".
The first song itself shows how foolhardy Rahman is.Doing away with the Rajini Intro Song template warrants action under any section of the IPC.Rajini fans have grown up listening to the philosophies in "Oruvan oruvan" and the unabashed self-praise of "En peru padayappa!ila vatta nadayappa!"."Pudhiya Manidha" has neither and is a song which moves the story forward.The song serves as the background for the step-by-step genesis of Endhiran by the scientist Vaseegaran.SPB is the same old lion but the surprise package is Khatija Rahman(daughter) who renders her lines full of soul.
"Kadhal Anukkal" should have been recorded after 3 AM in the Panchathan Inn.Nothing else can explain the laziness of Vijay Prakash's vocals.The laid-back style,instead of being detrimentary,adds value to the song's appeal.The song has nicely imagined lines.The sound is nostalgic revoking the 90's sound of Rahman and is a potential contender for the year-end countdowns.
"Irumbile oru idhayam" is an unusual song with below-par rap("You wanna come and get it boy!Oh are you just a robo toy!!) and a tune that meanders without a purpose.But Rahman's vocals saves the song big time.The song must have been composed keeping in mind that it is a duet for a robo and a 50 kg Tajmahal.After repeated listenings,I feel that this song is the only fresh contribution from Rahman in this album.
"Kilimanjaro" is the only song which falls outside the techno sounds from the world of robotics.It invokes tribal sounds and mischievous rendering by the singers(Javed Ali,Chinmayi).The tune in "Evaaluku thangachiye enkooda than iruka" is vintage Rahman.Inspite of the creativity,(Mohenjadoro unnil Nulanjadaro?)the lines are pretty lame.
"Arima Arima" sees Rahman doing the job of Shankar by bringing to our ears the grandeur-to-be onscreen.Hariharan's indulgent vocals sets the song on fire.The song feels like a clever reworking of the "mudhalvane" and "azeem o shansehenshah" templates."Chitti Dance Showcase"(Liquid Dance Revisited) and "Boom Boom Robo da" are medleys which require visuals to work.(a la "Sega fighta?Sivaji righta?").The transition from Konnakol to Yuvan-styled(if there is one) violin piece in"Chitti dance" is brilliant.
Unlike VTV which was replete with musical acrobatisms,"Endhiran" is more of a defensive stroke.The question which Bharadwaj Rangan once lamentingly asked in a review of "Raavan" resonates in "Endhiran" too:where is the appeal to the hearts?But as long as the brain is working overtime,I do not care.
"Endhiran" is more of a film album which furthers the cause of the movie rather than a standalone soundtrack."Endhiran" is nowhere near "Kadhalan" or "Jeans".But with it's synthesised sounds,the album will definitely gel beautifully with the movie.Rahman is maturing.After 18 years,it is a beautiful thing to savour.
The first song itself shows how foolhardy Rahman is.Doing away with the Rajini Intro Song template warrants action under any section of the IPC.Rajini fans have grown up listening to the philosophies in "Oruvan oruvan" and the unabashed self-praise of "En peru padayappa!ila vatta nadayappa!"."Pudhiya Manidha" has neither and is a song which moves the story forward.The song serves as the background for the step-by-step genesis of Endhiran by the scientist Vaseegaran.SPB is the same old lion but the surprise package is Khatija Rahman(daughter) who renders her lines full of soul.
"Kadhal Anukkal" should have been recorded after 3 AM in the Panchathan Inn.Nothing else can explain the laziness of Vijay Prakash's vocals.The laid-back style,instead of being detrimentary,adds value to the song's appeal.The song has nicely imagined lines.The sound is nostalgic revoking the 90's sound of Rahman and is a potential contender for the year-end countdowns.
"Irumbile oru idhayam" is an unusual song with below-par rap("You wanna come and get it boy!Oh are you just a robo toy!!) and a tune that meanders without a purpose.But Rahman's vocals saves the song big time.The song must have been composed keeping in mind that it is a duet for a robo and a 50 kg Tajmahal.After repeated listenings,I feel that this song is the only fresh contribution from Rahman in this album.
"Kilimanjaro" is the only song which falls outside the techno sounds from the world of robotics.It invokes tribal sounds and mischievous rendering by the singers(Javed Ali,Chinmayi).The tune in "Evaaluku thangachiye enkooda than iruka" is vintage Rahman.Inspite of the creativity,(Mohenjadoro unnil Nulanjadaro?)the lines are pretty lame.
"Arima Arima" sees Rahman doing the job of Shankar by bringing to our ears the grandeur-to-be onscreen.Hariharan's indulgent vocals sets the song on fire.The song feels like a clever reworking of the "mudhalvane" and "azeem o shansehenshah" templates."Chitti Dance Showcase"(Liquid Dance Revisited) and "Boom Boom Robo da" are medleys which require visuals to work.(a la "Sega fighta?Sivaji righta?").The transition from Konnakol to Yuvan-styled(if there is one) violin piece in"Chitti dance" is brilliant.
Unlike VTV which was replete with musical acrobatisms,"Endhiran" is more of a defensive stroke.The question which Bharadwaj Rangan once lamentingly asked in a review of "Raavan" resonates in "Endhiran" too:where is the appeal to the hearts?But as long as the brain is working overtime,I do not care.
"Endhiran" is more of a film album which furthers the cause of the movie rather than a standalone soundtrack."Endhiran" is nowhere near "Kadhalan" or "Jeans".But with it's synthesised sounds,the album will definitely gel beautifully with the movie.Rahman is maturing.After 18 years,it is a beautiful thing to savour.
nice post:)
ReplyDeletei think in shankar movies his way of picturisation matters than audio.shankar magic is more dominant than rahman.anyway this is not a gvm movie to expect much for songs...some flaws in audio can be rectified in screen
ReplyDeletei think its not sankar movie!!! its full of ar's and rajni!!!!
ReplyDelete