Thoovanam Soundtrack

When it comes to soundtracks of small budget films, most of the common people or even the serious film music buffs come to know about the songs only after the release of the movie. Did anyone heard or if heard would have predicted that the ‘Vala Meenu’ song would become such a big hit before the release of the movie. With big budget films, it is audio which gives the initial impression and makes audience to eagerly wait for the movie but with small budget movies, it is the other way around. One has to watch the movie and only then the songs get its due recognition, no matter how great the song may be. This happened even to Illayaraja’s music for Sethu.

And now we have ‘Thoovanam’, a movie made on shoe-string budget which has music by Isaac Thomas. Have heard about this composer before, but have never heard his music. The album typical of any Tamil soundtrack has a mix of peppy and melody numbers. Melodies are very unique, without any definitive structure. It takes time for us to understand the overall flow of the melody.

The title track has such a unique melody which takes time to sink in. S.P.B, as always gives his best in this song. The song has beautiful orchestration all through but the only problem with the song is the clichéd beats which makes it sound ordinary. Listen to the instrumental version of the song with Solo violin to explore the beauty of this melody more. Similarly, the melody in ‘Yethetho Maatrmadi’ is good but again the clichéd beats hamper the overall effect of the song. Parasuram has a unique voice and if used for right songs could work wonders. Interludes with solo flute, solo violin pieces and Anuradha Sriram’s humming are good. There is another version of the song sung by Anuradha Sriram and I feel happy that she is back to melodies.

I feel Isaac is more comfortable with melodies than peppy numbers. Because even in peppy number (a song that has got peppy beats) have melodious vocal parts as in the songs like ‘Idhayam’, and ‘SMSilae’. The best song of the soundtrack is Harish Raghavendra’s ‘Eureka’. The unpredictable twists and turns that the melody takes in synch with the emotions of the character is what makes this song the most interesting of the lot. Harish Raghavendra does a great job in rendering the song with right Tamil diction and expression. Adding punch and more effect is the soothing orchestration.

Big problem of this soundtrack like any other small budget movie soundtracks is its sound quality. We have to wait for the movie to see if the songs and visuals complement each other, so that the audio will also have a better appeal.