Raavanan Soundtrack

The Melody – that which a song is primarily made of is simple and easily accessible in the songs of ‘Raavanan’ – the latest from the trio Maniratnam-A.R.Rahman-Vairamuthu. The flow in the melody isn’t as quirky and it doesn’t take unexpected and sometimes weirdly puzzling twists and turns, as it took in Rahman’s recent soundtrack ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya’. The complexity exists in the structure of the song and not in the structure of the melody and moreover, it just sounds complex, on surface, because of those varied additional sound layers and loops that keeps panning across.

In Veera, the dense percussion layers and gibberish chants are of those kinds that can be easily peeled off for those who really want to taste the pulp - main melody. The melody is made of phrases of short runs and sharp ends that travels on a bumpy trajectory tracing and glorifying the grey characteristics of Veera (or rather Raavanan). The thump, thud and thunder in the intense percussive (both electronic and acoustic) layer grabs us by the collar and ties our attention. Rahman still manages to put up rhythms with percussion layers in his songs that are so familiar and yet so unique in its arrangements and sound, you can’t help but drown into it. The bugles, twanging guitar layers, along with the tribal beats, puts us right amidst rustic rural-tribal ambience that Veera seems to be a habitat of. And with that, the soundtrack begins with a bang. (And why Vairamuthu refused to write this song?)

The melody in the songs of this soundtrack doesn’t always rely on the instrumental accompaniments and sound layers to create the mood or evoke the emotion. This demarcation is very evident in the instantly intoxicating Usure Poguthey, in which the melody oozes with the passion and squeezes out the painful suffocation that is storming inside Veera, who falls for Raghini’s beauty, but, on the other hand, the orchestration embellished with serpentine strings, deep drum layers and xylophone tickles to put the listeners in a deep dark forest ambience in which this intense two-person drama is supposed to be happening. The only time melody and accompanying instruments join hands is when melody along with rock-guitars exert the exhaustion in Veera’s longing and distortion that Raghini has created in his psychological balance. Aided by Vairamuthu’s earthy poetry, Karthik’s heartfelt rendition proves yet again why he is cut above the rest and a favourite of A.R.Rahman.

The melody that starts on a high spirited note in Kodu Potta turns meandering and banal in later portions and fails to spark with the rebellious energy that is set ablaze by Vairamuthu’s fiery verses, the unsettling groove and by the rock-guitar riffing through the roof all along. And yet the song works hugely because of power packed punch in Vairamuthu’s verses and those two fine interludes – one with a celebratory Shehnai and Chorus and the other with string swirling its way into Rahman’s favourite middle-eastern territory - that remind us what a Rahman-in-form sounds like. For all its celebratory and self-congratulatory sound in music and words, it is intriguing to note that there is a tone of villainy and wily eeriness that runs throughout the song with the usage of Duduk and other woodwinds. The problem is that these tiny interesting bits and parts of the song don’t come satisfyingly together till the very end.

The flow - that magical flow in the melody is back in a Rahman song in Kaattu Chirukki and it is relieving to listen to a Rahman song after a long time that follows a standard Indian film song format – Pallavi-interlude-charanam-thunduppallavi-interlude-charanam2-Pallavi. Adding to zing and swing of the melody is that hip-folk-hop template that Rahman teased us with, few months ago in ‘Yaar Mila Tha’ in Blue. Vairamuthu is in fine form, at his playful best, as his words sensibly or rather sensuously flow completely in sync with the melody. Anuradha Sriram’s quasi-trance voice is so seductive and it beautifully works for the feel of this song and what we can say about Shankar Mahadevan - his classical touches, variations, and expressions are sheer magic.

Kalvarae is the one song where every single aspect of the song, veers or rather crawls towards, one single action or emotion - Seduction. The leisurely drone of Oud that keeps looping behind, the velvety filler flute that gently glides over and tickles the derma, the exquisite pleading and yearning in Shreya Ghosal’s voice, the laid-back rhythm, the saccharine melody and Vairamuthu’s Tamizh - all come together to help Raghini woo her husband. Even the only interlude is characteristically built around the purpose of the song. The gorgeous classical melody in the interlude that streams in Swaram is rendered by the ensemble in mid-tempo and punctuated with pauses, so as to make Raghini – a classical dancer, not diligently perform an exhaustive classical dance piece, but to move her elegant body, every so gently with sensuous postures and gestures, to seduce her husband.

The celebratory Shehnai and Nadhaswaram, rolling drums and roaring chorus embellish Keda Kari with all the fun and festivities of a rural Tamil marriage. Vairamuthu is shrewd and inventive with his lines which whips up rural flavour, though the puckish melody or pounding drums doesn’t smell the soil as much as it ought. Amidst the chaotic chorus, the song breathes some melodic air with Rayhanah and Tanvi Shah doing their folksy bits, which keep up a sinusoidal balance in the exuberant flow of the song. And that maddening coda with relentless beats gradually doubling up in its tempo, multilayered instrumentals and vocals, the soundtrack closes with a bang.

I like ‘Raavanan’ music. And I completely agree with all those who have problems with ‘Raavanan’ music. I am too empathetic to complain about ‘Raavanan’ music or to disagree with those who don’t like it as much as I do.

Guru

Maniratnam is at his best whenever he tries to make a bio-pic. Though I am not a big fan of ‘ Nayagan ’, it is still considered as a classic and Mani’s best by many. And we have the magnificent ‘ Iruvar ’ which is one of my all time favorites. So, has Mani done it again with ‘ Guru ’ by making a movie on the life of a business man? Well, almost. Mani has to be lauded just for choosing to do a movie on a business man. The character here is more grey and realistic as Mani captures all shades and facets of his character unlike a Velu Nayakar in Nayagan.

‘Guru’ is about a business man Gurukanth Desai and the journey of reaching his dream of making his company, the biggest in India. The movie is clearly split into two acts, the first act is about how a small village boy goes to Turkey to earn money, and returns back to India and become a business man. The second act is about how he handles the press and in specific a journalist who challenges his success by revealing all his illegal acts that made this quick success possible. Finally, the movie reaches a controversial end with Guru giving his own justification for his acts.

It is always tough to write a screenplay for a plot which traces the 50 years life of a man. The writer has to pick the right moments in this long journey which is just like a summary or a preface to a novel but which should give as much information as one would have got by reading the entire novel. Picking such right moments and placing it right one after another without loosing the rhythm and pace of the movie is really a toll task. Especially when it is an Indian movie we also need place for songs. As Maniratnam always say in his interviews, this and his is a kind of cinema which is a fiction that is firmly rooted in reality and yet slightly dramatized to fit into the commercial format.

Everything happens very fast in the first half of the movie and soon Guru become very big in his business. One may ask how it is possible for someone to come up in life so quickly. At first, he is shown taking photo with some 50 people around him, cut to next shot Guru taking photo with 500 people, cut to next shot Guru taking photo with 5000 people and that is Mani’s way of telling Guru’s growth. It is not necessary to show every single incident to show how it all happened. For that, Mani has used few scenes in the starting itself. It strongly registers the attitude of Guru in our mind and so it is not difficult to believe how everything else that followed became possible. The scene in which he wins a gambling in Turkey and especially the reason for his decision to marry Aishwarya reveals to a major extent on how far he can go to make money in his business. After these few passing shots and quick moments, there are no answers given for audience’s questions like how, when and why. There need not be. But Guru is not shown in a totally bad light either, he is a very affectionate person, has his own sentiments for who have helped him to reach this height. Guru is a perfect grey character portrayed on screen so for like how most of us now in reality are.

Don’t think that it is a dry documentary on a business man’s life. The movie is typical Maniratnam with all his usual clichés. An item number, heroine dancing in rain, romance between the lead pair, their childish conversations, a public gathering or meeting in rain, smart one-liners, Youngman lifting an old lady (his mother or grandma), tight close-ups etc., especially the song picturisation and their placement in the screenplay. Half of every song is fantasized and the other half goes to the background allowing the screenplay to proceed further. Expect the unexpected from the way the songs are used in the movie.

The movie slips slightly in the second half. For logical reasons, Guru is made to have a soft corner for Vidya Balan’s character. It is like saying, "since Madhavan (who plays the journalist and who is the only threat to Guru’s business) is Vidya’s husband, Guru couldn’t harm Madhavan for stopping him". But Mani cleverly keeps this as a subtext and never anyone in the movie really say it. Again, it is a cinematic cliché in Mani’s style. Also the mood curve of each scene in the second half is rather unconventional, the serious and sad mood of every scene is lost to some extent when one of the characters does or says something light and funny. Though I am not complaining, I was not comfortable when I saw it. I couldn’t judge whether I like it or not because I don’t see the sensitivity being lost completely. It turned out like a Rahman’s composition; I think it will take time to grow. “Ek Lo Ek Muft” though a very catchy folk number becomes a speed breaker. I thought the romantic scenes between Madhavan and Vidya also hinders the pace for a while. Inspite of a good performance by Madhavan as an honest and courageous journalist, the character that he plays which is very important for the movie lacks completeness. There is something missing in the character. We don’t see him as someone who is as strong as one who can fight a highly influential man like ‘Guru’.

Finally, movie comes to its terms in the climax. I don’t know whether that is the stand of Maniratnam, but if you ask him he would say, that he doesn’t take any stand and Guru speaks from his own perspective. Of course, it seems right from Gurukanth’s perspective. It again goes back to “Nayagan” philosophy, ‘One can do anything if it is for the welfare of the people’. It is just that the man who did all wrong things for people’s welfare was a local gangster in Nayagan but here he is a business man. Yet it is not that simple, there is a notable difference between Guru and Velubhai. Guru’s selfishness earned good for so many people but that is not the case with Velubhai and that is why Guru is more realistic than Velubhai.

Abhishek Bachan easily carries the film on his shoulders. He is a usual Maniratnam’s hero full of energy and enthusiasm, smart and funny with an infectious personality. He is believable and convincing as a business man. I worried about how he would perform as an old man but Abhishek does a neat job all through and of course he reminds us Nayagan Kamal Haasan in lot of frames. Aishwarya looks too sophisticated for a small village girl role but her screen presence and on screen chemistry with Abhishek helps to pull off the character quite well. Mithun Chakravarthy expresses mix of affection towards Guru and hatred towards his actions very well. Vidya balan has nothing much to do.

Maniratnam’s movies always score high in technical department. Rajiv Menon’s cinematography doesn’t disappoint the audience who shouted when his name flashed in title card. Samir Chandha has authentically re-created the narrow streets of Bombay in Chennai. Songs of A.R.Rahman are already a big hit. Background score is also good. ‘Gurubhai’ and ‘Jaage’ runs all through the movie effectively as Guru’s themes.

What else, a single viewing of Maniratnam movie is definitely not enough to judge it fully. As I said, Maniratnam movies take time to grow. I am going to watch the movie again.

Guru Soundtrack

Those who have come here to search for a review on Guru soundtrack, you guys can actually listen to my opinion on Guru soundtrack here.

Guru Fever Catches up

So, finally Sony BMG has launched the Guru album without actually releasing the audio. This is a strange trend that is catching up but sure enough to create more hype and expectations. They is no information about the release date of the actual audio uet. But the event spill little beans about the movie and the music. Catch the spilled beans here and here. From what A.R.Rahman says, Gujarati-turkish, north indian, symphonic opera stuffs to expect in the album, it sure must be an unique soundtrack like that of Iruvar. And here is the track details of the album

1. Barso Re – Shreya Ghoshal & Uday Mazumdar

It is good to see Shreya again in ARR's composition as ARR don't chooses her often and from the 15 secs clip of the song here, it sure sounds like a good song with catchy beats which mayl go down well with the masses.

2. Tere Bina – AR Rahman, Chinmayee, Additional Voices – Murtaza, Qadir

It is great to see Chinmayee in the credits. I hope this time she has got something more to do in this song than she did in Mangal Pandey. And one can never guess the kind of track from Murtaza and Qadir in the credits, because these duo sang in 'Theekuruvi' also which has nothing to do with hindustani alaaps.

3. Ek Lo Ek Muft – Bappi Lahiri, Chitra Additional Voices – Tanvi, Saloni,
Boney, Jaidev

After Rang De Basanti, ARR uses Chitra again for a title track of the movie. This time too in an odd combination with Bappi Lahiri.

4. Baazi Laga – Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Swetha, Bhargavee Additional
Programming – Pravin
Mani

Pravin Mani and Ranjit Barot are back with A.R.Rahman.

5. Mayya – Maryem Toller, Chinmayee, Keerthi Programming & Additional
Arrangements Ranjit
Barot

Here is the song sung by the Toronto based singer and I think this is the song which ARR hums in the video clip. Humming sounds catchy on the very first especially the way he ended is too good.

6. Ey Hairathe – Hariharan, Alka Yagnik Additional Voices – AR Rahman, Aslam
Mohammed

Even Hariharan has not sung many song for ARR in the recent past and here he is again and we have Alka Yagnik, a regular in ARR's albums.

7. Jaage Hain – Chitra , AR Rahman and Madras Choral Group

So this is the song about which he said Symphonic opera stuff. Let us see.

2006 started with a bang for A.R.Rahman with the release of Rang De Basanti (which was the most successful album of ARR in recent past) and i hope it ends in the same way with Guru.

Can't wait for the audio.

Iruvar Background Score

Here is a detailed write-up on background score of Iruvar by A.R.Rahman, that I wrote for forumhub magazine. The write-up also includes high quality audio samples. It is one of my favourite scores.

Villager, Visionary, Winner

Finally, the most awaited promo of the year has come out. From the promo of 'Guru', it seems the movie has a serious Iruvar hang over. May be because of lot of stages, speeches, mikes, period look and crowd noises. The background score of the teaser travels with the feel of the visuals starting with a rustic rhythms to a grand heroic theme. It doesn't say when the audio is going to be released though it says the movie will out in December which means the audio may hit the market anytime this month. Take a look at the trailer here