SOK music - The return of the King

ARR is back with a bang with his latest album in Tamil, “Sillendru Oru Kadhal”. Though he was constantly coming up with good songs in Bollywood, it’s been long since he came up with a wholesome album in Tamil. And this was definitely a cause of disappointment for fans like me. But he has not let us down and his SOK album is a proof of that. The album is an outright entertainer with each song portraying a different aura. And I definitely have to mention Vaali here. He has come up with some beautiful lyrics that makes you appreciate the songs completely. In short, this album is a great relief from the mediocre “mass” albums that have been released lately. The songs,

Newyork Nagaram – Easily my favourite one of the album. I am a great fan of Rahman’s voice and to be frank, I definitely picked this one for ARR’s voice rather than his music. I especially loved the humming part. It’s very catchy. I truly admire Rahman’s choice of the songs for his voice (Unlike Yuvan...someone please tell him, his voice sucks). “Kannire” from Uyire, “Vellai pookal” from Kannathil Muthamittal and recent “Lukka Chuppi” from RDB are best examples of that. Another thing to watch out for in this song is the excellent guitar piece at the beginning.

Kummi Adi – A folk number sung by Seerkazhi Siva Chidambaram & Swarnalatha. The way the song starts is very impulsive. The pace of the song is so good, that you tap your feet automatically when u hear to it. The “Kummi Adi” chorus is very captivating.

Munbe Vaa – This is a melodious song rendered by Shreya Ghoshal & Naresh Iyer. The music is very light & soothing and the lead singers perfectly compliment each other. I am just hooked on to the “Rangoli” chorus. Its just amazing.

Jillendru Oru Kadhal – This looks like the title song. It’s based on Jazz music that gives a very different feel to the song. The singer Tanvi has given a very stylish rendition and seems to have thoroughly enjoyed singing it which is very evident in the song.

Majaa Majaa – Sounds like a very sensuous song. Shreya Ghoshal is brilliant as usual. What can I say, her voice is pure magic. But I was a little let down by the male voice, SPB Charan. I felt it did not blend in well with the mood of the song. I really wish SPB had sung this instead. It would have been another “Thanga Thamarai Magale”.

Machakari –This is a typical Vasundhra Das song and Shankar Mahadevan has tried to keep up the same tone here. The beats in the song are good. The song has a very western feel to it.

Maaricham – Not an instantly catchy song. It reminds me of the “Chandralekha” song from Thiruda Thiruda. The music is very slow and the lyrics are good.

Overall, a soft & romantic album from ARR, that truly ROCKS!

“Shivaji” Ganesan – The Legend

“Shivaji” Ganesan is one of my favourite actors of all times. He has done versatile roles in his career and has received accolades for almost all of them. He had the greatest talent of slipping into any kind of role with ease. He also had an amazing sense of dialogue delivery, which was very evident right from his first movie. Recently, the Tamilnadu government unveiled his statue to honor his contribution to the film industry. The least I could do to honor such a legend is to dedicate a post to him and list out my favourite 10 movies from among the ones he acted in. Here they are:

10. Gauravam

9. Navarathiri

8. Vasantha Maligai

7. Thiruvilayadal

6. Parasakthi

5. Pasa Malar

4. Thillana Mohanambal

3. Devar Magan

2. Mudhal Mariyadhai

1. Karnan

Never Again plz GOD

Today, Mumbai witnessed the same plight as London did about the same time last year.

Series of blasts, many bodies of civilians scattered in the pool of blood, hundreds of innocent people hurt, thousands of near & dear ones across the world worried, analysts debating on who were responsible, Leaders from every country condemning it, a few days of mourning…

Nothing changed. Neither has my prayer. Let’s hope my prayers are answered atleast this time. I sincerely hope!

A trip to the WEST

During the July 4^th weekend, I went on my first trip to the West Coast – San Francisco. It was a beautiful city. The weather was just amazing. I visited all the usual tourist spots in San Francisco city like Golden Gate, Fisherman’s wharf, Crooked Street and of course our “Saravana Bhavan” too. (How could I miss that? ;) Yummy!). I also went to Yosemite National Park. It was a wonderful place. The drive from San Francisco to there was breathtaking. On the whole, I had a good time with my friends. Here are few pictures:

Krrish

I did not have big expectations when I went to watch this movie. Mainly because this movie is a sequel to “Koi Mil Gaya” and though I appreciate the fact that a movie like “Koi Mil Gaya” was a novel effort for Indian cinema, I felt the movie was too amateurish. But “Krrish” was a pleasant surprise.

The movie starts off with Rekha realizing that her grandson Krishna (Hrithik) has inherited the super powers from his father Rohit (Hrithik in “Koi Mil Gaya”) which was given to him by the alien “Jadoo”. Papa Hrithik and his wife Preity are no more now and Rekha not wanting to lose Krishna too decides to hide Krishna from the rest of the world. Krishna, being very talented & powerful, is not normal like other kids and hence he has no friends. As he grows up, he becomes more powerful that he can run faster than a horse, climb trees & mountains like monkeys, catch fish from the pond with just his hands, etc. One day, Krishna saves a Singapore based Indian girl, Priya (Priyanka Chopra), who is on a tour to the place where Krishna lives. While Priya is amazed by Krishna’s extraordinary skills; Krishna, on the other hand, falls in love with Priya. After Priya goes back to Singapore, she wants to reveal Krishna’s talents to the world and make him a celebrity (ofcourse, she also wants to do it to save her job). So in order to make Krishna come to Singapore, she lies to him about being in love with him. Before leaving for Singapore, Rekha tells Krishna the story behind the death of his father and also makes him promise that he’ll hide his talents from the world. In Singapore, Krishna had to use his skills to save some children from a fire accident and in order to keep his identity secret, he uses a mask. From then on, Mask man, “Krrish” becomes a very famous super hero. While in Singapore, Krishna learns the truth about his father and how he tackles the villain forms the rest of the story.

The major success of the movie is that Hrithik is believable in the role of a super hero. He does complete justice to his role. Priyanka has also delivered what is expected of her. The first half of the movie is shot in a mountainous place that has wonderful scenic locations which are a treat to the eye. The second half on the other hand captures the beauty of Singapore. The technical aspects, which was a major let down in "Koi Mil Gaya", was top class in this movie, almost on par with the hollywood movies. Most of the songs in the movie are melodious but not catchy. On the whole, this movie is the first step into the world of super hero movies in Indian cinema and it is definitely a step in the “right” direction.