"A musical treat from A R Rahman!" shouts out the message that comes with the Tamil movie Sakkarakkatti (Lump of Sugar), produced by Kalaippuli S Thaanu, and starring debutant Santhanu, the offspring of talented director K Bhagyaraj.
The story revolves around five friends who grow up together -- and then, at the right time, love blooms between the hero and heroine. What will win the final round: friendship or love? That's the question this movie (hopefully) seeks to answer. In the meantime, the makers promise a feast of music for this romantic film. So let's see if the soundtracks deliver the promise. Taxi ...Taxi... rendered by Benny Dayal, Blaaze, Viviane, and Javed Ali starts off with a Hindi hip-hop tune and a thumping beat that lets the singers extol the virtues of friendship. Apparently, as per the lyrics of Na Muthukumar, Blaaze and Viviane, a good friend is a lot like a taxi in your hour of need. With a bout of synthesised music interspersed with Viviane singing in some unknown language (French?) combined with weird sounds that make you giggle, the song proceeds at the same steady pace, but the tune makes you sway lazily, and when it ends, with a regulation mixture of rap, English verses and sounds, you're quite caught up in it. Marudaani ...begins with a 80-esque music with Madhushree's melodious humming. This one is a lot like Rahman's previous romantic numbers, harking right back to the Pudhiya Mugam times, with piano music mingling with the tunes, and Vaali, with his extensive experience in romantic songs has fallen back on it. Henry and Rahman have produced a continuation of the humming from the first few moments, while Madhusri takes up from where she left off, ending with the sound of anklets jingling away. On the whole, a ho-hum number. I Miss you Da...is up next. With what you can only assume is either the a) the name of the hero, b) an equally weird nickname -- both of which sound bizarre, this one kick-starts with Chinmayee's husky voice as she whispers romantic-nothings, penned by Na Muthukumar, about (presumably) her beloved. Indai Haza's strong voice echoes with the Miss You refrain as Chinmayee branches off into apparently unconnected phrases eulogising love. By the time she segues back into the first line, you sort of get used to it. You wish you were able to make more sense of the lyrics, though -- they're mince-meat, as it is. Still this one stands the best chance of becoming a youthful stand-by. After all those synthesised blasts and strange languages, Chinnamma ...starts off refreshingly with a folklore-flute music piece, intermingling with a rousing beat. Benny Dayal's voice begins confidently in a rural tune, while Chinmayee, in a different manner from her previous number, takes on a deeper tone. Pa Vijay's lyrics bring out the folk flavour, while the chorus sounds sweeter than the lead singers at times. The flute interlude reminds of the ancient Sivaji-starrer Pazhani's song. In the second half, though, the song is a bit perplexing -- as though the music-director couldn't decide between turning it into a completely folksy song, and leaving traces of trendy modern stuff in. Following this piece we have Elay. This combined effort of singers Krish and Naresh Iyer starts off with a striking guitar piece that reminds you of the title piece of McKenna's Gold and traces of Rang de Basanti [Images] -- but it loses none of its charm for all that. Na Muthukumar's lyrics are an exercise in a feel-good song about winning the world, in Thirunelveli slang. Violins provide an excellent background; the next few segments only reinforce the Wild West theme even more, as a harmonica adds its snappy tunes to the mix. There's a brief hint of 40's Broadway music that transports you for a few moments into Hollywood's past -- and then it's back to the guitar, snazzy violins and the harmonica. This piece is easily the star of the whole album; it's dance-worthy, magical, and brings a whiff of the Rahman of yore. Naan Eppodhu sung by Reena Bharadwaj begins softly with a distinct North Indian flavour. Guitars accompany her voice with a serene beat. A little later, the rhythm changes to a softer, conversational piece, after which it segues back to music. Pa Vijay's lyrics seem to suggest a coming-of-age song, where the heroine probably has fallen head over heels in love. It's melodious -- but oft-heard. Weighing it on your auditory scales, barring the romantic songs, the rest seem to be an interesting mixture of tunes; some strange, some familiar. The final verdict? Vintage Rahman peeps in only once or twice -- still, it's worth listening. Rediff Rating: http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2008/jul/15sss.htm
