I am very pleased to see this song being highly rated here in this group, coming in at number 2 in terms of favorite songs in my poll of fav VTV songs.
The high ratings are a bit surprising in a way because the song's melodic structure is very unconventional and drawn out, hard to follow compared to most film song melodies, and appears to meander without direction, even though it doesn't (a criticism noted in many reviews). There are also not too many catchy hooks in the melody, even though the melody itself is quite beautiful...very much akin to a Western theatrical play song you might hear on stage. On the other side, the high ratings here in this group are not surprising since I feel most of us are more open minded about different melodic variations and song structures than the average person out there; we being passionate Rahman fans, are perhaps more receptive to such experimentations and give it a chance. Actually, this song requires a lot of patience and time...it requires you to slow down your listening pace and be more in the musical moment at any given time...demanding that you pay closer attention to the direction and tone of the melody and its accompanying, subtle harmonic structures. As I alluded to in my review, this song falls more in line with an "artistic" oriented composition and less in line with an "entertaining" oriented composition with higher values of aestheticism and abstractness. But the above mentioned points may not be received by a lot of people, thus many brushing off the song as being too bland and directionless, lacking spark, energy, intensity. But, really, the true beauty is in the subtlety, under the surface, if you're willing, patient, and open enough to experience it. It is truly a "growing" song that requires multiple exposures to appreciate it. It definitely took time to grow on me and I'm still discovering more of its beauty with each listen, uncovering subtle instruments here and there, a chord progression that I first missed, etc. etc. I'm so glad and grateful that AR likes to experiment like this...giving us something new and fresh each time, at the risk of initial resistance and hesitation due to the time needed to accomodate to such novelty and originality. That quality to me is a the hallmark of a true genius, one who is daring enough to push the envelope and defy traditional forms, yet being very confident in its execution. It's what keeps AR so successful, relevant, and vibrant as he moves further in his career. Check out the ending with Shreya's soft voice and AR's delicate piano touches......just class, PURE CLASS!!! A truly special song full of feeling, innocence, sincerity that I will cherish forever....
