2018 – Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 2

Song: Raajali
Movie: 2.0
Composer: AR Rahman
Singers: Blaaze, Arjun Chandy, Sid Sriram
Lyricist: Madhan Karky

Though Rahman swept the National Award in ‘Roja’ for his soulful music and announced to the world that he was here to stay, it was his audacious dance beats and rampant high-pitched singing that made him an icon among the youth in urban pop culture. “Chikku Bukku Rayile”, “Urvasi Urvasi”, “Arabic Kadaloram”, “Rangeela Re”, Palakattu Machanukku”, “No Problem”, “Romeo Attam Pottaa” – all went on to be chart-busters with beats enthralling a generation of youth back then. ‘Raajali’ is a glorious trip down the memory lane for his fans back to the 90s. The anthem style orchestration here reminds me of that sensational opening music in “Edudaa Antha Suriya Melam” from Puthiya Mannargal, which at that point in my life had kept me spellbound for months. There is none better than Rahman in producing anthems on such a grand scale. Raajali brings back that enchantment in magnificent style. The track begins with a steady chorus of “Isaac Asimov Perandaa…Sundakka Size Soorandaa” backed by war-cry-like beats setting us up with such excitement. And then those thunderous beats at 0:14! Wow! Savage! It gives me the chills every time – like the rapturously thumping walk of a terminator. I could slice away the rest of the song and just listen to this loop all day long. “Isaipuyal” for no better reason! The anthem bit follows with the vocals and boundless energy of Blaaze, Sid Sriram and Arjun Chandy who with their fiery delivery (also, cleverly masking the word 3.0 with vague pronunciation to avoid spoilers) turn up the track’s heat producing inconceivable thrills, especially when I hear them explode, “Maasey…Naan Podimaasu”. Those rousing closing moments of the song when the anthem extends on a full-scale thump for 40 seconds shows that Rahman still is the king of grand music! With Raajali, Rahman comes fully loaded, all guns blazing, giving us the ultimate stormer of the year.

2018 – Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 3

Song: Vasantha Kaalangal
Movie: 96
Composer: Govind Vasantha
Singer: Chinmayi
Lyricist: Uma Devi

It is a like a painting that vibrates hypnotically. The composer has gone full Zen here! It’s a minimalist’s dream. The sheer meditative quality in Mithun Raju’s serene guitar play elevates this track to a league of its own. If guitar had a heart on its own, then its valves are the strings between Mithun’s fingers. Chinmayi is a treasure to the world of singing. Her voice of gold sways to the brilliance of the notes as though she wrote it in her mind before the composer even thought of them. When her voice soars at “Paarvayin, Paaramaiyil”, it makes you gasp in wonder for a fleeting moment. She lives through the lovely words of Uma Devi who masterfully describes the gut wrenching pain of separation. This song has the quality of a necessary evil, which can scavenge your heart for the deeply quarantined memories and then shore them up painfully until your throat and no further. On first hear, when the song ended abruptly after 5 minutes, I was let down like a kid stripped off from the first bite of a chocolate. I was even scraping the internet to see whether the full version was available anywhere. However, the song’s ending is perfect in the movie’s context as she leaves him abruptly without the strength to prolong it further as they both know it can never happen in reality. Only memories and wishful thinking can prevail. What better composition to blend with the ending! Govind Vasantha is a musical alchemist.

2018 – Top 20 Tamil Songs >> 4

Song: Bhoomi Bhoomi
Movie: Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
Composer: AR Rahman
Singers: Shakthisree Gopalan
Lyricist: Vairamuthu

While I am still trying to roll off from the magnificent impact of Shakthisree’s voice in the sweet and sensitive ‘Nenjukulle’, here comes another cutting edge masterpiece from AR Rahman giving her the space to play with thunders this time. Rahman goes outside the box and lays down a huge mosaic floor with dizzying, unconventional patterns for his contemporaries to ponder over where it starts and where it ends. It is difficult to consume this song at first go. After the award-winning track “Vellai Pookal” back in 2002 which cried against wars and for hope and world peace, he produces another gem with “Bhoomi”, which as its emotional centerpiece, has the desperate plea of a woman against mindless violence by men and its profound impact on women as collateral damage. Vairamuthu’s lyrics showcase masterfully the transient nature of the world and how violence and killing are pointless in the bigger picture and the cry of women getting lost in the noise. Rahman opens the track with the recurring sound of an alarm indicating that there is an explosion waiting to happen at any point and how! Shakthisree escalates the tension to epic proportions with the soaring notes of “Idhayam Thaangumaa” that emotionally wrings your heart pushing it to a point of exploding into nuggets beating into oblivion. I also love the way the portions of “Paavi Nenje” bringing in the “Endee Soodamani” effect from PKS in the voice of Anuradha Sriram and “Patha Vecha Panje” with a Rahman twist. “Bhoomi” is an emotional dynamite.