Behindwoods : Literature Society : Anniyan Audio Review

Anniyan Audio Review By Deepak Lakshmanan Profession : Software Engineer E-mail : deepaklakshmanan@gmail.com

With great power comes great responsibilities.. The same could be said of Anniyan as well.. Afterall, with the Uncrowned Superstar of present day Tamil cinema as the protagonist playing a dream role,technicians of interna- tional repute coming together to collaborate with unarguably one of India's finest and profilic extravagant director, the expectations are bound to be gargantuan.. so does the music of Anniyan satisfy all the sky-high expectations ?
The answer would be Yes,in parts. The low-profile audio release of this immensely anticipated high-profile summer release took place yesterday. Probably, Shankar,a bit wiser for the word after his previous Boys debacle, has chosen to go with Less is More in terms of hype. But do not be fooled by the stature of the release, the audio though not about to rock your world, ,definitely has plenty going for it. The album has five songs and one instrumental. Here's a brief review on each one. 1, Oh,Kumari Shankar Mahadevan, Harini This is supposedly one of the two classical numbers of the album. It does not sound like one, atleast not to me.It looks like an interesting fusion attempt,with Shankar Mahadevan's clear baritone talking about Love and its cause/effects in the first paragraph and Harini's perfect accompaniment at the end of the song. 2, Kaadhal Yaanai Nakul,Nelwyn,GV.Prakash ..This is a trademark-H J song,that is peppy enough to instantly catch your attention, at the same time making you wonder where you heard it before. To my limited knowledge,it has shades of his earlier compositions including Mutham Mutham from 12B, and Oddiyanam from Arul. 3, Kannum Kannum Nokia Leslie Lewis,Andrea,Vasundhra Dass ..I would rate this as the Weakest song in the album;nothing earth-shaking or different here.This too sounds like a typical-H J score,giving you the familiar deja-vu feeling. Probably with creative picturisation,this could become a hit. 4, Iyengar Veetu Azaghe Hariharan, Harini ..Just when I was about to dismiss Anniyan as an average HJ album, this track took me completely by surprise. Starting off as a chorus,it wonderfully blends into Hariharan's smooth overtures. Gosh, I have missed his voice in tamil for a long time now. With the ever-reliable Harini accompanying him, this is a nice duet by the pair; though the Telephone Mani pol magic can not be re-created.Definitely a track you will want to repeat for a long time. 5, Andangkaaka Jassie Gift,Kay Kay,Shreya Ghoshal,Saindhavi A fast-paced peppy-folk number, this is the last song of the album;that again is reminiscent of HJ's earlier compositions. Even Jassie Gift's voice does not help dissuade the deja-vu factor that is now so characteristic of a HJ film.But definitely a foot-tapping number nonetheless. 6, Stranger in Black ..Starting out with a haunting female vocal,this is an impressive instrumental track that nicely complements the album.I am guessing this might be used in the title credits,in which case it might be a good idea to get to the theatres early. Summing up,it would be fair to say that the Shankar-ARR combo is missed here. Looking at the nature of the film itself, it looks like music has only a limited scope and in that aspect,HJ has delivered. But this definitely cannot be termed Shankar's best film in terms of music;if his own words have to be quoted.I would not even rate this as HJ's best;except for Iyengar veetu ponnu,none of the other tracks really stand out and are not likely to be remembered in a few years' time from now.