ANNAATTHE MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

1. Annaatthe Annaatthe 
    Singer: S.P.Balasubrahmanyam
    Lyricist: Viveka

The legend lives on, as we end the first anniversary of his death, the genius of SPB continues to live on, and it is not just a zillion of his old songs but new ones which are getting released like this one here. There can be only one SPB in South Indian movies if not the whole of India, and just none can match the style and oomph factor of him especially when it is a song featuring Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead role. The song has an amazing combination of trumpets and synth programming with a chorus singing ‘Thalaiva’, and all this sets the perfect tone for what is about to come. SPB singing the title and you feel goosebumps, and these 2 seconds are enough to show how insurmountable he was. The lyrics are penned by Viveka and the words are spectacularly larger than life and that is exactly what the masses want to experience. Keba Jeremiah’s guitars are in play here especially the bass. The Indian percussions we hear are arranged by Kaviraj and make us feel like the days of “singanadai pottu sigarathil eru” are back. Maxwell’s trumpet is excellent right from the beginning but the harmonies comprising of solid singers like Santhosh Hariharan, Deepak, Shenbagaraj, Aravind, Srinivas, Narayanan, Vignesh Narayanan, Veena Murali, Sowmya Mahadevan, Deepthi Suresh, Abinaya Shenbagaraj, Ala B Bala, Soundarya, Nandakumar. The interlude has a female chorus and has a moment where the notes suddenly drop like you wouldn’t expect. The stanza is nicely composed as expected from Imman and it traverses a path carrying the melody forward. The kids' chorus consists of Neha, Idhazhika, Dhanyasri, Shivathmika, and Sahana. The entire album is mastered by Shadab Rayeen with assistance from Pukraj and Milan, while Imman mixes, composes, records, and arranges every track in it. The percussions are played by Babu, Pradeep, Raja, Balu, Manoj, Saravanan, David, Chiranjeevi, and Azhagiri. The track will be the new anthem for all Rajini fans and be prepared to hear it wherever you turn around in tea stalls,  auto-rickshaws, and dance shows.

2. Saara Saara Kaatrae
    Singers: Sid Sriram, Shreya Ghoshal
    Lyricist: Yugabharathi

Imman gets two monumental singers of today in this track viz. Sid Sriram and his most dependable Shreya Ghoshal. The track is set in Sindhubhairavi raagam and that becomes quite evident from the get-go itself. We have Yugabharathi on the lyrics and he becomes the emotion of love to great effect here. It is only in Imman’c composition that we get an elaborate Pallavi and Anupallavi and that too with so many variations and believe me a lot of songs these days would end right here without any scope. Shreya Ghoshal kills this one and it is probably one of her best for Imman and Sid also plays the role of the perfect companion. The Chennai Strings Orchestra is in full flow in this track conducted by Yensone Bagyanathan with Violins by Rex Issac, Ramachandran, Sasi, Murali, BG Venkatesh, George, Mohan, Dhayalan, David Ling, Samson, Prabhu, Ruben, Bhaskar, Vijayabhaskar, Jayakumar, Selva, Shiva, Sekar, Seenu, Narayana Rao and Manoj. The Violas are played by Sebastian, Balu, Hemanth, Girijan, Selva, Gopi, Chandran, Anita, Joseph, Cyril, Dinakar, Vinaykumar. The Cellos are played by Sekar, Somnath, Francis, and Seenu, while Basses are played by Bidhyut and Suresh. This song will be your favorite in the album if you love a meandering melody.

3. Marudhaani
    Singers: Nakash Aziz, Anthony Daasan, Vandana Srinivasan
    Lyricist: Mani Amuthavan

How can there be a superstar movie without a dance song involving the entire family? Well here it is and it has two iconic singers suited for this genre. Anthony Daasan is a pro while the other being Nakash Aziz is climbing up in this world. Aziz has carved a name for himself and he can sing many languages with great diction. In the female lead vocal role, we have another dependable singer in Vandana Srinivasan. We already have 3 different lyricists for the first 3 songs as this one is penned by Mani Amuthavan. The percussions are the sidekicks for this song with the enchanting Nadaswaram. Keba’s guitars are fabulous right through and especially in the charanam, as they provide solid support even as the lead singers keep shifting and changing the lines. The second interlude on the Nadaswaram is a treat to listen to. The line in which Aziz sings “mannu thaan, vetha onnu thaan” sounds a lot like “Sindhinen ratham sindhinen” from the super hit Ilaiyaraja song “Oora therinjukitten” which was also from Superstar's movie.

4. Yennuyire
    Singer: Sid Sriram
    Lyricist: Thamarai

The pathos song which is essential for any Rajini starrer is here and Imman ropes in Sid Sriram to sing the song and he excels. I sense that there is some influence of Rasikapriya raagam in this tune as we are reminded of Imman’s own blockbuster hit “Uthira Uthira”. Thamarai is the lyricist for this one and gets the words and emotions spot on. In what sounds like the electric Veena followed by some strings and woodwinds. The flute and Veena make solid interventions in the charanam. The female version has the nightingale KS Chitra and it is just incredible how she can still deliver with ease any song she is offered. In my opinion, the female version gets a leg up purely because of the superstar singing it.

5. Vaa Saamy 
    Singers: Mukesh Mohamed, Nochipatti Thirumoorthi, Keezhakarai Samsutheen
    Lyricist: Arunbharathi

Mukesh Mohamed, Nochipatti Thirumoorthi, and Keezhkarai Samsutheen are solid together and in their individual lines as their vocals are despite being at high decibel levels never hurt the ear once thanks to the immaculate delivery and production. The song is like an anthem with solid folk percussions and during the charanam, there are fragments that probably are inspired by Hamsanandhi raagam. The song is heavy on adrenaline and one can’t wait for the visuals to match the audio.

6. A for Annaatthe  
    Singers: Arivu,Superstar Rajinikanth
    Lyricist: Arivu

This is definitely Rajini’s revenge song as the vibes we get and lyrics we hear are perfect for that setting. Arivu writes and sings this in his own style and it is increasingly heart-warming to see Arivu get chances in mainstream Tamil Cinema. The whistles and the rhythm make a great team especially with Arivu’s constant rap and singing.

7. Thalaivar Rampage 

This theme music reminds me of the 1990s when Rajini would walk and it would feel like the stage and screen is setting itself on fire. The electric guitars and trumpets make a solid combination. The male humming has become traditional in Rajini BGMs ever since the heydays of Thenisai Thendral deva.

8. Village Kuthu

This is a simple percussion-loaded piece, but a perfect recipe for fans to dance on FDFS.

9. Yennuyire Instrumental 

This instrumental piece has synth programming in the background, but it is all about the Nadaswaram played by KP Kumaran from Jaffna, and this one is soul-stirring matching the vocal versions.