Dhayanidhi Alagiri is introducing Gaurav to Kollywood as a director and an actor in his latest production Thoonga Nagaram. The movie has Vimal, Bharani and Anjali acting in important roles. The music of Thoonga Nagaram has been scored by Sundar C. Babu. The audio of the movie was launched recently at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai and let us see how the album fares.

Vaigai Siricha Thoonganagaram...
Vocals: Palghat Sriram
Lyrics: S Gnanakaravel

Palghat Sriram gives an outlook of Madurai in this song. The city is the hero in this song. Nothing special about the music here but S Gnanakaravel perfectly describes what Madurai is all about. From ‘Sanga Tamizh' and 'Lanthu Tamizh' to the markets, theatres and the gopurams, Vaigai Siricha is like a travel guide to people. The song also throws light into the friendliness and the gutsy behavior of Madurai people. An apt song to mark the start of the album!

Koorana Paarvaigal...  
Vocals: Hariharan, Chinmayee
Lyrics: Thamarai

Koorana Paarvaigal is a melody song. The music arrangements are surprisingly low key but augers well for the song as Hariharan and Chinmayee's voices are clear and lovely to listen to. Thamarai's lyrics are poesy and add value to the song. A breezy number which will catch up on you after a couple of listens.

Kalyanam Kalyanam (Remix)...
Vocals: Chandrababu, Karthik
Lyrics: Narayana Kavi

Legendary actor Chandrababu's Kalyanam Kalyanam song is brought to life here. A bit of DJ mixing in between with some usual sounds is what this remix is all about. Karthik does a decent job in describing marriage and its bliss. This song should be aired on radio and television just for the popularity of its original version.

Ettu Kangalukkum...
Vocals: Madhu Balakrishnan
Lyrics: S Gnanakaravel

The start of this song start on the same notes of a popular yesteryear song but this one is about friendship and the bond friends share for years. Again the music does not impress much and Madhu Balakrishnan's effort does not help the cause either. The song fails to make an impression!

Nee Siricha Kondattam...
Vocals: Shankar Mahadevan
Lyrics: S Annamalai

This is like a 'thiruvizha song'. We can easily visualize the song while listening to it. Shankar Mahadevan's subtle modulations give the required zest to the song. This high octane number must catch up with the audience once they see Madurai's beauty on screen.

Rhythm of Thoonganagaram...

An intriguing start paves way for the traditional drums (molam) and trumpets and though it is short it is quite an interesting listen.

Theme of Thoonganagaram...

The theme generates curiosity as you travel with it. Just when the music gets grander nearly reaching the peak, it comes to an abrupt end leaving us with a heavy feeling. Maybe that is how the movie intends to be...

Verdict: Overall, Thoonga Nagaram shines in bits but is not a well etched album. Though Sundar C. Babu has used different sounds with the traditional folk instruments, the songs fail to live in our memories for long. The songs could fit in the movie with apt situations. Thoonga Nagaram is a decent album to listen to but fails to captivate us.