Not many changes from my review of Raavan, the base tunes remaining the same in both cases. This is more of an exercise to list down the artists involved in the Tamil version of each song. And a comparison vis-a-vis the Hindi version.
Veera (Beera) has the same singers as Hindi does, Vijay Prakash, Keerti Sagathia and Mustafa Kutoane. Nothing changes except the lyrics, the singers’ rendition going the same way as in Hindi. And this song I felt was better in Hindi, the lyrics in many places not quite seeming to fit in, and even the arrangement not favouring a Tamil score. Hence my vote goes for Beera. Usure Poguthey (Behene De) again has Karthik at the vocals and as usual does a kickass job! This song I would rate as good as its Hindi counterpart, the orchestration really didn’t have a Hindi incline in any case.
Thok De Killi was the song I found less attractive in the Hindi lineup, and with the same arrangement I found Kodu Potta no better. In fact though Benny Dayal does a decent job he is no match for Sukhwinder, and hence I found the Kodu.. on a lower level than Thok De.. Coming to Kaattu Sirukki (Ranjha Ranjha) I felt immensely happy to hear Shankar Mahadevan and Anuradha Sriram singing for Rahman after so long! Call it my bias towards the singers, I rate Kaattu.. above Ranjha..
With its period feel a la Jodhaa Akbar songs, I was afraid of how Khilli Re would sound in Tamil as I felt there was an inherent Hindi disposition with the kind of instruments used. Shreya Ghoshal has done a brilliant job of vocals in Kalvare, hats off to her, but even that is not enough to mitigate the Hindi elements in the arrangement. Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Shreya. On the other hand, on hearing Kedakkari (Kata Kata) it is hard to believe this was actually made in Hindi, as the song sounds a typical Tamil Kuthu track! Rahman has done some minor tweakings in the orchestration as well to make it more Tamil-friendly, and the results are outstanding! The singer lineup has been entirely changed in this case, Benny Dayal, Bharathiraja, Raihanna and Tanvi doing the honours. A fantastic listen, definitely above the Hindi version.
The above review could be due to my inherent prejudice towards the first-heard variant, but I felt that overall Raavanan‘s soundtrack rates a tad lower than Raavan. Having said that, Raavanan still makes for a great listen. It is, after all, a Rahman composition! 🙂
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Recommended Tracks: Usure Poguthey, Kaattu Sirukki, Kedakkari
Raavanan Music Review
@anon: what i meant was the arrangement not being of a Southie nature. agree that there is a ghatam is used, but cross-usage of instruments has become a regular affair these days.. i had mentioned the north indian feel in connection with the jodhaa akbar-esque period feel of the song..
I say, what’s all this about the instruments in Khili Re being of an “inherently hindi” dispostion?
The precussion is provided for by, as far as I can make out, a Ghatam. (Cos I play one)
Well written review. reflected my mind.
M happy that I am not alone in thinking that ARR-Mani-Vairamuthu could have done a better job… I truly agree with everyone who have quoted this… Infact way I would place this as a request to them to get different tunes for different languages. That way we can get to hear moe wonderful music from ARR. 🙂
Rahman Sap… The tunes are worthful in hindi not in tamil… Dont copy the tunes to tamil as the lyrics are different in both the languages… I am really disappointed with your tunes… In VTV also the songs are not up to the mark… Rahman’s all time best Roja… In another 10 years your songs are sleeping and no one would like to hear except roja… I am sure rahman will not compose like Nearru eilla tha maarram ennathu from Puthiya mugam … Kadhal roja vea from roja… whatever tune compose utilmatily it should ringing even after rahman period gets over… I am not able to say he is the best composer in tamil… harris & yuvan are doing good…
In the song Usure pogudhey…
I felt the line ” Usurea poghudhu Usurea poghudhu
Udhata nee konjam sulikaiyila
Ohhhh maaman thavikiren madipicha keykkuren
manasa thaadi en manikuyilea “……. is exactly similar to the sad song in the film Boys… remember that sad song in the jail… dont remember the lyrics… but sounds just the same as these lines here.
very so-so album — i tried so hard to like it.Cannot compare to Vinnaithandi varuvaya which was absolutely fantastic!
The song Usire Poguthey is worth mentioning – but its very similar to the tunes in the tamil movie “Tajmahal”
Kinda disappointed with the legend this time….
Being his die-hard fan i expected a lot more…..
Especially the trio (ARR-MANI-VAIRAMUTHU) have churned out so many heart-warming melodies in the past (Roja,Bombay,Kannathil Muthamittal)….
To my disappointment I could see just one (Kalvare..) and that too hats off to just Shreya Ghoshal’s mesmerizing rendition…
But I guess the movie’s plot demands more of energy than moments…..Then ARR has just done justice to it…..
All the best to the movie!…
P.S – I’d rate Vikram anyday above AB as Raavana!!…..
Before any one can figure out the negatives in my comment, i want to tell one thing i am a die-hard fan of ARR. I heard the Hindi version first so the Tamil lyrics are sounding somewhat odd to me, not for all the songs, but the beginning of Veera syncs with Beera in Hindi version, but the power in the lyrics of the Hindi version is not translated in the Tamil version.
Overall, the music of Ravanan is pure magic. But i feel, for some songs ARR could have easily composed new tunes. One rare thing is i have not experienced this mismatch between lyrics and music in the previous ARR+Mani films. Hope Mani makes us to forget this glitch on screen. Waiting for the movie..
If we make comparisons between Mani’s previous take on Mahabharatham (Thalabathi) and today Ravanan (Depiction of Ravanan’s Ramayanam), we should also make comparisons between the music in both films. And i think, Isai Gani wins here.
wow what a songs.i love all the songs in raavanan.really marvellous music by a.r.r. vikram the best always and he will be the next super star.not that useless vijay.
Your comment on thok de killi is highly accepted. Sukhwinder is much more than Benny.
Word Chirukki is on lower note despite good tune, voice rendering and orchestration.
Great post. I will read your posts frequently. Added you to the RSS reader.