Of Rahul Raj’s three songs for London Bridge, Kannaadi Vaathil is easily the best – a highly addictive tune set to a minimal arrangement highlighted by the acoustic guitar and twinkly synth bits, with the occasional outburst around the Venmukile bit. And there is Haricharan doing his bit with a flawless rendition (shades of kharaharapriya raga I felt, with possibly some reethigowla too, in that flute interlude played by Josy) of the song. Chinni Chinni’s ordinary tune bogs down the could-have-been-interesting song, with its Latino-infused arrangement and Yasin Nizar’s commendable singing. The London Bridge Theme plays strictly by theme rules; orchestrally opulent with strings and brass and operatic singing by Gitamba; and a Celtic twist in between which features a fab violin solo by Francis.
The remaining two songs of the soundtrack are composed by Sreevalsan J Menon, both markedly different from Rahul’s set in their sombre tone. Ennum Ninne is neatly arranged, and has a nice haunting tune. What doesn’t quite go with the whole thing though is Shaan’s decidedly non-Malayali rendition, both in his style and diction. Ven Megham fares much better, with a more groovy arrangement and brilliant singing from Rachana John with good backing from Amal Antony and Deepu Nair.
London Bridge. Commendable effort from Rahul Raj and Sreevalsan J Menon.
Music Aloud Rating: 7/10
Top Recos: Kannaadi Vaathil, Ven Megham, London Bridge Theme
