You can watch the songs at the end of the review.
Shwetha Mohan’s fabulously nuanced rendition is the high point of the (Bageshri-based?) bhajan Shyam Hare. While the arrangement is fitting in most places, would have preferred Ouseppachan to have avoided the attempts at modernization, like the Krishna Mukunda chorus. The composer gets Nithyasree Mahadevan to sing Varavayi Thozhi, presumably her first Malayalam song. While I have never been a big fan of the loud singing by the lady, when the raga happens to be the loveliest Reethigowla I tend to forgive all else. Ergo, this song too works, though not to the extent that Reethigowla songs generally do. Eravil Viriyum sees the lead actress Mamta Mohandas get behind the mic. The lady has proven her way with singing before, and doesn’t disappoint here either, delivering quite fittingly the breezy melody. Karthik’s vocal reliability manages to slightly prop up the otherwise regular-sounding Veyil Pole, but even the singing is marred in places with the voice-processing. The soundtrack ends with a beauty though, Ee Vazhiyil. The English bit sounds a bit cheesy, but the composer’s smart employment of an assortment of instruments (the interludes I totally loved) and the flawless delivery of Shibu Chakravarthy’s well-worded lines by Srinivas and Manjari are more than enough to have you hooked to this one.
Arike. A soundtrack that lacks the sublime quality that Ouseppachan-Shyamaprasad’s previous outing had, but engages, in parts.
Music Aloud Rating: 6/10
Top Recos: Shyam Hare, Ee Vazhiyil, Eravil Viriyum
