Songs and full credits at the end of the review.
The Friendship Anthem doesn’t seem to be that high on lyrical quality (guessing based on the English words I hear through the song), but it does score well on the musical side. Rahul Raj’s arrangement sees some characteristically smart use of guitars (Sumesh Parameshwar and Thaikkudam Bridge man Mithun Raju), and the singing by Sooraj Santhosh and Elvis Don Raja is commendable. Merise Merise has a mild Harris Jayaraj-like vibe about it. Nice melody, once again neatly arranged, highlighted by Josy’s flute. Only the electronic twang in the composer’s rendition that irks a bit. Rahul’s singing in Freedom Song too has the same problem, the song otherwise is quite sleekly arranged, Sumesh leading from the front. Najeem Arshad’s Sooryodayam starts off promisingly, a soothing breezy melody. But then a dated Bollywood-iness kicks in around the title refrain, bringing down the enjoyability a couple of notches. Najeem’s singing is classy as usual though. Rahul makes beautiful use of violin in the final song, another pleasant melody called Shoonyamai. The violinist Francis Xavier is spotless at his end, even as Nikhil Mathew holds up his end quite well.
Paathshala. Composer Rahul Raj’s sophomore Telugu soundtrack is a marked improvement over his debut, Oh My Friend.
Music Aloud Rating: 7.5/10
Top Recos: Friendship Anthem, Shoonyamai, Merise Merise
All Songs & Filmscore
Composed,Programmed & Produced by – Rahul Raj
Lyrics – Shree Mani
Guitars & Bass – Sumesh Parameswar
Flute & Ethnic Winds – Josy
Violin Performances – Francis Xavier
Addnl Guitars(Friendship Anthem) – Mithun Raju
Filmscore Programmers –
Rahul Raj ,Pradeep Tom ,Sam Simon George & Dileep Singh
Studios – IndiaSoundz , Soundfactory , 20dbsoundstudios
Session Engineers – Rahul Raj,Tony Joseph,Dixon Alice Paulose
Songs Mixed & Mastered by – Balu Thankachan @ 20dbSoundstudios
Score Themes Mixed by – Rahul Raj @ IndiaSoundZ Productions
Score DTS Mix Engineer – Rahul Rajan
Score Editor – Dixon Alice Paulose
Thanks – Sethu Thankachan,Tony Joseph
Production Management – Michael Kottayam
