Kanulu Kanulu Piliche is Ilayaraja at his best – the tune has an endearing retro-ish lilt that the composer treats to a waltz-like arrangement prominently featuring violins and keys; there are some beautiful violin and flute solos in the interludes. Singer Haricharan is brilliant on his part, joined in the second half by an equally competent Chinmayi. Even in Edhuru Choosthunna the arrangement and singing are top notch – guitars play a prominent role here alongside the strings section, setting the song along that pleasantly engaging groove, while Vibhavari handles the singing. Satya Prakash joins Vibhavari in her other song Tholi Paruvam; a pacier, trippier techno affair for a large part, the composer enriching the arrangement with some trademark violins in the second and third verses. Maatallo Cheppaleni has a nice tune, the familiarity factor here in the melody and arrangement don’t further the cause of the song much. Karthik, however, manages to prop the song up with his rendition.
Raja gets Daira frontman Piyush Kapoor for Reena Macareena, a song that has a fairly obvious nod to MJ’s Smooth Criminal (interesting coincidence: Piyush sang a cover of MJ’s Beat It on Music Mojo when he was part of Thaikkudam Bridge). The arrangement is interesting and Piyush energetic, but the song comes off as a relative weakling of the album. I don’t understand much Telugu but get a feeling that this song isn’t great shakes on lyrical front either. Piyush also sings the male version of Abbayitho Ammayi that sounds a little like a reprise of his first song. Short track (just under 1.5 minutes) so not particularly impactful. The female version doesn’t differ from the male version in any manner apart from Aparna replacing Piyush, and the lyrics. Yazin Nizar and Rita’s attitude-loaded singing and Blaaze’s (I think, uncredited) rap add big time to the cool factor of Okasaari O Vayyari even as the synth elements rule the backdrop. Saradale closes the soundtrack nicely, an easy going song sung with gusto by Manasi, Ramya and Rita while Raja deftly mixes folk elements amidst the contemporary sound.
Abbayitho Ammayi. After Rudhramadevi earlier this year, Ilayaraja produces another winner in Telugu!
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Top Recos: Kanulu Kanulu Piliche, Edhuru Choosthunna, Tholi Paruvam
