Saroja - Music Review

One musical genius. Six songs. One rocking album, reads the cover of Saroja's music album.

The film is directed by Venkat Prabhu, the man who made a name for himself with the unprecedented success of Chennai 600028, and its album (by Yuvan Shankar Raja).

Read on to see if the Venkat Prabhu-Yuvan combination (lyrics penned by Vaali and Gangai Amaren) can repeat the magic of Chennai.

First off we have Cheeky Cheeky, which begins with a blitzkrieg of sound that explodes in your eardrums making you take a deep breath before trying to assimilate it all. Matilda and Nirdhya sing a potpourri of English while Yuvan Shankar Raja raps away to kingdom come. The music is a mixture of 80s disco and thundering beats that sink into the background and throb in the forefront. You cannot make out much of the lyrics amid the din.

In contrast, guitar pieces blend weirdly with the nadaswaram into a joyous singsong number in Aaja Mere Soniye, somehow bringing scattered images of Tahitian beauties floating into your mind. Rendered by S P Charan, Vijay Yesudas and Premgi Amaren, this piece is refreshing after the first bombardment. A mix of Hindi and Tamil doesn't sound too jarring as the song progresses into a steady rhythm. Destined to be played at wedding receptions.

Yuvan seems to be hell-bent on producing unknown sounds within a known framework and this is apparent in the next number -- Dosthu Bada Dosthu, which, even if the lyrics make you laugh with their rhyming Vaasthu pronouncements, do manage to strike a chord. Guitars strum in accompaniment while "Abdul Kalam" makes a timely entry, sung by Haricharan, Naveen and Rahul Nambiar. It also looks like the harmonica is in vogue again -- sudden flashes of it add a poignant touch. The second segment shows signs of labour, but the steady beats take your mind away from it.

Kodana Kodi, sung by Mohammad Aslam, Suvi and Raninam, carries with it touches of Theeppidikka, and the refrain of Oh baby. It is the equivalent of yesteryear's vamp dances, reminding you forcibly of a gangster staggering with an arrack bottle and spouting boozy lines. You have to admit that the composer's got the beats right, which make you sway despite yourself.

Shankar Mahadevan's Nimirndhu Nil! bursts in at a remarkable tempo, segueing into a chorus of enervating lyrics and a folk beat. Violins flash before you in a brisk tune that remind you of Thamthananam thaalam varum...except that they are set to rousing music, and the quick pace is present throughout the song. Such is the energy that something in you responds to the beat without your knowledge, making your heart thump, and the staccato way Shankar Mahadevan renders the song has a good deal to do with it.

My Life, performed by the band Yodhakaa, seems to be a whipping blend of Darbuka Siva's drums, Tanvi's vocals, Keith Peter's bass guitar, which strums at an amazing pace, accompanied by Keba Jakemiah's guitar. It's straightforward, energetic and primal, with little heed for the lyrics, sending your eardrums reverberating. You've got such a mixture of sound thumping through your system that you want to say, rock it, baby!

Despite the strange and bizarre sounds and phrases, you have to admit that Yuvan Shankar Raja has the ability to make you listen -- even if it's only to analyze what exactly that particularly bizarre note you just heard was. And most times, he gets it right -- even springing surprises when you least expect it.

Saroja's music is sometimes familiar, at others fascinating ...but you cannot deny that it is interesting.