Category Archives: Malayalam Music

21: Song of the Day: Azhalinte Aazhangalil

Song: Azhalinte Aazhangalil

Composer: Ouseppachan

Lyrics: Vayalar Sharathchandra Varma

Singer: Nikhil Mathew

Movie: Ayaalum Njaanum Thammil

Ouseppachan is one of the legendary composers of Malayalam cinema and in the past decade, he has composed for fewer movies. This song is probably his best one in the past decade, it’s so good! It has a very soothing tune, as mellow and melodious as a Ghazal. The orchestration is good with flute, guitar and keyboard only being used, it is useful in such a song because, it allows the tune to be showcased in all its grandeur. Another wonderful thing is that this was one of the first songs sung by the talented singer Nikhil Mathew (who won Airtel Super Singer many years ago) and he aces the sing completely. Listen to this when your chips are down and you will feel better for sure…….

https://www.jiosaavn.com/song/azhalinte-azhangalil/SRI-UjACfAA

 

9: Song of the Day: Padiyirangunnu

Song: Padiyirangunnu

Composer: Bijibal

Lyrics: Rafiq Ahamed

Singers: Hariharan

Movie: Pathemari

Hariharan has one of the best voices in our country and he has sung some fantastic songs in the South across all the languages. We must thank A.R.Rahman for bringing Hariharan to Southern music through Roja. The song here is set in the raga Vaasanthi and it is a serene Ghazal-like tune and we know why Bijibal chose Hariharan to sing this. The great thing about this song is that there is a lot of live music with a complete Strings section, Veena and flute in the interludes. Hariharan just breathes life into the tune and this is a song you can listen if you want to have a soothing experience. The situation in the movie is that the protagonist is far away from his family for many years toiling in a foreign land and how he makes sacrifices for his family is the story. The song perfectly conveys the pangs of separation and the spirit of sacrifice.

Shubhaniyogamalle: Flashes of brilliance from Ilaiyaraja

Many Ilaiyaraja fans feel that he is not the same composer who used to churn out hit after hit, when he was at his peak. I agree with this point, but I would also like to say that he has achieved so much that he need not do anything now to prove himself. Nowadays a song that elicits a “wow” is quite hard to come by from Ilaiyaraja but sometimes he does display his genius thro’ individual songs. One such song that made me say a big “WOW!!!” is a Malayalam song from a nondescript movie called SMS. If I am right this song is set in Keeravani raaga. It is supposed to be a devotional song but Ilaiyaraja does not make it sound too simple. It has a very melodious, addictive tune with splendid variations (which we have got used to from the maestro). The orchestration is very simple with strings & wonderful flute pieces creating a very soothing effect. Don’t miss this song! Listen to it here.

Music Review of Guru-Malayalam movie-Ilaiyaraja

In 1997, Maestro Ilaiyaraja composed music for a malayalam film called “Guru.” It had malayalam superstar Mohanlal in the lead role. The music of this movie was simply scintillating to say the least. The unique thing about this movie was that the orchestration was played by the famous Budapest Symphony Orchestra. So most of the songs were recorded in Hungary. This made the music even more magical. It had the following 5 songs:
1. Thatharam-This is my favourite song from this movie. It is sung by M.G.Sreekumar & Chorus. It starts with a beat sound created by a unique instrument and gradually becomes a full-fledged symphony song. the tune and the background music are just what a genius like Ilaiyaraja would compose.
2. Aruna Kirana Deepam-This song is considered to be one of the best songs ever in Indian cinema in terms of it’s mind boggling orchestration. It is sung by Padmashree K.J. Yesudas. Ilaiyaraja has used so many instruments in this song that when you hear them in unison, you will be transported to some other world.
3. Guru Sharanam-This is a classical based chorus song which is very melodious and it grows on you after continuous listening. It is sung by Venugopal & Chorus.
4. Devasangeetham-This song is another masterpiece composed like a symphony. It is sung by Yesudas & Jyotsna.
5. Minnaram Maanathu-This is a very melodious song sung by Sujatha. It has excellent violin pieces.
The best thing about this album is that each song is very different and covers almost all the genres like western classical, classical, light music etc. Though Ilaiyaraja has composed 3 songs in Western classical orchestration, each of them is different and great to hear. Any fan of music should not miss this soundtrack, after all it is composed by Ilaiyaraja.