Category Archives: Song A Day

35: Song of the Day: Aatha Un Sela

Song: Aatha Un Sela

Composer: Ghibran

Singer: Sundar Narayana Rao

Lyrics: Yegadesi

Movie: Kutti Puli

Aatha Un Sela is a very unconventional song and the unique song because, it has minimal background music and all the focus is on the tune and the voice. The tune is sedate and it will slowly start growing on you. The primary instrument used is a stringed one and it adds to the serenity of the song, considering the situation where the hero is singing to his mother. The composer must be given a lot of credit for conceptualizing such a song in an age where all the instruments are crying loud and competing with the voice.

34: Song of the Day: Amman Koil Vaasalile

Song: Amman Koil Vaasalile

Composer: Deva

Singers: SPB, Chitra

Lyrics: Kalidasan

Movie: Thaai Maaman

 

Composer Deva has given some fantastic melodies in many movies and this song is a melodious and soothing number. The ever dependable pair of SPB/Chitra sing the song with the right emotions considering the romantic situation and even the lyrics are pretty creative. Deva uses the strings section and flute to great effect and you can say in a positive way that Raja has inspired these composers to have such grand orchestration. This is one song from Deva which should be missed!

 

https://www.jiosaavn.com/song/amman-kovil/BBAmXD14QHs

 

 

33: Song of the Day: Yaarodum

Song: Yaarodum

Composer: Ramesh Vinayagam

Singers: Haricharan

Lyrics: Yugabharathi

Movie: Sollakadhai

Sollakadhai is a movie which was never released and the songs vanished into oblivion. In many cases, the songs of such movies by talented composers would be good and this movie is no exception. Almost each song in this album is pretty good but this particular song is the clear winner with a mellow feel. Ramesh & Chinmayi have sung it and they ace it completely with good modulation. The tune in the charanam especially in the part where Ramesh sings “Kaigal thodumpodhu kuliradhu pani marghazhi” is the highlight of the song. We can always expect at least one brilliant song from Ramesh Vinayagam and he vindicates our belief here.

32: Song of the Day: Kadhal Oru

Song: Kadhal Oru

Composer: Girishh Gopalakrishnan

Lyrics: Na.Muthukumar

Singers: Haricharan

Movie: Marina

Girishh made his debut with this movie Marina, he has learnt Carnatic music from Lalgudi Jayaraman and has also learnt Western Classical music. This song set in Madhyamavathy raga is a beautiful fusion piece with a profusion of strings and guitar. One of the highlights is the usage of Cellos and Girishh uses it like a major instrument played like a violin. The whole soundscape is very different and refreshing. Even the other songs in the album are pretty good but this is the best one.

31: Song of the Day: Naram Pookal

Song: Naram Pookal

Composer: Ranjit Barot

Lyrics:Na.Muthukumar

Singers: Hariharan, Nandini Srikar

Movie: Urchagam

Ranjit Barot is a famous drummer and works with fusion musicians and has also arranged music for some composers in Bollywood. He has composed in Bollywood and only for 2 movies in Tamil, one being this one and other being VIP. He is a niche composer and has given some good songs in all languages. This song is a beautiful song , it begins with a Hindustani-styled alaap and Shehnai which is played very differently and sounds grand (usually Shehnai pieces sound sad with exceptions like Humma from Bombay). The overall tune structure is really good and in the paragraphs the singers kind of extend the lines at the end which gives a different feel. The background percussion in the song is again very good and it’s played off-beat, its expected that the percssuion will be special in the song as Ranjit is a drummer. Overall, this is a song worth hearing many times for the fabulous tune and some great singing by Hariharan & Nandini.

30: Song of the Day: Ikkudhae

Song: Ikkudhae

Composer: Joshua Sridhar

Lyrics: R.Parthiban

Singers: Hariharan, Shreya Ghoshal

Joshua Sridhar belongs to the underrated composer club. I am not saying he is a legend but he has enough talent to warrant more chances. His style of orchestration is like the ARR of yore and he has refined it well over the years. He composes for 1-2 films a year and manages to give at least one excellent melody song. This is one of those songs from a movie which vanished faster than it arrived. It is based on the Kedharam/Neelambari scale, so it is brimming with melody and Joshua manages to create a fantastic song with some excellent orchestration, an all-round song worthy of repeat even after many years. Just like his other melody songs, the flute usage here is outstanding (Naveen I guess) and he uses a strings section and Veena too. Finally, the singing by Hariharan and Shreya exceeds expectations, I just love the way Hariharan joins the song in the first paragraph, it’s like a hero introduction! Listen to this and be in bliss…..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w7jht03kxSg

29: Song of the Day: Thavamindri Kidaitha

Song: Thavamindri Kidaitha

Composer: Vidyasagar

Lyrics: Thaamarai

Singer: Hariharan, Sadhna Sargam

The raga Dharmavathi is a poignant one which gives the flavour of pangs of separation and longing and it has been used by many composers to good effect. Vidyasagar has composed a wonderful song in this raga and strangely there are 2 version of this song, the only difference being the longer version has a longer prelude of a wonderful solo violin piece in the same raga (link below). Another highlight of the song is the first Veena interlude (could be Rajhesh Vaidya) which just gives a beautiful crash course on the raga. The second interlude has a silent flute piece followed by a keyboard strings piece. This is an easy song for the two veteran singers and they are as good as ever. Another feather in the cap of “Melody King” Vidyasagar.

 

27: Song of the Day: Megam Vandhu Pogum

Song: Megam Vandhu Pogum

Composer: Vidyasagar

Lyrics: Arivumadhi

Singer: Anwesha Dutta, Madhu Balakrishnan

Karu Palaniappan (like Cheran) has the trend of having good songs in his movies and this is a movie where he himself played the role of the protagonist. “Melody King” Vidyasagar has scored for some of his other movies and this movie is by far their best in terms of the quality of the output. This song based on Bageshri raga is a cracker of a tune and it is the debut song of the talented singer Anwesha Dutta. Madhu Balakrishnan just sings a very small portion in the middle otherwise it is Anwesha shining all the way. Her rendition is fantastic and she takes the already-fantastic tune to another level. I guess she has not got many chances yet (she sings in live shows) but this might still be her best song. The orchetration is a little techno except for the ocassional violin and a bit of Veena and the good thing is Vidyasagar allows Anwesha’s voice to be displayed in all its glory. This is a must-listen song and if you compile a Vidyasagar melody playlist it is sure to be there!

https://gaana.com/song/megam-vandhu-pogum-4

26: Song of the Day: Aa Ragam

Song: Aa Ragam

Composer: Sharreth

Lyrics: Kaithapram

Singer: K.J.Yesudas

Movie: Kshanakathu

Sharreth is one of the toughest composers for any singers because, many of his compositions will be quite complex. He is a trained Carnatic singer (under late Sri.Balamuralikrishna) and he intelligently fuses his Carnatic knowledge with western styles and other genres. This song is a nice example of a fusion song, based on Hamsadhwani raga. Sharreth uses a strings section, Saxophone, Flute and backing vocals to great effect. The tune is quite complex with a lot of variations and a classically trained Yesudas does complete justice to it. This song is considered one of the best compositions of Sharreth and is very popular.

 

25: Song of the Day: Oru Thuli Vishamaai

Song: Oru Thuli Vishamaai

Composer: Yuvanshankarraja

Lyrics: Snehan

Singer: Sharib, Shreya Ghoshal

Movie: Aadhibhagavan

Yuvanshankarraja is known for his peppy numbers and he has carved a niche for himself in spite of having a legend as his father. This song is something totally different (it’s really different, hear it to believe it) and unconventional. I would call it the “haunting” genre and the song is like slow poison. The orchestration is again, very unconventional with strings, a beautiful stringed instrument pieces (by the talented Amalraj) but the best thing about the whole song is the singing by Sharib and Shreya. For me, this song is the Top 5 best of Yuvan, be amazed!

 

https://gaana.com/song/oru-thuli-vishamai