Music Review: Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani

The soundtrack for Mani Ratnam’s latest Tamil flick O Kadhal Kanmani, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menon, was released on April 4, 2015. With lyrics written by Vairamuthu and music by none other than the maestro A.R. Rahman, this soundtrack is set to hit the top Kollywood chartbusters within the next few days. As always, A.R. Rahman features new singers with fresh voices, including a debut appearance by his son, A.R. Ameen.

The first track in the album, Kaara Aattakaara, is definitely one of the catchiest and makes its first appearance in the film’s trailer. Sung by Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam, Darshana, and Shashaa Tirupati, the infusion of urban elements, from Tamil rap to electronic hip-hop beats, sets the backdrop for this light and fun romantic-comedy. Another song in the album is Mental Manadhil, which was released with a video early in March. The quirky lyrics “laika laika my laila” make this eccentric and electronic track highly addictive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bYvy5nsFiM

In addition to the urban electronic hip-hop elements, there are also quite a few soft melodious tracks in this soundtrack. Sung by Karthik, Aye Sinamika is a typical romantic number with unusual but cute rhyme in the lyrics. Parandhu Sella Vaa is one of the more playful songs in the album, interspersed with classical vocal phrases by Karthik and Shashaa Tirupati, who makes her versatile presence known in this album. The string orchestration for this song complements the melody beautifully and resembles A.R. Rahman’s track “Moongil Thottam” from the Tamil film Kadal. Shashaa Tirupati, along with Sathya Prakash, makes her Indian Classical Carnatic voice training even more apparent in the song Naane Varugiraen, which closely mirrors many other melodious numbers, such as A.R. Rahman’s Kismat Se Tum from Pukar and Vidhyasagar’s Malare Mounama from the Tamil film Karnaa. Although Naane Varugiraen is more of a new-age melodious track, Malargal Kaettaen (sung by Chitra) is a song that will appeal to older people who enjoy music with a strong Indian classical music (Carnatic or Hindustani) basis.

Last but not the least, the song featuring A.R. Ameen is Maula Wa Sallim. Consisting of traditional lyrics from Islamic sufi songs, this is a very peaceful and spiritual melody with mostly voice and very little orchestration. A soulful way to appropriately conclude a soundtrack composed by a spiritual musician.

O Kadhal Kanmani is set to hit the theaters on April 10th, 2015.