I’ve been following Heather and Temple’s blog on Indian cinema for quite some time. I find it especially interesting that they review not just Hindi films, as the majority of bloggers tend to do, but write very often on the films from the South in an entertaining and informative way. Their posts are made more interesting by the fact that Heather and Temple often have different perspectives and tastes. Being in Melbourne this month, I invited them home for a movie-dinner session last weekend. It was fun spending a pleasant evening with them discussing our shared interests and enjoying each other’s view points. Will love to do it again !
On Temple’s recommendation we watched Dumm Dumm Dumm. I enjoyed both the film and the music. Its the kind of film I like – soft, with no violence, romance without idiocy, low-level drama, good locations, beautiful cinematography, a bit of comedy and most importantly, good music and dance. The leads, Madhavan and Jyothika, suit their roles very well indeed and the supporting actors are very good indeed. Do read Heather and Temple’s review to find out more about the film.
The music by Karthik Raja (son of musical genius Ilaiyaraja) is melodious and hummable. The lyrics by Vali, Muthukumar and Vijay did not catch my attention at all.
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Sutrum Bhoomi – Harini – A happy little song. Harini has this little breathlessness in her voice which matches the mood of the song; well sung! Beautiful guitar interlude. The choreography is pretty and Jyothika dances well.
- Desingu Raja – Harish Raghavendra, Sujatha. The fabulous one thousand year old Tanjavur Peria Koil is the setting for this song-and-dance number. The dancing, the costumes, the setting all add to a visual delight. Madhavan, though not a good dancer, poses well enough. The music is ordinary. A big smile not for the song but the dance!
- Atthaan Varuvaha – Chitra, Harini, Karthik, Subha, Tippu. I always enjoy marriage songs, they are so colourful! This one has a comic touch too with some good dancing. I do not like the female voices in the higher octave but the song is good, worth watching.
- Krishna Krishna – Febi, Harish Raghavendra, Karthik. This is the mandatory westernised-youth song. Interesting beats otherwise predictable.
- Ragasiyamai – Hariharan, Ramanathan, Sadhna Sargam – Lovely song, very beautiful melody. The picturisation is nice too. Lyrics by Muthukumar suit the mood. Sadhana’s pronunciation is a problem but I love the song too much to mind.
- Un Perai Sonnale – Sadhana Sargam, Unni Krishnan– Melodious. Only part of the song seems to have been used in the film.
You can listen to the whole album here.
My choice for the day is the lovely Ragasiyamai simply because the melody is unbeatable!
Also watch Atthan Varuvaha, my second pick, for the colour and dancing.
Music To My Ears 