Dhoni (Music review), Tamil – Ilayaraja

Chinna kanniley is what Raja would have conjured up for director Faazil – the strangely Christian sounding tune, kids’ chorus, all add up to a simple, highly appealing song; Shreya Ghoshal is in fabulous form here, but Naresh Iyer sounds odd and vastly unlike himself, for some inexplicable reason. Na.Muthukumar’s imaginative lyrics around middle-class living, in Vaangum panathukkum, is accentuated by SP Balasubramaniam’s singing and Raja’s wonderful orchestration that is surprisingly free from his standard, modern accompaniments! Thaavi thaavi and Vilayaattaa are instantly reminiscent of Raja’s golden age – incredibly beautiful music for heartfelt tunes and surprisingly synth-free, again. Raja sings like only he can in Thaavi thaavi, fully expressing the song’s meaning in his age-withered voice – the violin orchestra and the overall sound is absolutely mesmerising! Hariharan’s Vilayatta is equally beautiful – a slow, haunting tune, again propped by highly imaginative violin usage! It’s other version by Shreya Ghoshal is even better! After what felt like eons, here’s an Ilayaraja soundtrack that brings back his glory days, sans synth and with superb orchestration that the man is known for! It’s amazing to listen to an Ilayaraja soundtrack so clean and earnest in its overall appeal, after such a long time!

Keywords: Dhoni, Prakash Raj, Ilayaraja, Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho, 200, #200