Before we start putting in info regarding the forthcoming releases, let us do a quick appraisal of Raja's 2011 works.
2010 was not a great year for Raja fans. Only three albums were released: "Gayam-2", "Kadha Thudarunnu" and the non filmi devotional 'Baba Pugazh Maalai'. Fellow hubbers like Plum were concerned if 2009, when the output was prolific, was an Indian summer. The last good season before the master signs off. Luckily nothing like that happened and 2011 showed the master is terrific form.
The first film music release did not give that hope. The music of 'Ayyan' did not sound very enticing and had a dated feel to it. It was clear that the music was composed quite some time back and did not reflect the new 'sound' of Raja. 'manasoram' was a song which everyone agreed was good. Other songs didn't find favor with Raja fans though I did like a few more songs from this album.
'Azhagarswamiyin Kudhirai' came to assuage the feelings of the fans. It had three songs, one of which was a 'Thiruvizha' song. 'kudhikira kudhikira' was definitely the hit song of the film. The Karthik Shreya Ghoshal number was melodious as well. More importantly this film also showcased the fact that Raja was till the numero uno when in came to background score. The jazz tinged score was terrific and played a great part in the success of the movie.
If ASK was sedate, 'Ponnar Shankar' was bombastic. The synth was heavy but the melodic lines were terrific. 'kannai padithen' and 'malarvillile' were top class melodies. 'Annanmar Kadhai' again showed why there is none to beat Raja when it comes to folk songs and stories. It was Shreya Ghoshal show all the way and that made her fans happy. Unfortunately, as it happens to all Kalaignar movies, this sank without a trace.
Next came 'Sengaathu Bhoomiyile' which did not create any ripples even amongst Raja fans. Not many knew of this movie songs and the CD release was mess, with the availability almost being zero!! Yet, I found the album quite charming, Raja going back to his 'Ejaman' and 'Chinna Kounder' days. 'kaathuruppen kaathiruppen' was the pick of this album.
While people were waiting for movies like 'Sneha Veedu' and 'SreeRamarajyam', out of the blue came 'Thandavakone'. What an extraordinary album, especially for 'neeraal udal kazhuvi'. This was an absolutely new Raja. The dark and sombre ambiance he creates for this song is mind blowing. Raja has never been an 'atmospheric' guy. He has mainly concentrated on the complete tune for his emotions. Here though he deviates from his path and goes full hog to create the required atmosphere through orchestration. This movie also had another lovely song,'kaatu vazhi'. Unfortunately neither this movie nor 'Sengaathu Bhoomiyile' have been released till now!!
Somewhere in between came the Kannada movie 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna'. Neither the movie nor the music got noticed. 'angel angel' was a lovely song and I liked the title track as well. But the general public sort of completely ignored the album.
The last two albums in my next post.
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