180 Review

The Buzz:

• Siddharth returns to Tamil cinema after a longish break
• Ad-film maker and film tech wiz Jayendra's directorial debut
• Two relatively new heroines, an impressive technical crew

The good: Visuals, Songs, Siddharth .. that's about it!
The bad: Quite a bit!

Look out for: Mouli who makes an impression in a brief yet sparkling role

Bottomline: Dashing hero + two heroines + nice soundtrack + picture postcard visuals (including overseas locations) = Good romantic film and hit... right? Wrong! Well you still need the plot and that's the biggest hole in 180. It starts on a good note - Mano (Siddharth) arrives in Chennai after a stopover in Benares, checks into PG style accommodation owned by Geetha and Mouli and spreads happiness around him. You are lead to believe he is on a sabbatical of sorts and wants to make most of this six month break. He runs into a photojournalist Viday (Nitya Menen) and sparks inevitably fly. Just when you begin to wonder what next, vignettes from Mano's life before Chennai start appearing and the film flits from the US where Siddharth is actually Dr Ajay to his present in Chennai. Priya Anand is Renu, the woman from his not so distant past and a sudden turn of events lead to his departure from the US. Eventually the past and present collide and so do Siddharth's emotions. To put it mildly this is a disappointing film. It loses steam within minutes and even the brilliant visuals and music can't keep you engaged. It gets more tiresome in the second half. Make sure you are stocked up with heaps of pop corn and munchies to keep you entertained because this film can't.

Running time: 140 minutes (Approx) - Feels much longer than that :(

Ar Rahman the Geniuzz...my fav songs !

 

Well, can you squeeze in a whole jukebox to a single CD? Forget compression technologies. I am talking about A.R.Rahman, arguably one of India’s greatest music composers. From Carnatic to Qawwali, Blues to Bhangra and from Bollywood to Broadway, Rahman has conquered all. From his first album Roja, which was released in the year 1992, to the latest Hindi Album released:- Ada, Mr.Rahman has indeed scaled new heights, invented and reinvented new sounds, broken borders of genres, and made a brand for himself.

 

Rahman deservingly stands at a position where many musical stalwarths envy to reach. And with every new composition, every new note, we get to experience a nano-portion of the musical genius, Rahman .And it has indeed taken me sleepless nights and intense brainstorming and repeated playing on my Winamp to compile this list of the Top 10 songs from A.R.Rahman’s ever expanding, self-challenging discography. It has been a strenuous and mind-numbing process and I know at the end of it, I have succeeded to narrow down to the Top 10. In many ways, some will totally agree with me on these 10. And some will totally disagree.

 Top 10 Hindi

10. Saathiya -Saathiya

real magic with this song is when you close your eyes, and in the ethereal sound of Sonu Nigam and lively lyrics of Gulzar, the words roll out-
Hastee Rahe Tu Hastee Rahe, Hayya Ki Laali Khilti Rahe
Zulf Ke Neeche Gardan Pe, Subah Shaam Khilti Rahe

9.Mukkala Muqabla-Humse Hai Muqabla (Kadalan)
I remember the playback singers of this one-Mano and Swarnalatha. This was on the charts for the whole year.

8.Dil Se -Dil Se
I call this Rahman’s Rock. No compromises, no adulteration. After the initial bass lines..the low scaled intro swoops in, and for the chorus lines of Dil Se Re at the sky-piercing high pitch, Rahman does what he does best. And then we have the infectious sargam of Sa Sa Nee Nee . The verse lines hit you like an arrow.

7. Kismat Se Tum-Pukaar
I make it a point to listen to this track every 15 days.Another great thing that this track screams out is that Mr.Rahman knows which track is perfect for which singer. In a way, he acts as he is the casting director for his scores. And this track does wonders for both the singers.

6.Ye Haseen Vadiya – Roja
S.P.Balasubramaniam and Chitra; A.R.Rahman’s ambient arrangement creates Kashmir in your ears. This is nothing less than the Phantom of the Opera or any Mozart or Bach. Fin.

5.Kya Kare – Rangeela
Rangeela is my all time favorite Rahman soundtrack, not only for the tracks, but also for the background score. The musical piece where Urmila’s character Mili dances in front of Jackie Shroff.Kya Kare stands out as a dark horse in the entire soundtrack.

4.O Re Chhori -Lagaan
Okay, this movie had some spell binding songs and some absolutely praise-worthy lyrics from Javed Akhtar.


3. Roja -Roja
This is S.P.Balasubramaniam’s best. Chitra gives a haunting intro and the flute track can be best described as ethereal. Because it’s not Dil Hai Chhota Sa, but Roja (the song) which announced that Rahman had arrived.


2.Tu Hi Re – Bombay

Rahman shows how minimal (or perhaps accurate) sound arrangement can do wonders. Hariharan gives his career’s best vocal performance, and so does Kavita Krishnamurthy. What more do I say about this song? It is just pure in every way possible.
1. Maa Tujhe Salaam – Vande Mataram
No, it is not the cliche’ of the patriotic element associated with this track that makes it the numero Uno on this list. It is my inclination to Rock that makes this my Numero Uno. It is Rock and easily blended with Carnatic music elements like Mridangams and Veenas. Not to forget, there is only one singer who can sing this like the way it is. A.R.Rahman it is. It is a multi layered composition that keeps building on like a crescendo and it reaches zenith as it approaches its climax. And when the song switches to the higher scale, you feel the chill run down your spine, an instant goosebump and you cannot help but stand up in attention and scream out-Maa Tujhe Salaam. That is what the power of Music is. 


   

Ilayaraja - A Droplet from the ocean !!

To Choose 10 songs from thousands of songs is a way to difficult. Again everyone has got their opinion to choose their favorites, and it could be a good oppertunity for the others to build up their list.
  
Started collecting IR songs back in 2000, I used to ask my friends for the songs, every body contributed a lot, but most of the collections were very similar like Kaadlora Kavithaigal, Vaithegi Kathirunthal and repeatative sets of movies.

I collected close to 15 GB of songs from various sources and set into the task of classifying them and arranging them to the movies and discarding the repeating once's. At the end of the exercise I was left with around 1000 songs which I consider good. Out of which I had hand picked 185 songs that I usually play in my car.


10) Pani vizhum malarvanam from NInaivellam nithya - great use of "chala naattai" raga in this song

9) Naanaga Naanillai thaye from Thoongathe Thambi Thoongathe - Great tune and nicely sung by the 
     great SPB

8) Kanne Kalaimane from Moondram Pirai - purely because of the ’THALATTU TUNE’ - The song puts 
    my mind to rest - Listening to this song at night is a pleasure.

7) Sangeetha Megam from udaya geetham - whenever i listen to this song, it freshens my mind.

6) Nilavu thoongum neram from Kunguma chimizh - A melodious song with great use of Mouth Organ.

5) Poove sempoove from Solla Thudikkuthu manasu -  An enchanting melody from the master with the
    great yesudoss. Also the interludes are really fantastic.

4) Then Madurai from Dharmathin Thalaivan - great use of violin in the interludes and grand voice of   
    SPB

3) Kalyana Malai from Puthu Puthu arthangal - a mesmerising song with great lyrics.

2) Geetham sangeetham from Kokkarako - beautiful song with SPB at his best.

and at Number 1 it is

1) Ilayanila from Payanangal Mudivathillai - primarily because of the guitar pieces (interludes). What a master piece!!!