 Mani Sharma is emerging as a man for masses with his exuberant rhythms and joyful lilt. Having established himself as a successful music composer in Tollywood, Mani Sharma’s rise in Tamil too is perceptible. His latest Malaikottai confirms that he knows how to mix and match. Scoring music for masala movies calls a sense of balance and a feel to package heavy beats in sugar-coated symphonies.
Scoring music for Vishal, one of the emerging mass heroes, Mani Sharma has come up with music keeping in mind the various sections of the audience.
The good use of rhythms, catchy interludes and peppy chorus, the album leaves a mark instantly.
The highlight of the album is the remix of yesteryear peppy song Yeh Aatha Athorama. Penned by Gangai Amaran, the song is still a kind of cult number when it comes to the sub-genre of ‘Dabbanguthu’. Mani Sharma has managed to recreate the same magic.
Kantha Kadamba (Naveen)
The energy level of the musical patterns and the singer hits you in the face like summer showers. Naveen gives it all he has and his passion is matched by the rhythms and other instruments. The tempo is infectiously racy and the pep is so very invigorating. Na Muthukumar's lyrics are very youthful.
Mani Sharma has used extra beats that would appease the front-benchers.
Uyire Uyire (Ranjith)
A romantic number which begins in the form of a ballad. Soft and soothing, the song flows, with minimal instrumentation, like a quiet river. Mani Sharma has allowed the lyrics to dominate. Yuga Bharathy's romantic lyrics coupled with excellent use of guitars and trumpets gel well to create the right feel of romance.
O Baby (Rahul Nambiar)
 Mani Sharma makes the East meet West. A fusion of rural folk and western orchestra, the song has pedestrian lyrics but the use of peppy western beats, thavil, trumpet and nadaswaram sounds very interesting. The range in which Rahul Nambiar has rendered the song has given it a new dimension.
Sure to rock the dance floors, it is loud but sounds pleasant.
Devathaye Va Va (Vijay Yesudas)
With Vijay Yesudas around, there is no dearth of melody. It is soul-stirring soft melody sure to stick to your hearts. Vijay Yesudas has given the song romance, care, love and affection, thanks to his mesmerizing voice. Seemingly inspired by a classical raaga, the music composer has begun the song with veena. The tune flows smooth. Yuga Bharathy's lyric does the magic.
Uyire Uyire (Ranjith, Rita)
Again a catchy melody. It is a western inspired tune with racy beats. The orchestration does the magic here. While Ranjith is at his usual best, the new singer Rita is a good discovery by Mani Sharma. She is cool and composed. Her inspired rendition of the lyrics is worth listening to.
The trumpets sway the listeners. Begins on a soft note, the songs slowly gathers momentum to leave the desired impact.
Yeh Aatha (Tippu, Anuradha Sriram)
A perfect remix. The energetic Anuradha Sreeram and exuberant Tippu team up for this entertaining number. Keen to make the song very peppy, Mani Sharma has opted for all percussion instruments. Tippu is at his normal while Anuradha Sriram is on a song literally.
Giving it a western dimension, Mani Sharma has introduced an interesting and improvising rap in between.
On the whole, Malaikottai is one album which has variety written all over it. Listen to it and enjoy.
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