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Attahasam Music Review

Attahasam Music Review
Banner:
Vijayam Cine Combines
Cast:
Ajith, Pooja, Babu Anthony, Karunas
Direction:
Saran
Production:
Karthikeyan. P
Loud and lilting in turns
Friday, October 22, 2004 • Tamil Comments

Music-director Bharadwaj and director Charan are like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag--- explsoive and a major hit with the massess.

The duo has worked together in Kadhal Mannan, Amarkalam, Gemini and JJ. The last one was Vasool Raja MBBS. The major aspect of these musical hits is that each one of them had a unique flavor.

Bharadwaj never fell into the major trap of a music director repeating himself whenever he is working with the same director.

Bharadwaj is also is one of the under-rated talents in the industry. This soft-spoken man's success depends on who he is working with. Obviously directors like Cheran and Charan get the best out of him.

So when Charan is joining hands with Bharadwaj for the Ajith starrer, the hope and expectation soars. After all, Bharadwaj, Charan and Ajith are coming together for the third time after Kadhal Mannan and Amarkalam.

So how does the album measure up in this backdrop? Frankly, it is not Bharadwaj's best effort. But this is also not his worst. It falls somewhere in between. Bharadwaj is a virtuoso when it comes to orchestration and it comes through in many places. But tame lyrics (aimed to boost the image of Ajith) and some ordinary tunes make the cassette as patchy one. The album has six numbers including a theme song - Attagasam.
 
The first number Unakenna Unakenna sung by Thipu is a pacy where the lyrics seems to have written keeping in mind Ajith's stardom. Thipu is full-throated and vibrancy. But if that alone is the criterion for good singing then elephant (with its bellow) may top the charts. The song is lively, but melody is sadly missing.
 
Thekku Chemaiyilae sung by Mano, who appears after a long gap, is yet again a fast number. There is nothing new in Mano's voice, except the fact that he has sung this number manfully.

There is always something uncanny about the tunes that music directors generally choose for themselves. It is usually the best in the entire film. Thala PolaeVaruma is not. But sung by Bharadwaj himself along with Donan and Arjun Thomas it is full of fun and beans. With a lot of rock base, the rhythms stand out in strong relief. But on second thoughts, Bharadwaj's voice does not fit this for the open-voiced singing. He is much more comfortable in bass and baritones.

The theme music titled Attagasam sung in chorus by Thipu, Donnan, ArjunThomas, Ujaini and Bharadwaj is on first looks (okay make it hears) inspired by a popular rock hit of late 1980s. But there is lot of life and good tonal variations.

After such heavy headbangers stuff, Polachi Ilaneere by Karthik and Anuradha Sriram is just what one yearns for. Anuradha's voice culture needs no special mention. It is always a given. Karthik rises up to the rigors of singing with a senior with aplomb. The lilt in the number is infectious.

Nachendru Ichondru by Srinivas and newcomer Ujaini is also another soft number. Srinivas is a tremendous talent. His versatility is truly amazing. His range is also wide. Newcomer Ujaini, about whom very little is known, has a compact style. But one needs to hold one's judgement on her abilities. She needs a longer run for any comment to be made on her real abilities.

The last two songs surely have Bharadwaj's stamp. It is also obvious there are certain compulsions within which a musician operates. In Aattagasam, Bharadwaj has to provide fodder to the hero's image. To his eternal credit, Bharadwaj has also managed to retain his own in the bargain (primarily through the soft tunes).