Music review: Azhagiya Thamizhmagan

Posted on October 22nd, 2007 by Vijay Krishna Narayanan

The highly anticipated soundtrack of Azhagiya Thamizhmagan (ATM) was released today. Any Vijay movie raises expectations, but this is a double whammy because it is AR Rahman who is the music director. Of course, Shriya and Namitha are also around, so that’s another double whammy.

Here are my reactions after a couple of rounds of listening to the songs.

1. Ellaa pugazhum (AR Rahman): This should be the movie’s title song. It had me laughing all along when I first listened to it. Let me confess I found this absolutely funny. Honestly I/we would classify this song as “setu-veettu kalyanam” types. It has none of the elements of an intro song that will set the audience’s pulses racing. Uninspiring at best. It made me wonder, “Hey, where is Shankar Mahadevan?” He would have added pep to even a mediocre song. Even Naveen had done a super job with “Pokkiri Pongal”. This is probably one of the worst intro songs Vijay has had in recent years.

2. Ponmagal Vandhaal (Aslam, Ember Rap): The problem with remixes is that there are only two types - the very good ones, and the utterly poor ones. Sorry, this belongs to the latter variety. Skip.

Alright, enough of the negatives. The better ones are coming…

3. Nee Marilyn Monroe (Ujjaini, Benny Dayal): Now that you’ve endured almost 9 disappointing minutes, the best, most stylish song of the album jumps right out. The female humming that appears at the beginning and again between the two charanams is excellent - now that’s something Rahman-wannabes can only dream of. The song has a good rhythm to it, that makes foot-tapping irresistible. Both singers, especially Benny, have done a fantastic job. Repeat.

4. Valayapatti thavilE (Naresh Iyer, Madhumitha, Ujjaini): Oh, did I jump myself when I said the previous was the best! Okay, maybe that was the best, but this is quite good. Naresh Iyer looks like a fabulous choice for the male lead. The song is based on folk beats, but as it progresses, it transforms into a fusion of various styles, which is refreshing. The lyrics are such that the lyricist is just a couple of steps away from “algorithmic lyric writing”. Still, an enjoyable song. Repeat.

5. Kelaamal kaiyile (Sriram Parthasarathy, Saindhavi): This one is for the melody rasigars. Rahman fans would scoff when I suggest that the song has a Harris Jayaraj feel to it - the way a melodious song has a constant beat in the background. An instant favourite. I liked the lines “koondhal ennum ENi Eri muththam ida aasai undu… netri mookku udhadu endru, irangi vara padigalum undu”. Again, good choice of singers does the trick. If you want to sample just one song from this album, this is the one.

6. Maduraikku Pogathadee (Benny Dayal, Archith, Dharshana): So where was the all-out folk number? Here it is. And to begin with, it sounds like “en kitte modhaadhe, naan raajadhi raajan adaa!” But it shifts soon enough. Benny Dayal impresses again. The song would probably grow on listeners after a few iterations.

Overall, Azhagiya Tamilmagan’s soundtrack is impressive. It is better than Pokkiri, which should please Vijay’s fans. And I would rate it a few hundred times better than Sivaji. If you forgive the opening song (how many Vijay fans will?) and the remix of “Ponmagal Vandhaal”, AR Rahman has come out trumps. And to those who suggest that ARR’s recent efforts confirm the unfortunate yet unmistakeable trend that he is going down, ATM’s soundtrack should push back your pronouncements by some time.

You can listen to the songs online at Hummaa.com

Update: Just noticed that Madhushree hasn’t been given even one song. That’s great news. Else this album should have been named “Aluhiya Thamill Mahan”.

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Filed under: Music, Tamil

29 Responses to “Music review: Azhagiya Thamizhmagan”

aa, on October 22nd, 2007 at 11:29 pm Said:

ur review sucks.. ATM rocks
we, on October 23rd, 2007 at 12:06 am Said:

your report sucks; its not the truth, and is clearly evident ; Better learn to admire music
edwin, on October 23rd, 2007 at 4:50 pm Said:

oh vijay is acting in this movie eh..i bought the cd for ARR later found vijay’s photo there..till then i never knew vijay is starring…
KP, on October 24th, 2007 at 2:53 am Said:

@Ponmagal Vandhal..

I felt this remix belongs to the first variety
Arun, on October 24th, 2007 at 10:03 pm Said:

“Aluhiya Thamill Mahan”..LOL, Good One, dude!
RAM, on October 24th, 2007 at 11:31 pm Said:

hey.. hehe. u need to chek ENT man.
ellapugazhum song has been declared even by hardcore vijya fans as one of the best in tha album…
ad u classify it as ” absolutely funny. Honestly I/we would classify this song as “setu-veettu kalyanam” types”
hahaha..
GET A LIFE else stop writing crap reviews like this.
and the remix.. again a blunderou review.. hahaha..
u r hopeless music listener dude.. nyayz. cant stop lauginh seeing ur review
Mahesh, on October 25th, 2007 at 3:54 am Said:

Cant agree With u in Remix..Its Simply Superb..Awesome Md.Aslam Voice & the Beat Sizzles like Nything.(Though i Hate Remix TO The Core)

Many Dont Know The Remix Is done By Krishna Chetan Not Rahman(Thank God..thought Even Rahman Fallen into Remix Trap)…
furguson, on October 25th, 2007 at 9:37 am Said:

see first try to hear the music clearly and then write your comments rehman rocks again he did in different class

1)first song will become mega hit because this song is like “oruvan oruvan mudalali from muthu” like that this song comes with lot of inspirational thoughts.above all this song got 10/10 rating (please click the link below for more details)

http://tamilvibration.dk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=36

rehman did

1 song in the inspirational mood
2 song in the remix according to current mode
3 its some what semi western model
4 and 6 song are simply tamil folk its rock like gill appadepodu.
5th song is ok …….

so fucker dont write comments on your own listen and review.
VK, on October 25th, 2007 at 10:38 am Said:

Thanks for all your comments. All I can say is “bring it on!”

For those who think I lack knowledge of music, I concur with your views.

However I cannot concur with those who believe that any album by Rahman should be rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means “Totally satisfied” and 5 means “Absolutely delighted”. That’s just not on! Not with me, at least.

And therefore I don’t care what “hardcore” Vijay fans or “softcore” Shakeela fans think. Your comments are welcome, but they don’t change my views.
faz, on October 26th, 2007 at 11:25 pm Said:

i thmk the bst song i ever heard recently is ella pukalum. awsome ar. keep gng.
faz, on October 26th, 2007 at 11:32 pm Said:

my frnd u dnt hv any music sense if u say the song ella pukalum song is nt good enough. you r the wrst reviewer i ever sn. tht song gnna rock al the chrts. mark my wrd frnd.
scudie, on October 28th, 2007 at 10:54 am Said:

vk, machan, Ellaapugazhum is one more of Rahman’s ways of getting back at all these megastars who have to have a hero-worshipping song. Epovum title song ku aapu vechiduvaaru.. Padaiyappa, Sivaji, Varalaaru etc etc.. For Vijay, he fucked up a whole movie called Udhaya. Indha mega stars pattaalum thirundha maatanga..

Best song of the bunch for me is Madurai Pakkam Pogaadhai.. Damn good.. Dunno if it is a problem with my system or with my mp3 source, but the lyrcis of Kelaamal Kaiyile are not at all clear
VK, on October 28th, 2007 at 6:16 pm Said:

Scudie, what amuses me is that all these “connoisseurs of music” (I’m referring to those who laugh at my musical sense) make the “Ellapugazhum” song sound as if it is “Oruvan oruvan mudhalaali”.
selva, on October 29th, 2007 at 12:27 pm Said:

Hah!!!
Comments were more interesting…

I liked this album, thanks for the review..else would have missed it altogether

Liked valayapatti, nee marilyn, Kelamal, madhuraikku, remix, ellapugazhum…in that order
VK, on October 29th, 2007 at 1:29 pm Said:

Thanks, Selva. Now that you’ve made your views known, our “connoisseurs of music” will brand you an ignoramus and will also expect you to enroll in a 3-year crash course covering Indian and western classical music, rock, pop, reggae and jazz, so that your musical senses can be attuned to appreciate the crappy title song.
Karthik, on October 30th, 2007 at 10:44 pm Said:

I am just listening to Valayapatti, Kelaamal and Marilyn from time to time. It was interesting, the way all 3 songs grew on me competing with each other. Didn’t like Marilyn that much to start with. The style factor won over soon enough. Kelaamal being a melody, I was listening to it but not much effect until I started listening to the lyrics. Thamarai has this knack of expressing beautiful thought and rhyme in simple lyrics. Valayapatti opening was very funny but went onto be my personal favorite in the album. Cool experimentation.

Unfortunately, none of the songs seem great.
Shyam Sundar, on October 31st, 2007 at 2:08 pm Said:

Dude., I respect your review. However, ppl. here don’t realize, whats right for them might be wrong for others and vice-versa.

Anyways., I feel that songs are good to hear.

One tip: You have to hear an AR Rahman song many times to like it
joe, on November 1st, 2007 at 11:22 am Said:

ur such a clown…esp ur review on the 1st song..haha..joker..learn how to write reviews..visit vijaynet and check out his fans reaction to the songs esp the 1st one..Thank god arr didnt resort to kuthu intro song that u were craving for..Dei nee ellam dhina ode soundtrack review pannu po po
Ruben, on November 1st, 2007 at 6:06 pm Said:

My first impression of ATM is pretty average song. I had greater expectation after the great success of Sivaji for Rahman and Pokkiri for Vijay. Anyway I am sure these songs will become a hit once this film is released. If you are buying this CD expecting typical ghana style vijay songs then you will be disappointed but its different from typical vijay songs that you had heard in his last few films. Hope this movie will have a new and refreshing story line like these songs.
Ruben, on November 1st, 2007 at 6:35 pm Said:

The best part of your review was your UPDATE comment about Madhushree.
roby, on November 3rd, 2007 at 3:48 pm Said:

the review is ok . but the first song review is funny . thats a great song… a sure hit
redhart, on November 6th, 2007 at 5:26 am Said:

ur report abt the Ellapugazhum song is not good.

A.R.Rahman has given his heart and soul to compose and sing it. hear it for 4 or 5 times. u will like it the most
shan, on November 7th, 2007 at 2:23 pm Said:

Rahman rocks dubai with ATM

Everybody loving the albem in dubai ………in all the cars i could listen the ATM Album playing….it rocks…

I rank all the songs 10/10
MANI, on November 9th, 2007 at 2:39 am Said:

hey dude,ur review sucks …..and all d songs are typical ARR and they rock….and the songs ‘valapatty thavile’ is the best in the album..i liked it d most
Retheesh, on November 11th, 2007 at 1:43 pm Said:

hello, frind
i dont know who u r, any way i pity on u, bcs wht the fuck u done. u dnt know abt music, first u learn abt music and thn write reviews like this. ellapugazhum is the rocking song, nobody can sing like ar and compose song like this….u r worst i ever seen….so pls first buy original cd and l.isten again….
Virginity - the curse of Tamil cinema at VKpedia, on December 2nd, 2007 at 8:18 pm Said:

[...] Today I chanced to watch the movie Azhagiya Thamizhmagan. I was surprised that I found myself liking it, when everyone who had spoken to me about this movie had trashed it. Even more surprising because I didn’t like the songs very much, yet basically everyone trashed my music review. [...]
sureshr, on January 4th, 2008 at 4:28 am Said:

ponmagal remix is superb krishna chetan is very nice ARR is also international m.d
azhaigahiye tamil mahan, on April 20th, 2008 at 4:24 am Said:

i hope the viewers and the listerners are understood the media want to promote the best wishes for ours kids
saran, on May 21st, 2008 at 6:56 am Said:

nonsense review…… should have some music sense to write the review…..

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