Yuvan Shankar Raja

Vijay Narayanan on August 19th, 2011

Several years ago, Prabhudeva starred in Alaudin, yet another in a string of forgettable movies. The name of the movie is etched in my mind for a very different reason. The movie’s trailer told you, “மணிசர்மா-வின் மாயாஜால இசையில்… அலாவுதீன்”. Oh, really? The music that played in the background was so inane it made one wonder [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on January 23rd, 2010

Here’s why. Ezhezhu thalaimuraikkum from Goa (2010). Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja.

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Vijay Narayanan on June 28th, 2009

Katradhu Thamizh is one of the best Tamil movies of this decade. Unfortunately, most people get lost in its social commentary and forget that it is, at its heart, a bittersweet romantic tale. This song is my favorite from the movie. Ilaiyaraja’s rendition is awesome; the percussion, especially as the song opens, is a Yuvan [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on November 19th, 2008

Yuvan Shankar Raja, Ilaiyaraja’s second son, is (probably) the heir to Raja’s throne. Along with A.R. Rahman and Harris Jayaraj, he is one of the top three contemporary music directors in Tamil. His partnerships with the current crop of movie directors – Selvaraghavan (they have fallen out now), Vishnuvardhan, Venkat Prabhu, Ameer and Simbhu – [...]

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Vijay Narayanan on March 9th, 2008

Of all the many beautiful songs of 2007, this one from Saththam Podaathey is probably the most haunting; even when taken out of context. pesugiren pesugiren un idhayam pesugiren puyal adithaal kalangaadhu naan pookkal neettukiren edhai nee tholaiththaalum manadhai tholaikkaadhe adangaamale alai paayvadhen? manam allavaa…

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