Music Review: Yennai Arindhaal (Tamil)

Composer(s): Harris Jayaraj
Listen to the songs online here: Saavn

The guitary Yaen Ennai goes high on techno, the saxophone interlude and Sunitha Sarathy and Kharesma Ravichandran's appealing vocals making it an addictive listen. Mazhai Vara Pogudhae sounds more like a leftover from Pachaikili Muthucharam, especially the songs Karu Karu and Kaadhal Konjam. The rap portions don't really fit and Karthik valiantly tries as much to make this romantic melody interesting. The EDM-infused title song, on the other hand, is drawn out and overly long at 5:43 minutes, even as Adhaaru Adhaaru's predictable techno-kuthu gains traction in Vijay Prakash and Gaana Bala's effervescent singing. Benny Dayal (with backing vocals from Mahathi) does well in the soulful yet stunning folksy melody Unakkenna Venum Sollu. The song's orchestration is masterful (is there an Ilaiyaraaja touch somewhere?) and its other piano variant Idhayathai Yedho Ondru sung fabulously by Chinmayi is equally serene and splendid. Maya Bazaar, possibly a nod to the eponymous 1957 Telugu/Tamil film, is a quirky musical melange of four different short tunes, with the retro-styled Anbe En Aaruyirae being the pick of the lot. Harris Jayaraj makes a strong comeback of sorts with Yennai Arindhaal, still it's nowhere near his earlier outings.

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