Music Review: Vikram (Tamil)

Composer(s): Anirudh Ravichander
Listen to the songs online here: JioSaavn

Vikram is Anirudh Ravichander's fourth release in a span of two months after Beast, Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal, and Don (which, according to me, had an assembly line quality to it). One might even say it's Anirudh's imperial phase, a time where even his throwaways are pop hits. But let's be clear here: the winning formula is wearing thin. And it shows in Vikram. Pathala Pathala, sung by Kamal Haasan himself, offers a throwback to Karthik Raja's Kaasumela (Kaathala Kaathala) for its use of the local Madras lingo, but the composition floats by without registering much of an impression. In the title track and Wasted, deftly constructed guitar riffs collide with heady grooves and thumping beats, while Porkanda Singam hums with a sombre energy, the vocals from Anirudh Ravi G seeping a restrained sorrow. Once Upon a Time picks up right from where the title song left off, building itself around a modestly catchy hook. Vikram is low shelf-life music that will no doubt get its fair share of radio play but that will likely disappear from the charts, and our memories, just as quickly as it came.