The title of the movie and its spelling are both very interesting. ’’Aa-y-th Ezhuthu’’ is how it is spelt - wonder what that is all about. Hope it is not because of numerology.
True to the precedence set by this combo (Mani Rathnam - ARR), all the songs are interesting, to say the least.
- Hey Goodbye Nanba - Slow start and the ’’Nee yaaro...naan yaaro’’ throws you off in a pleasant surprise. Nothing much in the charanams, first interlude is typical Rahman. Later, there is this jazzy background played - it is confusing and with repeated hearing you get used to it. Not sure it has come off well.
Score: 6/10
- Jana Gana Mana - It reminds me of the Macarena song, which was a huge hit some years back. The ’’Oh...yuva yuva...’’ part is just too predictable from Rahman. However, it is a catchy number seeming to convey the careless attitude of the youth. The heavy metal type of instrumentation during the charanams is new and good.
Score: 8/10
- Sanda Kozhi - It is a melody in an album otherwise filled with fast and trendy numbers. Madhusree has done better than many other singers who don’t know Tamil - but as an ardent Tamil fan, I have to say that she could have done better. Nice song, reminds of some IR song, not sure which one - that is the typical Rahman feeling, right?
Score: 7/10
- Dol Dol - Somebody please explain what this song is. I seriously thought my tape was stuck when the Dol Dol thing kept repeating. Anyway, this isn’t my kind of song -hence the low score.
Score: 3/10
- Nenjam Ellam - This is a good one. Adnan Sami’s Tamil was ok. It is again a catchy number, reminds me of the Unnikrishnan song from Tajmahal - ’’Kuliridhu Kuliridhu...’’. It is a similar rainy kind of song about the sensual feelings evoked during monsoon just before it rains - something waiting to happen.
Score: 8/10
- Yakkai Thiri - Interesting, short song. It feels like the ’’Poovukkenna poottu’’ from Bombay. Seems like an anthem song for the movie. Interesting lyrics as well - see below.
Score: 7/10
About the lyrics, Vairamuthu is good in a few places. One instance is in Yakkai Thiri, the lyrics go ’’Piravi pizhai, kaadhal thirutham’’. It is an interesting thought, indeed. Otherwise, he follows his set pattern for lyrics - for eg. ’’Vidhiyinai maatrum vidhi seivoam’’ in Jana Gana Mana. However, lyrics are much better than the Hindi version. Mehboob is pretty awful in places - for eg. in the Baadal song (counterpart of Nenjam Ellam), I did not like the uski marzi part of the song - I understand the thought but the choice of words could have been much better. Tells you that Mani Rathnam does not understand much Hindi.
Overall, it seems like Sanda Kozhi, Nenjam Ellam and Hey Goodbye Nanba are picturized on the three couples with similar themes in their lyrics (love, sensuality). Jana Gana Mana, Yakkai Thiri and Dol Dol are three theme songs for the leading men in this movie - each with its own flair.
That’s my take on the music. Honestly, I hope the movie is good and does well.