As the topic is general as “Ten best songs of 2003” and not as bollywood movies, I have come with top 10 list in Tamil cinema.
The year 2003 has been a golden era for Tamil cinema with a good number of successful and trend setting movies it is a musical year too. Because though some movies failed in box-office the audio was good.
This year all the leading music directors of Tamil cinema A.R.Rahman, Illayaraja, Yuvan Shankar raja, Vidyasagar and Harris Jayaraj has given their best. ARR came with three albums Kadhal virus, Boys and E 20 U 18, Illayaraj came with July ganapathy and Pithamagan, yuvan Shankar raja came up with Kadhalkonden, Winner, Kurumbu, Punngai poovae, Vidyasagar came with Thirumalai, Dhool, parthiban kanavu, Iyarkai, Harris jayaraj came with Saamy, Kaaka kaaka, Leysa Leysa and some worth mentioning albums by other music directors are Whistle by D.Iman, Nalathamayanthi by Ramesh Vinayakam, Jayam by R.P.Patnaik.please note I have mentioned only successful albums. But I worry that there are no new noteworthy music directors this year.
It was really very tough for me to pick the ten best and sort it .I have not only the music but also the way it is picturized.
And more important point there is a lot of difference between hit song and the good song. Some good may also go unnoticed because of the failure of the movie and other related cause. So here I don’t the hit list it is the list of good songs of 2003 in Tamil cinema. And here is my list.
10.Sonnalum Kaetpadhillai(Kadhal Virus)
After a long time a song with karnatic raaga based from ARR.Excellent melody sung by Unnikrishnan and harini. Their voice modulation in this song is par excellence and as both of them have strong karnatic base they have done it with ease. The violin orchestration all through the song is excellent and I it is one of the best melodies of ARR.I think this album was good but not well received by the audience.
9.Enna ithu(Nalathamayanthi)
Ramesh vinayakam has a different style and he gives importance to melodies .One such melody is this song. Excellent tune and composition and the way he has used piano, violin and flute for this song has some touch of Illayaraja. He himself has sung this song with Chinmayee. He has proved that he is a good singer too. It is a montage song in the movie and well picturized in Australia.
8)Enakku piditha paadal(July Ganapathy)
Many of them not even heard of this song. This is a masterpiece of Illayaraja, which went unnoticed because of the failure of the movie. It is a rare tune and an excellent melody by the Maestro Illayaraja. Shreya ghosal has given her voice, which is another advantage of the song. She has an excellent voice. The lyrics by Na.Muthukumar is good.
The die-hard fans of illayaraja if you have missed this album go and listen to it immediately, trust me all the songs in this album are excellent.
7) Kaadhal Vandhaal(Iyarkai)
Vidyasagar is one of the music directors who have the ability to give great melodies. This is extremely melodious song sung by Tipu and penned by Vairamuthu. Excellent lyrics about the emotions of a guy whose love is unreciprocated, this diamond lyric writer have chosen some of pearls from the sea for his lyrics in this song. Tipu is one of the singers who has not got what he deserved yet he is excellent in adding emotions in his voice. The song is also picturized well in the sea backdrop.
6) Kana kandaenadi(Parthiban kanavu)
Again a good melody by Vidyasagar.The lyrics by Nandalala is good. Vidyasagar has used saxophone well in this song. Madhubalakrishna who voice has some traces of Yesudas has sung this song well. The whole movie is like a poem and the picturisation of this song is simply the best.
5) Uyirin Uyirae(Kaaka kaaka)
It is a different song with a fusion of fast beats with a melodious tune. The voice of K.K is an added advantage. Harris jayaraj always experiments with voices and he has done it in this song. The lyrics by Thamarai is good her choice of words explores many new words in Tamil to us. The piucturisation is extraordinary in the locales of Andaman and especially the costume design of the group dancers and the lead pair are worth mentioning.
4) Theme music of Kadhal konden
When I heard this theme at first it didn’t impress me much but the way it is used in the movie made it one of the great track ever from Yuvan Shankar raja. Excellent fusion of music by Yuvan, he has well used flute(I am not sure may be some other wind instrument) with percussion beats in the background. His growth has been exponential in Tamil cinema he is most trusted music director of recent times.
3) Thottu Thottu(Kadhal Konden)
Everybody like Devadayai kandein song from this movie but my choice is this song. This song is apt for the situation, which is very rare in Tamil cinema, which has song that perfectly fits the situation. A very rare music and the lyrics by Na.Muthukumar is powerful. The percussions, the humming of a female voice in the opening and the way he has used Veena in the begium are excellent. Another good aspect is the voice of Harris raghavendra. The picturisation is extraordinary and the expressions and the dance performance of Thanush makes the song more powerful.
1) Secret of success(Boys)
ARR has experimented with sounds in this song and an excellent rocking song. The chant used in this song is simply ARR’s touch. The other factors that made this song great are youthful lyrics by Vaalee, fresh voice of Lucky ali for the first time in Tamil, excellent lighting, cinematography, art direction and choreography of the song.
1) Illangathu(Pithamagan)
Yet again a master piece from Maestro Illayaraja.Everything in this song is par excellence the tune, unique orchestration of flute and violin, the lyrics by Pazhani bharathi, voice of sriram parthasarathy and shreya ghosal, the way it is used in the movie as a montage song all synchronize one wavelength. It is an enjoyable song to listen and also to watch.
Please note:I have ranked both Secret of success and illagathu as first. Because it is foolish to debate that “who is the best illayaraja or ARR?” both of them are legends in their own way and they are beyond comparisons.