Deciphering The Thousandth Man

It is no secret that the current talk that is presiding over the tinsel town is definitely Selva Raghavan’s Aayirathil Oruvan. While many have given their take on the movie, and much has been said, written, praised and criticized about it, I feel the necessity to conjuncture my own views and understanding that I have derived in the film. This purpose of this article is mainly to aid viewers who might have missed out or may have had trouble comprehending some parts of the film; and to help them appreciate what I personally think is a landmark achievement in Tamil cinema.

My friends have mainly directed plenty of questions as to what they believe to be loose ends that exist in the film, and though all my answers may not be accurate, I do have a faint idea about all the ropes that ties the movie together, so here are my two cents.

1. The Cholans are NOT zombies.

This is like a popular myth that has been spreading among many who watched the movie in their first viewing, assuming that the Cholans in the film are zombies who had somehow defied logic and stayed alive for 800 years. The Cholans have extracted themselves to the isolated island back in 1279 pending invasion to their hometown of Tanjoor. But they are not the same generation. In a normal human cycle, they have gone through the regular cycle of life and death for many generations, hiding themselves in the caves. The only person who has remained alive all these years is the saint, who is the protector of the entire dynasty, protector of the King and the prince, who, in turn, are protectors of the people. Thus, they are not zombies.

2. Why then, are they so dark?

The reason is simple. The Cholans have lived their entire life in the caves, without any exposure to sunlight or rain. Plus, all of them are shown to be thin and barbaric because they are suffering from malnutrition. One scene where the woman touches Andrea’s breasts while she tried to converse to Parthiban shows the result of malnutrition- The Cholan women could not produce milk and only blood will flow from their breasts.

3. Why did they abandon the Cholan city which is so nearby and live in caves? Why they refuse to return to the city at least, when it is so near, and still protected by their curses?

As one can see, the archeologists pass by two monumental ruins before the caves. First is a grey stone ruin where they are attacked by snakes, and the second a more recent ruins of a city where they are struck by the madness curse. As history in the film reads, The Pandyas never gave up in their efforts to trace down the Cholas. Thus, the first ruin that they pass through is where the Cholans lived in the island when they arrived there first, but upon discovery by Pandyas, they retreat further to that deserted city, and place extra curses in the path. If one could remember the seven obstacles mentioned in the story, the quicksand by theory is the seventh and final obstacle. Thus the madness curse is possibly an eighth. Thus the seven obstacles are what the knowledge of previous pursuers have told; with no-one discovering that they have abandoned the small city, placed another curse upon it and retreated into the caves; which must have happened much more recently, possibly only one or two generations ago.

And they are not seeking to return to the ruins of the old city within the island itself, they are waiting for a messenger to come and guide them back to their original hometown of Tanjoor, which is where they extracted themselves from in the first place.

4. How did Reema Sen make the tiger symbol appear and disappear?

As Reema narrates her flashback and intentions, one could easily notice the part where she mentions she is thought how to use her body well. This is not only about the art of seduction, but also the art of black magic. The Pandyas are aware of the Cholan prophecy, and believe that the Cholan people will only come out from hiding if their prophecy is proved true. Thus, Reema uses this knowledge to deceive the Cholans.

5. What is with Karthik miraculously killing the attacker at the battle coliseum?

As one could observe in the film, Karthik simply refuses to die on many occasions. When a Red Indian comes close to killing him, his uncle sacrifices his life for him. When Reema shoots him after their confrontation in the forest, the loaded gun doesn’t release a bullet. When Reema does shoot him with a bullet during the madness curse, he still doesn’t die despite the bleeding. In the coliseum scene, the saint, who is now bedridden, telepathically transfers his powers to Karthik, having identified him as the genuine messenger. The powers enables Karthik to judge the movement of the chain ball, and also see all the audiences as mere skeletons (an allegory that people who take pleasure in watching a game of blood are mere skeletons), and thus enables him to easily evade distraction and concentrate on judging his opponent’s movements. It is Karthik’s destiny to be the messenger and he simply refuses to die.

6. Why Reema Sen refuses to let Karthik leave?

Well, this is the fishy part. Is Reema aware that he is the original messenger? Is she trying to get rid of him in some way? This parts are unexplained much but they remain fishy. A second viewing might enlighten some on this.

On an overall note, it is important to add that it is hard to find a Tamil movie in the vicinity that makes us think so much and ask for a second viewing. That being said however, some of our audiences might term the film as being obscure or badly made rather than appraising its effort and intelligence. AO is an important step forward for Tamil cinema; however, this effort will only reach global shores if we, the audiences and consumers of this industry, give it its due credit.

Aayirathil Oruvan- Movie Review

You don’t judge a film like Aayirathil Oruvan. You simply don’t. Allowing his imagination to bellow on us like a shadow, Selva Raghavan has simply stolen the thunder, to re-affirm that he is indeed one of the best film-makers in India today. In fact, you will not be chastised for saying he is the best based on this evidence.

AO floats beyond our judgement just because for the way Selva has made this film. It is already one big achievement of an Indian film-maker ventures into fantasy, but here Selva ventures into fiction, history, and also pulp fiction all at the same time. It is a combination that purists who teach the aesthetics of cinema would never fathom. It sounds that impossible on paper. But Aayirathil Oruvan isn’t a movie made on threads of scripts and intricate discussions on what will attract the audiences and what will not. But instead, it is made on the platform of Selva’s mind, his imagination, his vivid imageries, yet ultimately attaining an abstract meaning that makes ends meet, albeit also in an unconventional manner.

Archeologist Rajamouli (Pratap Pothen) is on the brink of discovering the lost civilization of the Cholan Dynasty, which went amiss back in 1279 after being conquered over by the Pandyan dynasty. However, he goes missing at his moment of glory, and thus the Indian Union Minister sends a professional team to track down Rajamouli, who is believed to be in a tiny unknown island located in the straits between Vietnam and Port Blair, where the lost civilization were believed to have extracted themselves to after being outcasted from their own home of Tanjoor. Anitha (Reema Sen) a bold, seductive, aggressive woman heads the team along with Lavanya (Andrea), who is Rajamouli’s daughter, and also an archeologist. Muthu (Karthik) heads a coolie group which is hired to help in the expedition with physical logistics.

The story centers on their expedition and their subsequent alarming discovery that the Cholan dynasty individuals are still alive, living in isolation inside a dark cave filled with wall paintings of their prophecy. What follows is a vivid unfolding of events that you can only find out if you watch it for yourself.

To begin with, performances in the film are top notch. Reema Sen makes you wonder if it is really her. Normally known more for her glamour than her acting; Reema manages to maintain unpredictable facial expressions throughout which makes you unable to gauge her true intentions. The story mostly centers around her attitude, and obsession, and she conveys the different facets of her character so well. In fact, she even seem to have been able to lip synch well enough while her character spoke Sangam Tamil.

Karthik seems to continue where he had left off in Paruthi Veeran, For most part, he is just a coolie with witty one-liners, and yet his facial expressions retain a tenderness about them especially in the second half when the story moves more and more towards him. Andrea Jeremiah is extremely likable, just as she was in her acting debut Pachaikili. She wasn’t given the scope to perform, but shares a cracking yet tender chemistry with Karthik, and the small, unadulterated love track between them is a pleasure to watch- though towards the end, she mostly wore a bewildered look as the whole story seem to take place around her but never participating her.

Selva obviously rates Azhagam Perumal as a calibre actor to play grey roles, as he had given him the role of an established politician in Pudhupettai, he plays his role as the obsessed, ignorant private army commando to almost perfection.

The only shortcoming on the technical side might be pointed to the graphics work of the film, as some of the graphics were laughable in terms of quality, which just shows Tamil films still have their wok cut out if they are to ever reach the graphic heights of Hollywood.

Otherwise, camerawork by Ramji is exceptional to say the least, but the real technical hero is GV Prakash. Apart from providing a good album, GV has stamped his authority all over the film with a stunning background score, which elevates every ordinary scene to extraordinary measures.

On the whole however, you can not inscribe this film to be everyone’s perfect idea of a good movie outing. Some hate it when films appear to be too intelligent for their grasping. Some hate to admit when a film is smart and downright bash it (like some critics in some websites have already done), and some will struggle with the Sangam Tamil and not fully comprehend it. Selva could, and should, have placed full English subtitles or added an extra scene to narrate in detail what has happened to the Cholans in order to enlighten those who have failed to grape the language.

The film, at the core shows that despite all of the so-called civilization progress, humans at the core retain a very barbaric nature, and that nothing much has changed since ancient civilizations. Yet the practices of ancient civilizations are shown to retain more tenderness than the greed that has consumed the current society. Sexual innuendos never go missing from Selva’s film, and this is no different. They provide a majority of the humor element for the film, and this might not please some parents. But these dialogues are common, and spoken a great deal among the public, thus they remain a realistic choice for the film.

Aayirathil Oruvan is one in a thousand. A stand-out Tamil film for all times. Watch it at least once so that you do not miss this experience. This is the film that will give some spring to the step that Tamil cinema wants to take to be noticed in world cinema. If the industry wants to be known for more than just routine heroism and dance around the tree songs, then films such as AO should be encouraged.

Kudos to Selva Raghavan! Please do bravely churn out a sequel!

A Kamal Life

A few days ago, as I was watching Kamal Hassan’s 50 years in cinema commemoration event; Mamootty was giving a simple and straightforward speech about the man himself- stating that if so many people can praise and humble themselves in front of him, the sole reason that he is an actor, an artist of great caliber doesn’t justify all the praise Kamal gets, but instead, Kamal must have been a ‘great human being also’ in order to justify all that people shower on him.

I have read in various spaces how people constantly have waxed lyrical about Kamal’ s achievements and his credo that has taken him to great heights, and how his attempts influences and induces courage in some, and admiration in others. But how many of us had really given any kind of credit to Kamal Hassan for the man that he is, the person that he is?

It takes a very brave man, especially in an easily vindictive society like ours; it does take a very brave man to carve out his life entirely based on his ideologies. And that man was Kamal Hassan. One a many wouldn’t prefer to go to those areas which they consider ‘grey’ about him and discuss about it at any length, but I am more than happy to do so- and praise him with it as well. And the reason I had already stated above- it takes a very bold person to base his life upon his ideologies.

Kamal’s biggest point of controversy, as has been pointed out all these years- is that he was an atheist. First of all, let us acknowledge that fact that none of us, lest you or me, are aware of the entire truth as to what life breaks down to and what it is all about. All of us are travelers searching for that same faraway answer, and those hints we get, we keep them in our knapsack. Some of us have more hints (knowledge) than the others, but none, I can heartily and boldly state, knows the whole truth of it. Some find their calling and their purpose within the realms of religion, and Kamal finds his (as per his own words) in the society itself. There is nothing wrong in embracing those than you can see and attain a spiritual viewpoint based on that point itself. For the record, I’m not an atheist. But I will give all the credit in the world to Kamal for his ideas and his stronghold of them. I always say it takes a very strong person to be completely spiritual in a religious realm and also to be an ideological atheist. The former is because it takes a great man to be humble, non-assertive and completely submit himself to the powers that be above him. My friend once remarked to me that religion is a foundation and which we can fall upon, usually in times when life seems to be out of our control. All of us face hardships in life, but it does take a great man to discard that foundation so early in his life. What would that man fall back on? To entirely keep faith all by himself- that quality is as admirable as any.

His ideologies are universally adaptable- you can tell them to a Christian, a Muslim, A Hindu, and a Buddhist and it would ring true every time- Love is God. I have seen plenty of people who know perfectly well how to love God, but are the worst when it comes to loving those around them. Love each other- that credo is the same in every single religion in this world, and Kamal lives beyond the confinement that keeps us separated from each other with sensitive barriers. If everyone takes that credo and believes Love is God, will there be any terrorists left in the world? Will there be Any soul that would wield a knife and stab someone without being wretched by guilt for what he has done?

Some like to point to his family life as an indication of his imperfection- but which of us are perfect? The path Kamal has threaded was a path that he wants depending only on his passion and his ideologies. It wasn’t a familiar path- in fact I might say, he alone took up that road and travelled in it. He is bound to have made mistakes along the way- and lest I assert that he has paid the price and faced the consequences of his own mistakes. I have visited layman houses in India and find they do not think highly of that man just because he was married twice and at one stage of his life;was having children out of wedlock. But still for the young generation that would like to travel that same path, his journey is marked before us, so that we know what mistakes we could avoid to reach his heights. Normally we point at a loser and say- ‘Look, don’t do what he did, and you’ll be fine’. And yet today, we stare with such glaring amazement at the pinnacle of a mountain- despite stumbling, and being discredited along the way, he still conquered that mountain, and he has left for us the indication on what mistakes we could avoid, so that our journey is a much smoother one.

There is a saying in English- Success is measured by how much others measure their success using you as a yardstick. Kamal Hassan has given a very expensive value to success indeed, and me, and many other who adore him, use him as a yardstick to measure ourselves.

A great person is someone who manages to inspire and teach one of his students; but what do you call Kamal when he inspired me and many other (among my friends), whom he had never seen or heard about in his life? The mark of his legacy lives on us, for we acknowledge that flawed human that he was, and the great pains he took to improve himself and come out of that rut and proceed to his destination. And we know that even if Kamal has already conquered that mountain; he is already setting off to conquer another, and we shall continue behind him. Whichever path we may take when our calling comes, we do not know, but lest assured a piece of him will live on in those paths.

What have I expressed here is my personal testimonial of Kamal Hassan. Some may have assumed that I am a wannabe actor, but lest you are wrong. I am only a wannabe director, and a novelist, but nevertheless in terms dedication to the profession you are involved in, and as the complete artist that he is, he is still my idol. As Vivek so rightly asks in his poem of Kamal- ‘Is there any department that you do not know?’

I apologize beforehand if I had offended anyone with my views, but nevertheless I felt the necessity to express my views. And I take my leave with another one of Kamal’s credo- ‘No pain, no gain’.

That, in as simplest as four words could do, sums up Kamal Hassan- the person, the legend, the actor and everything else.

Dillema of a Kill

There seems to be a new trend that has been haunting Indian cinema nowadays, the dilemma of killing characters. My cousin sister hardly ever watches Tamil films- having it in her genes maybe to criticize everything about Tamil films (even Vaaranam Aayiram failed to impress her), so I was surprised when I found out that she was pretty hooked to Venilla Kabadi Kuzhu when she had watched it last year. However, when she discussed the ending, she threw me a bewildered look, and I couldn’t find any explanation as to why the director deemed the best way to end the story is by killing the main character. Venilla Kabadi Kuzhu is just a mere drop in the sea as far as killing characters in Tamil films goes in recent years. What exactly started off that trend, I am not exactly sure of- it should be either Paruthi Veeran or Subramaniapuram. Blood and gore or nativity has been the only two subjects ruling the roosts for all the successful Tamil films for the past two years or so (I’m excluding typical commercial fares i.e Ayan out of the equation). Probably only Eeram, Vaaranam Aayiram and Unaipol Oruvan could be classified as good hits which didn’t have blood, gore, and nativity as their subjects. And it seems whenever such subjects are being discussed, even at a mile’s radius, a sound conclusion is reached that someone at the fulcrum of the story has to die at the end, or something violent should happen.

These films seem to give a false idea that violence is very much part of the Tamil Nadu lifestyle. I am still fresh off my trip to India, and I have seen plenty other stories that can be told rather than beating around the same bush again and again. It is a cruel world out there, people die. This line describes what ‘good’ movies out there is doing nowadays, and to add to that- they simply coat it as reality. Kill someone, and chop, you have realism. Show blood, you have realism. As much as movies do have to be realistic, one does watch movies to induce hope as well. Paruthi Veeran wasn’t a movie glorifying violence, but rather a movie that depicted so accurately the consequences of violence. But that same motivation doesn’t exist behind all the other movies being relased after that, they are good works, but they seem to thread a very misleading formula. Firstly, you should never have a formula to make a good movie.

The greatest recent example would be Delhi 6, where the whole story judgement seem to balance itself on why the main character wasn’t killed at the end of the movie. Killing Roshan doesn’t make Delhi 6 a masterpiece, neither does keeping him alive makes it a disaster. Killing someone alone doesn’t elevate a work to masterpiece status. The biggest concern for me in this aspect is that once again, Tamil producers are showing an unnering tendency to make a ‘formula’ out of everything. If we already have formulas for commercial Tamil films, now even movies trying to be different have a formula about them as well. So much so that Yogi came across as being such a predictable movie in my eyes, and also demotivated me from watching Renigunta. I do not deny that this reality exists, but you can’t point to one end and claim that it is ‘the reality’. Reality is not something you can ever achieve as a whole in making films- films are afterall, works of fiction. You need reality in films because you would want the audience to relate to your story, but at the same time, he film must be able to send out a message, a useful message to the audience. Watching Paruthi Veeran, according to what I read, made a Madurai goon change his ways after realizing the consequences of his actions. Now that is what movies should achieve. These others movies do not do the same. Fairytales are no crime, a bit of fairytale is needed if you want to seed hope in the eyes of those who are watching.

This trend is not only unhealthy, but it is dangerous to entire psychology of viewers and also makers. If you see a youth slashing someone else and claiming he did it because they do it in the movies as well, then do not be surprised.

There seems to be an universally accepted pessimism when movies like this are being churned out. It all boils down to the same Slumdog Millionaire argument maybe- movies are making a pornography of poverty in India. What we are seeing here is a pornography of violence and knife-wielding goons, cold men with a thirst for blood. Do not mistake me, I did not support India’s attack on Slumdog Millionaire. But Tamil films seem to unable to shake off the rust and move on. The coin on the table is not being turned over, it simply remains there, with only one side of it being exposed. I’m not saying no to movies like Subramaniapuram or Yogi, but it would be nice if these movies come out in occasional intervals in line with movies such Unaipol etc. Why do we have to wait so long to get an Unaipol Oruvan while movies like Yogi are coming thick and fast? Isn’t there a serious lack of balance here?

Everything that I had said here varies from different spaces of arguments, it’s difficult to piece them altogether and single out a main argument. But I guess my question at the end of the day would be simple- why so much pessimism? Why is pessimism becoming realism?

Let’s show us some light at the end of the tunnel. We all know there are plenty of dark tunnels, but there is some light at the end of it as well.

Let’s go for Oli, not Irul.

Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya- Music Review

Here we go. A start to the new year with an album by AR Rahman, that too for a film that has romance written all over it. It has been almost two full years since ARR last composed for a Tamil movie (we can take the abysmal Sakarakatti out of the equation), and this would the first album in Tamil for Rahman since his Oscar triumph last summer. The music has created such expectations that a drafted version of ‘Hosana’ which leaked out on the net itself became such a big hit among enthusiastic downloaders. Vinnai…will witness ARR’s first collaboration with established director Gautham Menon, who is coming on the back of a ‘divorce’ with Harris Jeyaraj, but also riding high on the success of Vaaranam Aayiram. However, Gautham fans expecting a Minnale-like album with instant chartbusters are in for a shock, and so do typical music listeners expecting catchy numbers. This album might remind one of Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, an album that took a long time for the listeners to wind up to and appreciate its quality. Similarly, ARR has threaded and daringly experimented with new feels for his songs once again with this album. The whole album creates a very different environment. It’s not just about one or two songs taking you someplace else, but in this case, almost the whole album does. It’s soothing, unspectacular, and needs to be appreciated by an ear for great music.

Omana Penne

Benny Dayal, Kalyani Menon

Sets the tone for the whole album. A simple, soothing love number laced with Malayalam lyrics in the middle. ARR clearly experiments in the middle stanzas, and mixes beats with carnatic and classical beats. Benny Dayal is a favorite of Rahman for such songs, and he delivers the goods with panache, especiall in the middle stanzas. Reminds me alot of Behka from Ghajini, another unique Rahman number sung by Karthik, but only difference is that Omanna Penne is even better than Behka. Benny is in top form, and ARR assures that the music and the tempo remains at a soothing level thoughout with minimal beats.

Anbil Avan

Devan Ekambaram,Chinmayi

Reminds one about Azhagiya Tamizh Magan songs. No, this not folk village beat, but a fusion that is hard to classify. Lyrics suggest this is a wedding song, and just like how you can’t classify Yaaro Yarodi from Alaipauthey or Kummi Adi from Jillendru Oru Kadhal, this song threads on the same path. Unconventional beats all over, but the end result is nevertheless catchy. Might take some time to grow, but won’t take long for you to appreciate this number. The choice of singers is expectionally good. Devan and Chinmayi both excel. Very Good.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya

Karthik

Listen and close your eyes. Appreciate. Lyrics are almost non-existent, but Karthik is in wonderful form. The minimal instrument usage is the mark of a maestro. A pure blues number by ARR. Creates a great environment all through. Don’t expect this to be catchy, but this is pure upliftment. Music is simply brilliant. One would only wish there is a instrumental number using this tune. Brilliant. Pure ARR. His own league.

Hosana

Vijay Prakash, Suzzane, Blaaze

If you are already in love with the drafted Hosana, then you will fall head over heels with this. A striking improvement when Rahman tones down the song to fit the tempo with the rest of the album, additional orchestra and strings work wonders for it further. Vijay Prakash steals this song from the offing, and Suzzane and Blaaze both do admirable jobs. Will be in the charts for an awfully long time to come. Pick of the album.

Kannukul Kannai

Naresh Iyer

A fusion again. It looks like it will be hard to categorize ever song in this album, Kanukkul Kannai borders the closest to western sounds in the whole album. Music is catchy. Naresh Iyer is such an unique choice to sing a song like this. But ARR is no newcomer to experimentation isn’t he? And Naresh justifies the selection as well. A favorite of Rahman’s, he sings with panache and adds an extra appeal to the fairly appealing song.

Manipaaya

Shreya Ghosal, AR Rahman

Look at the two singers’ name. Arguably the sweetest young female voice nowadays, and one of the most soothing male voices in a single song. A class composition. Creates a great environment. Lyrics by Thamarai are great as well, the melody astounding. Credit should go to ARR for not overdoing the tempo and maintaining it to complement with the entire album. Soothing-ness at its best. Shreya is simply wonderful, her sweet voice giving goosebumps all over. ARR provides adequate support as usual.

Aaromalae

Alphonse

A full Malayalam number filled with guitar strings. And guess what, its brilliant. Great work by ARR on the instrumentation and the environment again. Every single sound is paid attention to, just an epitome of how a good a composer he is. Alphonse’s voice fits the bill perfectly. Brilliant.

All in all, you can’t ask for a better gift from AR Rahman to start 2010, that is if you are genuine ARR fan, you ‘d appreciate everything about this album that makes it work to the T.I do not know much about the masses, but I loved it. Hosana will definitely ruled the charts though.

****1/2. (Two Thumbs Up)

My Name Is Khan- Music Review

Shahrukh. Kajol. Karan Johar. These three names are enough to raise humongous expectations of a film. Four years after failing to juggle commercialism and radicalism without dropping balls and making a near mess out of it, Karan Johar is returning to the megaphone with My Name is Khan. Everything about this film typifies with Karan’s earlier films- Shahrukh and Kajol, the classic KKHH and KKKG pair teaming up again under his direction, and for the fourth time in a row, the writer Karan has set his story on the backdrop of America. It is worthy to note that even though his previous films were often light-

hearted, Karan showed that he is not afraid to tackle sensitive subjects as he did last time around with KANK. And even at parts in the film, Karan’s execution and handling of the subject showed glimpses of great talent, but trying to make the film another one of his romantic fairytales backfired completely. MNIK takes over where KANK left off- once again, Karan is trying to break the mould that he is only good at ‘Rahul’ melodramas, and create a more versatile image of himself. If the music is anything to go by, then the signs are good. But if you are a typical Bollywood song listener who wants another series of Rock n Roll Soniye, then you might want to change your expectations. Because this time, Karan doesn’t give in to commercialism- there are no Mahives and Pretty Womans or Where’s The Party Tonight. There is only pure, simple, quality music.

Sajda

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ric

ha Sharma, Shankar Mahadevan

Well, that’s the way to start an album. You may have never heard anything like this in a Karan Johar film before- a slow, soothing, enchanting number with heavy Sufi touches makes this a must-hear for hardcore music lovers. Rahat who has been in fine form of late does a great job and Shankar as usual provides adequate cover. A great song to start the year with.

Noor-E-Khuda

Adnan Sami, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghosal

If you listen to Indian music often enough, you’d know that Adnan Sami is not accustomed to singing songs like this one, but he stands out like a shining light, overshadowing Shankar for most of the part, and Shreay as usual is at her effective best. The percussion and keyboard arrangements are the beginning are brilliant, and in so may ways, this song is similar in terms of class and delivery with Khwab Jo from London Dreams, also composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. I couldn’t pick one over the other, but given the fact that these song has three stanzas and mixes classical and synthetically, this one has to take the cherry. Very Good.

Tere Naina

Shafqat Amanat Ali

Similar to Sajda, another soothing, enchanting number about love, only this time, it is heavier with Sufi and ghazal, making it almost a hardcore ghazal number. Listen to it a couple of times and you’ll be hooked for sure. The opening interlude for 18 seconds is a great piece of orchestra and music, and praise has to go to Shankar and co. for that little piece of composition itself. The entire atmosphere and aura of the song takes you someplace else entirely- could go down as one of the best quality composition of the year. Mind it, the year has just started. Pick of the album.

Allah Hi Rahem

Rashid Khan

Khwaja Mere Khwaja. Arziyan. Going on the similar lines is this qawwali devotional mix, and with this song, the fabulous array of talent the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio posses comes forth. If you are an intent music listener, you’d appreciate this, beyond religious boundaries. Class.

Rang De

Shankar Mahadevan

Completely different from everything else in the album. If I am not mistaken, it will probably take place after the climax or during the end credits. A simple, uplifting, meaningful number about peace, and Shankar does his regular bit by rendering with panache for this song. It sort of completes the versatility of the album.

The album concludes with a theme music number, which is an intriguing piece.

A solid start to the year, expect more great stuff from the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Coming on the back of two solid albums in Wake Up Sid, and London Dreams, MNIK will continue SEL’s good form. As for Karan, the signs are that he has opted for only quality this time, and the results on the screen might be encouraging. And given the fact SRK is just as good an actor as he is a superstar, one can be assured that he has given his all playing an autistic character, and thus there are plenty of reasons for one to watch MNIK. At least I will.

Rating: ***1/2

The birth of a white flower.

Some 18 years ago, singer Unni Menon was given a call way past midnight, awoken in his slumber, and was told that accomplished director Mani Ratnam is recording songs for his new film and Menon’s voice was required for one of those numbers. Who works at this hour, Menon asked himself. But due to the fact that the name involved was called Mani Ratnam, Menon freshened himself up and rushed up to the mentioned recording studio, where he saw a young composer calling the shots.

Mani Ratnam, who so often works with the Maestro Illaiyaraja, has discovered a new talent to associate with in the music department. Menon wondered continuously if this young guy- whose name is AR Rahman, could really live up to the humongous expectations of having to compose for a Mani Ratnam film. He was given the song lyrics, the tunes were discussed, and on the wee hours of that one day back in 1992, Menon recorded a song called ‘Pudhu Vellai Mazhai’ (A new white rain), and went back home, back to his slumber. The doubts that he had before recording the song existed even after that- he didn’t think that he had sung the most catchy of tunes, that thought lingered in his mind. Little did he know, that when he went to sleep that day, that just like lyrics of the song proclaims, he has witnessed a new white rain, that will reign the Indian music arena over the following two decades. All the uncertainties over the song that he had sung vanished into thin air as he listened to the final version of the song one day- and as he listened, he realized that this song is not catchy, but instead it makes the hair on the back of one’s neck stand up and applaud.

That AR Rahman back then was 26 years old. Today, as he turns 44, that white rain has poured down not only in Tamil Nadu, but up until on Hollywood’s most famous stage- the Oscar stage. Rahman was the very first composer in Indian cinema history to win a National Award for his very first film, an award that he would go on to claim two more times. A honorary doctorate and a Padmashri, India’s fourth highest civilian honor, are just a little peek into a mass collection of awards and applauds that this modest, humble, soft-spoken name with an ever present smile on his face has achieved in his career. That innocent smile never waned even as he stood next and around the best luminaries of Hollywood while collecting his piece of the biggest cinema cherry in the world, nor did it wane as he stood flanked by beautiful girls in Akon’s Beautiful Girls music video.

What is so special about his music, some may ask. Who introduced Hariharan and Shankar Mahadevan, two of the most famous, most accomplished male singers in the industry today? Who made Hariharan sing ‘Thamizha Thamizha’ with such sensitivity? Who is it that managed to evoke the atmosphere of an unborn child who is going to born into a world of chaos and uncertainty through Vellai Pookal? Who is it that managed to re-create a 50s and 60s atmosphere without sounding like direct throwback in Iruvar? Who is it that re-composed India’s national anthem with such passion and ferocity? Who is it that made the whole nation re-kindle a long-buried Vanthe Mataram? AR Rahman is not only a good composer, he is a symbol- a symbol of a nation struggling unleash itself from the strangling, rusting ropes of past differences and attempting to move forward as one, as one whole country. He is a symbol of passion, of the ultimate craftsmanship an artist could ever express with his own work. Above all, he is the perfect symbol of an artist, a celebrity. A man who has the talent to put the world at his awe, but has the humility not take all the credit for his achievements. A man who has the calmness to rise above petty differences and embrace goodwill as his nature, and has that smile that shows, without having to tell, that he loves what he is doing, that we love what he is doing, and God loves what he is doing.

Ever lost hope? Ever lost faith in goodness? Ever lost faith in the beauty of life? Ever lost faith in the impact of talent and artistry? Look up to AR Rahman.

Today as this man turns forty-four, there is no gift that we could possibly give him that would override 18 years of him showering us with gifts of music. But what we could do is to forget that he is forty-four, and make him immortal along with his music.

Many more happy returns of the day.

For,

AR Rahman- You are the rare white flower (Vellai Pookal) that tomorrow needs. May there be more white flowers like you to come in this world.

P.S. The first paragraph description was an excerpt of an interview given by Unni Menon.