There's a pattern for Vijay's album in the past and the people are quite used to what to expect from him. Anirudh has broken all the shackles to provide an all new identity to Vijay with his brilliant tracks. This is Anirudh's sixth album in less than 2 years, but, the way he has shaped himself to a hit machine is unimaginable. It is not easy to compose songs for a commercial entertainer and let's assess what he delivered for one of the most highly anticipated OST of the year.
1. Pakkam Vanthu - Anirudh, Hip Hop Tamizha
The album starts off with a great EDM material with Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi's rap portion & Anirudh follows him with the trippy verse 'Pakkam Vanthu Konjam Muththangal Thaa'. Anirudh triggers the first bullet by making use of a double barrel gun, and his partnership with Aadhi hits a hat-trick here. Both the interludes are designed to make the listener say, WOW! And, Anirudh's late entry in the second stanza to render 'Maname Maname' is a brilliant pit stop strategy in a high voltage Aadhi's F1 race-sque vocals.
2. Paalam - Shankar Mahadevan, Shweta Mohan
An experimental track from the composer as he tries to serve three different flavours within 5.5 minutes. Shankar Mahadevan makes a comeback to Tamil cinema after a brief hiatus and shoulders this tune to give the much needed push. Shweta Mohan sounds authentic in the traditional Carnatic while the chorus portion with kids is likeable. The song ends on a high note with the typical 'gaana' rhythm only to leave the listener to think for a while on what genre this track belongs to
3. Kaththi Theme - The sword of Destiny
All of us have heard this one already with the motion picture of 'Kaththi' and Anirudh has added a bit of humming at the end of the theme. What starts off like a heavy clash of two swords goes on to burst out with a splashing bullet sound in the midway. One cannot imagine the swag level of Vijay with this theme track on the screen. The theme track has already become a ringtone of many and it is time to be the caller tune!
4. Selfie Pulla - Vijay, Sunidhi Chauhan
Vijay's sensational form as a singer continues on this album too, as he effortlessly crooned a fascinating romantic kuthu with Sunidhi. Anirudh's sagacious sound arrangements with fierce guitar portions and shutter sounds are captivating. The 30 second long prelude consists of guitars and drums are addictive, and Vijay takes off like a well oiled engine from the very first second to deliver an impressive track.
5. Bad eyes - Villain Theme
Is it possible to induce a dark mood with the usages of flute and sitar? Yes, says Anirudh, and he confidently pulls off another coruscating theme track. The stupendous sound engineering is evident and the idea to use as many as instruments to keep up the mood is laudable.
6. Nee Yaaro - K.J.Yesudas
A simple hero worshipping number, but, it sounds soothing because of Yesudas and the mild composition which lets the lyrics take over. The first interlude which extends close to half a minute is poisonous, and the way Yesudas picks up from there is magical. It is hard to believe this legend is on his job for more than 5 decades and still sounds the way he started his journey
7. Aathi - Vishal Dadlani, Anirudh
The Ra. One composer has come back to sing once again for Anirudh. The duo did deliver a fantastic song in 'Vanakkam Chennai'. The composer wanted to derive one more from Hip Hop Aadhi, and cleverly used his rap portions with Vishal's vibrant vocals. Anirudh has let his imagination run over with blazing electric guitars and orchestrated a gangster style romantic number. The highlight of the track is; the rap portions of Aadhi which is well connected to the theme of 'Sword of Destiny' and no wonder it will be played on a loop on all the music players.
Verdict - This is the best OST for a Vijay starrer in the recent years, and Anirudh has made full use of the given opportunity to establish himself as one of the best among the current lot.
Pick(s) of the album - Pakkam Vanthu, Kaththi Theme, Selfie Pulla, Bad Eyes, and Aathi
Stars: 3.5/5