Manikanda, a movie in the making for long time starring Arjun and Jyothika, has got five songs set to tunes by Deva. With Deva at the helm and the likes of Anuradha Sriram, Manicka Vinayagam and Shankar Mahadevan rendering, the songs can be only of genre: heavy and mass ones.
1.Pondicherry (Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram)
A thunderous beginning to the album. A typical 'dappanguthu' number rendered by Shankar Mahadevan, and it is in a vein that he had done several times before here. Pitch forking her energetic voice into the scheme of things is Anuradha Sriram. Despite the deja vu, the energy in the number is unmistakable.
2.Inji Morappa (Tippu, Anuradha Sriram)
Not too far away from the earlier number. Seemingly an extension of it, the tune is much familiar for it is heard in many a Deva's song before. The gaana type song is what has made Deva reach such levels. But that doesn't mean he has to take recourse to it at every turn.
3.Yei Mukundha (Karthik, Pop Shalini)
A song set on western beats has Karthik in the company of Pop Shalini. Yet, the heard-before feel cannot be escaped. Interestingly, one wonders what the lyrics in the number mean to convey. They are inane and flippant.
4.Madhipirkuriya (Manicka Vinayagam, Jayalakshmi ) What can one expect when Manicka Vinayagam renders a song? It would be a racy and earthy number glorifying the hero. Accompanied by traditional folk instruments, the number has heavy beats and heavier rendition. Jayalakshmi sounds similiar to Malathy Lakshman's voice.
5.Mama Mama (Tippu, Anuradha Sriram) Remixing or re-tuning the evergreen hits of yesteryear has become the order of the day, This particular song is a earthy re-tune of Sivaji Ganesan's classical hit Mama Mama with Deva's 'indigenous' touch to it. Providing the necessary racy beats to the song. Anuradha Sriram hogs limelight.
All in all, it is typical stuff from Deva.