What can one expect when two music mastroes - M S Viswanathan and Illayaraja team up for a movie?
Plenty, actually.
So, when Vishwa Thulasi directed by Sumathy Ram has these two genius composers coming together, the expectations are indeed high.
And truth be told, they have not disappointed their legions of fans.
Both the peerless musicians have rendered soft melodious numbers that are sure to mesmerize the listeners.
A mix of Classical Carnatic stuff and Hindustani music with soul-stirring vocals from S P Balasubramaniam, Srinivas and Karthik, the album is a right pick for all those who love their music to be understated and appeal to their hearts and not ears.
When peppy tunes with meaningless lyrics are holding the sway in Tamil filmdom, the music of Vishwa Thulasi certainly stands apart. When electric instruments have begun to dominate, the fact that a couple of songs have been tuned with musical background of manual instruments adds strength to this music album.
The picks of the album are the numbers "Nizhalin Kadhiyidhu sung by S P Balasubramanyam and Engu Pirandhadhu rendered by Thippu and Chinmayi. The former set to tunes by M S Viswanathan has a Hindustani classical raga as its base. Both the numbers just waft across like cool breeze on a sticky, hot afternoon. With tabla and violin going together in almost surrealistic ensemble, the number is sure to appeal to the listeners. The latter, written and set to tunes by Illayaraja himself is a soft number with excellent orchestration.
The album also includes Kannama, a sad number sung by S P Balasubramanyam set to tune by Viswanthan and Thulasi, a soft number by Illayaraja. With less instrumentation and more of vocals, the album is a refreshingly different attempt.
Kanavillavudhu sung by Karthik and Poornima, and Mayakama rendered by Srinivas are sure to stick to one's heart. Srinivas, who is not heard as often as before, once again shows why he is one of the top singers of this generation. His vocalization in one word is brilliant.
Sumathy Ram has written a couple of songs, while Illayaraja has penned three songs.