Raj TV's next Tamil venture Mariyadhai with 'Captain' Vijaykanth in the lead has music being composed by currently in-demand Vijay Antony. With elections round the corner, this is going to be one of the most played albums for Vijayakanth's party, the DMDK.
Here's what the collection has to offer:
A melodious chorus starts Pa Vijay's Adada, until it morphs into one of those oft-heard tunes that characterised movies like Suryavamsam and Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen. Vinaya's clear voice fits the bill, while the lyrics celebrate the sugary-sweetness of a home and family where birds, beasts and humans live in perfect, cloying harmony, the kind that you will only see in a Utopian paradise. Still, you'll have to congratulate music that manages to stay absolutely the same for close on a decade.
A cute flute segment begins Yaar Paarthathu, once again written by P Vijay in Vinaya's voice is yet another rehash of Edho Oru Pattu. To give credit where it's due, the musical interlude is rather melodious, before Hariharan pitches in with the familiar refrain. Vijay Antony certainly has given a new and sometimes mildly refreshing spin, with piano notes adding that touch of romance to a number that carries overtones of Anandha Raagam from Panneer Pushpangal.
Unnai Ninaiththen, penned by Na Muthukumar, begins with a flute segment in a typical folksy fashion, rendered by Prasanna and Shreya Ghoshal [whose voice sounds so like Sujatha at certain points]. It brings across some beauty even if it does sound like one of those endless, generic compositions that followed through the 90s.
Seeming like a rehash of Yaar Paarthathu comes Devadhai Desaththil, sung by Hariharan and Shreya Ghoshal, to generic romantic lyrics penned by Kalaikkumar. When it comes to the charanam, the hitherto gentle pace turns brisker, providing some variation. That's about all that can be said, especially as this number seems to be a mish-mash of several songs, made into a potpourri of notes.
And now for the number that's, undoubtedly been touted as the chart-buster of the album -- Inbame, the MGR song from Idhayakkani that's been remixed to mixed results. Certainly staccato beats and disco-esque music isn't new to Vijay Antony, but choosing Udit Narayan to render this classic in his typically nasal voice seems to have been a bad decision. Admittedly, Mahathi tries to repair the damage, but even she's forced to give the song a rock-and-rolla twang to this Pulamaippithan number. The interlude to the second charanam sounds surprisingly like one of those song collections played on loud-speakers at weddings, and no matter the modern spin, it just doesn't capture your attention.
Sounding like a cross between Chinna Thambi's climax song and an earnest TMSoundararajan singing for an emotional Sivaji Ganesan, comes this second version of Yaar Paarthathu, sung in a suitably shaky voice by Unni Menon. The dramatic background score in the beginning gives you the jitters but it tapers off into tame flute segments and violin interludes that take you straight to Ilaiyaraja's nineties work.
Mariyadhai has everything that fans of Vikraman, Vijaykanth or S A Rajkumar would wish for -- but there's precious little of Vijay Antony [even if he himself is famous for being inspired by the likes of Rihanna] here. It's a melodious collection of oft-heard tunes and long-ago melodies; of originality, there's none. You may as well listen to the old S A Rajkumar hits.
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