Ho-hum

Another Tamil film ready to be released for Diwali, and this time the music is by G V Prakash. Seval (Rooster) directed by Hari for Jinna Creations has Bharath, Poonam and Simran in the lead roles.

Here's a look at what the album offers:

Benny Dhayal's Odamarathu Mullapola begins with definite strains of Nee Kattum Sela, a melody that returns to you with some minor variations. Na Muthukumar's lyrics describe a lover's reaction when he sets eyes on his girl -- in a predictable fashion. It's a casually paced song, with flute interludes and notes that you've heard in early A R Rahman rural numbers.

An angsty, rather sorrowful chorus sets off Thulasi Chediya, followed by Hariharan and Deepa Mariam. A violin piece comes as a welcome respite amidst the oft-heard musical phrases, while a veena adds a whimsical touch. With a mock-rural background, there are moments when the notes try to rise above the normal -- but these are few and far in between.

Namma Ooru Nallarukku, seemingly the introductory song to a beautiful picture-perfect village, has been rendered by a whole host of singers: Anuradha Sriram, Shreya Ghoshal, Tippu, Manicka Vinayagam, Mahathi and Prashanthini. Na Muthukumar's lyrics talks about a television entering the village! There's a feel of Odakkara Marimuthu from Indra -- except that this one is less imaginatively tuned, even with the veena interludes.

Naresh Iyer begins Parvaiyile Oru Ekkam melodiously and captures your attention. It's an emotional piece, and Na Muthukumar heaps anguish onto his words. A rather neat guitar piece gives some flavour to the song but it's clearly Naresh's voice that carries off lovelorn agony so well.

Kannamma, rendered by Gayatri and Vijay Yesudass is another sorrowful tune and it manages to tug at your heart-strings. Na Muthukumar's lyrics work here; a flute interlude comes at the right time, along with a chorus. The pace is middling. You wonder how this one will be picturised.

Penned by Hari, Thayaramma Thayaru, is a standardised guy-song: all about the youthful follies of young men. Karthik and Vadivel contribute in rendering it to the satisfaction of the male bastion. It's a folksy song, in keeping with the general rural feel. Again, it reminds you of random notes in A R Rahman's Maanoothu Mandhaiyila but in an unremarkable number.

It looks like G V Prakash needs to re-group his resources after Kuselan or Seval's premise wasn't interesting enough, and he decided that ho-hum numbers is the way to go. The tunes are not too bad but somehow, you've come to expect a little more from this youngster who showed so much promise, to begin with.

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