There is a lot of hype surrounding the Tamil film Nepali.
Maybe it's the fact that actor Bharath is seen doing triple roles -- Nepali, Karthik and Bharathan -- or that his co-star, National award winner Meera Jasmine will be seen in a glamorous avatar. The actress, whose forte till now has been homely roles, has also done a few kissing scenes in the film.
Apart from directing the film, V Z Durai has also lent his voice to a couple of songs set to the tunes of Srikanth Deva.
The musician has come up with a few original and interesting tracks which have contemporary sounds replete with melody brought on by a captivating mix of instruments like the flute, harmonica, trumpet and saxophone, to mention a few. That said, Deva has not been able to shed his copycat-tendencies completely.
The album kicks off with the ensemble piece Priya (Vedanai pola naan), a melodious yet lively number with a suggestively sexy dialogue as a prelude. The director joins Karthik, Bombay Jayashree, Savitha and Suchithra in rendering this track. Karthik's exuberance and Bombay Jayashree's crooning elegance dominate this number. Yugabharathi's poetic lyrics with love as the theme are loaded with sentiments and passion. The beats are simple yet compelling and enjoyable. Interesting instrumental interludes are dominated by pleasing saxophone elaborations.
Wanna sexy lady bomb rendered by Sunitha Sarathy, Megha and chorus is a vibrant, hot piece. Though it begins melodiously enough, the tempo soon changes and becomes a fusion of western and Indian music. Percussion is vibrant with vigorous drum beats. Powerful chorus perks up the impact of this number. Lyrics by Karthik Netha are hot and openly suggestive.
Singers Thanvi, Siva and director Durai go on the aggressive mode in Hey-you-wow which has a spate of English words. The track has a long spell of fast drum beats in the beginning followed by a rap bit. The tune, like the previous number is a fusion of Indian and western beats. Pleasing rhythm, mellifluous guitar and flute strains, and catchy chorus are the other highlights of this piece.
Next up is Kanavile kanavile, a foot-tapping number rendered by Sathyan, and Swetha. The number starts with a rap bit. There is emotional depth in Yugabharathy's lyrics. Swetha's petal-soft voice is a perfect foil to Sathyan's resounding one. Sathyan's voice modulation is also remarkable. Enticing instrumentation, zestful chorus and fast rhythmic beats add to the allure of this piece.
The closing lengthy vocal track Suthuthey suthuthey with powerful chorus is incendiary stuff. The composer's plagiarising habit has got the better of him in this song. His copycat version of the 2002 international hit, the Ketchup song (English version of the Spanish Asereje) shows him in poor light. The number is rendered by Yugendran and Vijay with frenzied vigour. Karthik Netha's lyrics are full of strange yet modern imagery like 'lap-top yuvathiye' (lap-top girl) 'disco iravu naan'(man of the disco night) and so on. The rising and ebbing of the orchestral tempo is fascinating. Forceful percussion with lusty drum beats and overwhelming rhythm contribute to the impressive presentation of this track which ends with a thumping bang.
The three additional instrumental pieces are really interesting. The first one titled 'The words of neepali (Story1)' has very muted percussion and instrumentation interspersed with strange words. The number evokes images of tribal dances and sorcery.
The following 'Love in "A" Minor (Story2)' is aptly mellow and tuneful embellished with flute and sax strains, totally in line with the theme.
The last one, 'Sound of action (Story3)' is a powerful, high decibel instrumentation piece capturing the mood of its theme.
All in all, a youthful and fizzy album from Srikanth Deva.
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