Cast: Vikram, Amy Jackson, Suresh Gopi, Ramkumar Ganesan, Santhanam, Upen Patel
Music: A. R. Rahman
Lyrics : Kabilan, Madhan Karky
Cinematography: P. C. Sreeram
Story, Screenplay & Direction: Shankar
Producer : Aascar Ravichandran
Audio on : Sony Music
I marks the return of Vikram-Shankar combo after Anniyan. The movie also stars Amy Jackson, Suresh Gopi, Santhanam, Upen Patel and many others. The evergreen combination of Shankar-AR Rahman joins forces again and this time the expectations are spectacular.
Let us find out what the album has in store for us:
Mersalaayitten
Singers: Anirudh Ravichander, Neeti Mohan
Lyrics: Kabilan
It's techno time! Mersalaayitten has already been in the news as it features the vocals of Anirudh. Anirudh seems to be in his zone and effortlessly renders the track. Neeti Mohan reserves her best renditions for AR Rahman and is equally good with the haunting humming portions. The song has lyrics in the local dialect with a Madras accent and the singers do well with the diction too. The song sounds less Rahman-ish and has more of the flavor of next generation music directors. Going to rule youngster's playlists!
Ennodu Nee Irundhaal
Singers: Sid Sriram, Sunitha Sarathy
Lyrics: Kabilan
The album's best track! Ennodu Nee Irundhaal marks the return of the Adiye combo of Sid Sriram with Rahman. This song has a trance hangover to it and Sid Sriram does exceedingly well especially in the high pitched portions. The song has minimal backing of instruments and the tune makes the song stand out despite that. The song grows on the listeners like a drug as it progresses and is sure to set the playlists on fire. The last segment of the song after the electric guitar portion is the one to watch out for!
Aila Aila
Singers: Aditya Rao, Natalie Di Luccio
Lyrics: Madhan Karky
Here comes the grand scale operatic song for which Shankar movies are always known for! Aila Aila has a tinge of jazz and has shades of Strawberry Kanne mainly in the charanam portions. The arrangements are heavy and the interlude portions ooze grandeur. The rendition shifts towards an opera like style as the song progresses. Nevertheless, it will be there on the charts for many more months!
Ladio
Singers: Nikita Gandhi
Lyrics: Madhan Karky
Rozanna meets Madonna! Ladio is straight out of the composer's jukebox from his Lakeer days. Ladio is an out and out DJ number where the composer has tried to create something along the lines of an international pop number with Tamil lyrics. The instrumentation dominates the lyrics and the flavor of the song suggests it is all set to feature as the heroine's introduction song. This one’s not for the conventional music listeners!
Pookale Satru Oyvedungal
Singers: Haricharan, Shreya Ghoshal
Lyrics: MadhanKarky
The album's melody quotient! ‘Pookale Satru Oyvedungal’ comes across as a pleasant, ear pleasing duet which gets a further boost thanks to flawless renditions by both Haricharan and Shreya Ghoshal. The way Shreya Ghoshal’s humming has been used in the first interlude laced with classical improvisations is top-notch. Madhan Karky’s lyrics stand out and he proves himself once again that he can put wordplays to good use. Thumbs up!
Ennodu Nee Irundhaal (Reprise)
Singers: Sid Sriram, Chinmayi
Lyrics: Kabilan
‘Ennodu Nee Irundhaal’ gets a reprised version with slight variations in the tempo and arrangements. This reprised version is dominated more by Chinmayi who starts off with a haunting prelude rendition. With the additional beats and increased tempo, one feels this might be the version that would be used along with the visuals.
Mersalaayitten (Remix)
Singers: Anirudh Ravichander, Neeti Mohan
Lyrics: Kabilan
The remix version of ‘Mersalaayitten’ is just like any other remix track with rushed beats. Done mainly for the DJ’s & promotional purposes, there is nothing much to analyze here.
‘The More Ethnic You Become, The More Global You Can Reach’ – Rahman tried that with ‘Kaavya Thalaivan’ and with ‘I’ he has just done the opposite and has gone more western. ‘I’ may not rank among the best soundtracks of both Shankar and A. R Rahman. Despite the fact it is not among Isaipuyal’s greater works, ’I’ still has 2-3 numbers that are bound to get stuck in our playlists. The simpler tunes like ‘Ennodu Nee Irundhaal’ and ‘Pookale Satru Oyvedungal’ are here to stay while the peppy ‘Mersalaayiten’ and the Shankar-esque ‘Aila Aila’ are bound to get enriched by the visuals.
Picks from the album: Ennodu Nee Irundhaal, Pookale Satru Oyvedungal
Verdict: I is not ARR's greatest but any ARR album is fresher than most other albums!
Rating: 3.5/5
