While
watching 10 Endradhukulla, the primary aspect that struck me was not of
the very sloppy filmmaking in the movie but rather the very average songs in
it. While the background score was pretty decent (note that I didn’t say awesome),
the soundtracks clearly lacked the intent of catering to the situation. It was
not a surprise because music composer D. Imman has recently been giving very
ordinary albums, with nothing much to crave for.
His
filmography states his first album as Thamizhan, way back in 2002, but
he himself had stated in some interview that he would never forget his second
innings – a sort of a comeback – that happened around 2010, when Mynaa
was released. After giving a series of average albums in the following year, he
suddenly rose to the peak of fame in 2012 by giving albums like Saattai
and Kumki. This was followed by Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam in
2013, which made Imman the ‘folk-father’ of the neo generation. Some other
movies like Rummy also added upto his crown of soulful melodies.
But
after the early stages of 2014, Imman has shown signs of fatigue, and has been giving
very usual and repetitive set of tunes, apart from Jeeva. This,
according to me, is primarily due to two reasons: firstly, he is doing a hell
lot of projects without much gap; secondly, this unnecessary hype in the online
space and the impulsive glory that follows and flies by has gone too much into
his head. Now, he wants himself to satisfy his fans – a trait of an average
actor – rather than fulfilling the music lovers. These are pretty much evident
in his recent tracks, which contain more speaking voices and movie dialogues
than the actual lyrics of the song.
Adding
to this is the peer pressure that is being indirectly thrust upon by the fellow
music directors, some of who sing all the songs of a particular album. This has
forced him to sing some songs like Ennamma Ipdi Panreengaley Maa in ‘Rajini
Murugan’, exposing the very average skills he has got with respect to his
voice. To be very frank and honest enough, Ilayaraaja, ARR, GVP and Yuvan have
got their unique voices that fit into any situation of a movie, whereas Thaman,
Anirudh and Imman do not fall into this category (Here’s one trait for which
Harris Jayaraj can be admired; he doesn’t venture into this singing thing at
all – hats off, thalaivaa!). So it is best to avoid this irritating attempt to
force-fit their voices into the albums.
I
have greatly admired Imman’s musical work in Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam,
which comprised of songs pertaining to various junctures. Particularly, Vizhigalil
Vizhigalil Vizhunthuvittaai combined the prodigy of Imman and pulpiness of
Harish Raghavendra to result in a romantic song, with beautiful lyrics. Ennammaa
Kannu Sowkyamaa did justice to MSV by not including too much noisy raps and
jarring basses in it; Madhura Jilla Machaan would be the ideal
requirement of a kuthu song in a commercial Kollywood movie. The background
score was also nice, with appropriate stringed instruments coming in during the
sentimental and romantic portions, and percussions talking the centerstage in
the gethu scenes exposing the protagonist (Remember Dhanush jumping off
the bike with a somersault after selling off the tickets in a government bus in
a crooked manner, and the music that accompanies)
Again
in Maasilaamani, Imman gave a great output with cool, breezy melodies
like Oh Divya Oh Divya and Dora Dora; there was also this kuthu
type track titled Odi Odi Vilayaadu. All these, with that theme music
(the piece that plays whenever Nakul pretends to be innocent as Mani and then
shows off his real face as Maasi), every now and then, was one factor that made
me watch the entire movie, despite a very flat story and boring screenplay.
Perhaps,
Imman is committing himself into too many assignments and hence is unable to
provide his 100% in anything. I say this because there were 10 albums of Imman
in 2014, of which 9 have been released as movies. Only 3 received good appreciation
(Rummy, Jilla and Jeeva). In Sigaram Thodu, there is a scene where the
lady-love gets angry with the hero in a mall, and he has to somehow win back
her heart. This would usually be done away with the help of a stylish track
with tantalizing words that would change her mindset. Instead, we get a country
type track (Scene-u Scene-u) with a non-energetic voice that never seems
to convey the mood. And, there’s a similar one in Valiyavan, where Imman
does the same old thing again.
Another
issue with Imman and Anirudh is that while the former is very much content with
a set of singers like Santhosh Hariharan, Ranjith, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya
Ghoshal and now Vishal Dadlani (surpisingly, following the footsteps of Anirudh
– The Rockstar), the latter would like to sing every song on his own (or with
the help of the epic Poetu Dhanush). Harris Jayaraj does a masterstroke
here in this aspect, too. Though his songs follow a regular pattern, which can easily
be traced out by an above average keyboard player, Harris makes sure to vary
the voices and occasionally introduce new ones, so that the listeners do not
get bored. That’s why we can hear En Friend-a Pola (Nanban) and Gala
Gala (Ko) with the same pumped up feel, inspite of knowing that both follow
the same rhythm and tune patterns.
If Imman is really interested in
providing instantaneous hits like Dandanakka and Yennamma Ipdi Panringale that won’t
last in the long run, this would suit him for some 10 to 15 movies from now,
after which he has to stay put. Rather, if he focuses on the orthodoxy lines of
music, giving due importance to the strength of tunes and the essence of the accompanying
instruments, he could sustain the position as one of the most coveted music
directors of Tamil cinema in the present scenario.