With the simple folk tune that it has, you know right from the start that a song like Avatha Paiyya cannot go wrong. And GV Prakash Kumar doesn’t let it to either, supporting the song with a matchingly simple and beautiful employment of instruments, particularly the flute (Navin Iyer?) and a reliable pair of singers – Krimson Avenue’s Vandana Srinivasan and Malayalam playback singer Yazin Nisar (both debuting in Tamil films I guess). An even better vocal performance is on display in the classical-based (seems like panthuvarali raga) piece Or Mirugam. While Super Singer finalist Pragathi Guruprasad is impeccable with her improvs, VV Prasanna sounds almost like Vijay Prakash in places. The orchestration is spot on once again, conveying the sinister mood with some Arabic-sounding instruments.
GVP has produced some very interesting kuthu songs in the past, and Thannai Thaane too starts on a similarly engaging note, but Gaana Bala’s rendition isn’t on the same level, and a middling affair results. In Senneer Thaana the arrangement itself is a dampener with its morose tune and crawling pace, and Gangai Amaren and Priya Hemesh’s singing doesn’t help better the situation much. Even the sivaranjani-based Sengaade has a similar melancholic setting, but Madhu Balakrishnan’s (and Pragathi with the humming) soulful delivery avoids the song from ending up a tepid fare, despite being 8 minutes long.
I missed listening to Thaandavam so can’t comment on its music, but otherwise Paradesi is a refreshing change from G V Prakash Kumar after his lackluster Bollywood debut in Joker.
Music Aloud Rating: 7/10
Top Recos: Or Mirugam, Avatha Paiyyaa, Sengaade
