Sakhavu – Music Review (Malayalam Soundtrack)

Songs and credits at the end.

A movie titled Sakhavu would have been incomplete without a revolutionary song. Composer Prashant Pillai gives us two in this soundtrack, first of which – titled Lokam Ennum – is written by Anwar Ali and sung by another composer, Bijibal. Standard anthemic fare that rides on an able chorus and a percussion-heavy arrangement (plus Francis Xavier’s excellent violin). Theyyam Thindhaka (written by yet another composer Sooraj S Kurup) is a more imaginative piece, highlighted by Sunil Kumar’s ethnic percussion. Shreekumar Vakkiyil and Sreerag Saji do their part well behind the mic, assisted once again by a fine chorus. The movie’s director Siddhartha Siva pens the lullaby sung by Preeti Pillai titled Aaraariro. Nice while it lasts, though given its 1.5 minutes duration the song does not leave much of an impact.

The two songs that sound closest to the movie’s seemingly retro theme are the soundtrack’s winners though. The sprightly Udhichuyarnne sounds almost like a naadaka gaanam the way it is arranged. While the composer makes a splendid move by assigning vocal duty to Sithara Krishnakumar and Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (both of whom shot to fame by singing retro-themed songs in Celluloid), the backdrop too teems with energy thanks to the harmonium-clarinet-tabla combination leading the proceedings. Madhumathiye on the other hand has an outstanding old-worldly melody wrapped in a contemporary-ish arrangement in the composer’s trademark style. The arrangement comes out best in the long second interlude highlighted by Paulson’s fabulous sitar solo. Pillai gets his two most trusted singers Shreekumar Vakkiyil and Preeti Pillai to render Shabareesh Varma’s well-written lines, neither of whom disappoints.

Sakhavu. Second soundtrack from Prashant Pillai in just over a month, and the man continues to display fine form!

Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5

Top Recos: Madhumathiye, Udhichuyarnne, Theyyam Thindhaka

 

Musician Credits

1. Madhumathiye….
Singers : Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Preeti Pillai
Lyrics :Shabareesh Varma

2. Lokam Ennum……
Singers : Bijibal
Chorus : Niranj Suresh, Sachin Raj, Haritha Balakrishnan, Radhika Narayanan
Lyrics : Anwar Ali

3. Udhichuyarnne……
Singers : Sithara Krishnakumar, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
Lyrics : Santosh Varma

4. Thayyum Thindaka……
Singers :Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Sreerag Saji,
Chorus : Niranj Suresh, Sachin Raj, Ranjith Ram, Rahul Lexman, Mithun Jayaraj, Haritha Balakrishnan, Radhika Narayanan
Lyrics : Sooraj Kurup

5. Aarariro……
Singer : Preeti Pillai
Lyrics : Sidhartha Siva

All songs Arranged and Programmed by : Prashant Pillai

Chief Assistant and Additional Programmer : Sreerag Saji

All songs Mixed and Mastered by : Hari Shankar

Vocal Arranger : Shreekumar Vakkiyil

Musicians Co-ordinator : Murali Nair

Musicians :

Flute, Clarinet : Josy

Drums, Percussions: Sunil

Sitar : Paulson

Shehnai : Gopi

Guitars, Mandolin : Sandeep

Violin, Viola : Francis Xavier

Recording Engineers :
Sai Prakash
Praveen Iyer
Rahul Govinda
Vyshak Bejoy
Assistant Engineer :
Akshay K

Studio :
My Studio, Kochi
Praveen Iyer’s Home Studio, Thrissur
Bodhi Silent Scape, Kochi
Audiokraft, Bangalore

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