Dr. Balamuralikrishna’s Theeratha vilayaattu starts off predictably enough, but mid-way it morphs, mind-bendingly, first into Rajasthani folk, with Mukthiyar Ali crooning Nimbuda, then into a bizarre Tamil-Baul jugalbandi, and finally ends with Malgudi Shubha singing the Jewish-folk celebratory anthem, Hawa Nagila! Phew!! Guest composers, violin duo, Ganesh-Kumaresh collaborate with Paul.J in the Nalinakanti’sh instrumental, The Search – strains of Ilayaraja’s Endhan Nenjil are mighty evident, but it is quite exquisite even in this form. Neethaaney pretends to sound good, but the tune is definitely rough around edges and it is the peekaboo violin and chants by Manickam and Yogeswaran that saves it from complete ignominy. Phoonk doonga is a strange addition – pulse-pounding rhythm, Blaaze’s rap and Shankar Mahadevan and Malgudi Shubha’s full-throated vocals that merges with the sounds that occasionally go haywire for no reason! Vasundhara Das’ Idhu dhaan vaazhkaiyaa is poignant in its tune as well as lyrics – the jazzy tune gains a lot from the underlying violin base! Kathai’s soundtrack is truly a surprise; it is not something that can be categorized as good, but is definitely very interesting. Composer Paul.J really has something going for him here and creates a vibrant mood for the film!
Keywords: Paul.J, Shaan, Nivedita, Abhishek, Ganesh-Kumaresh, Kadhai
