Bala Music Review

Bala

No doubt the busiest music director working in Tamil cinema these days is Yuvan Shankar Raja. Ilayaraja's younger son has so many releases these days; if you go to a cassette shop, there are four recent YSR releases available to buy ("Mounam Paesiyathey," "Bala," "April Maathatthil," "Kaadhal Samraajiyam") and "Punnagai Poovae" is coming up soon as well.

If you ask me whether the sheer number of YSR's projects is lowering the quality of his work, I would say no. He consistently produces good music.

But if you ask me whether he's making superb music like "Nandhaa" or "Thulluvatho Ilamai" or "Poovellaam Kaettupaar," I'd have to say no to that, too. His music recently is not as very-high-quality as some of his initial efforts; it's never bad, but the recent ones haven't been excellent, either.

"Bala" fits that mold as well. There are a few good songs, a few not-so-great songs, and overall, we have a nice-to-listen-to, but no-classic album.



1. Poo Poovai -- Unni Menon, Ganga.

A great way to begin the album. Strong lyrics, good singing, and melodious music. This is a wonderfully melodious song, and the lyricist should be praised for this one. My favorite lines are, "Malai vanthaal / Athil nanaivoam / Athai thuvattum sugam kidaikka." Yuvan Shankar Raja knows when he should underplay his music, and he does so to considerable effect here. This should have a nice picturization, I'm hoping.
Very Nice.
2. Theendi Theendi -- Unnikrishnan, Sujatha.

A very '80s-sounding but very nice melodious love song. Both Unnikrishnan and Sujatha have done nice jobs. The music is melodious and nice. The lyrics are good as well. Neatly done.
Very Nice.

3. Vannatthu Poocchi -- Karthik, Madhangi.

And releasing himself from the subtle melodies of the previous two songs, Yuvan Shankar Raja has the first louder more brash song in "Vanatthu Poochi." Both Karthik and Maadhangi sing well, and the lyrics -- surprisingly -- aren't bad. The music, though, is innovative and very new-sounding. I'm not saying this is a loud song; it's just louder than the rest of the album. I wonder what the picturization for this is going to look like. It's very "different" kind of music, both quick and difficult to dance to.
Between a Very Nice and an Excellent.

4. Bailamo -- Yuvan Shankar Raja.


All traces of subtlety gone, we have a "dappaanguthu"-sounding song with poor lyrics. The good news about this song is YSR is very definitely trying to vary the kind of songs he sings. The bad news is while this music tries to be innovative, it's only successful up to a certain extent. Perhaps I'll like this more after seeing the picturization, but I don't know -- this isn't my kind of song, and so far, it's my least favorite on the album. It's not a bad song, but it's for the front-benchers.
Nice.

5. Yen Kannai -- Shankar Mahadevan.

I love the intro to this song, with the haunting unidentified female voice vocalizing. The main part of the song is also very well done and has a haunting undercurrent to it, and Shankar Mahadevan does a great job with the song. It's a love song -- but in YSR's hands, there's more to it as well. It's a pleasant way to end the album. We're coming back to that melody now. The lyrics are also good.
Between a Very Nice and an Excellent.