P. Prasad Raju Presents
Sri Samudra Silver Screens
Mallepuvvu (2008)
Producer:
Mohan Vadlapatla
Director: V. Samudra
Music Director: Ilayaraja
Audio Rights: Aditya Music
Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: Karthik & Shreya Ghosal (1); Tippu & Chorus (2); Manjari & Chorus (3); Bhavatarani (4); Ilayaraja & Shreya Ghosal (5); Vijay Yesudas (6); Tippu (7); Malathi & Chorus (8)
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary:
Ilayaraja makes a comeback, in a way that he's more his natural style now than trying to go with the tide. Orchestration and catchy tunes were his trademark back in the '90s, and
Mallepuvvu marks his comeback with élan. With Bhumika acting as the female lead and Samudra directing the film, this album is naturally more popular than his lesser-known albums like
Sunny (2007). Veturi Sundararamamurthy pens all lyrics with the same zeal as in the past. Playback is one thing that could have been better in this album. The moviemakers and/or the audio company should have taken more care in crediting all the singers in the album.
1.
mallepuvvulO makarandamE...
(Duration: 5:02 minutes) (Rating: 3.75/5)
Playback: Shreya Ghosal is sweet as usual. Karthik is soft too.
Lyric: This is a typical duet enriched with expressions like "
kaugilinta kOrukunna roopamaa!", "
monna lEnidi, ninna kaanidi, nEDu tODugaane undilE!".
Tune/Interlude/BGM: The tune for the lead stanza (
pallavi) catches up fast, whereas the subsequent stanzas (
charaNaalu) take time to catch up, though there are more melodious in comparison.
2.
lOkam antaa manadEraa!... (Duration: 4:19 minutes) (Rating: 3.25/5)
Playback: Tippu and chorus voices are as confident as the theme requires them to be.
Lyric: The song is about laborers, particularly construction workers. Veturi refers to great constructions including monuments like Golconda fort and modern buildings like HITEX as achievements by construction workers. "
kashTam maakE ishTam anTU munduku raa!", encourages the lyric.
Tune/Interlude/BGM: The BGM in the interlude is neat, and the interlude itself is rich. The tune catches fast and has Ilayaraja's touch.
3.
gaajula galagala valapu veeNa, hOy!... (Duration: 4:53 minutes) (Rating: 3.25/5)
Playback: Manjari's voice apparently has a wide range. She needs to take care about the pronunciation of two different "
cha" sounds in Telugu, owing to mispronunciation of the word "
oogin
cha
gaa".
Lyric: This song seems to be a part of the celebrations for a girl's marriage, possibly the female lead's friend's. The expression "
bugga panTi erupu... siggulannii telupu...!" is innovative - using "
erupu" and "
siggu" in one line and not using one as a reference to the other is interesting.
Tune/Interlude/BGM: The song catches up in a few hearings, particularly at the line "
muddabanti pasupu, hOy...".
4.
suvvi suvvii suvvaalaa... (Duration: 3:23 minutes) (Rating: 2.75/5)
Playback: Bhavatarani has a not-all-that-necessary high-pitched modulation for the song.
Lyric: The song backdrop seems to be the female lead's enjoyment of the Nature. The lead "chanting" of "
Om suvvi suvvi..." doesn't sound apt really.
Tune/Interlude/BGM: Interludes and beat are good. The tune does catch up, but only in parts.
5.
chandamaama raavE... (Duration: 5:48 minutes) (Rating: 4.25/5)
Playback: Ilayaraja ventures into playback yet again, this time with Shreya Ghosal. The rendition, particularly by Shreya Ghosal, reminds of the thematically similar
O priyaa, priyaa! (
Geethanjali) by the maestro. Ilayaraja's voice modulation too portrays the pain well.
Lyric: The lyric is a love pair's song of solace that one gives to the other on a moonlit night, beckoning to the "silent spectator" moon to help them get out of their agonies. The veteran pens good yet simple expressions such as "
jeevitam oka adbhutam, adi anditEnE amRtam" with ease.
Tune/Interlude/BGM: The orchestration is very typical of Ilayaraja. The interludes have a feel of listening to his music from the early '90s, such as in
Jagadeka Veerudu-Athiloka Sundari. Due to its tangential resemblances with
Geethanjali and
Jagadeka Veerudu-Athiloka Sundari, the song catches up in the first hearing itself.
6.
chirugaalii, chirugaalii!... (Duration: 3:30 minutes) (Rating: 3.5/5)
Playback: Vijay Yesudas could have rendered this soft tune with some more softness in his modulation. There are also mispronunciations, particularly such as pronouncing "
cha" in "
chi
rugaali" and "
choo
paali" the same way.
Lyric: This is a pathos number of the male lead who has lost his lady love. Veturi pens the number with soft expressions.
Tune/Interlude/BGM: The tune is soft and melodious, and the orchestration is minimal by Ilayaraja's standards.
7.
Hero nEnocchaanE mee kOsam, mee kOsam!... (Duration: 4:26 minutes) (Rating: 3.25/5)
Playback: Tippu is at ease in rendering the song with the necessary vigor. Mispronunciation of "
ka
di
lE" as "
ka
dhi
lE" can be noticed sometimes.
Lyric: "
idi paDitE kadilE rathamE manishi", Veturi praises tea in this song. "
atta, maama aDigitETi bharta mark-u bhaaryaa tea" is notable. Like one can guess, the song is enriched with rhyme (
antyapraasa) with the English word "tea" used as an ending of Telugu words.
Tune/Interlude/BGM: Percussion is lively in this number.
8.
vastaavaa naatO, istaanu istaanu... (Duration: 4:51 minutes) (Rating: 3.5/5)
Playback: Malathi gives her usual performance, but is appreciably not irritatingly loud like in some of her songs in the past. The other singers are not credited in the inlay card.
Lyric: This is a standard item number with expressions such as "
dammundi onTilO, rum-undi chEtilO...". There seems to be a portrayal of lyricists' situation in filmdom, though there doesn't seem any outright relevance to theme of the film. "
Market-u unTEnE cutout-u, lEkunTE anTaaru get out-u!" is also relevant to film world.
Tune/Interlude/BGM:"This can be none other than Ilayaraja!", the lead music reveals itself to the audience. The maestro's tune is catchy, and the BGM and interludes are so very different, and nowhere loud, in this mass-oriented number.
9.
Theme
(Duration: 1:06 minutes) (Rating: 4.25/5)
Tune/Interlude/BGM: Orchestration is minimal, and the humming is good. The singer is not credited in the inlay card.
By NaChaKi
