Shyam Prasad Reddy, who gave many hits like Talambralu, Aahuti, Ankusam, Ammoru in the past, must be relieved that his Anji is finally hitting the screens after being in the making for about 6 years now. But he could not have asked for a better timing than this. With two roaring hits - Indra and Tagore - Chiranjeevi's popularity has surged to dizzying heights again. Namratha Shirodkar, who debuted in Telugu with Mahesh's forgettable flick Vamsi is paired with Chiranjeevi in Anji that is directed by Kodi Ramakrishna.

Sri composes 1 song and Mani Sharma composes 5 songs for Anji, which are written by Sirivennela, Bhuvanachandra and Chandrabose. How good are the songs? Read on -

1. Chik Buk Pori
Composed by Sri and re-recorded by Mani Sharma, this song has heavy beats thrown in to beatify Chiru's fans, giving ample scope for the Megastar to move his agile body swifter than wind. Shankar Mahadevan sings this number with a flair that he has mastered singing hundred such songs. Kalpana lends voice for the ladies - Ramya Krishna and Alphonso who are supposed to jig along with Chiru in this song. Sirivennela's words in this song are cool and catchy.

2. Gumma Gulabi Komma
A typical Mani Sharma song with an orchestration that is so typical of him. At times, especially when the tune turns classical in the interludes, it reminds us of Dai Dai Damma. Yet, this song calls for a repeated listening. Mani Sharma has mastered the knack of transforming a 'heard before' song to a hollering hit number quite well. Karthik is as impressive as ever. Shalini Singh, who sounds so much like Mahalaxmi Iyer, is sure to sing more Telugu songs in near future. Sirivennela's words rhyme and blend well into the tune making it all the more hummable.

3. Abbo Nee Amma Goppade
Though the song starts with lyrics like 'Abbo nee amma', lyricist Bhuvanachandra doesn't walk the same path for the rest of the song. Mani Sharma maintains good amount of melody in this song with a good 'kunDa' beat throughout. SPB sings this number with an ease he is famous and known for. Without having to take many high pitches, Kalpana sounds good.

4. Om Shanti Om
Another mega beat based song picturized on Chiru and Namrata Shirodkar. Shankar Mahadevan and Ganga sound good together. As you listen to the song, you should be able to make out that the lyrics are written by Chandrabose, if you know what I mean. Chandrabose's words are aimed at enticing people who have an appetite for such lyrics. Packed with good beats, catchy lines, apt rendition, will this boast of a cool choreo too? Questions apart, this one's a chartbuster.

5. Manava Manava
Remember the 'Naruda O Naruda, Emi Korika?' song from Bhairava Dweepam composed by Madhavapeddi Suresh and sung by S Janaki? This song starts the same way - Manava Manava Emi Korika?. Penned plainly by Sirivennela and sung well by Tippu and Sunitha, this melody of Mani Sharma hangs in between average and good with heard before music and beats.

6. Mirapakaya Bajjilistava
This one's an out and out mass song; hold on, it's actually, OUT and OUT mass song. Yes, that pretty much says it all about this song sung enthusiastically by SPB and Radhika. All you Chiru fans out there, are you ready for another Ata Kavala number, this time with Reema Sen? Did I just hear a resounding yes? Well, the kind of beats (mostly old and sparsely new) this song has, it serves as a perfect climax song written by Bhuvanachandra.

Overall, this album is an enjoyable treat for Chiru's fans looking for songs with deafening beats and some stunning steps from the Megastar. Mani Sharma's compositions are all filled with high-energy beats. The lyricists have made all the songs catchy helping them become popular instantly. But the life of the songs depends on the success of the movie. For once, Mani Sharma has used right singers for all the songs who not only sang the songs well but could also utter the words in the songs with ease.

In the hexadisc function of Anji's audio that was held recently, Chiru compared Anji's songs with those of Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari [JVAS]. But sir, Anji's songs clearly lack the melody of Maestro Ilayaraja's rich compositions. While Anji's songs are high on beats, JVAS's songs boast of an undying melody that make us appreciate them even today after more than one and a half decade of their release. I don't think the same would hold good for Anji's songs. Though Mani Sharma succeeds to a good extent in delivering a popular album, especially after an average score for Tagore, he is no Ilayaraja.

With a recent super hyped film tumbling at the box-office, all eyes are now set on Balakrishna's Lakshmi Narasimha and Chiru's Anji. Not left behind is MS Raju's Varsham, boasting of a melodious hit score, which very well could turn out to be the dark horse in this race. So who will flag off the success saga this year? A remake of a successful Tamil film? Or a film loaded with mega graphics and the Megastar himself? Or a love story set against a rain backdrop? They are all set to storm you. Are you ready to handle them?

Sreya's Picks: Gumma Gulabi Komma, Om Shanti Om, Chik Buk Pori

Sreya Recollects:

• Chiru's bumper hit socio-fantasy JVAS, had him dancing with Sreedevi to melodious songs set to wonderful tunes by Ilayaraja. How long has it been that you heard those songs?
• Mani Sharma started composing music for Chiru's films with Bavagaru Bagunnara and followed it with a wonderful score for Choodalani Vundi. Have you heard those songs recently?

Click here to read the other articles by Sreya Sunil

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