Na Autograph, a remake of a successful Tamil movie Autograph, marks the debut of cinematographer S Gopal Reddy as a director. S Gopal Reddy now joins the bandwagon of cinematographers turned directors like Hari Anumolu, Teja, Rasool. Ravi Teja, Bhoomika Chawla and Gopika are the lead stars of this movie.

Keeravani's music for this movie is devoid of any exceptional songs. On the contrary Chandrabose's writes good lyrics for atleast two songs in this album.

Mounamgaane, the first song in this album, is one of the best motivational numbers in recent times. Though the orchestration is anything but new, riveting lyrics by Chandrabose more than make up for it. And trust Chitra to infuse life into any song making it sound all the more pleasing just like this one. Chandrabose truly excels in this number and you would want to try this one for his highly motivating work.

After Aawaarapan [in Jism], Keeravani gives KK yet another opportunity to mesmerize us and KK more than lives up to it in Gurtukostunnayi. In a mellowed rendition of the nostalgic lyrics written appreciably by Chandrabose, KK is irresistible, setting a perfect example that a non-Telugu singer *can* sing a Telugu song with ease and élan without making the listeners complain.

If you are game for numbers like Kuch to hua hain [from Kal Ho Naa Ho] then you will like Duvvina Talane too that asks Idi kaada L vO V E. Yeah LOVE is sung as L(v)OVE (urgh!). twaraga kalalokelladam aalasyanga nidarovadam. Has that ever happened to you? Well this number, worded by Chandrabose, has much more than that. Keeravani and Sumangali sing this one aptly.

What? Udit Narayan can actually sing a Telugu song with such good clarity?
Oh, it's not him singing this one.
But... but why is sandeep bhowmik imitating Udit? Good lord! Is he, by any chance, giving Mani Sharma a c(l)ue that there's one Udit here in Tollywood and that he doesn't have to import Udit Narayan from Bollywood?
Those are the thoughts that ran across my mind after I listened to Manmadhude. This one has Ganga giving voice to the heroine and the male dialogues in the song are voiced by Keeravani. With a catchy tune, this may not appeal to you right away but might grow on you.

Gaama Gaama talks about being upbeat but the same cannot be said about the song itself. Actually, the song is worded pretty well (in the stanzas) but other than that, the song has nothing to talk about. SPB, Sri Vardhini and Poornima sing it.

No great shakes about Nuvvante Praanamani sung by Vijay Jesudas though Chandrabose's words (like oopiri undi aayuvu undi, unDaalane aaSa tappa) try to salvage it to a certain extent.

Sreya's Picks: Mounamgaane, Gurtukostunnayi, Duvvina Talane

Pallakilo Pellikooturu

Listening to Keeravani's music for Pallakilo Pellikooturu; which has choreographer turned director Suchitra Chandrabose wielding the megaphone for the first time; one would get transported to the good old days of Pelli Sandadi and Allari Priyudu. Now, if that's good or bad, is left to you to decide. That K Raghavendra Rao, B.A is helping with [read supervising] the directorial nuances of Suchitra, will help you understand the striking similarities between the music of this movie with that of Pelli Sandadi and Allari Priyudu (and for that matter most of KRR-Keeravani's films).

Though most of the songs in this album give you a déjà vu feeling, they work to some extent, either for their catchy orchestration (sans novelty) and/or good singing by singers who could pronounce the words the way they are supposed to be. Suchitra's husband Chandrabose pens all the songs in his typical style with flashes of brilliance here and there.

The title song, which is worded well, calls for a decent listening and is sung by SPB and Chitra who, needless to say, do a good job together.

No prizes for recognizing that Sa oka chinuku, sung by Chakri and Ganga, reminds you mostly of Em pilladi [from Allari Priyudu] 'coz the similarities are so profound.

Mudduleni prema is as interesting, as Kalyani Mallik's sedated and Sumangali's typical 'I-try-to-sound-sweet-and-look-how-I-succeed' rendition. Haven't we heard Sumangali sing only such songs over and over with the same style of rendition since the days of yore? I don't understand if she is getting typecast with such songs or if such songs are being identified only with her? Get what I mean?

Mix Ramyakrishna kanna and Ma perati jaamchettu from Pelli Sandadi and the result is Naa peru cheppukondi. Nevertheless it's a catchy number sung well by Sunitha. Chandrabose explains the meanings of many a name in the lyrics of this song skillfully. Try this one.

Though Cheeraloni Goppatanam has Chandrabose writing about the sanctity of cheera [saree], Keeravani's tune and rendition are nothing to write home about.

Nuvvu pre ne ma carries a good tempo in the opening lines which slackens in the stanzas and interludes. But it still works to some extent. Charan and Nithya Santoshini sing this one and the latter sounds good.

Sreya's Picks: Naa peru cheppukondi, Nuvvu pre ne ma

Overall, Keeravani's music in these two albums works only to a certain extent. There aren't any brilliant compositions like the ones in Okariki Okaru and nor are there any good melodies like Nee Kosam [Nenunnanu] in both the albums. While the plusses of Na Autograph are the two situational classy songs with good lyrics, the music of Pallakilo Pellikooturu, though catchy, is a routine Keeravani fare. If these movies bite dust at the box office then their soundtracks will in all probability gather dust on the shelves of music shops.