Balu (ABCDEFG) brings Karunakaran and Pawan Kalyan together again after their first movie Tholiprema which is Pawan's tholi blockbuster hit and Karunakaran's tholi cinema. Their coming together now has generated a lot of curiosity among moviegoers. Everybody is eager to find out if Karunakaran's Tholiprema, followed by two box-office disappointments in the form of Yuvakudu [Sumanth, Bhoomika] and Vasu [Venkatesh, Bhoomika], was a flash in the pan like many first time directors' films. Also, Pawan's last two movies Johnny and Gudumba Shankar could not live up to audience's expectations. So Balu, coming from a reputed producer Ashwini Dutt under prestigious Vyjayanthi Movies banner, will not only decide the fate of Karunakaran but will also determine Pawan's hit status at the box-office. Shriya and Neha Oberoi are paired for the first time with Pawan here.

From Balu's posters/wallpapers, one upbeat aspect is Pawan looks quite healthy err good here compared to his anemic look in Johnny. Also, while his 'pant in a pant' [or pant on a pant?] stint was not too appealing in Gudumba Shankar, his costumes in Balu should be talk of the town wherein a single pair of trousers, worn by Pawan, is reported to have made at a whopping cost of Rs.1.5 lakhs.

Mani Sharma has always given good music for Mahesh Babu and their combination evokes good amount of curiosity among music lovers. After Kushi, Gudumba Shankar and Balu, one can attribute the same to Mani Sharma - Pawan Kalyan combination too. This is Mani Sharma's second project for director Karunakaran and the music here is lot better than their first movie Yuvakudu.

1. Athi Metthani
Chandrabose's lyrics in this number take us on a tour of Andhra Pradesh where the guy and girl attribute the places in AP to one another for most part. Ranjith and Mahalaxmi Iyer's lively vocals are in tandem with the spirit of this song that is composed in a very catchy manner by Mani Sharma. It works its way up with repeated hearing.

2. Inthe Inthinthe
Just as in Le le le [Gudumba Shankar], Chandrabose comes up with good lyrics for this song and KK sings it with great ease. Mani Sharma sets the song to a simple tune and a familiar yet good beat that spans the entire song. The tempo rises and falls at correct places in the stanzas accentuating the preachy lyrics and the orchestration has heavy beats in the second stanza that are anything but new. Though not as infectious as Le le le, it still impresses to a certain extent.

3. Lokaale Gelavaga
The first striking aspect of this song is an excellent rendition by both Chitra and Murali (is it the same Muralidhar who sang Killi Killi [Gudumba Shankar]?). Chitra particularly sleepwalks through the song proving that she is still the best and Murali gives her good company. Given the pace and orchestration style, this song, at places sounds like Saahasam Swaasaga [Okkadu] but it makes its presence felt among the other songs in this album. Jonnavithula has worded the song in a beautiful manner.

4. Neelo Jarige
Inspite of Hariharan and Shreya Ghoshal's thickly accented singing; inspite of the 'now routine' rap bit (in Pawan's songs) and inspite of the poor heavy metal orchestration (towards the end of the song which reminds us of Boys), this number clearly is the best of the lot because of Sirivennela's lyrics. Though this is not his best work till date, his words are simple and superb. You could also call them simply superb. Writing a song in a simple manner and making it sound as if the guy and the girl are conversing than singing highbrow poetry is something Sirivennela is adept at and his pen never ceases to add feathers to his cap dishing out gems like Yemma Kopama [Anaganaga Oka Roju], Kopama Naa Paina [Varsham] and this number now, to name a few. Mani Sharma composes this song with a melodious orchestration until he brings in the unnecessary Boys beats towards the end.

5. Hut Hut Jaa
Though this number has bindaas lyrics by Nitin Raikwar, gusto filled rendition by Kunal Ganjawala [for starters, he sang Spiderman song in Nani] and a nice placement of English lines at right places, it still doesn't create the same magic as Pawan - Mani Sharma's first full length Hindi song Yeh Mera Jahan [Kushi] did. But again, if you are looking for something different from Mani Sharma's usual style of compositions, you should try this song that boasts about Hyderabadi ladka. Watch out for a mellowed music bit of Neelo Jarige tune after the 'There is no love in this world' line (Situational number this one?)

6. Kannu Kottina
An ordinary composition with a heavy heard-before music that is not as impressive as the other songs in this album. And am not saying that just because Udit Narayan is singing it. It just doesn't click right from the word go. Poor starting and high-pitched stanzas only take this song down. The only saving grace of this song is Sirivennela who pens catchy lines like ''dEvuDa ammayanTE ila kooDa unTunda, ekkaDaa machhukkooDa aaDa lakshanam lEkunDa''. Sujatha is just about okay. However, this song might click after the movie releases.

Overall, Balu sounds like a bindaas album with melodies, fast paced numbers, hero solo numbers and a mass number. Just like Pawan's recent albums it has something for everybody. Though Mani Sharma composed catchy tunes for Balu, not all of them sound as fresh as the songs in Kushi and Gudumba Shankar. If one were to rate these three albums music wise, Balu would occupy the last place. However, if you leave aside comparisons, Balu's songs grow on you quite well. And if the movie succeeds it will definitely shoot up the popularity of the album, which by the way is already soaring.

Sreya Picks: Neelo Jarige, Athi Metthani, Lokaale Gelavaga

Zingers:

• neelaa nanu vEdhinchE dushTulu evarunTaaru (writes Sirivennela in Neelo Jarige)
• gOdaavarikhani lO kannaa khanijaalu naalO minna (writes Chandrabose in Athi Metthani)
  

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