Riding high on a hattrick (Santosham, Manmadhudu, Sivamani), Nagarjuna returns, as handsome as ever, saying Nenunnanu to Shriya and Arti Agarwal under the direction of V.N. Aditya, who earlier directed Manasantha Nuvve and Sriram with Uday Kiran.

It may be observed that the three recent hits of Nagarjuna were directed by directors [Dasarath, K. Vijay Bhaskar and Puri Jagan] who worked with Nagarjuna for the first time. Going by this, does Nag have a winner in the form of Nenunnanu where he teams with V.N Aditya for the first time?

Nag and Keeravani's combination is known for many hit songs in movies like Allari Alludu [which incidentally was produced by D. Siva Prasad Reddy who is also producing Nenunnanu under Kamakshi Movies banner], Varasudu, Rakshana, Criminal, Gharana Bullodu, Annamayya, Seetaramaraju etc. Though their last movie Aakasaveedhilo did not boast of many popular songs, their coming together now will cheer up Nag's fans for Keeravani very well knows what kind of songs satisfy Nag's fans.

1. Ettago Unnadi
This rehash of yesteryear's popular ANR song is catchy enough for you to tap your feet to the new beats infused into the song by Keeravani, which make you hum it in the very first hearing. Tippu does a splendid job and Chitra displays the ease of a veteran adding right amount of zing to the number. Together, both the singers will hook you to this song. Sirivennela writes the lyrics.

2. Nenunnanani
Chandrabose gives his best shot to this title song and clearly emerges the winner. His assuring lyrics are alluring as well. Keeravani and Sunitha sing this one. Keeravani keeps the orchestration simple and relies heavily on his melodious tune leaving the rest to Chandrabose's beautiful words to cast their spell. Good job by Chandrabose.

3. Ryali Ravulapadu
A playful number sung by Tippu and Sunitha. Though the hero and heroine use their wit (ahem, if you could call it that) by teasing each other more with words than resorting to usual cinematic pranks, the usage of certain concepts about kaalu [leg] and call sounds anything but witty. However, Chandrabose more than makes up for this with the ending lines of the song about meesakattu (moustache). (Music enthusiasts like me might want to try a similar song from Kuch Naa Kaho [Abhishek Bachhan, Aishwarya Rai] which goes 'Baat meri suniye tho zara' sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Mahalaxmi Iyer and worded beautifully by Javed Akhtar).

4. Intha Dooram Vochhaka
A typical Keeravani song with his trademark beats. Tippu and Shreya Ghoshal sing this one. Chandrabose's words suit the mood of the song.

5. Ye Shwasalo
Sirivennela's brilliant wordplay and Chitra's effortless rendition are the hallmarks of this semi-classical song. The orchestration of this song talks about a situational importance to this song in the movie. One might enjoy this number more when viewed than when heard.

6. Nuziveedu
Another typical Keeravani song sung by Arnob Chakravarthy and Shreya Ghoshal. Chandrabose pens this song.

6. Nee Kosam
Now this is what we have been waiting for. It may not be a great song but it definitely is one of the best picks in this album. Shreya Ghoshal sounds much better in this song compared to her other songs in this album. Having listened to KK sing many sad songs, it is a relief to hear him sing such a sweet number. Keeravani's melodious tune hits the bulls eye making us appreciate his melodies all over again. Sirivennela words the song in his own simple yet subtle style.

Overall, this album has a hit score by Keeravani. There are ample melodies and enough mass songs to satisfy all the fans of Nag. The racy mass songs, though nowhere close to earlier Nag-Keeravani songs for Allari Alludu, Varasudu, Criminal, Seetaramaraju, are definitely better than the ones in Sivamani. People expecting another out and out mass album like Allari Alludu, Varasudu might be disappointed with this album. But set your expectations low and you might start humming most of the songs even before you realize it. Besides, compared to Keeravani's music for Bava Nachhadu and Aakaasavedhilo [where he last worked with Nag] this is a better album.

Sreya Picks: Nee Kosam, Nenunnanani, Ettago Unnadi.

Sreya Recollects:

• Since we are talking about Keeravani, have you (re)tried some of his beautiful melodies like Kommala Daagina, Koosthondi Kurra Koyilamma, Sravanaala Meghamaala, Ya ya ya from his lesser known movies like Maina, Devaraagam?
• Also, I would appreciate a mail (at sreyasunil@yahoo.com) from anybody having a collection of Keeravani's Nandi award winning compositions for the movie Rajeshwari Kalyanam [starring ANR, Suresh, Meena].

Click here to read the other articles by Sreya Sunil

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