- Sreya Sunil

Somebody said - Better late than never. So here I come with the review, of course little late than usual. I received a bunch of emails; some asking for the review, some demanding for it and some spewing venom talking about me being biased which is why I haven't reviewed the album so far. Little did I imagine that my reviews, which started off to while away my free time, would put such a weight on my shoulders. Anyways, lets get to the point without wasting anymore time.

Music from MS Raju's stable is definitely looked upon with excitement given the huge musical successes of his recent movies Manasantha Nuvve and Nee Sneham [both of which had RP Patnaik as the music director]. Okkadu being Mani Sharma's 50th movie as a music director definitely raises the stakes. Also, it is Sirivennela who pens all the lyrics; which naturally soars the expectations. So does the album live up to the expectations? Not taking into account the fact that about 6 lakh audio cassettes have been sold like hot cakes, the answer is a yes and a no. No, because the album lacks racy teen mar songs, which are so much a part of the music of any given film these days. No, because Mani Sharma has decided to deliver only melodies and no pumping Lalu Darwaja kinda mass songs. But that's where a strong affirmative yes crops up from. With a very good orchestration, Mani sets Sirivennela's riveting lyrics to melodious tunes. While atleast two songs grab your attention in the very first hearing, the others grow on you slowly but surely. Mani's two experimental compositions [Hai re Hai and Saahasam Swaasaga] are delightful.

1. Hare Rama (Listen)
A fast beat song with semi-classical musical interludes. Shankar Mahadevan, who is adept at singing such songs, proves the point once again with this one. Sirivennela puts forth a nice philosophy in this song that chanting God's names and celebrating festivals pompously like a norm since time immemorial finds its true meaning only when we realize the essence in those actions by understanding the importance and motives behind those chants and celebrations. The accented singing of 'Govind bolo hari gopal bolo! Radha ramana hari gopal bolo!!' sounds so cool that you start humming it even before you realize it.

2. Nuvvem Maya Chesavokaani (Listen)
The new 18 year old kid on the block Shreya Ghosal, having caught music lovers' attention nation-wide with her songs in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, is now all set to storm Telugu music lovers with this song. Her pronunciation has improved quite a bit since her first song in Telugu - Sari Sari (Ninnu Choodaka Nenundalenu). Mani's earthy tune, Shreya's melodious voice and Sirivennela's ethereal lyrics talking about the whims and fancies of a young girl about her dream boy make this one an instant winner.

3. Cheppave Chirugaali (Listen)
The opening music of this song instantaneously reminds you of 'Radha Kaise Na Jale' song from Lagaan. Also, the way Mani intersperses this song with drum beats is one more reason for us to find similarity with Rahman's beautiful number. Sirivennela's lyrics in this song give a new definition to 'Vasanthala Keli'. His lyrics in the first stanza ['Aasa deepikalai merise tarakalu, Choosey deepikalai virise korikalu! Mantho jathai saaguthunte, Aduge alai pongutundi'] that say - When you want to reach out for the stars, your desires automatically drive you to your destination making each step of yours as high and powerful as a wave taking you closer to the shore of success - deserve a special mention for their insightful meaning. While Sujatha's rendition is pleasant, Udit Narayan's crooning is sometimes marred by his mispronunciation of the words and an unwanted display of emotions while uttering some words especially towards the end of second stanza.

4. Hai re Hai (Listen)
An amalgamation of two tunes into one song makes this one a different composition. Having met her dream boy, the girl breaks into her dream song 'Nuvvem maya chesavokaani'. However, having realized the truth, she doesn't say 'O manasa cheppamma nijanni'. Instead she wants the time to stand still at this very moment and sings- 'Ila ee kshanam aagiponi'. The guy prods the girl, who trusts her heart to help her find her dream boy, asking her to re-question her heart to find out who is that person who has cast that inexplicable 'maya' on her. He also teases her by saying 'pilupu needey, badulu needey'. The dialogues between Mahesh and Bhumika that precede this song are an apt prelude to this beautiful song. Mani's choice of singers for this song - Karthik and Chitra - cannot get any better. They not only seem to have gone deep into the mood of the song, but they also take you there along with them.

5. Saahasam Swaasaga (Listen)
Yet another experimental composition in this album. While the music is racy, fast paced and full of verve and vigor, Mani makes Mallikharjun sing the song in a very subdued mellow manner and I think that's where the song scores. Mallikharjun's effortless singing indeed conveys the punch in Sirivennela's piercing words. Sirivennela plays to the gallery with his words in this motivating thematic song.

6. Attharintiki (Listen)
A festive marriage song sung by Hariharan, Shreya Ghosal and Priya sisters. The care taken by Mani Sharma - to extract good lyrics from Sirivennela talking about marriage, to rope in good singers and renowned Carnatic vocalists Priya sisters (Shanmukha Priya and Hari Priya), to fill the song with heavy orchestration - is totally amiss in his choice of the tune. The song has everything it takes to become another 'Alanaati' from Murari, except a lilting tune.

Okkadu is an epitome of bonding. No, I am not talking about the story of the movie. I am just stating some of my observations here about the team that has worked for the music of this film. If its Mahesh's movie then the music director has to be Mani Sharma. That is the first bonding I was talking about which explains why RP Patnaik is missing in action this time from MS Raju's movie inspite of delivering best melodies of his career for Raju's last two movies. If the baton is in Mani's hands, how can Udit Narayan miss from the singing scene? So there goes the second bonding. All Mani Sharma - Mahesh combination movies have Shankar Mahadevan singing solo hero introduction songs. Thats the third bonding. Finally, its a well known fact that of late, Sirivennela has become an aasthana kavi for MS Raju and hey no qualms when I mention this. I admit that I am an ardent fan of Sirivennela's work. But at the same time, just for the record, I don't hesitate calling a spade a spade.

The last time Mani Sharma got inspired by a tune from Aamir Khan's Oscar nominated Lagaan, for Ghallu ghallu mani in Indra, the movie went on to become the biggest hit of Telugu film industry. Lets see how Okkadu fares at the box-office where Mani Sharma gets inspired by yet another tune from Lagaan. Also, Mahesh Babu badly needs a hit to prove his detractors wrong. Lets hope that with Okkadu, Mahesh's magic finally has the lady luck embracing him, swaying and singing Nuvvem maya chesavokaani.

Sreya's Picks: Cheppave Chirugaali, Nuvvem Maya Chesavokaani, Saahasam Swaasaga

Click here to read the other articles by Sreya Sunil

Other audio reviews by Sreya Sunil
Manmadhudu
Thottigang
Khagam
Eeswar
Nee Sneham
Bobby
Nuvve Nuvve
Gemini
Chenna Kesava Reddy
Okato Number Kurraadu
Sontham
Baba
Holi
Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru
Allari Ramudu
Indra
Jayam
Sreeram
Kanulu Moosina Neevaye
Vasu
Santosham

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