Gunashekar’s third directorial venture with Mahesh after Okkadu and Arjun, has Trisha pairing with Mahesh for the second time after Athadu. Yes, Mahesh is repeating a heroine. Considering the charm both of them exuded in Athadu, nobody is complaining. Producer Aswini Dutt, though down with recent failures like Subhash Chandra Bose, Balu and Jai Chiranjeeva, appears as confident as a lion before its strike and at the same time as cool as a cucumber. Looks like he got it right this time; perhaps never this better.

Mahesh repeats the producer [Aswini Dutt produced Mahesh’s debut movie Raajakumardudu], director and heroine too. Wonder why his favorite music director Mani Sharma is left out? But look who’s filling in his shoes? Harris Jayaraj. This is Harris’s third direct Telugu movie after Vasu and Gharshana. Musically, both these movies are huge successes. Of course one cannot leave behind Cheli, Aparichitudu and Ghazini when talking about Harris. So what does Harris have for us here? Without wasting any more time, let’s get the ball rolling.

1. Byla Bylamo
This song starts with usual gibberish that most fast beat songs of Harris tend to have but it soon bursts into a high energy song about the lead pair’s noble intentions, worded in a catchy manner by Chandrabose, of making the world a better place. Though Leslie Lewis and Anushka falter with their pronunciations here and there, their gusto filled rendition sounds quite appropriate. Sunitha Sarathy, I believe, is mainly used for chorus and humming.

2. Maayera
The girl tries to convince the guy that love, which is omnipresent, is the sweetest thing and when the guy doesn’t seem to be heeding her words she questions silavaa naa maaTa vinavaa? The guy brushes off her love talk wondering if it is really that big a deal – nijamaa ee prEma varamaa? Between their sweet exchanges is a cautioning voice educating the guy that love is nothing but maaya juxtaposed with a female chorus singing premistE lOkam mottam haayE bringing out an element of conflict and confusion lucidly. Kula Sekhar goes the Sirivennela way by penning so many thoughts about love in simple words triumphing nonetheless - Rangu rangulU choopEdEraa ranganTU lEnE lEdu lEraa. Harris, though borrows from Rahman’s Dil se re [Dil Se], lets us revel in the never before company of three veterans – SPB, Unni Krishnan and Kavitha. This one’s the most melodious song in this album.

3. Aadapilla
Though this song carries a compelling Tamil stamp and is composed of beats that are typical of a mass song, Harris, packages it well proving that he has not only learnt the tricks of the trade but is a master at it now. Composing such songs is a not an easy task. They need to be extremely foot tapping without resorting to techno gimmickry. They need to have a certain set of beats which may sound hackneyed unless spruced up innovatively. And they have to appeal to the hoi polloi. So Harris, apart from making the song foot tapping, chooses his singers with care. Expectedly, Hariharan and Chitra, who not only know what to deliver, make this otherwise ordinary number worthy of your attention. If it was not for them, Harris’ efforts would have gone down the drain. Veturi’s lyrics go with the mood of the song.

4. Sogasu Choodatarama
This slow paced melody sung beautifully by Shreya Ghoshal is sweet, has a nice ghatam beat and also boasts of nice lyrics by Kula Sekhar, but somehow isn’t as impressive as Shreya’s earlier solo numbers like Nuvvem Maaya Chesaavokaani [Okkadu] or Pillagaali Allari [Athadu]. But Shreya sounds much better here than the other songs.

5. Orugalluke Pilla
Nice rhythm, enchanting vocals and a folk touch make this song an instant winner. While Malathi sounds what’s typical of her, Karthik and Harini are, as usual, good. So what about the Indian Idol 2 runner up – Karunya? The variety of voice modulations he comes up for this song speaks volumes of his talent. Way to go Karunya! In the bit javanaala O madhubaala... he sounds like his favorite singer Sukhwinder Singh. For starters, his most popular songs when contesting for Indian Idol 2 where Kawa Kawa [Monsoon Wedding], Ramta Jogi [Taal], Layivi Na Gayi [Chalte Chalte] and Lagan Lagi [Tere Naam], which were all originally sung by Sukhwinder Singh. Veturi’s wordplay adds to the aforementioned folk touch of this song. Some beats in the interludes remind us of Chaiyya Chaiyya [Dil Se].

6. Go Go Go
Given the high voltage beats that Harris incorporated into this song, if picturized well, this title song that starts off with Sanikudu, is bound to enthrall Mahesh’s like never before. Chandrabose’s lyrics aimed at the youth are good. The way he uses vikaasam, vishaadam, viraamam, vidhaanam and prayatnam, prabhaavam, prabhutvam, prabhanjanam in the first and second stanzas respectively makes them catchy. KK’s zesty rendition is first-rate.

If you notice, each lyricist in this album has been asked to word similar set of songs. Chandrabose packs lyrics filled with punch for two fast beat songs. Kula Sekhar words two melodies and two folk/mass songs are worded by Veturi.

To cut a long story short, Sainikudu rocks. Harris Jayaraj lives up to the expectations and delivers a hit album. Frankly, the first time I heard the songs except for Maayera and Orugalluke Pilla, others sounded just okay. Only by the third hearing did l start humming others as well. But this isn’t strange considering the fact that Harris’s and Rahman’s songs grow on you slowly.

Mahesh, fondly called Prince, has now positioned himself as a King of the box office with two mega hits in a row - Athadu and Pokiri. Naturally, Sainikudu not only demands the attention of every soul that has even an iota of interest in Telugu cinema but is getting it too. Does Mahesh have an ace up his sleeve this time too? Will this be as successful as Pokiri? Or will it surpass it? So many questions. An answer awaits on Nov 22.

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