Mappillai – Music Review

Upcoming film Mappillai is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name. While the original starred Superstar Rajinikanth, this remake has his real life Mappillai (son-in-law), Dhanush, in the lead. Hansika Motwani and Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala also star. Music has been scored by Mani Sharma.

The first track is Aaru Padai, which starts off with a verse about Lord Muruga, before it descends into the typical loosely-God-based dappan koothu track (such as Hey Rama Rama from Villu). Regardless, it is still a catchy number with an orchestra of temple bells, cymbals and of course, tavil and nadaswaram. Vijay Yesudas and Mukesh both bring a sense of youthful energy to this track.

 

Love Love is a bit of a mix of Theepidikka from Arinthum Ariyamalum, with a hint of Andangakka from Anniyan. It’s definitely an upbeat track, but I have to admit, I’m not a fan of the lyrics, which include gems such as "Enter me like a sim card enters a phone" and "Turn into a satellite and look at me". I kid you not. The vocals by Rahul and Rita are well-executed, especially in the chorus, which is unbelievably catchy.

 

Mani Sharma treats us to ANOTHER Dappan Koothu-based song with Onnu Rendu. Granted, the beat is guaranteed to get you bopping your head (at the very least), but there’s nothing particularly unique about the track. Mukesh and Saindhavi chew and spit out the words with the kind of aggression that this song requires, and thankfully this takes the attention away from the predictability of this song.

 

Despite being a peppy number, Ready Readya is in fact the slowest track on this album. Sharma appears to have tried to mix as many genres as possible into the track, and some of transitions from verse to chorus or chorus to interlude are abrupt. The violin interlude, which has an Irish jig feel to it, is great, albeit a little random (courtesy the chop-and-change nature of the song). The highlight for me is the tabla beat that drops in the hook line; a novel twist, but I wish it lasted for longer than a mere 8 beats! Ranjith and Saindhavi’s vocals are on point, and I’ve had their voices singing "Ready Readya, Readya?" echoing in my head all day. The remix of this track that features in the album is a dancefloor mix that I think will be a hit among party-goers.

 

The Ennoda Raasi Remix is, of course, a remix of the song "Ennoda Raasi Nalla Raasi" from the original version of the film. There are no major changes to the original, just heavier instrumentation to make the (surprise, surprise) Dappan Koothu beat more prominent. The original was sung by (the recently deceased) Malaysia Vasudevan, and for this version, Ranjith has taken the mic and done the song justice. Again, catchy, but nothing special.

 

Finally is the Mappillai Theme, a mainly instrumental piece with a chorus of voices singing the praises of Mappillai. No prizes for guessing what sort of beat this song has. This is likely to be the running track of the background score, especially after Dhanush delivers his punch dialogues!