Bye Bye Recession!

Recession is ending (as I believe). Can see happy faces everywhere. Attrition is on a record high. The same companies which threatened their employees with pink-slips are now begging and pleading with them to stay back. Well it's "payback" time as one of my former colleagues (Yes I jumped too :P ) exclaimed.

But I suppose the ones who are more happy than the worker-class, are the head hunters. Over the recession period, recuitment agencies vanished without a trace and Job portals went dry.

Naukri.com shares its joy in this extremely expressive ad. I loved it!

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya: A Musical Treat

When was the last time you had gooseflesh when you listened to music. The soundtrack of RDB did that to me. I now have the same kind of feeling when I listen to Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya; the latest musical offering of AR Rahman.

To be honest, I think that the OST of Slumdog was not Oscar material. ARR did get carried away in the Oscar wave and churned out, some more "not so great" and forgettable music, in the likes of Blue et al . I think he had that guilt in the back of his head, and managed to compose this brilliant piece of work.

For the Junta, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya is the next movie by the talented Gautham Menon. It has, the now so(m)b(u)erified Silambarasan and Trisha playing the leads. The movie has a Telugu counterpart too (cliché).

This is the first Tamil composition (correction: has a Malayalam number too) for ARR, after Slumdog, and his first association with Menon. Thamarai, a regular associate of Menon has penned the lyrics for most of the numbers.

There are seven numbers in the soundtrack. Six in Tamil and one in Malayalam. The music is amazing, and reveals better underlying layers when you listen to it (repetitively). The vocals have been rendered by a mix of the seasoned lot (which includes ARR himself) and a couple of new ones. All of this, is of course, classic ARR for you.

I was able to draw out a subtle similarity for a couple of numbers, with popular western music. But you can give it a pass, because as a package, this delivers, and delivers exceptionally well.

Here goes, an insight on the numbers as part of the soundtrack.

"Omana Penne" - This is a hummable number, and I feel has more layers that I am yet to be exposed to. Benny Dayal sounds different and good. He manages to avoid the energy that he used for numbers like Taxi Taxi, and Adiye Kolluthe.

"Anbil Avan" - The music, when the number starts, sounds like that of Venga Boys, but quickly moves away from that crap. This a fast number, capable of shaking legs in the dance floor.

"Vinnai Thandi Varuvayaa" - The title track; a slow paced soothing number with Karthik rendering the vocals. The guitar strings making most of the music. This must be the director's favorite. Methinks he is a sucker for slow numbers and more when Karthik sings them!

"Hosanna" - The most catchy number which has a brilliant mix of rap, that you wouldn't think is on your face. Blaaze does his bit in it. At around 2 minutes 30 seconds into it, you can feel the similarity with Return to Innocence, but again Rahman manages to move away from it.

"Kannukul Kannai" - A regular ARR number, with nothing much special in it; except for the usage of Violin and Naresh Iyer providing you the comfort.

"Mannipaaya" - This is the most fabulous number according to me. It has Shreya Ghoshal & ARR. Shreya is at her pleasant best, like you heard her in Mungaaru MaLe. Also as it goes, ARR saves the best number for himself

"Aaromale" - This is a Malayalam number and is a said to a trial by ARR. It is heavy on acoustic guitar, and found it similar to a Kirtan that George Harrison composed for ISKCON (I could be wrong though).

If you haven't picked up an audio CD yet, go do it now. Last heard, they are selling like hot idlis (will stick with the desi touch! )