Top 10 Songs of 2010 - Malayalam

I just realized I had forgotten to make this list as part of my year end specials. So here are 10 of my most favourite songs from the year 2010 in Malayalam. Sorry for the delay. :)  The 10th position is shared between two songs and so is the 5th position. So in effect, there are 12 songs. 

10. Manikkinavin (Pokkiri Raja)

Music - Jassie Gift

Singers - KJ Yesudas & Sujatha

Lyrics - Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri

Featuring - Prithviraj, Shriya Saran, Mammootty

Director - Vyshakh

A beautiful duet by our gaanagandharvan KJ Yesudas and our very own Sujatha Chechi, this lovely song unfortunately was not a part of the feature film it was composed for, Pokkiri Raja. The rest of the songs in the movie were mundane, mass numbers which were quite difficult to like. But this lovely song became a major hit, especially because of the voice of Yesudas and Sujatha. Jassie Gift was the composer and Kaithapram wrote the lyrics. The song was used for promotional purposes using footage featuring Prithviraj and Shriya. 

10. Poonchillayil (Chekavar)

Music - Rahul Raj

Singers - Vijay Yesudas & KS Chitra

Lyrics - Anil Panachooran

Featuring - Indrajith, Samvritha Sunil, Sarayu

Director - Sajeevan

If the earlier song was in the legendary father's voice, this song has his talented son doing an amazing job behind the mic, along with the most loved singer of the state. Vijay Yesudas and KS Chitra sang this beautiful duet, composed by the very talented Rahul Raj to perfection. The video featured the family life of a police inspector played by Indrajith, along with Samvritha Sunil and Sarayu. Anil Panachooran's lyrics were also very soothing. All in all, a lovely song. 

9. Pinne Ennodonnum Parayaathe (Shikkar)

Music - M Jayachandran

Singers - KJ Yesudas

Lyrics - Gireesh Puttenchery

Featuring - Mohanlal, Ananya, Sneha

Director - M Padmakumar

Every year, M Jayachandran makes sure that he composes at least one great song which will have KJ Yesudas singing for him. Among his best works with the legend includes 'Innale Ente Nenjile' and 'Amma Mazhakkarinu', both for Mohanlal films. Even though this one isnt as great as the other two, it serves as a very good successor to those two songs. The late Gireesh Puttenchery's lyrics talk about a father's love for his daughter. The video had Mohanlal who had lost his wife Sneha, bringing up his little daughter who grows up to be Ananya. A nice video for a beautiful song. The song was not on lip-sync, just like the other two songs. The song which has a very good tune, works majorly because of Yesudas' voice and Mohanlal's acting on screen. 

8. Innoree Mazhayil (Malarvaadi Arts Club)

Music - Shaan Rahman

Singers - Rahul Nambiar & Vineeth Sreenivasan

Lyrics - Vineeth Sreenivasan

Featuring - Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Bhagath Manuel, Harikrishnan, Shraavan, Nedumudi Venu

Director - Vineeth Sreenivasan

A soothing melody composed by the young and talented Shaan Rahman, this was the best song among the variety of songs Vineeth and Shaan created for Vineeth's directorial debut - Malarvaadi Arts Club. Vineeth himself penned the lyrics about friendship and also took to singing a major portion of the song along with popular singer Rahul Nambiar. Their vocals, along with the melodious flute interludes were refreshingly beautiful. The video had Shraavan remembering all the good times he had with his friends and how much they meant to him. A great song in all respects. :) 

7. Kizhakku Pookkum (Anwar)

Music - Gopi Sundar

Singers - Shreya Ghoshal, Shabari Brothers, Navin Iyer, Raqueeb Alam

Lyrics - Rafeeq Ahmed

Featuring - Mamta Mohandas, Nithya Menen, Prithviraj

Director - Amal Neerad

A qawwali number for the first time in Malayalam, this song became a huge hit, thanks to the great vocals of the lovely Shreya Ghoshal, the gorgeous Mamta Mohandas & Nithya Menen, the handsome Prithviraj and some neat making by its director Amal Neerad. Gopi Sundar's tune was no lesser either. It had its obvious AR Rahman inspirations (Kannalane, Sona Nahin), but he made use of them positively to create a unique qawwali number which will be remembered for a long time. Even Amal Neerad seems to have been heavily influenced by Mani Ratnam's visualization of Kannalane in Bombay as this song also has more or less the same visualization. Mamta and Nithya looked absolutely gorgeous and a super-handsome Prithviraj was the perfect foil. There were endless debates on the lyrics of the song, whether it was 'Khalbil Ethi' or 'Khalbile Thee'. Finally the lyricist had to come out with it that it was 'Khalbile Thee' indeed. (Or was it the other one?? I'm not completely sure). 

6. Thangameyyole

Music - Issac Thomas Kottukappilly

Singers - Rajalakshmi, Ramesh

Lyrics - Traditional (Chavittunaadakam)

Featuring  - Mammootty, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Suresh Krishna, Siddique

Director - Shaji N Karun

A completely different track from what we're used to hearing as part of film soundtracks, this song was an essential part of the 'chavittunaadakam' portions in Shaji N Karun's award winning Kutty Srank. It was just great to see Mammootty performing this song in the Chavittunaadakam format along with Bengali actress Kamalini Mukherjee. Singer Rajalakshmi missed  a National Award by a whisker for this beautiful song composed by Issac Thomas Kottukappilly. A completely different experience. 

5. Njaan Kanavil Kandoru Kanmaniyaal (Aagathan)

Music - Ouseppachan

Singers - Ranjith, Shwetha Mohan

Lyrics - Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri

Featuring - Dileep, Charmmee

Director - Kamal

Another beautiful melody, this time from composer Ouseppachan for his long time friend Kamal. The song appears in two versions - male and female, at different points in the film. Ranjith and Shwetha have given vocals to them respectively, and the young singers have done a brilliant job. Ouseppachan's tune is fresh, youthful and romantic. Kaithapram's lyrics are wonderful as well. Dileep has never looked so good in the recent past and Charmmee was a welcome break from all the usual Malayalam film heroines. She looked hot and gorgeous at the same time. And there were some great visuals by cinematographer Ajayan Vincent as well. 

5. Nila Nila (Tournament)

Music - Deepak Dev

Singers - Karthik, Megha

Lyrics - Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma

Featuring - Manu, Rupa Manjari

Song Director - Amal Neerad

Director - Lal

The 5th position is also shared by this fantastic song by Deepak Dev for Lal's Tournament. The movie was a flop, but this song is still a huge hit and the major factor for that is Karthik's powerhouse singing. One of the best singers we have in the country today, Karthik's vocals for this song takes it to another level completely. Megha also supports him in the song. This song was directed by Amal Neerad for the film which was being directed by Lal. Newcomers Manu and Rupa Manjari featured in this slickly shot song at Amal's favourite location - the beach at Rameshwaram and yea, there's ample slow motion in this song also. :P

4. Lolalolamayi (Nayakan)

Music - Prashant Pillai

Singer - Preethi Pillai

Lyrics - Sachidanandan Puzhankara

Featuring - Indrajith, Kalasala Babu, Jagathy Sreekumar

Director - Lijo Jose Pellissery 

A wonderful track written by Sachidanandan Puzhankara, composed by AR Rahman's protege Prashant Pillai for newcomer Lijo Jose Pellissery's visually stunning Nayakan. This song featured in the flashback segement of the movie showcasing the growing up years of its hero Indrajith along with his Kathakali master father Kalasala Babu. Prashant introduced a fantastic new female singer called Preethi Pillai through this gem of a song. The visuals, with vibrant colors from the Kathakali pallette were captured effectively by cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa under the eye of director Lijo. Sadly, this song didnt get the recognition or popularity it deserved since the movie wasnt a major success. Yet for the people who've seen the movie or listened to the song, it will be hard to forget it. 

3. Neeyam Thanalinu (Cocktail)

Music - Ratheesh Vega

Singers - Vijay Yesudas, Thulasi Yatheendran

Lyrics - Anil Panachooran

Featuring - Anoop Menon, Samvritha Sunil

Director - Arun Kumar

Yet another great duet, this time with Vijay Yesudas and newcomer Thulasi Yatheendran doing the vocals for the new composer Ratheesh Vega's tune. An instant hit, this song became hugely popular because of its fresh appeal, wonderful vocals, lovely lyrics and slick visuals. Anoop Menon and Samvritha Sunil looked very good together in this romantic track. And director Arun Kumar came up with some really slick and stylish visuals. Vijay Yesudas goes on ahead to prove that he is indeed his father's son when it comes to singing as he's growing better with each song he sings. 

2. Arikathaayaaro Paadunnundo (Bodyguard)

Music - Ouseppachan

Singer - Ranjith

Lyrics - Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri

Featuring - Dileep, Nayanthara, Mithra Kurian

Choreographer - Prabhu Deva

Director - Siddique

Another wonderful song from Ouseppachan. This song was one of the first hits of the year 2010 and remained popular throughout the year. Ranjith's vocals oozed with romance and the track also had another version which had Shwetha and Madhu Balarkishnan as the vocalists. The song choreographed by Prabhu Deva (on special request by Nayanthara?) had Dileep in search of his unknown lover when she (Nayanthara) was there right next to him. The video had the right mix of romance and humour and worked very well. Nayanthara looked great and Dileep's humour worked much more than his turn as a romantic hero. 

1. Aaro Paadunnu Doore (Kadha Thudarunnu)

Music - Ilaiyaraaja

Singers - Hariharan, KS Chitra

Lyrics - Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma

Featuring - Asif Ali, Mamta Mohandas

Director - Sathyan Anthikkad

Undoubtedly the best song of the year belongs to Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. Veteran singers Hariharan and KS Chitra showed why they're still the best in this lovely romantic composition for Sathyan Anthikkad's Katha Thudarunnu. The video featured the young star Asif Ali and the beautiful Mamta Mohandas and the chemistry between the two was adorable. Shot in picturesque locations by cinematographer Venu, this was melody at its best. Even though Hariharan's slight accent problem is jerky initially, the beauty of the song manages to camouflage all that. And KS Chitra's voice is just out of this world. A favourite among the audience even now, this beautiful Raaja Sir composition is sure to live on for years to come. 

There were several other very good songs this year such as - Swapnam Oru Chakk (Best Actor - Bijibal), Pontharakame (Aathmakatha - Alphonse), Athira (Apoorvaragam - Bijibal), Malayali Penne (Karyasthan - Bernie Ignatious), Ithile Thozhi (Elsamma Enna Aankutty - Rajamani), Kinavile Janalakal (Pranchiyettan & The Saint - Ouseppachan), Maavin Chottile (Oru Naal Varum - MG Sreekumar) and some more. But unfortunately, they couldnt make it to the list, as the list was already jam packed with great songs. Its nice to see that finally, some good music is coming out of our industry which has faced severe crisis in the music department upon the demise of Raveendran Mash. 

Malayalam Film Music Now - An Overview

When was the last time someone talked about the present day Malayalam film music? Is it because it’s going through a bad phase now? Even reality show singers pick Tamil and Hindi songs or rely on old Malayalam classics to prove their skills. No one seems to be bothered about the songs made in Malayalam in the past 3-4 years, with a few exceptions. Stage shows and dance programmes are almost completely relied on Tamil and Hindi music, since it is extremely difficult to find even one foot-tapping number from the vast array of songs being made in film after film here. The directors and producers seem to have no interest in music; even the biggest movies came with mediocre musical scores.

Death of great composers like Raveendran and M.G. Radhakrishnan have created an emptiness which can’t be ignored. Johnson is in semi-retirement mode and has a more comfortable job as a reality show judge. Ouseppachan and Mohan Sithara give good songs given a chance. Ilaiyaraaja makes better songs in Malayalam than what he makes in Tamil, but bears the criticism of recycling his own yesteryear Tamil hits. Vidyasagar is inconsistent when he gives the chartbuster Neelathamara first and the mediocre  Apoorvaragam next. Alex Paul, after the initial streak of good melodies, fell into lower standards soon. M Jayachandran is the only composer who is able to give good songs – both melodies and fast paced songs, consistently. Veteran lyric writer Gireesh Puttenchery’s demise in April 2010 has created a sudden emptiness for soulful lyrics.

BUT, all is not lost. A new breed of composers, lyricists and singers are gradually making their presence felt in Malayalam film music. None of them have taken the industry by storm, but they keep surprising us with some great songs now and then. Young composers like Bijibal, Rahul Raj, Shaan Rahman, Gopi Sunder, Prashant Pillai, Mejo Joseph, Ratheesh Vega, Siddharth Vipin, Manu Ramesan and many others have entered the music industry bringing a lot of freshness to our music. Their passion towards music is shown in their work, and their music is slowly and steadily gaining acceptance among the Malayali audience, who are a bit reserved about new trends.

While the veteran composers had great scripts with due importance to music to work on, the new comers are forced to do songs meant only as fillers in commercial cinema. In a limited scope, these youngsters have made a mark by bringing in a fresh feel to their songs, without imitating their seniors. With movies such as Loudspeaker, Malarvaadi Arts Club, Ritu, Big B, Sagar Alias Jacky, Nayakan, Notebook, Cycle, Cocktail, Anwar and Chekavar, these composers have shown what they are capable of through their compositions, vocal arrangements and orchestrations. Various new genres of music like rap (Big B, Sagar Alias Jacky), jazz (Kaathu Kaathu – Malarvadi Arts Club), hip-hop (Njaan – Anwar), qawwali (Kizhakku Pookkum – Anwar) are being tried out in Malayalam music, which the younger generation can connect to. 

And they've also proved their versatility within the albums they compose. Shaan can pull off a beautiful 'Maamarangale' in a movie like Ee Pattanathil Bhootham. Prashant Pillai is able to give an adrenalin rush through a song like 'Kaatte Vaayo' and also give the blissful 'Lolalolamaayi' in the same movie Nayakan. Bijibal showed what he is capable of, with his first outing (Arabikkatha) itself. Rahul Raj proved his range through different genres of songs in Chotta Mumbai, Chekavar and the award winning Ritu. Likewise, each one of these young composers can boast of a wide range in the music they create. 

While they are experimenting with all these genres, they also make songs rooted in our language and culture alternatively. Fresh voices like Shreya Ghoshal , Shankar Mahadevan, Ranjith, Karthik, Naresh Iyer, Benny Dayal, Achu, Rahul Nambiar, Suchithra, etc. are tried out with brilliant effect. Singers like Vijay Yesudas and Shwetha Mohan have been given the opportunity to prove their versatility through these fresh tunes, while the veterans like Jayachandran, M.G. Sreekumar, Chitra and Sujatha are also used according to the requirements of the songs. But one sorely misses the voice of K.J. Yesudas, who is seldom heard now, except in certain brilliant songs by M. Jayachandran (Amma Mazhakkarinu, Pinne Ennodonnum).

Composers like Deepak Dev and Alphonse Joseph (on a high after singing AR Rahman’s Aaromale) are also coming back with a vengeance. They are the ones who had initially created some hope and then faded out in between. But Deepak Dev gave the chartbuster Puthiya Mukham last year and was back in the top league. Alphonse has done some wonderful work in recent films like Athmakatha, Cocktail, etc and has plenty of projects lined up. 

Lyricists like Rafeeq Ahmed and Anil Panachooran also instill hope. Vineeth Sreenivasan impressed with his outing as a lyricist through the simplistic songs of Malarvaadi Arts Club. With more and more young filmmakers coming into the industry, there are many more opportunities for these composers, singers and lyricists to get challenging projects to work on and prove their worth.

With the audience becoming much more aware of the different technical aspects in cinema, the background scores are noticed more than before. Almost all the fresh faces are good in background scores too.

Bijibal is one of the most sought after people for background scores after movies like Palery Manikyam and Passenger. Rahul Raj impressed with his funky, over-the-top score for Chotta Mumbai and a wonderfully understated score in Ritu. Shaan Rahman’s background score for Malarvaadi Arts Club drew attention too. The theme tracks of the movie like the funny ‘Shashi’ became immensely popular even as mobile ringtones. Gopi Sunder’s background scores in Amal Neerad flicks are always appreciated and looked forward to. He impressed with a beautiful score in Ividam Swargamanu as well. Amal Neerad’s new movie Anwar even features an English rock song by the popular rock band Motherjane as a part of its soundtrack, thus tapping the potential the film of alternate non-film music also.

The young breed may not be able to deliver a His Highness Abdullah or a Bharatham or a Sargam or a Manichithrathaazhu. The reason is such films happen seldom these days. Situations for songs like ‘Ramakatha Ganalayam’ or a ‘Pramadavanam’ are a rarity to find in our movies today. After Vadakkumnathan, there hasn’t been a single movie with importance for music. Give these guys such movies and situations, they would come up with some great work!!

Music is treated just as a mandatory requirement in our movies and not as an art form or a tool to move the narrative forward.  Very few directors like Lal Jose make it a point to make the songs noticed in a movie. With the limited scope they get, these composers are doing a wonderful job, and if they are given the right opportunities and scripts, they are capable of doing much more than what they are already doing. Malayalam film music may not go back to the time of the Devarajans, Baburajs, Raveendrans or Johnsons, but hopefully shall progress to being known as the music of the Bijibals, Shaans, Rahuls or Gopis. 

Malarvaadi Arts Club

Movie - Malarvaadi Arts Club (Malayalam)

Director - Vineeth Sreenivasan

Producer - Dileep

Cast - Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Shraavan, Hari Krishnan, Bhagath Manuel, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salimkumar, Janardhanan, Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Kottayam Naseer, Apoorva Bose and others.

Music and Background Score - Shaan Rahman

Cinematography - P Sukumar ISC

Editor - Ranjan Abraham

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Vineeth Sreenivasan

Release Date - 16th July 2010

There was a time in Malayalam Cinema where the antics and adventure of the unemployed youth made for some really interesting stories and feature films. Priyadarshan, Siddique-Lal, Sathyan Anthikkad and Sreenivasan made so many memorable movies telling the stories of the misadventures of such young people, which are still fresh in our minds. But as time passed, such movies became a rarity. And youth films became restricted to the so-called 'campus' films which came one after the other with almost the same storylines in every film. But now, this young guy called Vineeth Sreenivasan takes us back to a village called Manassheri and tells the story of 5 young, spirited, but unemployed guys and their friendship with lots of humour, music and masti. 

The movie is about the 5 young guys called Prakashan (Nivin), Santosh (Shraavan), Purushu (Bhagath), Praveen (Hari) and Kuttu (Aju), the only members of the club called Malarvaadi Arts Club in their village. They have a mentor in their building's owner Kumarettan (Nedumudi Venu), who treats them like his own children. They are a bunch of fun-loving guys who also double up as taskmasters for a political party in the village. They go around creating and inviting trouble around them, having fun while doing all that. But then, Santosh's family goes through a financial crisis and in that stage, Kumarettan and the rest of the Malarvaadi gang, inspire him to pursue his real talent - music, and participate in a reality show. Santosh becomes an overnight sensation making Kumarettan and his friends very proud. But then an incident occurs through which their relationship is affected deeply. What happens next forms the rest of the story. 

Vineeth got an opportunity to direct a movie so early in his career, only because of his lineage. But unlike other star-kids, he didnt waste that opportunity. Instead, he has worked hard to get the best out of that chance and the result is out there for everyone to see. The story is definitely nothing new and follows predictable routes mostly, but the whole package makes watching the movie a worthwhile experience. Vineeth's treatment, the performance of the newcomers, natural dialogues and the great music are the best aspects of the movie. Like most of the people in our generation, Vineeth also has been influenced by almost all the movies based on friendship and music, and that is very evident in the movie as well. There are portions which remind you of Dil Chahta Hai, Goa, Chennai 28 and Rock On. But still, he was smart enough to admit it beforehand that he has been influenced by all these movies. But he has treated them only as influences, rather than trying to copy them blindly, which is a very good sign. Vineeth has extracted fine performances out of all his new finds. His acting camp before the shoot of the movie has certainly enhanced their performances. The dialogues of the movie are excellent, and such natural dialogues are hardly heard in Malayalam these days, where each sentence is dramatic and over the top in almost all movies. Such natural conversations used to happen (and still happens) only in Sreenivasan films, and thankfully his son has acquired that quality from him effectively. He also takes some digs at politics and politicians, in true Sreenivasan style. 

Nivin, who has played the part of Prakashan is the best among the newbies. He has amazing screen presence and his performance is the backbone of the film. His energy and aggression reminded me of Sasikumar from Subramaniapuram. Aju, who plays Kuttu, a modern day version of Harihar Nagar's Appukkuttan (the old one), has some hilarious lines and scenes. Bhagath, Shraavan and Harikrishnan also make impressive debuts as Purushu, Santosh and Praveen respectively.  (I have a doubt if Vineeth Sreenivasan himself dubbed for Shraavan in the movie. The voice sounded very familiar). Bhagath shines in emotional scenes and his short romantic portion. Nedumudi Venu has the best written role in the movie and the veteran makes a huge impact through his performance. Jagathy Sreekumar and Salimkumar are wasted. Kottayam Naseer and Janardhanan are okay. Suraaj Venjarammoodu plays the same goonda role that he has been playing in all other movies. (Thankfully no vulgar jokes this time). Apoorva Bose and the other new girl do their parts well. The Senior comes in a short, but impressive cameo as well. In short, the newcomers have performed better than the established actors in this movie. 

Shaan Rahman has done a fantastic job with the music of the film. The songs of the film have been out for a pretty long time and are already chartbusters. Each song gels well into the narrative of the film, the best ones being 'Innoree Mazhayil' and 'Changayi'. The climax song could have been a little more better. Vineeth's lyrics are also extremely good. (You can find my music review of the album here). Background score is excellent and it strikes an effective balance between music and silence. Shaan has sneaked in his 'Palavattam' tune in a scene with Salimkumar, which was damn cool. His 'Shashi' track for Salimkumar and 'Who let the dog out' for Suraaj were hilarious. His background score has certainly enhanced the movie very much. P Sukumar's shots were easy to the eye and the song 'Manyamahajanangale' and the finale song 'Aayiram Kaatham' had some nice frames. Ranjan Abraham's editing is perfect for the film. 

Malarvaadi Arts Club is a team effort and it shows on each and every frame of the movie. It looks like the team had a great time making the movie, under the leadership of Vineeth. The multitasker has proved himself as a singer, an actor, a lyricist and now a writer-director. He has made a light-hearted, entertaining movie which can be enjoyed by people of all age groups and from all walks of society. It has its share of flaws, but the sincerity and the teamwork behind this project overshadows all those flaws. The movie is not pretentious like other so-called youth films and succeeds in narrating a simple story of friendship in an effective way. Dileep also deserves brownie points for taking up this project and producing it under his banner, thus making its reach much more wider than what it could have been otherwise. After all said and done, the film makes us smile while coming out of the theatre, and thats more than enough for one to call it a great film. Kudos to the entire Malarvaadikkoottam. Manyamahajanangale, these 'Kashmalans' are here to stay!! 

Rating - 4/5