Top 10 Songs of The Year - Tamil

Its that time of the year where you make lists of what was good and bad in the year gone by. And lets start with a top 10 songs list, this time in Tamil. There were several chartbusters this year and here are the 10 best songs among them. 

10. Yaar Intha Penthaan (Boss Engira Bhaskaran)

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics - Na. Muthukumar
Singer - Haricharan
Featuring - Arya, Nayanthara, Santhanam
Director - Rajesh

A lovely number from the hilarious Boss Engira Bhaskaran, this song had Arya falling in love with  a gorgeous Nayanthara over the course of his brother's weddings with loads of light moments. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music, and lyrics by Na Muthukumar together created a memorable melody. 

9. Naan Pogiren (Naanayam)

Music - James Vasanthan

Lyrics - Thamarai

Singers - SP Balasubramaniam, KS Chitra

Featuring - Prasanna, Ramya Raj

Director - Shakti S Raj

Every time the legends SPB and Chitra sing a duet together, it is magical. 'Naan Pogiren Mele Mele' from Naanayam was no exception. Composed by James Vasanthan who gave the smash hit Subramaniyapuram and the lovely Pasanga, this beautiful melody had SPB and Chitra at their romantic best. The lyrics was by Thamarai who is an expert at writing romantic songs and she didnt let us down in this one also. The song had beautiful visuals as well, and featured the talented Prasanna and newcomer Ramya Raj. 

8. Pookkal Pookkum Tharunam (Madharasappattinam)

Music - GV Prakash Kumar

Lyrics - Na Muthukumar

Singers - Roopkumar Rathod, Harini, Andreah Jeremiah

Featuring - Arya, Amy Jackson

Director - Vijay

A beautifully composed melody which takes us back to the British era, this song can almost be called a haunting melody, with its chorus part being the best. It had amazing vocals by veteran singers Roopkumar Rathod, Harini and the young and talented Andreah. The English portions sung by Andreah were similar to that of Vasundhara Das's portions in Lagaan's O Rey Chhori in both the composition and visuals. The lovely chemistry between Arya and the ethereally beautiful Amy Jackson romancing around the glorious old Madras, also worked wonders for the song. 

7. En Kaadhal Solla (Paiyya)

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyrics - Na Muthukumar

Singers - Yuvan Shankar Raja, Tanvi

Featuring - Karthi, Tamannah

Director - Lingusamy

Another chartbuster from Paiyya, another Yuvan song, with the composer being the singer himself. Again featuring Karthi falling in love with Tamannah, this song had an irresistible hook in the part which goes 'Un azhagaale'. Tanvi was also part of this song giving backing vocals. Cinematographer Madhie captured Tamannah's beauty in all possible ways on one side and Karthi longing for her on the other side. 

6. Aval Appadi Ondrum Azhagillai (Angaadi Theru)

Music - Vijay Antony

Lyrics - Na. Muthukumar

Singers - Vineeth Sreenivasan, Ranjith

Featuring - Mahesh, Anjali, Pandi

Director - Vasanthabalan

One of the best movies of the year, Angaadi Theru had 2 composers giving music for the film - GV Prakash Kumar and Vijay Antony. While GV Prakash composed 4 songs for the movie, Vijay Antony did 2. And it was Vijay's Aval Appadi Ondrum which became the biggest hit in the soundtrack. Multi-talented Malayalam singer Vineeth Sreenivasan got his big break in Tamil with this beautiful song which celebrated love. Ranjith also made his presence felt with Vineeth behind the mike. The visuals had the young and fresh faces like Mahesh, Anjali, Pandi and others experiencing love for the first time, during their working hours at a terrible workplace. The movie also had another beautiful song composed by GV Prakash  and sung by Naresh Iyer, Haricharan and Shreya Ghoshal called 'Un Perai Sollumbothu' which was also very popular. 

5. Thuli Thuli Thuli Mazhaiyaay Vandhaale (Paiyya)

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyrics - Na. Muthukumar

Singer - Haricharan

Featuring - Karthi, Tamannah, Sonia

Director - Lingusamy

Another fantastic song from Paiyya, which was also its most popular song. A beautiful melody rendered by Haricharan, this song had Karthi searching for Tamannah all over Bangalore city. Tamil movies are seldom shot at Bangalore, so the locations and visuals from garden city were refreshing. Again, Yuvan was able to give a great hook to the song in its chorus portions which makes it click instantly. The song is still as popular as it was during the movie's release. 

4. Usure Poguthey (Raavanan)

Music - AR Rahman

Lyrics - Vairamuthu

Singers - Karthik
Featuring - Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Director - Mani Ratnam

The visually spectacular song, had many legends coming together. Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Santosh Sivan & Vairamuthu along with Vikram, Aishwarya Rai and the superbly talented Karthik as the singer. And as an end result, we get a stunning song, both visually and aurally. Karthik's rendition of this song deserves nothing short of a National Award. Rahman's experimental tune worked wonders, so did the soulful lyrics by Vairamuthu. The visual of Aishwarya Rai falling off a branch of a huge tree is sure to stay with you forever. The song had mesmerizing visuals by ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan in the lush forests near the Athirappilly waterfalls in Kerala. This song was perhaps the best portion of Mani Ratnam's Raavanan which received mixed reviews upon release. The song also had a Hindi version which had some great lyrics by the legend Gulzar. 

3. Neela Vaanam (Man Madan Ambu)

Music - Devi Sri Prasad

Singers - Kamal Haasan, Priya Hemesh

Lyrics - Kamal Haasan

Featuring - Kamal Haasan, Caroline

Director - KS Ravikumar

An absolutely brilliant song penned by Kamal Haasan & composed by Devi Sri Prasad, this beautiful track from Man Madan Ambu shows tells a tragic love story in reverse. Shot innovatively where all the action is going in reverse, except for Kamal's singing, which is perfectly in sync, this beautiful song stands out because of Kamal Haasan's soulful rendition, perhaps his 2nd best work as a singer in a non-Ilaiyaraaja song (the best would surely be Anbe Sivam). The song comes at a very important point in the movie and is definitely one of the highlights of the movie. This has to be Devi Sri Prasad's career best composition. 

2. Kilimanjaro, Kaadhal Anukkal, Irumbile Oru Iruthayam (Enthiran)

Music - AR Rahman

Lyrics - Pa.Vijay, Vairamuthu, Madhan Karky

Singers - Javed Ali, Chinmayi, Vijay Prakash, Shreya Ghoshal, AR Rahman, Lady Kash n Krissy

Featuring - Superstar Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Director - Shankar

It is difficult to pick one song from the blockbuster soundtrack of the all time hit Enthiran. Hence I've picked 3 songs which are almost equally good and put them together at the second position. Kilimanjaro was shot at the breathtakingly beautiful Macchu Picchu and had Superstar and Ash grooving to Rahman's tune. Chinmayi's groovy rendition is the highlight of this song which has an addictive 'Aaha Aaha' chorus portion. Kaadhal Anukkal was a beautiful and breezy romantic melody shot at another breathtaking location in Brazil. Superstar and Ash looked their best and Vijay Prakash and Shreya Ghoshal together brought magic in the song. Irumbile Oru Iruthayam was an insanely addictive song with some funky and futuristic lyrics by Vairamuthu's son Madhan Karky. AR Rahman sang for the Superstar while lady rappers Kash n Krissy brought in a whole lot of freshness through their rap for a super-hot Aishwarya Rai. Shankar's epic visuals, Rahman's extraordinarily catchy music and the great vocals from all the singers made these songs also go down as part of history along with the film. 

1. Mannippaya, Aaromale, Hossana, Omana Penne, Anbil Avan (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya)

Music - AR Rahman

Lyrics - Thamarai

Singers - Shreya Ghoshal, AR Rahman, Alphons Joseph, Vijay Prakash, Blaaze, Suzanne, Benny Dayal, Kalyani Menon, Devan & Chinmayi

Featuring - Silambarasan, Trisha

Director - Gautham Vasudev Menon

Another AR Rahman album from which it is difficult to pick one track as the best. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya would certainly be up there as one of the best albums by AR Rahman ever. The maverick composer teamed up with ace director Gautham Menon for the first time and what we got was magical. Mannippaaya was a haunting melody by the wonderful Shreya Ghoshal and AR Rahman himself. Aaromale, an unusual soft rock track which had Malayalam lyrics by Kaithapram and vocals by Malayalam composer Alphons Joseph is the best composition in the album and became a cult song immediately. Vijay Prakash, Blaaze, Suzanne made Hosanna a heavenly experience. It feels like Benny Dayal was getting as much joy as his listeners while singing the beautiful Omana Penne along with veteran singer Kalyani Menon who pitches in some Malayalam lines. And the incredible fusion of both carnatic and western music comes alive in the wedding song Anbil Avan with energetic vocals by Devan and Chinmayi. The songs were used perfectly in the movie which had extraordinary cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa and terrific performances by Simbu and Trisha. VTV is definitely the album of the year. 

So the clear winner is AR Rahman with his 2 albums and one track topping the charts. Yuvan Shankar Raja closely follows suit with the blockbuster soundtrack of Paiyya and the song from Boss Engira Bhaskaran. He also had other major hits in the form of Goa, Naan Mahaan Alla, Kaadhal Solla Vanthen, Thillalangadi, Baana Kathadi, etc. GV Prakash impressed with wonderful songs from Madharasappattinam, Angadi Theru, Aayirathil Oruvan and more recently, Va Quarter Cutting. Devi Sri Prasad continued his home run with the hit tracks of Singam and has Man Madan Ambu lined up next. Mani Sharma's Suraa had some hit tracks as well. Maestor Ilaiyaraaja's music is supposed to be the soul of Mysskin's Nandhala (I havent seen the film or heard the songs yet). Tracks like the spoofy Oh Maha Zeeya from Thamizh Padam and Vaada Vaada Paiyya from Kacheri Aarambam were also very popular. 


So that was my list of the top 10 songs in Tamil this year. The lists in Hindi and Malayalam are coming up next.