Villu – 2008
Starring: Vijay, Nayanthara, Vadivelu, Prakashraj and others
Direction: Prabhudeva
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Producer: Ayngaran International
Here goes the saying ‘Villu kku Vijayan’. It’s now re-written like ‘Villu kku ILAYATHALAPATHY VIJAY’. It’s no more a music director’s album when the hero is VIJAY. It’s a Vijay album with all his elements mixed into it as a cocktail to serve his fans in wholesome fashion. This time, the load of expectations increase manifold due to the presence of Prabhudeva (the blockbuster combo of Pokkiri). Pokkiri created records in Tamil filmdom and took Vijay and Prabhudeva to great heights. With Nayanthara and Devi Sri Prasad being the other starlet colleagues of this mega show, a small fall would be blown up in disastrous fashion. But when God is in your side, the rest of the pieces will just fall into place. Let us see how powerful this ‘Villu’ is going to be….
1. Rama Rama Raman Kitta – Amalraj, Kovai Sarala
It’s a very interesting start to the song with the use of jaldras and the drums. But the song then breaks into the usual ‘opening kuthu’ song mode when the singer starts ‘Rama Rama….”. Kovai Sarala then enters the scene with the highly catchy “VILLU VILLU VILLU VILLU VILLU VILLU VARAAN VILLU”. Gokka Makka, this line will break the eardrums of the common man to pieces when this song makes its appearance on the screens in Tamil Nadu. It’s just excellent and amazing use of beats and background chorus by Devi Sri Prasad. The tune sounds ‘already heard’ but the difference (and a big difference!) lies in the way the song has been presented. Vijay fans will not like it at all if the intro song (or the opening song) is not up to the mark and music directors find it tough to match the expectations. But Devi Sri Prasad DELIVERS… MASSSS……..
Rating: 9/10
2. Nee Kobapattal – Sagar
It’s a typical Devi Sri Prasad start to this love song which features only the male lead singer. The song easily reminds us of previous Devi Sri’s hits but it’s pretty tough to pinpoint which song this tune resembles. DSP makes great use of the Veenai in the middle of the song. The singer (a newcomer it seems!) is perfectly adept at singing the song. It’s a very soothing song that has the power to appeal also to the classes with his peppy yet slow paced nature. The lyrics have been written with a lot of effort put in to convey the real mood of the song. A potential hit in the long run and could feature a lot on the TV with his picturization.
Rating: 9.2/10
3. Daddy Mummy Veetil Illa – Mamta Mohandas, Naveen Madhav
A very funky start to the song with the background instruments and the lyrics that hit us a few seconds later really put us in a big surprise. The female singer here is actress Mamta Mohandas who is just brilliant, just brilliant. She comes in as the big surprise (for those who haven’t heard to her singing before!). Again, another very catchy tune (it seems this tune is one of the tunes re-used by Devi Sri Prasad from his Telugu compositions). The male singer doesn’t show up too much in this highly female dominated song. Great use of the beats and the percussions by Devi Sri Prasad which adds a lot of pep to this party type song which should find a place soon on the dance floors in parties and discos.
Rating: 8.3/10
4. Are you Crazy – Divya
A fully fledged female number in a Vijay album? It’s very rare to see such numbers. The song is a big surprise with its predominantly English lyrics like “You country brute, I will slap you” etc. It’s very tough to judge the situation in which this song is going to be used. The lyrics seem to be written by Prabhudeva himself and this song (if it has repeat value) will take a lot of time to get used to. There seems to be a big pause in between the song and the same lyrics of “Are you crazy….” Keeps repeating again.
Rating: 5/10
5. Jalsa Jalsa – Baba Sehgal, Rita
A rap style song that’s going to rock the dance floors for sure. “Sa RI Ga Ma Pa Da Ni SA, Ada come on come on say Jalsa”. The song that rocked with Pawan Kalyan in the Telugu film ‘Jalsa’ makes its Tamil appearance with the industry’s best dancer Vijay and one can only think of the impact that the song with Vijay’s dance will make to the theatres. AWESOME STUFF from Devi Sri Prasad (he has already got a lot of rave reviews for this song from the Telugu audiences) and it’s now time for the Tamil audiences to rock and groove to this potentially mega hit number. The lyrics in Tamil have been perfectly written to suit the style of the song. One just wishes that Prabhudeva choreographs Vijay’s dance for this song. IT WOULD BE WORTH THE TICKET ALONE! The female singer is adept, but the song is fully dominated by the male singer and come the movie’s release, it will be fully dominated by Vijay and no one else!
Rating: 10/10
6. Vaada Mapilley – Tippu, Rita, Vadivelu
A very folkish type song that should probably feature towards the climax of the film. The song, which is the signature folkish kuthu number that now prominently in Vijay’s films, has some very interesting lyrics that should primarily appeal to the fans who should have a gala time with this song. Devi Sri Prasad makes good use of the guitar which is the pre-dominant instrument used for this song. Vadivelu makes his appearance here and there in what appears to be a “Maambazhama Maambazham” type song that became such a big hit in the Vijay-Prabhudeva hit “Pokkiri”.
Rating: 7.5/10
7. Dheemthanakka Dhillana – Devi Sri Prasad, Divya
Another peppy song that has made its way from Devi Sri Prasad’s own Telugu compositions. A song that should suit Vijay to a T, the song could possibly showcase his amazing dancing skills. Devi Sri Prasad himself takes care of the singing (he sang for Vijay in the “Kanmodi” song in Sachein). This time, it’s a very peppy song with all the care taken for the song to appeal to Vijay’s huge mass of fans. The female singer provides good backup to Devi Sri Prasad. Devi Sri Prasad makes good use of the instruments which now can be called as his “forte”. This song is an instant hit and if the picturization is good, this song has the potential to go places.
Rating: 8/10
8. Jalsa Jalsa The DSP Mix – Devi Sri Prasad, Baba Sehgal, Rita
An awesome remix to an AWESOME SONG!!!! Devi Sri Prasad rocked with the original version of this song, and now he takes the mike to render a rocking remix. It’s tough to say which one is better – the original or the remix. Personally, the reviewer opinion here is that the REMIX ROCKS! The rap in between the song doesn’t irritate and gels so well into the song. A sure shot chartbuster. One guesses that this song should feature in the end credits of the film (going in sync with the news that Prabhudeva is filming a happy ending song for the film in tune with the recent trend).
Rating: 10/10
A perfect way to end an album that produces a variety of cocktail type entertainers that will keep Vijay’s fans thoroughly entertained. The album starts with the typical hero entrance which produces a huge thunder, and ends with the biggest thunder in the form of the Jalsa DSP Mix. Except for the “Are you crazy” song (and to an extent, the “Vaada Mapilley” song), all the other songs catch you up instantly and the album shouldn’t take too much in becoming a chartbuster. In comparison to Vijay’s previous film albums, this one is a wholesome entertainer and can be called as one of Vijay’s most entertaining in recent times.
OVERALL VERDICT:
1. IF YOU ARE A VIJAY FAN, YOU ARE BUYING IT… No QUESTIONS ASKED!
2. IF YOU ARE A NEUTRAL FAN, IT’S NOT A WASTE OF YOUR MONEY AT ALL… BUY IT!
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