Music Review: Kabali (Tamil)

Composer(s): Santhosh Narayanan
Listen to the songs online here: Saavn

Ulagam Oruvanukka (the first Rajini intro song since Baba to not have SPB sing it) gets the swag quotient right, and so does the electric whistle-worthy Neruppu Da (a tad reminiscent of his own Pangaali, if you ask me), but the tunes themselves are nothing new. Veera Thurandhara rides on an interesting beatboxed, brass-tinged sound, but again I am not convinced if roping Gaana Bala was the right choice. For Maya Nadhi, a duet for grown-ups, Santhosh reverts to his staple Pradeep Kumar, who along with Shweta Mohan, delivers the exquisite stringy melody beautifully. Vaanam Paarthen, once again in Pradeep's heartfelt rendition, goes minimal and sounds almost like a vintage Ilaiyaraaja composition that got teleported to the present, in a good way that is. But for the last two melodic stunners, Kabali is somewhat a conventional Santhosh Narayanan fare, which might very well be the album's biggest subversion.

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