Paa

Okay, I know this review is pathetically late; I'm probably the only person to review Paa after 3 Idiots, but let me explain. Paa album released in the middle of my semester exams and therefore I didn't review it in time and once the exams got over, I decided to go ahead with subsequent albums. But I always had this nagging feeling of not having reviewed this album, as Ilaiyaraaja sir doesn't compose for hindi films often. Today the feeling got the better of me and here I go!

Paa is director Balki's second venture after the breezy Cheeni Kum. It's the only movie in the world where a real life father-son pair play son and father respectively. Bachchan Sr.is reason enough to watch the movie!

1. Mudhi mudhi ittefaq se : A pleasant surprise as you hear Shilpa Rao's voice in this quintessential, simple Ilaiyaraaja melody because he usually gives songs like this to Shreya Ghoshal, like he did in Cheeni Kum. Shilpa of course grabs the opportunity with both hands and makes sure this song will be remembered at least till the next time the maestro makes an apperance in bollywood.

2. Gumm summ gumm : In its previous avatars, this track was the immensely popular Thumbi vaa ( from Olangal, a 1982 malayalam movie) and Sangathil padadha kavithai (from a 1982 Vijayakanth movie). The latter however, didn't become as famous in TN as its malayalam counterpart did in Kerala. People in TN however took sudden notice of this track when the maestro sang its basic tune in a concert a few years back. Now, the important point is that the song still sounds amazing, 27 years after its original version was out! Sheer magic at work here, showing the evergreen nature of Ilaiyaraaja's songs!

3. Hichki hichki : After two excellent tracks, here's one that's largely situational and would be effective only after the movie releases. Sunidhi Chauhan tries well, but the song is just isn't that captivating, especially after you listen to the first 2 songs.

4. Halke se bole : Another old tamil song, putham puthu kaalai is reproduced here in the form of halke se bole. But unlike gumm summ, the end product in this case is really disappointing when compared to the original. A classic case of "lost in translation".

5. Mere paa : It would take a while for you to believe that the singer is Big B himself! Just where's the baritone?! Again, this song is situational but the interesting lyrics coupled with the unadulterated Paa theme in the middle make it worth listening to at least a few times.

6. Paa-theme(remix) : The unadulterated theme that came in the trailer was so beautiful that you could listen to it tens of times on repeat mode. But unfortunately they don't have in the soundtrack. Only a remix version is available, which of course isn't as good, but unlike most remixes, this one doesn't erode the original completely. Wish they also had the unadulterated theme in the soundtrack!

Paa is no "great" album, but full credit to the 66-year old maestro who still knows the pulse of the audience, after 30 years of glorious music!