Paramasivam scores with three songs, Paarijatham with one

Three songs tuned by Vidhyasagar in Thala's new movie "Paramasivam" are going to be hits for sure. The first is the delightful "Asa Dosa" sung well by Priya Subramani. "Kannan" is another short lovely number sung by Kalyani Menon, Lakshmi Rangarajan and Saindhavi. By the way it looks as though there are two Kalyani Menons or are they the same. Remember the 80's hit "Nee Varuvai ena Naan ninaithen". It was sung by a Kalyani Menon too. And finally "Natchithira Paravaikku" sung by Tippu and company. The chorus of the children in this song will remind you of Illayaraja's songs in the movies "Anjali" and "Virumandi".

The real treat however is "Unnai Kanden" from the movie "Paarijatham" that debuts Saranya, daughter of actor/director Bagyaraj and Poornima Jayaram. Sung stylishly by Shruthi and company to the tune of Dharan's music it may sound a bit like "Vaseegara" but it is a beautiful number. Treat yourself.

New songs in Tamil

First is the sensuous number "Chellame Idu Irava Pakala" sung by Karthik and Sunitha Sarathy from the movie "Kalaba Kadhala" composed by newcomer Niru. It's sure to become popular and is certainly worth a listen. "Eruvar Vazhum", another small duet from the film "Aathi" is an OK one. But the song that is likely to become a dance hit from the same movie (though it sounds stale) is "Olli Olli Udambe", a Karthik and a different sounding Anuradha Sriram duet. "Paakathe" from the film "Aaru" with nice tunes in the charanam will please you. It's a break for Tippu who I believe is married to the popular singer Harini. "Soda bottle" is the another "dapankoothu" number from "Aaru" which is bound to become popular. Check them out.

Who is likely to replace Chithra

Before I even try to answer that let me not give the impression that Chitra is going to be dethroned overnight by the multitude of great new singing talent that the Malayalam music industry is never short of.

I won't consider Sujatha who with a voice that is getting better every year as someone who is going to take over the crown although she is good competition. A couple of years ago I thought the crown may go to newcomer Gayatri. With a huskier voice, training in Hindustani besides Carnatic, influences ranging from Rafi to Dire Straits and some great songs I was under the impression she could replace Chitra. But ever since I saw Manjari sing live on T.V, Chithra's "Karmugil" from the movie "Nandanam" I knew the south Indian film audience could look forward to some great vocals from this promising new singer. I was surprised to see her duet with Illayaraja for his mega concert but maybe for good reason. Trained in both Carnatic and Hindustani and with influences such as Latha Mangeshkar and Mohd.Rafi besides a host of other Indian singers she is quite a contender for the next big female voice from Kerala.

I checked her songs on MusicIndiaOnline and I couldn't believe her range of singing. Simply put her songs are difficult for others to sing. Her Reena Roy(remember her?)/Sunitha looks are another plus. Check out the following links to her songs. First Stop, the album "Mazhayilaroo". "Maaleya Sandhyee" must be the first song you need to listen to and I am sure you will be hooked. Follow that with "Pinneyum" and then to "Paadu Pranayamee". Next stop, the album "Pranayamai" and check out the song "Thaane En Thamburumooli".
Final stop the song of movie "Ponmudipuzhayorathu" and check out "Oru Chiri Kandaal", a duet with Vijay Yesudas. Music for this movie is by Illayaraja and Tamil listeners will even find similarities between this number and the number "Poonkathave" from the movie "Nizhalgal" whose songs were also composed by the maestro.

Not forgetting Gayathri here are links to two of her great numbers. Check out "Enthinee Kanna" from the movie "Sasneham Sumithra" and "Thamaranoolinal" a duet with Venugopal from the movie "Mullavalliyum Thenmavum".

Rabbi Shergill just exited the top 10

What an impressively long run in the top 10 on MusicIndiaOnline charts for an album in such a rare category - SufiRock and that too after more than a year of its release. Ever since the attention grabbing video for "Bulla Ki Jana" aired on T.V I have always been inquisitive about Rabbi and his album. After another video "Jugni" I just couldn't wait to sample the well produced album and what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be.

"Bulla Ki Jana" must be the first song you should be listening. My punjabi friend also says this is a spiritual song. Follow that with "Ek Geet Hijar Da" for some lovely singing. Your next stop must be "Gill Te Guitar" which is a faster paced song and a happier one with some good guitar riffs. "Heer" - faster than the previous number, sung well and with good guitar playing this song is a treat too. "Ishtihar" is a slow number but melodious and does not get boring. "Ajj Nachna" is the one that sounds typical Punjabi and again not-boring. "Jugni" sounds as stylish as it looks on the video. "Tere Bin" with more indian perscussion is another lovely number. "Totia Manmotia" is the only unattractive number but then you can always forgive the only exception on the album. Never boring with lovely tunes on the intruments and on the vocals this album is a very good buy. Check it out at musicindiaonline. Rabbi

Pankaj Avasti's 9

Gone are the days when pop albums made in the sub-continent sounded amateurish. These days the quality is of a very good standard. One such album is "9" from Pankaj Avasti. The album boasts of well produced and well made music with plenty of lovely guitar licks. It would have become a hit had there only been more variety in the songs as most of the songs have a similar feel to it. The song that is a must listen on the album is "Barson se Barse". Deep and a bit haunting it's a great number. The other songs that I found quite impressive were "Teri meri batein" and "The Last Beat". The rest can get boring. Take a listen on MusicIndiaOnline. Pankaj Avasthi 9

Two little known great songs

Some very good songs hardly see the light of day and here are two of them. One is a Yuvan Shankar Raja composition, a small song sung by Unni Menon and chorus called "Unakku Endru Oruthi" from the recent movie "Oru Kallooriyin kathai" starring Arya and Sonia Agarwal. I wonder why this song wasn't extended to a regular length song.

The other one is Harris Jayaraj's "Yaridamum" by Harini and Ramesh Vinayagam from the movie "Thotti Jaya" starring Silambarasan and Gopika. I am told that the song is not played in the movie. You will fall for Harini for her vocals on this melodious number.