You may have loved it or loathed it but you could not have ignored it. It had awesome music; it presented Allu Arjun in a whole new avatar; it was a big hit. Yes, I am talking about Arya which introduced Sukumar with a bang. Handling story, screenplay, dialogues and direction with such aplomb in a maiden venture is not an easy task and Sukumar scored it big in almost all these departments. His next movie Jagadam, coming after close to 3 years since Arya released, featuring Devadasu fame Ram and a newbie Isha, is keenly awaited.
Devi Sri Prasad aka Devi’s music for Arya was extra ordinary. His teaming up with Sukumar again for Jagadam naturally raises our expectations. Not only that, Devi is on a high with back to back hits in the form of Bommarillu and Rakhi and there is no excuse for him to disappoint us now. Well, with Jagadam, Devi proves that cutting back on quantity has definitely helped him in delivering quality music. Though Rakhi was a tad disappointing after a wonderful Bommarillu, he rises back to the occasion with Jagadam.
1. Violence In this opening number of the album, Chandrabose, while walking us through the movie’s theme, sums it up quite well like this - kaDupuki tinDi, kanTiki nidra avasaramainaTTE, gunDeki kodava vonti ki jagaDam vunDaali antE! He pens catchy lyrics and Devi makes every effort, both as a composer and singer, to add right emotion to this number. In fact he scores more points as the singer, coming up with not only a zesty but also a fiery rendition. Despite sounding like a song from one of Ram Gopal Varma’s underworld dramas, this one is worth a listen.
2. 5' 8" Once upon a time there lived Seenugaadu, who was 5 feet 8 inches, and Subbalakshmi who was 5 feet 4 inches. Both of them fell in love with each other. Once in love, they had all the time in the world to ponder if they were a perfect match for each other. What usually dawns upon people after marriage, happened to them while still in courtship. So, they decided to convince themselves, just like most married couples, with - inkem chestaam adjust avudaam, zindagi mottam sardukupodaam!
With a cowboy/country music kinda orchestration and catchy [agreed the word is clichéd but for the lack of a better word] lyrics, this is one of the cool numbers in recent times. The complex mix of confused ‘is-he/she-right-for-me?’ thoughts and ‘heck-I-care-less-I’ll-be-happy-nonetheless’ attitude is conveyed in an unpretentious manner both in words, by Chandrabose, and notes [read music]. Tippu, Priya and the chorus sing this one admirably.
3. 36-24-36 An out and out mass song and make no assumption about it (well, not that there could be any). Sahiti sets the premise at the very outset and sticks to it throughout. Double entendres, husky vocals, dappu beats – name it and this one has it all and much more. Mamata Mohandas sounds like a pleasant (the usage of this word for a mass song might shock you but yeah you read it right) replacement to overly high pitched Malathi. No surprises if her second song for Devi becomes a bigger hit than the first one (the title song of Rakhi). Another ‘Aa ante Amalapuram’, this one?
Though the original version itself has enormous potential to entice the crowds, there’s a remix version of this song for the remix-crazy/dance-floor junta.
4. Everybody ooru vaaDaa aaDadi aitE, moguDini nEnElERead the above line and you get an idea about the song. If that’s not enough, Chandrabose pens more such thoughts, which give a feeling that being a rowdy is super cool. But musically speaking, this number does not actually sound that cool. It’s fast paced, has high energy beats, sports Ranjit’s animated singing but nonetheless has a heard-before feel to it. So if your liking for a song has nothing to do with the fresh-o-meter rating, unlike me, then rock your body to this one.
5. Mu mu muddante Despite incomprehensible lyrics by Sahiti, this one is foot tapping. Devi uses yesteryear’s mu mu muddante cheda [Why? Perhaps the movie will explain, otherwise there is no rhyme or reason for it] and a small rap while also infusing a Middle Eastern feel to the orchestration. Raquib Alam’s spirited vocals are the life of this number. If I were to choose between this and Rahman’s Mayya Mayya [Guru], I’d choose this one for its better appealing tune even though the latter has superior orchestration. Of course, Sahiti’s lyrics are nowhere near Gulzar’s words but unless a creative lyricist in Telugu proves that such songs can be worded with coherent words, we’ll have to give it to Sahiti for writing words that blended with the tune even though they didn’t actually make much sense. But hey, that’s perhaps asking for too much from an item number in Telugu. [Gulzar’s chivalrously frolicking lyrics in recent item number’s like Kajra Re [Bunty Aur Babli] and Beedi [Omkara] are a treat to ears. Would a Telugu lyricist attribute such beauty to our item numbers, please?]
To cut a long story short, Jagadam bellows the sound of youthful zing. Chandrabose’s lyrics are catchy while Sahiti’s pen rarely tries to make an impact given that his songs are item numbers. Devi’s compositions in this album are not ever lasting material but they should top the charts and occupy air waves as long as the movie plays in theaters.
Jagadam is marketed by Supreme Audio
On a different note:The quality of music in Telugu, of late, hasn’t been that great and nothing quite prompted me to write more audio reviews since Sainikudu but have you listened to some recent Hindi albums? Try Just Married that has some awesome music by Pritam and beautiful poetry by Gulzar. Gudgudee [sung by Sunidhi Chauhan] and Jaagte Raho [sung by Sonu Nigam] are the picks of the album.
