Music is an important part of a movie. Tamil cinema has seen many maestros like MS Vishwanathan and Illayaraja who composed soul stirring music. However, in the early 90s, a new whizkid made his presence felt in the field of Tamil film music and brought over a complete metamorphosis.
This was A R Rahman, who with his technical know-how and modern music creating techniques introduced the Tamil audience to a completely different genre of music. His music was an instant hit among the audience and ever since, his albums are much awaited. Over the years, he has dished out some beautiful masterpieces.
Though all his works are exceptional, here is our pick of some of his songs which you should surely have on your playlist.
Kaadhal Rojave – Roja
This was the album which gave Rahman the much needed acclaim, not only in Kollywood but across the globe. Written by Vairamuthu and beautifully rendered by SP Balasubramaniam and Sujatha, this melody rightly expresses the loneliness of a husband who is trapped afar from his wife and yearns to meet her.
Veerapandi Kottaiyile – Thiruda Thirudi
One of the earliest compositions of AR Rahman, this song continues to be one of the most energetic and lively composition what with the high tempo beats and the energy of the singers Chitra, Unni Menon and Mano. This foot tapping song is sure to entice you.
Uyire Uyire – Bombay
The music album of Bombay was globally accepted and went on to make its place in the “Top 1000 albums to hear before you die” list of The Guardian. This simple harmony when combined with the soulful voices of Hariharan and Chitra is one song you can put on a loop and go on hearing without getting bored of it.
Anjali Anjali Pushpanjanli – Duet
In this song, Rahman made use of a saxophone which when put together with SP Balasubramaniam’s soul stirring voice makes for an enchanting melody. The musical saxophone piece was an instant hit and still continues to be so.
Mustafa Mustafa – Kadhal Desham
Part of movie which deals with love and friendship, this song was an instant hit among the youngsters and went on to be the anthem for friendship. Even today, there is no farewell party or annual function in college where this song is not played. A must have on your playlist to take you down the memory lane.
Thaiyya Thaiyya – Uyire
Though the movie was not a major hit, the music was widely appreciated, especially this foot tapping number. AR Rahman’s innovative ideas took this song to an all new level which when coupled with the voice of Palakkad Sriram’s voice modulation became a national rage of sorts and even made its way into BBC’s Top 10.
AR Rahman’s music continues to wow the music lovers across the world. Here’s hoping that he comes up with more of such foot tapping, soul stirring music.
