Kannada commercial film industry is like your quintessential 'average student' from school days - quite content with mediocrity. While some examples from the so-called ‘parallel’ cinema have shined from time to time (recent one is the award winning – Tithi about which even Aamir Khan had tweeted), the commercial cinema has always been the quieter sibling among the South Indian lot.
Same goes with the music in the films. While the influx of external talent has definitely rejuvenated the music industry (with Mungaru Male being a significant milestone in this regard) in recent times, you hardly get numbers which have an impact across the country! In this context, the music from the movie Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu (released this weekend and already hearing some great reviews!) has made a rare, courageous attempt to stand out among the lot.
The reason why I consider this music album revolutionary is never in any other Kannada movie have I seen so much experimentation in terms of musical genres, arrangements, artists and instruments. The music is composed by a young musician – Charan Raj who very creatively blends his varied musical influences to create this fresh product! I definitely recommend you to watch this interview of his to know more about his composer.
Listen to the complete album here:
Naa Ee Sanjege
Vocals: Siddhanth, Lyrics : Rakshith Shetty, Sitar: Ustad Hafiz Bale Khan, Wind instruments: Raman Iyer, Tabla: Shailesh Shenoy
Coming to the album, the standout composition for me is Naa Ee Sanjege. The seamless blend of jazz with Hindustani classical music in the arrangement is major attraction of this composition! The transition in the genre reflects in the choice of instruments and the vocal style beautifully, but at the same time doesn’t seem forced and abrupt! This song is sung by Siddhanth and guess what! It was his first playback song! Can you believe it? He does full justice to both the genres and varies his vocal style to get the feel of the individual genres right! The musical arrangement displays brilliant creativity to say the least! The song starts off with piano, bass and wind instruments bringing in the jazz elements and then transitions to sitar and tabla as the Hindustani part kicks in with the wind instruments supporting the main melody thus retaining a hint of jazziness! The song is primarily on G# major with ‘Ma 2’ used occasionally making the melody interesting. This song has an equally interesting female version sung by Sharanya Gopinath who brings to fore the jazz elements in her voice much more prominently that Siddhanth!
Komala Henne
Vocals: Job Kurian, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitars: Sunil Silvester, Bass: Sunil Silvester, Sarangi: Deepak Paramashivan, Additional vocals: Charanraj
The second song of this album – Komala Henne is sung by Job Kurien. (Has some amazing renditions in Music Mojo). The essence of this song is the melody which is done full justice by Job Kurien’s honey-clear vocals and Deepak Paramashivan’s Sarangi interludes. The guitars, percussion and bass throughout also bring in some techno-effect gelling wonderfully with the classical elements. The melody is obviously on minor scale (F# minor to be precise), but this song interestingly has elements of both Kharaharapriya and Natabhairavi at places with both D1 and D2 being used.
Ranga Bhoomiya
Vocals: Haricharan, Lyrics: Kiran Kaverapa, String Arrangement: Nelson Kumar, Flute: Sandeep Vasishta, Veena: Deepak Paramashivan
Next up is Ranga Bhoomiya again very rich melodically but has a prominent strings section with double-bass setting the rhythm throughout the song bringing a western element. Keys and violins at places build up the song beautifully. Again a very creative experimentation with the melody. Song seems to be in Kharaharapriya overall but again D1 and N3 have been tactfully used! Also while the song is on E-minor scale, there are brief moments in the interlude when it shifts to E-major which brings some curiosity. Song is beautifully sung by Haricharan who brings in the carnatic element contrasting with the western arrangement!
Katheyondu Shuruvaagide
Vocals: Arun Kamath and Sparsha R.K., Lyrics: Sharath Bhagavan, Violin: Aneesh & Vidyashankar, Shehnai: Balesh, Guitars: Sumesh Parameswar, Bass: Sumesh Parameswar, Additional Vocals: Ananya Suresh
Katheyondu Shuruvaagide begins like a breezy western number (the initial guitar intro actually reminded me of U2’s ‘I still haven’t found what I am waiting for’) with guitars and bass sounding prominently. Arun’s vocals is processed at places which adds to this mood. Magic, however for me, begins when the carnatic violin enters followed by the soulful shehnai accompanying the sargam. Sparsha’s beautiful classical cameo adds the icing on the cake as the instruments come together for the crescendo. The song is primarily on C-major scale, while N2 stands out in the classical violin parts indicating adherence to Harikambhoji or it’s derivatives.
Ale Moodadhe
Vocals: Sooraj Santhosh, Lyrics: Sudarshan D.C., Guitars: Sunil Silvester, Flute: Prakash Hegde, Bass: Prashanth Mathias
Ale Moodadhe is that song in the album that you can listen to on loop for hours while relaxing on your easy chair facing the beach! Well, if you don’t have this luxury, like in my case, you can still lie down on your bed, close your eyes and pretty much have the same experience! Thanks to this melody, it would take you to a different world. This song is completely driven by the vocals and Sooraj Santhosh (remember Masala Coffee on Music Mojo?) has done an incredible job. Being soulful on one hand to go with the soft arrangement and bringing the required emotions in the rendition helping to convey the lyrics beautifully. The subtle instrumental arrangement supplements the pronounced vocals very well especially the flute and classical guitar portions. The song is on C major scale with M2 used at places especially in the flute interludes thus implying a kalyani/yaman influence.
The remaining three songs of the album have a prominent techno arrangement.
Ayomaya
Vocals: Inchara Rao and Siddhanth, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitars and Mandolin: Prashanth Mathias, Bass Guitar: Prashanth Mathias, Brass instruments: Rahul R Govinda, Additional Vocals: Charanraj
Ayomaya leaves with you a dark, sophisticated feel owing to its arrangement and the melody being in a minor scale. Another notable aspect is lot of vocal processing (especially Inchara Rao’s part). Siddhanth shines again with his amazing throw. It wasn’t a love-at-first-hearing case for me with this, but the song does grow on you on multiple hearings.
Gaasi Gumma
Vocals: Charanraj and Ananya Suresh, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitars: Prashanth Mathias, Bass guitars: Prashanth Mathias, Veena: Narendra H.N., Brass instruments: Rahul R Govinda
Charan Raj had to add a brass-heavy composition to complete the missing piece in this album and that’s what he did with Gaasi Gumma. He builds it amazingly well with first introduction of double bass and then a plethora of brass instruments. He particularly shines as a vocalist transforming his voice during the song. (first a bass heavy voice and then a childish tinge to his normal voice, of course aided by all the editing tools at his disposal!) The vocal harmonizations are executed very well by Ananya Suresh. The Veena interlude is an interesting addition as Charan Raj transforms his voice in the next stanza.
Mouna
Vocals: Deepak Doddera, Lyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan, Guitar: Prashanth Mathias, Bass Guitar: Prashanth Mathias, Additional vocals: Charanraj and Ananya Suresh
Perhaps the most techno composition of this album and add to that a rap section. Again takes a lot of creativity to come out with such a composition! Arrangement wise very heavy in bass which drives the whatever little melody this song has. This should interest you more if you like techno songs!
So overall GBSM is a complete album with something for everyone. Charan Raj shines with his creativity and experimentation dabbling with genres, instruments and artists. The risk definitely seems to have paid off well for him. Barring a couple of songs which are gracing the mediocre surface, many of the songs are too good and a couple of them are just too good to be true! Given this is my first music review, I’ll go with a generous 9.5/10 for Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu, the album attempts something brave and that certainly needs to be acknowledged. I look forward to your feedback, comments and any corrections.
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