Petta Rap is folklore today for its extensive contribution to pop culture with Tamil people. The vocals, synth and rhythm in the interludes are worth a mention too. As Suresh Peters and Shahul Hameed join, the song revs up even more and we get a tune that is on steroids. Rahman starts with a hum and a violin sarangi (Thanks gives the music a distinctly mid-west feel and as he begins the song, we hear a Jalra with the drums, a crazy combination for a crazy song. The album begins with Urvasi, a youth anthem back then for its lyrics, insanely epic rhythm and pep, not to forget Prabhu Deva’s dance. The songs are very popular even today and it is easy to see why. I could keep going on, but for the sake of brevity, I shall cut to chase. The most clichéd of sequences is elevated simply by the ethereal music. A change in tune but the mood and tension remains as the hero takes a hit for the heroine and we hear violins in the background with the hum continuing, another counterpoint. This brush of beauty continues as Nagma looks for Prabhu Deva and violins take over from the cellos and the moment Prabhu Deva jumps over (the Hero arrives!), we hear a part of the charanam of Ennavale hummed.
But Rahman handles it in his own style with his brand of music and the result is distinctly Rahman, or magic. The counterpoint is a trademark of Ilayaraaja in re-recording, whose influence is all pervasive in Tamil film music. There are also vocals in between to underline the heroine’s longing to be with her man when she is being unexpectedly taken away. It starts with heavy strokes on the cello, to signify the tension, followed on its wake by a flute that tunes Kollaiyile, the score a counterpoint now, to signify the hero’s love for the heroine. Nagma is escorted away by her dad’s guards and a desperate Prabhu Deva is rushing to see her. An apt illustration would be the sequence before intermission. Without going into the depths of re-recording, it would suffice to say I greatly relish the score in the film. As would every other Madras kid from the 90s love, I too would like to share my thoughts on the music of Kadhalan here. Though not a technical masterpiece by any stretch of imagination, it is still a widely cherished album, like almost all of Rahman’s early 90s Tamil efforts. One of the sparkling representatives of that period of music was Kadhalan.
Nothing symbolized it better than his albums in the early 90s. Rahman in Madras in the 90s was the in-thing. This makes me automatically qualified to represent the generation of kids to talk about the Rahman-of-the-90s, if not analyze his music in depth. I was born in the late 80s and brought up for a little more than 2 decades in Madras and Chennai.