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36 Responses to “Nenjukulle (Kadal) – Rahman’s MTV Unplugged version (updated)”
beautiful song.. perhaps I would have preferred something less orchestral (in the classical sense) and with a few more rustic edges (given the subject) but it’s still a great song.
It’s so soothing, so mellifluous….but the song nevertheless has power: love the way the female vocals soar.
Agree with Satyam, although the song must also be understood as part of ARR’s continuing exploration of the Western orchestra and the music of the church… love it!
ARR-choice of singer
An under-rated quality of rehman thats usually not acknowledged is–
the choice of singer(s) for a song–
Most music directors choose the ‘apt’ singer for a track thats actually creditable but NOT that difficult for a “music’ director who knows his job!
Rehman has perfected it into a fine art. For him, “apt”ness is stretched to various different aspects–
a) sometimes a singer is chosen just to add freshness to an otherwise ‘conventional” composition
eg ghajini–guzaariiiish (note the extra ii here)
b) sometimes, an unexpected choice is made only t make it edgy & unpredictable
c) ive seen him choose ‘lesser’ singers deliberately in keeping with the immaturity/ personality of the character(s)
for eg naresh iyer for Roobaruu in rdb
d) sometimes in keeping with a certain youthful hep vibe, a certain singer is chosen just to get certain nuances/ pronounciation right —
for eg ek deeewaana tha—“Hosaana”-
Leon D’souza
e) sometimes to add ‘gravitas’& “stature” to proceedings–
All songs of Lata with ARR
f) depending on the style/ graph of the track–
Dil gira dafatan–Ash King
f) To cover up for his own weaknesses in certain genres and styles–THIS is a master stroke that usually always succeeds
I dont consider this a ‘weakness’ but a v intelligent ploy–
for eg RDB –title song–daler mehndi
Chhalla– Rabbi Shergill
one can go on and on–these are just stray examples i could think of on the cuff–btw who is the singer of this song–she has certainly added to proceedings here….
Thanx for posting that
Do NOT understand a word of the language !
But doesn’t matter –rahmans music speaks for itself though in the first hearing, the singers effort appeared more creditable–don’t know who the singer is..
Anyhow —this song I didn’t understand a word of reminded me of a similar ‘orchestral’ composition that featured a simpler purer unadulterated rehman —
I had discovered that melody here on this blog & without understanding a word –loved it!
Anjali anjali — 🙂
Enjoy
I’ve added a video of the actual performance. They’re constantly blocking the youtubes but there’s a direct MTV link as well which in any case has the better audio.
I’ve probably heard the song a dozen or more times by now and absolutely love it. And Shakthisree Gopalan has a fantastic voice.
JTHJ reminds me most of JA. In each case you had a relatively uninspiring Rahman soundtrack where the signature moments were not strong interesting enough and seemed to have a rehashed quality to them while the more regular stuff was too low key. On balance I’d still take JA over JTHJ but I think the latter is easier to do repeats of at least on some of the songs. But in any case I consider these the two most disappointing major albums from Rahman in Hindi. There are some very middling Rahman albums that are more spontaneous than some of his major stuff but there’s always a case to be made on either side of the equation. I have for example always been a fan of the Swades soundtrack, I can see why it wouldn’t appeal to many people but it has some very strong moments on it. Or MP seems to me grossly underrated. I’d say the same for Thakshak or Pukar. So on and so forth. But JA and JTHJ came across as ‘tired’ to me which is an adjective I rarely use for Rahman. Now again I cannot subscribe to this absurdity of comparing him with others because Rahman is just in a class by himself. To quote one of my favorite example when Tolstoy has a bad day he’s still Tolstoy. He can’t be compared with a regular hack writer who pleases his audience with a thriller or something. So even a disappointing Rahman album still has some charms to it. I do like moments in both JA and JTHJ. But yes you hear just this unplugged version of the Kadal song and it’s a whole different ball-game. getting back to JTHJ the title song is rather good and I quite like the score on the dialog track. And find Challa reasonably addictive. But there’s an absolute and total gulf between Rockstar (his most recent major Hindi effort) and JTHJ. My own hunch is that Rahman was creating music for two love stories simultaneously, one for Ratnam and one for Yash Chopra, and I think it’s quite clear where he was more inspired!
“But there’s an absolute and total gulf between Rockstar (his most recent major Hindi effort) and JTHJ. “–agree
Though I rate JA higher than that. Swades obviously higher !
JTHJ–problem is less with his involvement here but the nothern genre/ sensibility/style involvement here hasn’t been ‘cushioned’ by a director with a above average ear for music like ghai or even imtiaz Ali.
Will be able to rate this JTHJ music more fairly only after watching the movie
With ratnam, Rahman still seems to have the ‘mentorship’ respect n regard
And that shows in his work… Though lately its losing some ‘innocence’ inevitably
(Typo above -‘an’ above average ear for music)
Besides Ratnam–It’s people like Rakeysh Mehra /now imtiaz ali etc where rehman truly flourishes though
-since there is more ‘freedom’ & the directors job is more as a ‘facilitator’ than ‘censorship/control’ whilst still guiding the overall flavour /sensibility
Since the film is a coastal love story here is an old Rahman number on the same lines (in this nice little film there is another very hummable Babul Supriyo song). I am assuming that here too Rahman reused one of his Tamil tunes
darn I made a mistake.. they just released the single I’ve posted here on radio today. there’s probably no trailer.
Will say that even by Rahman standards there’s extraordinary hype for this album. That MTV unplugged performance was a huge hit. The song has become an instant classic (rightly so). It’s like people are really dying to hear this album and I’m one of them!
LOL on twitter on somewhere one guy asked another one who had heard both versions whether the soundtrack one was better (though it’s only been played on radio and hence the online versions are not great) or the Unplugged one. The response: are you asking me which of my two eyes I prefer?!
Ha! With some subjects such fanaticism is justified and Rahman is one of them! as is the director he serves here!
SATYAMSHOT 
November 3, 2012 at 4:58 PM
beautiful song.. perhaps I would have preferred something less orchestral (in the classical sense) and with a few more rustic edges (given the subject) but it’s still a great song.
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November 3, 2012 at 5:08 PM
have already heard it half a dozen times.
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November 3, 2012 at 11:56 PM
Wonderful song. About the preference, well, I am sure the film has different arrangement. No?
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November 4, 2012 at 1:02 AM
that’s probably right..
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November 4, 2012 at 12:45 AM
It’s so soothing, so mellifluous….but the song nevertheless has power: love the way the female vocals soar.
Agree with Satyam, although the song must also be understood as part of ARR’s continuing exploration of the Western orchestra and the music of the church… love it!
LikeLike
November 4, 2012 at 3:12 PM
yes I think it’s a classic..
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November 4, 2012 at 3:28 PM
ARR-choice of singer
An under-rated quality of rehman thats usually not acknowledged is–
the choice of singer(s) for a song–
Most music directors choose the ‘apt’ singer for a track thats actually creditable but NOT that difficult for a “music’ director who knows his job!
Rehman has perfected it into a fine art. For him, “apt”ness is stretched to various different aspects–
a) sometimes a singer is chosen just to add freshness to an otherwise ‘conventional” composition
eg ghajini–guzaariiiish (note the extra ii here)
b) sometimes, an unexpected choice is made only t make it edgy & unpredictable
c) ive seen him choose ‘lesser’ singers deliberately in keeping with the immaturity/ personality of the character(s)
for eg naresh iyer for Roobaruu in rdb
d) sometimes in keeping with a certain youthful hep vibe, a certain singer is chosen just to get certain nuances/ pronounciation right —
for eg ek deeewaana tha—“Hosaana”-
Leon D’souza
e) sometimes to add ‘gravitas’& “stature” to proceedings–
All songs of Lata with ARR
f) depending on the style/ graph of the track–
Dil gira dafatan–Ash King
f) To cover up for his own weaknesses in certain genres and styles–THIS is a master stroke that usually always succeeds
I dont consider this a ‘weakness’ but a v intelligent ploy–
for eg RDB –title song–daler mehndi
Chhalla– Rabbi Shergill
one can go on and on–these are just stray examples i could think of on the cuff–btw who is the singer of this song–she has certainly added to proceedings here….
LikeLike
November 4, 2012 at 5:35 PM
Now that I’m into the Rahman mood–
Hope to face some daunting paper /online work for the next few hours with the aid of this track –enjoy….
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November 3, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Thanx for posting that
Do NOT understand a word of the language !
But doesn’t matter –rahmans music speaks for itself though in the first hearing, the singers effort appeared more creditable–don’t know who the singer is..
Anyhow —this song I didn’t understand a word of reminded me of a similar ‘orchestral’ composition that featured a simpler purer unadulterated rehman —
I had discovered that melody here on this blog & without understanding a word –loved it!
Anjali anjali — 🙂
Enjoy
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November 6, 2012 at 7:20 AM
what is the name of the singer?
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November 6, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Shakthisree Gopalan
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November 6, 2012 at 1:19 PM
I’ve added a video of the actual performance. They’re constantly blocking the youtubes but there’s a direct MTV link as well which in any case has the better audio.
I’ve probably heard the song a dozen or more times by now and absolutely love it. And Shakthisree Gopalan has a fantastic voice.
LikeLike
November 6, 2012 at 1:29 PM
FANTASTIC song! I’ll take this one track over the entire JTHJ album.
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November 6, 2012 at 3:24 PM
agreed completely..
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November 6, 2012 at 4:10 PM
JTHJ reminds me most of JA. In each case you had a relatively uninspiring Rahman soundtrack where the signature moments were not strong interesting enough and seemed to have a rehashed quality to them while the more regular stuff was too low key. On balance I’d still take JA over JTHJ but I think the latter is easier to do repeats of at least on some of the songs. But in any case I consider these the two most disappointing major albums from Rahman in Hindi. There are some very middling Rahman albums that are more spontaneous than some of his major stuff but there’s always a case to be made on either side of the equation. I have for example always been a fan of the Swades soundtrack, I can see why it wouldn’t appeal to many people but it has some very strong moments on it. Or MP seems to me grossly underrated. I’d say the same for Thakshak or Pukar. So on and so forth. But JA and JTHJ came across as ‘tired’ to me which is an adjective I rarely use for Rahman. Now again I cannot subscribe to this absurdity of comparing him with others because Rahman is just in a class by himself. To quote one of my favorite example when Tolstoy has a bad day he’s still Tolstoy. He can’t be compared with a regular hack writer who pleases his audience with a thriller or something. So even a disappointing Rahman album still has some charms to it. I do like moments in both JA and JTHJ. But yes you hear just this unplugged version of the Kadal song and it’s a whole different ball-game. getting back to JTHJ the title song is rather good and I quite like the score on the dialog track. And find Challa reasonably addictive. But there’s an absolute and total gulf between Rockstar (his most recent major Hindi effort) and JTHJ. My own hunch is that Rahman was creating music for two love stories simultaneously, one for Ratnam and one for Yash Chopra, and I think it’s quite clear where he was more inspired!
LikeLike
November 6, 2012 at 6:14 PM
“But there’s an absolute and total gulf between Rockstar (his most recent major Hindi effort) and JTHJ. “–agree
Though I rate JA higher than that. Swades obviously higher !
JTHJ–problem is less with his involvement here but the nothern genre/ sensibility/style involvement here hasn’t been ‘cushioned’ by a director with a above average ear for music like ghai or even imtiaz Ali.
Will be able to rate this JTHJ music more fairly only after watching the movie
LikeLike
November 6, 2012 at 6:22 PM
With ratnam, Rahman still seems to have the ‘mentorship’ respect n regard
And that shows in his work… Though lately its losing some ‘innocence’ inevitably
(Typo above -‘an’ above average ear for music)
Besides Ratnam–It’s people like Rakeysh Mehra /now imtiaz ali etc where rehman truly flourishes though
-since there is more ‘freedom’ & the directors job is more as a ‘facilitator’ than ‘censorship/control’ whilst still guiding the overall flavour /sensibility
LikeLike
November 6, 2012 at 10:31 PM
What a lovely song! The song could have probably done with a little less instrumentation but is definitely far above any other recent tracks.
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November 7, 2012 at 12:26 AM
Since the film is a coastal love story here is an old Rahman number on the same lines (in this nice little film there is another very hummable Babul Supriyo song). I am assuming that here too Rahman reused one of his Tamil tunes
LikeLike
November 7, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Just Beautiful…
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November 18, 2012 at 10:07 PM
Nov 23 release according to this:
http://www.kollyinsider.com/2012/11/kadal-track-list-is-here-audio-releases.html
Just can’t wait! The first song has become an instant classic and rightly so!
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November 18, 2012 at 10:50 PM
Any idea who the violinist is in the Nenjukulle videa above – Vanessa Mae?
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November 19, 2012 at 1:41 AM
Violin: Ann Marie Simpson
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 23, 2012 at 9:01 AM
Music release has now been pushed to Dec 15.
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November 23, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Is there a release date set for the film?
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November 23, 2012 at 12:19 PM
don’t think so..
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November 23, 2012 at 11:22 AM
Gopal S (ARR yahoo groups mod) and now in his circle mentioned that the 23rd date was a rumor and was not true to begin with..
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November 23, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Hope that isn’t the case for Dec 15. It’s hard waiting for this album!
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December 4, 2012 at 12:32 PM
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December 4, 2012 at 5:32 PM
Nenjukulle teaser releases tomorrow.
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December 4, 2012 at 5:34 PM
Can’t wait!
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December 5, 2012 at 12:09 PM
darn I made a mistake.. they just released the single I’ve posted here on radio today. there’s probably no trailer.
Will say that even by Rahman standards there’s extraordinary hype for this album. That MTV unplugged performance was a huge hit. The song has become an instant classic (rightly so). It’s like people are really dying to hear this album and I’m one of them!
LikeLike
December 5, 2012 at 12:12 PM
LOL on twitter on somewhere one guy asked another one who had heard both versions whether the soundtrack one was better (though it’s only been played on radio and hence the online versions are not great) or the Unplugged one. The response: are you asking me which of my two eyes I prefer?!
Ha! With some subjects such fanaticism is justified and Rahman is one of them! as is the director he serves here!
LikeLike
December 5, 2012 at 7:18 AM
not the best quality (the single was released on radio) but here’s the soundtrack version:
LINK
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December 6, 2012 at 2:53 PM
proper CD version:
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December 6, 2012 at 2:56 PM
the radio podcast of this is available on itunes.
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