For at least four reasons, Kali is one of the most anticipated Malayalam movies of the year. One, it is the second collaboration of director Sameer Thahir and actor Dulquer Salmaan after their 2013 hit Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi.
Secondly, it has Sai Pallavi, who mesmerised Keralites as Malar in Premam, as the leading lady, in her second Malayalam outing. Third is the title itself - Kali can be translated as rage. But so far, we have seen only a bit of anger in the posters, heightening the curiosity level of fans.
And, the fourth reason is Gopi Sunder. The in-form music director has a history of chartbusters with Dulquer's films. The duo's last film Charlie too had a brilliant soundtrack. It is Gopi's first project with director Sameer Thahir though.
Kali has only two songs. Here we go.
♪♪Chillu Ranthal (Job Kurian)♪♪
Job Kurian, the talented singer-composer, is on the mic for this simple track, that has some neat guitars and bongo drums laying the foundation. Gopi Sunder has applied quality programming to the number, as usual. The loop before charanam features a combination of shehnai and violin, a piece we can identify with the Gopi Sunder brand. Job has an easy job as the singer and makes no faults. But the tune is bit of a letdown, considering Gopi's recent works. Chillu Ranthal is a relaxed, lovely track otherwise.
♪♪Vaarthinkale (Divya S Menon)♪♪
Divya S. Menon's rendition of 'Vaarthinkale' is impeccable. The singer has become a Gopi Sunder regular now and has a voice that has the right amount of sweetness. Again, the fine guitars offer a breezy listen. Divya's singing and strings lead the way in 'Vaarthinkale'.
Verdict
The songs in Kali are pleasant to listen to. But its music director Gopi Sunder has set the bar so high with his recent albums that we are left hoping for even better songs.