A still from the movie 'James and Alice'; music director Gopi Sunder Gopi Sunder again. Looks like the most sought-after composer in Malayalam will set a new record this year with the number of projects he has taken in. And, he has been fabulously consistent, delivering lovely tunes, one after the other. The musician has been accused of plagiarism, but he says he does not mind coming up with his own version of other tunes if they are catchy.
For James and Alice, Gopi Sunder is teaming up with Prithviraj who has had a slew of hits before his last release Darvinte Parinamam that fumbled at the box office. The movie also marks cinematographer Sujith Vaassudev's directorial debut.
James and Alice has three songs. The lyrics are by Hari Narayanan B.K.
Tuning in.
Mazhaye Mazhaye (Singers: Karthik, Abhaya Hiranmayi)
Gopi Sunder repeats his singers and the feel of his own song 'Thanne Thanne' from Two Countries in 'Mazhaye Mazhaye', and it stills works big time. Guitar tunes flow like how raindrops come down, in sync with the romantic song's mood. Karthik does not need a lesson in rendition and sings like a dream. Gopi also applies his trademark, gibberish chorus after the pallavi neatly. The violin piece after the anupallavi and the charanam enhances the melody. Abhaya has only a teeny-weeny portion to sing. 'Mazhaye Mazhaye' is highly reminiscent of 'Thanne Thanne' but that does not stop it from being an appealing number.
Nenchin Novil (Sayanora Philip)
This one is tailor-made for Sayanora and you don't have to read this review to find out how she fared. Being a singer of high calibre, Sayanora successfully passes over the agony to the audience with her emotive, yet controlled rendition of the song. She hits the high notes with conviction and sounds elegant. Gopi provides her the right orchestration, with the focus largely on pensive violins. The arrangement is top-notch as is expected from the programmer-composer.
Udanjuvo (Sayanora Philip)
Interestingly, Sayanora gets one more moody song in the album. It is not every day that a Malayalam movie would have more than one such melancholic song. It looks like James and Alice has a content that demands this track, and it's sung fabulously by Sayanora. However, the length of the song (5:37) could act as a turn-off as Gopi's tune is monotonous. Smoothened by neat guitars, violins and a lovely bit of saxophone towards the end, 'Udanjuvo' is Sayanora all the way.
Verdict
Gopi Sunder adds another quality album to his credit with James and Alice, maintaining his fine form. The background score of the movie will be something to watch out for too, the trailer tells us. The easily lovable 'Mazhaye Mazhaye' is our pick of the album for the audience.
