Songs and musician credits at the end.
Maanthrikam, the first song out from the movie (feels like ages ago now!) sparkles with the freshness of new-found love – a pleasant melody, composer Vishnu Vijay’s birdcall-like flute phrases highlighting the arrangements and a waltz-y time signature (incidentally the ‘90s movie song Yavanakadhayil that appears shortly before this in the movie, seems to be set to a similar time signature, so perhaps a deliberate choice?) all contributing to the song’s charm. Vishnu gets the veteran M G Sreekumar to deliver this one (interesting choice, considering the song seems to reflect Ashley’s perspective), and although the man isn’t quite what he used to be, that voice is still capable of taking you on a nostalgic trip! One of the best things about Vishnu Vijay has always been his use of children’s chorus (using this moment to plug a recent Instagram post on this topic!), and in this song too, he employs a very effective chorus (Medha Ganesh, Aadya Aneesh, Nila Raja) to back MG. The composer employs the juvenile chorus three more times in the album to terrific effect. Two of those tracks, the super fun Illey Illa and Muttaayi Vandi, both run on a retro groove highlighted by some cool synth effects. Illey Illa has you hooked right from the start – that dramatic trumpet hook from Viji is addictive! Kapil Kapilan is in superb form rendering Suhail Koya’s consonance-laden lyrics, and it is made even better by the kids (Chinmayi Kiranlal, Vasudev and Nila Raj in this case, and in Muttayi Vandi) chanting variations of ille illa throughout the song. Vinayak Sasikumar’s whimsical lines in Muttayi Vandi would probably have sounded even more fun delivered by someone with a more solid grasp of the language, but I did find this to be one of Sid Sriram’s better Malayalam renditions. Then again, this is the kind of song where you just enjoy the ride rather than bother too much about the diction. And Vishnu’s arrangements are instrumental at making this ride as entertaining as it is, especially the funk/disco base, featuring some fine guitar work by Keba Jeremiah and some nifty touches in between like the occasional appearances of the dholak.
Girish AD movies almost always feature a wacky travel song. In Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, that entry is a train song called Cha Cha Chi Chi Choo. While Mini Maharani (Premalu) had some inventive incorporation of vehicle horns, in Cha Cha the backdrop is understandably punctuated by train sounds. Loved it when the composer modelled a flute solo in the interlude on the cadence of a speeding train. Like Mini Maharani, this one too is sung by Vagu Mazan, and while the overall vibe in the arrangements feels a bit Bhojpuri, I also found it to be Amit Trivedi-esque. Suhail Koya’s words are a madcap mix of Malayalam, Hindi and English. Shoutout also to the use of harmonium throughout the song – the occasional staccatoed phrases once again felt to me like an attempt to replicate the train rhythm. Rakthasahodaran (sung by lyricist Suhail Koya himself) is the only track that doesn’t rise above its functional nature and hence is better watched on-screen. Kochuthanuppu is built on the instrumental piece that came out as the first musical theme from this movie, BKU First Beat. And as a result, it rides on that flute hook that pretty much functions as the movie’s theme, but there is also some lovely violin (programmed, apparently, great work!) adding to the song’s charm. Vishnu himself gets behind the mic for this one.
Aside of kids’ chorus, another thing that I have found to be Vishnu Vijay’s forte is his employment of musical callbacks across songs (to quote a favourite example, the oud solo in the interlude of Kannil Pettole from Thallumaala becoming a flute solo in Tupathu). And the man goes positively berserk with his references here! Varnajaalam, my current favourite track from the soundtrack, ends with a harmonised version of the chorus from Maanthrikam. The song has a gorgeous melody that plays out over a dreamy soundscape that the composer crafts using piano, guitars and flute. And the song’s lead singers, K S Harishankar and Poornima Kannan (who is also project manager for the album) do an exquisite job of delivering the tune. And nestled in their vocals in the song’s charanam is another subtle but brilliant bit of callback – in Maanthrikam, there is a line that goes “Kaaryamillaathenteyullil manjuthulli veenathenthinaa”, and Varnajaalam fleetingly references that line both musically and lyrically (Vinayak Sasikumar here too) as the singers sing in unison “Neeyaduthu nilkke ullil nooru manjuthullikal”. Loved that! Kanmaniye starts with a poignant flute solo that seems to partly mirror the horns refrain from Illey Illa, and ends with a reference again to the choral refrain from Maanthrikam, except with a different set of lines this time, almost like a melancholic rejoinder to the joyful original verse (nice touch getting Suhail Koya to pen this one, whereas it was Vinayak Sasikumar in Maanthrikam). And sandwiched between these two callbacks is a wistful piece sung by the composer himself, whose voice lends itself very well to such laments. The way most of the lines in the first stanza ended with the ye sound (kanmaniye, kanmozhiye, punchiriye etc) took me back to Oruthi from Bheemante Vazhi, incidentally also composed and sung by Vishnu. The alternate version of the chorus refrain from Kanmaniye resurfaces towards the end of Piditharaa as well, another hauntingly beautiful melody that is more instrumental than vocal. The song plays out like a reprise of Varnajaalam as Vishnu retraces the melodic route ofthe piece on his flute, stopping just short of the central hook, letting the singers (Vishnu and Aparna Harikumar) take over and launch into the rapturous Ethindrajaalam hook, à la Hey varnajaalam. And Indrajaalam, the climax song, understandably brings together all of these callbacks in a gloriously dramatic resolution of those previous moments from the movie. Perfect accompaniment for that final sequence that leaves you exhilarated.
For a man who has almost exclusively dealt in romcoms thus far, it is notable that Girish AD has favoured romantic songs of a quirky nature until now, much like the other songs in those movies. Man decides to buck the trend in spectacular style in Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, and the result is a soundtrack that is second only to Thallumaala in Vishnu Vijay’s portfolio. No coincidence that just like Thallumaala, the movie and the music elevate each other so well here too. I still feel sad sometimes that Girish moved on from Justin Varghese (had me wondering for a bit whether Nivin’s character is named as a nod to the man 😀 ), but with a soundtrack like this, Vishnu makes it very hard to complain!
Music Aloud Rating: 4/5
Top Recos: Varnajaalam, Indrajaalam, Illey Illa, Muttayi Vandi
Soundtrack Credits
Song : Maanthrikam
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced & Flute Performed by Vishnu Vijay
Singer: M G Sreekumar
Lyrics: Vinayak Sasikumar
Kids Chorus : Medha Ganesh, Aadya Aneesh, Nila Raja
Acoustic & Electric Guitars : Keba Jeremiah
Song : Illey Illa
Music Composed, Arranged,Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Singer : Kapil Kapilan
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Kids Chorus : Chinmayi Kiranlal, Vasudev, Nila Raj
Chorus Supervisor(s) : Nikhil Raj, Unni Elayaraja
Electric Guitars : Keba Jeremiah
Trumpet : Viji
Song : Varnajaalam
Singer : K S Harisankar, Poornima Kannan
Lyrics : Vinayak Sasikumar
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Kids Chorus : Nila raj, Vasudev, Chinmayi Kiranlal
Chorus Supervisor(s) : Nikhil Mathew, Unni Elayaraja
Bass and Acoustic Guitar : Keba Jeremiah
Song : Muttayi Vandi
Singer : Sid Sriram
Lyrics : Vinayak Sasikumar
Music Composed, Arranged and Produced by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Kids Chorus : Chinmayi Kiranlal, Vasudev, Nila Raj
Chorus Supervisor(s) : Nikhil Mathew, Unni Elayaraja
Electric Guitars : Keba Jeremiah
Song : Kanmaniye
Singer : Vishnu Vijay
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Bass and Acoustic Guitar : Keba Jeremiah
Additional music producer : Anoop R Nair
Song : Piditharaa
Singer : Aparna Harikumar, Vishnu Vijay
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Bass and Acoustic Guitar : Keba Jeremiah
Song : Cha Cha Chi Chi Choo
Singer : Vagu Mazan, Vishnu Vijay
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Bass and Acoustic Guitar : Keba Jeremiah
Additional Rhythm Programming : Kalyan Chakravarthy
Rhythm Edit : Christy Thomas Cherian
Song : Rakthasahodaran
Singer : Suhail Koya
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Music Composed, Arranged and Produced by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Additional Music Producer : Paul Renold
Song : Kochu Thanuppu
Singer : Vishnu Vijay
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Bass and Acoustic Guitar : Keba Jeremiah
Song : Indrajaalam
Singer : Aparna Harikumar, K S Harisankar, Vishnu Vijay
Lyrics : Suhail Koya
Music Composed, Arranged, Produced and Flute performed by Vishnu Vijay @ Dravida Studios, Chennai
Bass and Acoustic Guitar : Keba Jeremiah
Additional Music Producer : Anoop R Nair
Project Manager : Poornima Kannan
Music Production Manager : Christy Thomas Cherian
Studio Sessions Managers : Paul Renold , Vignesh Raj
Artist Session Managers : K D Vincent , Don Vincent (Sid Sriram)
All songs Mix & Mastering by Sujith Sreedhar @ The Masterhouse, 2 bar Q Studios,Chennai.
Mix assisted by Amal Mithu , Manu Prasad
Recordings Engineers – Amal Raj, Ajay Surya , Amal Mithu , Hariharan ( Sid Sriram ) , Christy Thomas Cherian
Recording Studios – M Lounge Studios ( Kochi ) , 2 bar Q Studios (Chennai ) , 20dB Sound Studios ( Chennai ) , Dravida Studios ( Chennai )
