Mani Sharma, the music director who ruled the Telugu cinema musical sphere once has been finding it hard to match those standards from a long time. Still the music director has been coming up with a gem of an album once in a while and Baanam was one such album. In Basanti, Mani Sharma reunites with his Baanam director again, can he deliver a gem again? Let’s find out.
‘Tirugubatidi’ has all in it in terms of beat that could make it an anthem like song except one basic thing that is a hummable tune that sticks in our mind. ‘Paripotunna’ is a good melody number in typical Mani Sharma style. Nothing fresh or exciting but it hooks one thanks to the beautiful rendition by singer.
Prateekshanam accentuates the problem that Mani Sharma is languishing with for some years now. The mixing is fantastic, orchestration is excellent with great interludes, and you just really want to love the song and shout out to others this is what other music directors in Telugu cinema lacks currently, pat comes the reply where is the soul in the song despite all the sweetness. And that’s the tragedy of Mani Sharma now, the song wanders all over provides great mood and yet it fades from our memory as soon as the song is over because it lacks a strong cohesive unit called a tune. It’s a great looking body without any soul without any life.
Spirit of Basanti is a fine musical theme piece although it ends on a predictable note after a bright beginning. ‘Vellakura’ ends the album on a good note. Nothing exceptional but manages to keep us engaged throughout its length.
Basanti is clearly one of the better outings from Mani Sharma in the recent past. Of course he hasn’t been doing much work lately but still given his pedigree there are minimal expectations that hopes the music director reaches up to. Basanti doesn’t reach the heights of Baanam but it’s a fine album nonetheless.
Our picks: Prateekshanam, Paripotunna
Rating: 3.25/5
