The One With The Introduction

When it comes to the numerous TV shows that I watch, there’s one name that stands above all in my list – F.R.I.E.N.D.S. It was the original show that I began watching very long back on Star World and it’s what made me the psychotic TV show freak I am today!

I think most people agree with me on this one – Friends is usually the first show that you start out with, especially with Indians. So many of us began watching, and fell in love, and continue to be in love with the show. We adore Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross. In fact as I write this, I look up and see that I still have this poster of theirs that I’ve carried around from Hyderabad to Delhi to Chennai, and continue to have up in my room.

I am sure even people who don’t watch Friends know its basic premise – set in New York, it follows the lives of six friends. We have Rachel Green, the pretty one, who came to live with the gang after ditching her fiancé during an extremely high-society, high-cost wedding. She comes to live with Monica Geller, who she went to school with, who works as a chef. Her ex-roommate Phoebe Buffay is perhaps the quirkiest and wildest of the lot, having lived on the streets, and now making a living playing the guitar and being a masseuse. Across the hall from Monica lives Joey Tribbiani, who is a small-time actor who’s trying to make it big. His roommate is Chandler Bing, who has the most normal job of them all (though we never get to know what it is) and some serious parent issues. And finally we have Ross Geller, Monica’s brother and a paleontologist who just got divorced from his wife (after she discovered she’s lesbian), was in love with Rachel in school, and went to college with Chandler.

And we go along with them on their journey, as they deal with relationships, careers, or sometimes just even paying the bills. And we cry with them and laugh with them and watch every rerun (so many times that you can name the episode by watching two scenes!) but we swear by them when it comes to sitcoms (unless you’re a big Seinfeld fan. But that’s a different story).

So when it came to writing blog reviews on shows (which I’ve wanted to do for SUCH a long time!), I wondered and wondered – where do I start? Do I start with How I Met Your Mother, the most Friends like show? Or maybe praise the smartness of The Big Bang Theory? Perhaps I should go for critical acclaim and 30 Rock? Or the show with the best couple (Jim & Pam) after Ross & Rachel, The Office? Maybe some of the newbies I love – Modern Family or Community?

In the end I came down to just one conclusion. The reviews have to start where the madness began. And it definitely began with Friends.

So I am going to do myself the pleasure of rewatching all ten seasons of my favourite show (all in the name of research, of course!) and write reviews here. And I hope that I can inspire the (very few, I’m sure) people who haven’t watched this show to watch it, especially when they are down and need something to pick them up. After all, “they’ll be there for you”…

Vinnaithandi Varuvaayaa

Vinnaithandi Varuvaayaa has some of the most beautiful music I have heard in a very long time. The magic of ARR’s music just takes you to a different plane with some really lovely melodies – so lovely that I just felt I had to write about them! I would recommend that everyone listen to this album regardless of language barriers!

Aaoromale: What a song! With the beautiful rock-like refrains combined with violins adding the Indian classical touch, this song really stands out for me. A perfect fusion of western and Indian, it can be listened to many times over. Singer Alphonse does a good job, but it’s really the instrumental pieces (especially that guitar!) that are the main draw in this song.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaayaa: A simple acoustic-guitar accompanied song that really brings out Karthik’s skills. I love the harmonies most of all, with the main voice – they are really well done. They sound just a little off-chord at times – simply fantastic experimentation! Harmonies actually seem to be the main theme of the album – whether between the voice and music, Indian classical and western, or harmonies in the true musical sense of the word.

Hosanna: I love this song, which is almost completely in a hip-hop style. You find yourself humming this song at times just like that! The chorus is the stand-out to me for this song. The other is Vijay Prakash’s singing. And to think it’s supposed to be a sad song! Blaaze’s rap also adds to make it a complete foot-tapping number. Suzanne’s westernized humming is also perfectly put together. All in all, this song is a BIG time winner!

Omana Penne: The most intriguing song of the album to me. It’s rather synthesized in terms of voice (Benny Dayal) but the music is FABULOUS. There is a running classical sound in the background combined with that synthesis which is why I call it intriguing. The beat is at a good pace, and when Kalyani Menon takes on the classical bit, it’s just so perfect! But the real magic of the song is the nadaswaram piece at the end, which is pure Carnatic – so blessedly peaceful. This song is a beautiful exercise in simple imagination.

Anbil Avan: The idea of this song is to bring together Hindu and Christian marriage elements in the song to get a full-fledged fusion. Rahman has achieved this beautifully – the nadaswaram beginning and the Wedding March in the middle are blended so well into the song. I also love that there is a mridangam beat throughout the song which is combined with a very “choral” hand clapping to keep the beats going. Chinmayee sounds really good – a little better than Devan Ekambaram. This was one of those songs I had to listen to a bit more to like, but nevertheless it’s a really good song!

Kannukkul Kannai: I like the cello music of this much more than the song itself to be honest. It’s quite a techno based song, and the lyrics are also interesting. The catchy pace and Naresh Iyer’s voice are very appealing, but that cello music really takes the cake in this song!

Mannipaaya: Coming to my favourite song of this album! Mannipaaya starts off with a vocal piece by Shreya Ghoshal (who is just killer in this song by the way!) and then the soft music starts up… “One day I smiled, the next day I was frustrated, I buried you without killing you” – so true of a lot of couples I know! She begs him – “will you forgive me?” All of this is in a soft piece. And then ARR’s voice starts off, the pace picks up and a drum beat is introduced. The whole song is so unstructured, it’s beautiful. And just then comes the choir singing Thirukkural. This just takes the song to a different level according to me. I also love the second stanza – Shreya’s sung it just so melodiously with just the right amount of piteousness when she begs the guy “will you forgive me?” And then finally – a soft piano piece to end with her humming. WOW. What a song!

Many people might have to listen to these songs a few times to like them the way I do (I have heard it on endless loops many times!) but I am sure you will fall in love with the songs I have too! Definitely Rahman’s best album of 2010.