Friday, October 29, 2010

Song of the Day: Oh Vanthathu Penna - Aval Varuvaala (1998)

Ahhhh - this song. I was addicted to this song when it came out. It's so soft and dreamy and romantic! And I was also battling a major crush on the puffy-haired, super-moustached Ajith Kumar at the time. This is the Ajith that I loved ... the lover, not the fighter! In more recent years he's become an action hero ... probably because he packed on pounds when he married Shalini and couldn't play the young lover boy anymore. But I found him totally adorable back in the day. Of course, he always played the "nice guy" (except for maybe the evil brother in Vaali and the rough-exteriored role in Amarkkalam), so it was easy to fall for him.


And then of course there's my girl Simran! She's rocking the 90s outfits in this and looking super-glam. She's one of the few South Indian actresses (ok I know, she's not really South Indian, but she was a Tamil movie star!) that could really, truly ACT. I mean REALLY ACT. Check her out in Kannathil Muthamittal if you don't believe me. She's phenomenal! But back in the day, she was the glam queen of Tamil Cinema. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't she the one that started the trend of (relatively) slim actresses in Tamil movies?


Anyway, this song from the movie Aval Varuvala (based somewhat on Sleeping with the Enemy, remade in Hindi with Esha Deol as Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche) was one of my absolute favorites in the late 90s. Of course the picturization is not at all what I had in mind. I was thinking paavadai-thaavanis and sarees, but hey, it's Simran, and she looks great in whatever.

Music was done in a typical tamil style by S.A. Rajkumar, and the song was sung by my absolute favorite singer Hariharan ...

Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. This movie and the songs are just timeless.. beautiful without the overkill soppiness.. And yes, I think every girl I know had their "crushing on Ajith" phase in life, lol! It was like a tradition you had to go through. These two had awesome chemistry and complimented each other sooooo well. Too bad their last flick Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven reaked..

    Love the choice and cant wait for the next..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Githa! I agree, it was a late 90s phase for tamil movie watching chicks. I ADORED him in his small role in "Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen"! Agreed that Unnai Kodi Ennai Tharuven was a stinker, and I had been so excited for it. I want to re-watch those old ones of his, like Unnai Thedi, Amarkkalam, Poovellam Un Vasam, and ESPECIALLY Kandukkonden Kandukkonden - my fave. :-)

    Am I the only one that LOVES Simran?

    ReplyDelete
  3. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't she the one that started the trend of (relatively) slim actresses in Tamil movies?

    Yes, IIRC, she was. And no, you're not the only who loves Simran--I adore her as well. And I vastly prefer the lover Ajith as opposed to the fighter Ajith. Plus, I liked Unnai Kodi Ennai Tharuven. It was bad, but in a good way :)

    ReplyDelete