Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities – A.R. Rahman

Meenaxi is the second directorial effort (after Gaja Gamini) by the ace painter M.F. Husain, and to add a bit of spice he recruits A.R. Rahman for its music. For a keen observer, the music of Meenaxi seems to be an extension of Rahman's earlier effort with 1947 Earth and there's a differentiating theme that Rahman tends to supply to his music for non-mainstream cinema. There are striking similarities between the music of these two films -- the rootsy female voiced "Rang Hai" reminds of "Banno Rani" of Earth, love ballad "Do Kadam" is significantly comparable to "Dheemi Dheemi," two instrumental songs featured in both soundtracks ("Cyclist's Rhythm" and "Potter's Village" in Meenaxi), and the sufi qawwali "Noor Un Ala Noor" reminds of the bhajan "Ishwar Allah" from Earth. Yet there's much more to Meenaxi, especially the catchy highlight song "Chinnamma Chilakkamma" with its Telegu folk sound, and the seductive "Dhuan Dhuan" from Asha Bhonsle. Sung beautifully by Sukhwinder Singh, "Chinnamma Chilakkamma" underlines the culture of Hyderabad in this tale of three cities. With lyrics from Rahat Indori, Meenaxi proved to be another high point in Rahman's career; it just seems to flow effortlessly out of Rahman's creativity. What's most interesting is the fact that Rahman has been composing commercially successful electronic/trip-hop/drum'n'bass music for years, which generations of oriental innovative fusion artists are struggling to come close to. ~ Bhasker Gupta, All Music Guide