Maari music review: Fun and peppy, but it's nothing unusual

Tamil superstar Dhanush's next film , which released its trailer on June 25 with a bang, promises to be another step forward for the actor. He plays a gangster for the first time in his career but does so in that characteristic Dhanush style. And despite being a gangster film, it has enough of dance and music routine.

So, what about its music? Produced by composer Anirudh Ravichander of Kaththi fame, the songs, unfortunately, are pretty standard fare: energetic kuthu paatus (local songs) that one can dance to along with a few softer love songs. The latter, while not exactly ground-breaking in their lyrics, are at least interesting.

doesn't just mark the Tamil film star's debut as a crime lord. Dhanush has even written some of the songs such as the fast-paced Maari Thara Local and the jazzy love ballad Oru Vidhu Aasai.

Maari Thara Local, the latest example of Anirudh's so-called 'Thara local' compositions, isn't exactly local Tamil song with its overload of keyboard-generated beats without much variation in beats. They are energetic, almost frantically so, with trumpets accompanying the more traditional thavil (drum) in a fusion of the traditional and the modern. Definitely a good song to dance to! The song, however, while being catchy is not exactly memorable.

Thappa Dhaan Theriyum (I Know it's a Mistake), with its Nadaswaram-led arrangement is quite an entertaining number, especially with Vignesh's wacky Tanglish (Tamil with English) lyrics. The fact that it isn't as frenetic as Maari Thara Local is a good thing. It gives us more time to appreciate the interesting lyrics, but the fact, remains that this too is a fairly generic song from Anirudh, virtually indistinguishable from his other movie soundtracks.

This one is a real gem -- Oru Vidhu Aasai boasts of lyrics by Dhanush, Jazz-influenced beats and a sublimely cool bassline. Mixing and matching different styles of music from around the world has been around for a while, with the likes of Illayaraja and, more recently AR Rahman. So it's nice to see Anirudh also try his hand at it. Fun, engaging, it even made this crotchety writer smile!

Don U, Don U… is a rather strange, eminently forgettable song with Anirudh and Alisha Thomas taking over the vocals. This groovy love ballad might not to be to everyone's taste.

Fast-paced, tongue-twisting lyrics and an intriguing guitar intro all make Maari's last song, Bagulu Odayum Dagulu, memorable and dance-worthy albeit for its brief one-minute long duration.

Apart from Oru Vidhu Aasai, Maari's soundtrack doesn't hold any surprises for those familiar with Anirudh's signature Thara Local sound. It is, nonetheless, fun and peppy. If the film is anything like its music, it promises to be an entertaining ride.

Maari will be in the cinemas on July 17.