Kalvare Kalvare- Song Analysis

When Ravanan was released, I thought Kalvare Kalvare deserved more acclaim. I’d like you to pay attention to the situation and the placement of this song in Ravanan. A tribal leader kidnaps Ragini (Aishwarya Rai), the wife of a police officer Dev (Prithviraj), to avenge the death of his sister. Dev is on pursuit, and he not only needs to capture the tribal lead, but in doing so, should also ensure that he saves Ragini from the clutches of the danger. With all those storming thoughts and seemingly insurmountable feelings in his conscious, his embarks on this desperate manhunt. Ragini, on the other side, is dazed, terrified, and has to fight a fight which she thinks will only end with her inevitable death.

Somewhere, two helpless souls miss each other. While Ragini provided a necessary stability to Dev, she needed his warm embrace to feel safe. Here’s where Mani Ratnam shows what they both mean to each other. In fact, here is where he chooses to show their ‘love’. The song flows, hardly disturbing the pace of the recital. It starts with a shot of Dev, sitting in the woods, lost in his memories of Ragini, and ends with a shot of Ragini under the captivity of the kidnapper. The lyrics are from the perspective of Ragini, and all Dev does is react to her. All Dev does throughout the song is to listen to Ragini’s lullaby, as he continues doing his everyday routine – working in his laptop, fidgeting his mobile or just lighting up a cigar, and everything on chords with that of what devoted, hard-core police officer does. Off the screen, lyricist Vairamuthu, Rahman, the Mozart of madras, and wonder girl Shreya Goshal come together, and the result is so divine that it can pull in any person into the song completely.

When the lyric goes by ” உம்மை எண்ணி உம்மை எண்ணி, ‘ஊமை கண்கள்’ தூங்காது..” there’s a particular stressing on the phrase ” ஊமை கண்கள் “. Is it about the eyes of her, the ever beautiful Aishwarya Rai? Does it mean that she thought so much so about him that even her eyes which used to talk so much has gone mute, leaving her sleepless”? In fact, it even coincides with the current situation that the characters are in.

When Shreya sings ” வாரம் தோறும் அழகின் பாரம் கூடும் கூடும் குறையாது ..” it actually takes away all the ‘பாரம்’ from the listeners’ heart.

” என் ஆசை , என் ஆசை. நானா சொல்வேன்? என் ஆசை நானா சொல்வேன் , என் ஆசைக்கு நீயே சொன்னால் , கண்ணாலே ஆமாம் என்பேனே” shows an innocent lover’s beautiful desires.

” எங்கெங்கே உதடும் போகும் அங்கங்கே உயிரும் போகும், அன்பாலே ஆழ்ச்சொல்வேனே” will bring smile to any lover’s heart with eternal desire.

In every aspect one could think of, Kalvare from Ravanan is a work of magic.

“Kai ah idhu. Sora sora nu….karadu morada.

Jaadhagam paathanga. 7 porutham paathanga. Kai vazhu vazha nu irukka nu paakalaye unga maamiyaar”

“Kanne. Naatiya peroli. Idhu policekaaran kai. Polladha kai”

“Indha polladha kai, sutta kai ah sudadha kai ah? Nenja thottu sollunga”

“Soldradhu vera..”

” poyaa”

And Rahman takes over.