Rowdy Baby : Two Dances

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Was meaning to write this post since the time the video of 'Rowdy Baby' song was released but for some reason or the other, it was not written. As they say, 'Better late than never'. So he we go.

Sai Pallavi came to everyone's notice from the film, 'Premam'. There is a less than one minute sequence where she dances and that sequence, nowadays called 'Malar Teacher Dance', became a big hit. Sai Pallavi's dance left everyone breathless, like the hero of the movie, Nivin Pauly. If you have not seen that dance, he it is.

https://youtu.be/ibt3ImM7yv4

Even in this extremely brief dance sequence there is so much joy in her dancing.

I am not much of movie watcher, so I didn't see much of Sai Pallavi till 'Rowdy Baby' from 'Maari 2' happened. What a riot of song it turned out to be. An eminently dance-able tune with some great choreography, the song was an instant hit. First watch the song

https://youtu.be/x6Q7c9RyMzk

I was fascinated by this song mainly for Sai Pallavi. In the recent past, I haven't seen a female lead dominate the screen like she did in this song. Dhanush does a good job but you can't take your eyes off Sai Pallavi. I saw a reaction video of a lady in US, who exclaimed the same thing after seeing song. "Sorry guys. I was just watching this girl. I didn't watch the guy". There is lot which is good about this song. The music of Yuvan Shankar Raja energetic orchestration, the funky choreography of Prabhu Deva, the art direction and the cinematography are all top class. As I said, Danush also does a good job. Inspite of all this, Sai Pallavi makes this song her own. She just eclipses everything else.

What contributes to Sai Pallavi's stunning performance is not just the fact that she is an amazing dancer. It is the energy and joy that she radiates. She is enjoying herself to the fullest extent possible and the dance is incidental. It is as if the key is enjoyment and today she decided that she would express her enjoyment through dance. Every step oozes joy and that is why you cannot take your eyes off her. That she dances like a dream helps. The energy of the dance perfectly complements the energy of the song. As I said earlier, it is an excellent group effort but Sai Pallavi's talent is such that she is able to run away with the song.

This song reminds me of another such song where the female lead ran away with the song. RamGopal Verma's second film, and probably his best, featured Sreedevi. Now Sreedevi had the screen presence to take away the scene from top stars like Amitabh, Chiranjeevi, Rajni etc. 'Kshana Kshanam' was a movie made for her. The dance in 'chali sampuththuna chamakulo' was all Sreedevi. Like Sai Pallavi here, you can see Sreedevi enjoy herself fully. In this song, she stamps her class and makes it clear that she is the Queen. She was an extraordinary talent, who could carry a film on her shoulders. So carrying a song on her shoulders was child's play for her. Like 'Rowdy Baby', this song too is great team work. Wonderful costumes, lovely choreography, eye catch cinematography and more. Yet, Sreedevi walks away with song. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/iVxfklLI-rY

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