The filmi icon heads an album worthy of a tense political drama

A. R. Rahman stays true to his Tamil roots while exploring a range of sounds and instruments on his blistering soundtrack to A.R. Murgadoss’s action-packed political thriller. The result is a vastly original work—the catchy dub beats of opener “Simtaangaran" and "Oru Viral Puratchi", a traditional love song on which Rahman reframes hip-hop elements over violin strings. Sliding between genres with trademark aplomb, the master of Indian film music scores another triumph.