Dum Dum Dum Background Score

For the first time, I have ripped Voiceless background score cues from the DVD of a film - Dum Dum Dum. Karthik Raja's score for Dum Dum Dum is one of my all time favourites. I already wrote about the love theme here

1. Opening Credits

2. Ganga Pass

3. Marriage Proposal

4. Bachelor Boy (Song)

5. Mother is ill

6. First Meeting

7. Plan One

8. Aadhi's Sister

9. Plan One Execution

10. Plan One Fails

11. What is the next Plan?

12. Plan Two - Pattamma

13. Plan Two Fails

14. Abduction

15. I want to go home

16. Doctor

17. Love Theme (Version 1)

18. Love Theme (Version 2)

19. Chennai

20. Second First Meeting

21. Love Theme (Version 3)

22. Un Perai Sonnaalae Instrumental (Version 1)

23. Phone Call

24. Misconception

25. Un Perai Sonnaalae Instrumental (Version 2)

26. Vivek Theme

27. Love Theme (Version 4)

28. Enemity

29. Athiri Pathiri Instrumental

30. Insult

31. Love Theme (Version 5)

32. Back in Village

33. Issues Resolved

34. I love her

35. Ganga in Confusion

36. Love Theme (Version 6)

37. Love Theme Suite (What I feel should have been the End Credits Music)

Sound Vs Score

Karthik Raaja speaks about background scores in an interview

"Coming up with a background score is a tough job as it is related to the psychology of the audience. You should know how to treat a scene and create the intended impact. Not everyone can pull it off well. And today, sound effects have started dominating the BGM (background music). There will always be a debate between the composer and the director during the final mix on whether to go for a BGM or a sound effect. But sound effects cannot convey an emotion. You can convey the breaking of a glass through sound effects but then, you can even convey that through the visual alone. On the other hand, a BGM can even tell you why the glass broke. My dad gives a lot of importance to emotions when it comes to BGM; for me, it is emotions as well as what’s being shown on screen that matter when composing BGM."

Sound Effects Vs Music

Score Quest Fest - Answers

Score Quest Fest

Track 3 is from Dasavatharam. Composer - Devi Sri Prasad. This is the title score. Though I am not sure how genuine this composition is, when played in the title credits, it gave a majestic entry to the much hyped film.

Track 4 is from Ivan. Composer - Ilaiyaraaja or Karthik Raja. I am not sure who the composer is as the piece has unmistakable Karthik Raja touch. It is Deetchanya's theme. It plays in the scene where Deetchanya dreams in which she asks Parthiban to write a poem. It is a scintillating orchestral piece for a very poetic scene. The shift to a melody on bells when she says 'Kavithai' and the following strings piece to imply the ecstasy of Deetchanya is simply hair-rising stuff.

Background Score - 67 is from

This piece is from Dum Dum Dum. Composer – Karthik Raaja. We already discussed the main Love theme of movie. Now we move on to the theme for other genre to which the movie ‘Dum Dum Dum’ belongs to – Comedy (not a laugh-out-loud comedy though). Aadhi (Madhavan) and Ganga (Jyothika), with mutual consent make plans to stop their marriage. The first half of the movie is about how every single plan of theirs fails. It is a common practice in Hollywood to use staccatos and pizzicatos for comic situations but it is not used so much in Indian films.

When I first saw the movie, the background score and especially this piece sounded totally out of place. It sounded odd for a movie that it is set in a village though this isn’t as village as that of in a Bharathiraaja movie. But on multiple viewings, I realized how big a risk Karthik Raaja is taking by trying what not many have tried before in comedy movies. Now I love this piece and also the way it has been used in the movie. The theme is introduced right up in the opening credits of the movie, and next used in a scene where Aadhi begins to execute his first marriage-breaking plan by asking his going-to-be father-in-law Murali not to give any money as dowry, when Aadhi’s kith and kin come asking for it.

The second part of the BGM that I posted appears when the dowry plan actually fails, where unexpectedly Aadhi’s father is impressed by Murali who was stubborn in not giving dowry. In a way this grand orchestral piece is a prelude to the brilliant ‘Desingu Raaja’ song which carries this grandeur further in its interludes.

Background Score - 65 is from

This piece is from Achamundu Achamundu. Composer - Karthik Raja. This is the theme instrumental piece as in the OST CD of the movie. I actually thought of watching the movie before putting this post and give my opinion on the background score of the movie, but I couldn't, I am yet to watch the movie. Anyways after Illayaraja, Karthik Raja is the only one who can write such orchestral pieces in Tamil Films.

Dum Dum Dum Love Theme

This piece is from “Dum Dum Dum”. Composer – Karthik Raja. I like watching “Dum Dum Dum” (though Madhavan and Jyothika speaking Nellai Tamil was very hard to digest initially) anytime. The sound track of “Dum Dum Dum” is one of Karthik Raja’s best and so is the background score. The theme I posted for quizzing is the main love theme of the movie.

Strangely the theme is first heard not when Aadhi and Ganga fall in love but when Aadhi tells Ganga about falling in love. I like the way Karthik Raja cuts the beautifully developing melody to create a mild anticipation in between and resumes it when Ganga teases Aadhi for the way he was blabbering.




After all the marriage stopping plan fails, the evening before Marriage, Aadhi and Ganga meet and talk about their failed mission. Karthik Raja so subtly and gently introduces the love theme sung when Aadhi says ‘Naama rendu perukkum kalyaanam nadakkathaan poghudho’.




Aadhi and Ganga come to terms with what is going to happen and they start liking each other as they speak. A soft female vocal continues to sing the theme from behind as they continue to speak. The beauty here is that it is so softly and lightly mixed, that we may not even realize that music is playing in the background but for sure we get the intended feel.




The love theme appears in its complete and loudest form just before the intermission when Aadhi and Ganga are parted by their respective fathers. It is for this music bit I bought the original DVD but it got truncated as most part of the theme music plays on the ‘intermission’ card. The very first time I saw the movie in a cinema hall, I got goose bumps by this music cue in this scene and later on multiple viewing I discovered that this theme has been used much before in the movie.




Aadhi goes back to Chennai and Ganga is also in Chennai now to purse her higher studies. In a traffic signal Ganga spots Aadhi and they stare at each other for a while in complete surprise and lot of hesitation. But Karthik Raja doesn’t use the love theme here again; instead he introduces a new theme on harmonica which is yet another motif that is going to be used later in the movie.




But the love theme comes back soon when Aadhi and Ganga accidentally see each other in a cinema hall and we come to know that they indeed are in love with each other. Aadhi instead of watching the movie keeps looking at Ganga and the theme plays out beautifully answering all our doubts.




Then a much lengthier and rich orchestral version of the love theme appears when Aadhi and Ganga have some mundane conversation as they walk on road. The theme beautifully implodes and spreads romantic waves on air in this scene.




In the climax when they finally unite near the mount road signal, I was expecting the love theme to come back with bang but Karthik Raja just hints the theme for a brief moment (but aptly for those same lines he said to Ganga in the beginning about falling in love, the scene in which the theme appeared first) and moves on to the melodies of the songs from the movie.

Achamundu Achamundu

Karthik Raaja's Orchestration abilities are well known. He is one of the best background score composers we have. Here is a video showing him recording the background score for the movie ‘Achamundu Achamundu’ with a live orchestra. Sounds Interesting.

Answer for Background Score - 6

This piece is from 'Kudaikkul Mazhai' composed by Karthik Raja. This piece is used for a very imaginative scene in the movie where Parthiban madly dances with a saree. The main melody of this piece is also used at many places in the movie as mobile ringtone. In addition to this piece, there are so many moments in the movie that has brilliant score by Karthik Raja. I am still searching for a DVD of this movie to rip the score.