The catchy trumpet theme has the power, punch and the attitude needed to back a charismatic hero, which Ajith is in this film. Yuvan Shankar Raja plays a very tricky game with listeners with this instrumental theme. It begins with string section playing the first half of the main trumpet theme. That is expected. That is the way to hint at a theme. You can’t play the complete theme instantly in the very beginning of the piece. That is a nice strategy to keep the listeners interested in the piece. We anticipate that after playing enough with the notes of the first half of the melody, the composer would lead us to a satisfactory end with the theme playing in its entirety at least once at an unexpected point before the track ends. While I was waiting for the composer to surprise me, Yuvan totally surprised me by not playing the theme in its entirety until the end. And that worked too. The theme always ends the moment it hits its peak note. Maybe, that is to imply the infallibility of the hero, because the second half of the theme actually descends down from the high point the theme reaches in the middle. This theme is used throughout the film whenever Vinayak Mahadev (Ajith) makes a surprise entry or does something unexpected in a scene. There aren’t many variations of this theme in the film except the one with additional heavy Rock Guitar layers and it plays in a crucial scene. The other important theme in the film is the strings-heavy heist theme which is used throughout the episode in which the Heist is planned and executed. Obviously, it is inspired by scores of various Hollywood action films, but sounds quite catchy and effective in this film. A piece with prominent brass section backed just by Tabla beats is used for a comical situation in the film. It sounds quite fresh and totally in sync with the situation for which it is used. Yet again, after Saroja (the Car toppling scene) and Aaranya Kaandam, Yuvan plays a western classical piece (or is it an Original composition?) for an action scene in this film too. Our film makers or sound designers are yet to learn their lessons when it comes to mixing the score with the film. As always, it is too loud in Mankatha too. Between, Background score assisted by Karthik Raja, Bhavatharini and Premgi Amaran it seems. Whatever that means!
Some of the cues from Mankatha Background Score
1. Trisha Intro
2. Tabla for Trumpet
3. The Spy
4. Hangover
5. The Heist Theme
6. Mankatha Theme
7. Violence Symphony
