http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/641.html
- Saravanan writes:
‘aada chonnaarE’ from vattathukkuL sathuram
Sung by Jency Anthony
Lyrics by Panju Arunachalam
Music by Ilaiyaraja
* * * *
We have dwelt at length upon this movie more than once, right here in these SOTD pages:
http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/132.html
and more recently here:
http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2795
The story is already familiar to you. Without intending to do so, we have had the two earlier songs in SOTD in the same order in which they find place in the movie. And following the order, this is the third song in the movie. Left with no other recourse, Anu has started dancing in a nightclub, so that Malathi may pursue the college education of her dreams. This song is crooned by Anu as she dances. She sings a song of seduction, but the hint of the angst within is poignantly perceptible.
* * * *
In an arena where mere survival demands a Herculean effort, to shrug off a promising career nonchalantly, and to forgo a future of fame and fortune without even a tinge of regret is simply unimaginable. Jency did just that. She bid a cheerful adieu to tfm and settled to a contended life of marital bliss, raising two children over the years, while working as a music teacher in a small Government school in an obscure Kerala hamlet.
In a career that lasted a mere 4-5 years, the number of chart-toppers that Jency sang is something remarkable. Even while retaining S.Janaki as his mainstay, IR was experimenting with various young singers in those years- Sasirekha, Shailaja, Sujatha and Uma Ramanan, to name a few. Jency was among his pet protégés. And like a wishful windfall, many of IR’s exquisite compositions came her way.
A brief look at Jency’s songs:
1978:
1. vaanathu poongkiLi- thiripurasundari-with SJ- IR
2. adipeNNE- muLLum malarum- IR
3. alankara ponoonjalE - sonnathu nee thaana-with MV- IR (only humming by Jency)
4. en uyir nee thaanE- priya-with KJY- IR
5. aada chonnarE- vattathukkuL sathuram- IR
1979:
6. thamthana namthana- pudhiya vaarppugaL-with B Vasantha- IR
7. idhayam pOguthE- pudhiya vaarppugaL- IR
8. thOttam koNda rasavE- pagalil Or iravu-with IR- IR
9. mayilE mayilE- kadavuL amaitha mEdai-with SPB-IR
10. geetha sangeetha- anbE sangeetha-with JC- IR
11. iru paRavaigaL - niRam maaRaatha pookaL- IR
12. aayiram malargaLE- niRam maaRatha pookaL-with MV& SPS- IR
13. gnyaan gnyaan paadanam- poonthaLir- IR
14. hey masthana- azhagE unnai aaradhikkiREn-with SPB,VJ,JC- IR
15. akka oru rajaathi- mugathil mugam paarkalaam-with JC- IR
1980:
16. meen kodi thEril- karumbuvil- IR
17. deiveega raagam- ullasa paRavaigaL- IR
18. theertha karaithanilE- thaippongal- IR
19. en vaanilE - johny- IR
20. naan unnai thirumba thirumba- ellaam un kairasi-IR
21. kaathaadu aasai koothaaduthu- karadi-with MC Balu- GA?
1981:
22. vaadi en kappakkizhangE- alaigaL Oivathillai-with GA,IR- IR
23. kaadhal Oviyam- alaigaL Oivathillai - with IR- IR
24. poo malarndhida -tik tik tik- with KJY- IR
25. paniyum naanE malarum neeyE - panimalar- with SPB- SG
1982:
26. en gaanam indRu arangERum- eera vizhi kaaviyangaL-with IR- IR
27. kalyaNam ennai mudikka - metti-with Rajesh,Radhika- IR
28. poothu nikkuthu kaadu- echchil iravugaL- with MV- IR
29. aaththOram kaathaada - engEyO kEtta kural- IR
There is a song 'poochoodi pottum vechu' from the unreleased film ponni, MD-GA.
Much has been said about Jency’s voice, and some more, about her pronunciation. But it is an undisputable fact that many of her songs were (or for that matter, still are) oft-listened favourites. And it is a fact too that she was immensely popular in her time. I remember the days when her songs were aired on listeners’ requests repeatedly. And many of thamizh chEvai iRaNdu listeners used to enquire eagerly about Jency, the person behind the voice. But Jency preferred to remain an elusive enigma, shying from publicity. I saw a picture of hers for the first time a year back in a magazine interview, where she spoke about her career, expressing her gratitude to IR.
And for me, Jency will always remain an integral part of cherished remembrances …my earliest memories of radio and becoming smitten with tfm are inter-linked with reminiscences of Jency, among others. Those were the days when Jency was riding an incredible high and her hits were hard to miss. I’ve even made a double CD album for myself, comprising the entire Jency collection :)
* * * *
So, listen on to this song that Jency sang in the first year of her short-lived tfm career. The interludes are class IR vintage vignettes, and the tune itself is alluringly apposite for a cabaret number sung by a reluctant dancer, the words dipped delicately in the sorrow of shame and solitude.
An interesting revelation is that the opening of the prelude sounds suspiciously similar to the opening of Nazia Hassan’s immortal ‘aap jaisa koi meri’ from Qurbani, tuned by Biddu Appaiah. In case you’ve forgotten the opening, listen here (Biddu is wrongly credited with penning the lyrics; it was Indivar):
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/17/s/movie_name.1647/
Qurbani came in 1980, while vattathukkuL sathuram was released much earlier in 1978. But before we rush to any hasty conclusions, we must also remember that Biddu had earlier worked with Tina Charles. In fact I recall reading somewhere that he had fashioned ‘aap jaisa koi meri’ in the same pattern as Tina Charles’ 1976 hit ‘dance little lady dance’.
- Other Jency songs in SOTD: http://www.dhool.com/search/sotdsearch.php?singer=Jency