http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/645.html
- Saravanan writes:
‘santhana punnagai sindhiya kannigai’ from naadOdi raja.
Sung by SPB & S.Janaki
Lyrics by Vairamuthu
Music by Shankar-Ganesh
* * * *
naadOdi raja (1982/ Balaji Creative Enterprises) starred Rajiv, Aruna, Satyaraj, VA Nirmala, Silk Smitha, Sangili Murugan, YGM, Y.Vijaya and others. It was produced by Geetha Srinivasan and directed by S.M.Umar.
I have a hazy recollection of the pedestrian proceedings, having watched the film on video. (It was in those years of the 80s, when 2-3 video libraries opened in every lane, with each one doing brisk business!) The film, as I recall, was an unabashed MGR hosanna. Rajeev played a worthless vagrant, whose conscience takes the form of MGR and reforms him :)
The other songs are ‘ek ladki roop sundari, dEkhnE waalOn dEkhO’, a nattily tuned VJ solo for Silk; ‘enga veettu piLLai neethanayya’, a medley of MGR film names by SPB.
* * * *
‘If music and sweet poetry agree,
As they must needs, the sister and the brother,
Then must the love be great ’twixt thee and me,
Because thou lov’st the one, and I the other!’
These lines of Shakespeare come to mind while reading Vairamuthu’s eloquent tribute to Shankar-Ganesh titled ‘irattai naayanangaL’. He reserves warm words for their humility and sincerity, and expresses amazement at their speed and ability to come up with 4-5 tunes for a written verse. He speaks of the intelligent introvert that Shankar was, and the complementing contrast that was Ganesh. He has fond memories of working with the duo:
‘paalavanachchOlai’-kku paatezhudha pOnappOdhu andha anbu mugangaL aRimugamaayina. Cinema gunangaL illadha anbu sagOdharargaL avargaL.eppOdhum menmaiyaai iruppadhil thiru shankar oru pullankuzhal maathiri. eppOdhum kalakalappaai iruppathil thiru ganesh oru mirudhangam maathiri. poovil vaNdu thEnedukkum pOthu poovO, vaNdO kaLaithu pOvathillai allava? appadi, avargaLodu sErndhu paniyaatRum pOthu avargaLO kavignargaLO kaLaithu pOvathillai.
When we think of Vairamuthu’s early years, it is inevitable that IR and VM’s captivating collaborations with IR overwhelm our reminiscences. Yet there are some ethereal instances where VM and S-G worked together to wondrous effect. The SOTD is surely one of those treasured moments, to be savoured, cherished and saluted.
Hark at the veeNai, violin and then the flute usher in the bewitchment; the three work in tandem all through the song to keep the enchantment intact. The first interlude, fastidiously filigreed with exquisite daintiness, is a revelation, offering a rare glimpse of the imaginative vistas S-G were capable of beckoning. The charaNam does draw traces of similarity in structure with that of ‘naan iravil ezhuthum’, another fine S-G number; the warp and weft is dexterously different though.
True, the lyrics bear the cross of archetypal VM clichés like ‘dhaavaNi mEgam’, ‘vErvai aaRaanathu’ and ‘thEnil aaradhanai’. Nonetheless the lines perch so prettily onto the tune and the sandham sits so snugly amidst the strings, that the sheer beauty of the teamwork eclipses these trivial objections.
And to add luster to the luminescence, S-G summon SPB and SJ. How reassuring it must have been to have at hand a singer like SPB! With absolute authority, the man makes the song his own in no time. He flirts and flatters, taunts and teases, pleads and pacifies, chides and chuckles, woos…and wins! And even while contending herself with merely playing along, the remarkable SJ is in her expressive elements. I love the ‘paadu’ that marks the charaNam endings… SJ and SPB take playful turns in commanding each other to continue with the pallavi!
So listen on to this forgotten song…..a moment of infinite allure when Chinthamani Ramaswami Shankararaman and Chinnasami Ganesh castaway their commonplace baton, and wave a magic wand to conjure a marvel….
- Other S-G songs in SOTD: http://www.dhool.com/search/sotdsearch. ... kar-Ganesh