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From: bb on: Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:48 pm
Song of the Day: vaazhvil sowbhagiyam vandhadhu from thooNdil meen.
- Saravanan writes:
Sung by SPB & P.Suseela
Lyrics by Vaali
Music by V.Kumar
* * * *
thooNdil meen (1977/ Sudarshan Enterpises) remains one of the best Tamil thrillers I have seen. Though it has been many, many years since I watched it on TV, I can remember the nail-biting excitement that the film evoked. I can also recall the spirited discussion at school the next morning, all the more as our school campus had figured in one of the scenes! And also how we ragged a classmate mercilessly, all because the aged servant in his house was called Sowbhagiyam
thooNdil meen was based on a short story by the redoubtable Jaavar Seetharaman. It was directed by Ra. Sankaran (yes, the same Mr. Chandramouli of mouna ragam!), who incidentally was a close relative of Javar Seetharaman. Dialogues were by Karaikkudi Narayanan. The movie was produced by V.C. Ganesan.
Seetha is happily married to Dr. Thiyagarajan, and to add to their happiness, they are blessed with a daughter. The serenity of this picture postcard perfection is torn apart when Rangan, an unsavory reminder of Seetha’s past, turns up. Unable to bear his blackmailing tactics after a stage, Seetha shoots him and disposes off his body. Imagine her shock when she finds Rangan admitted as her husband’s patient, and the intriguing developments when as a result of the bullet injury he appears to have lost his memory! In an O. Henry-like twist, when Rangan gets his memory back, comes the startling revelation that he and Thyagu are long lost brothers! What would he do now; would he still tell Thaygu of Seetha’s past, or would he leave them unhindered to their life of tranquil happiness?
Lakshmi was simply brilliant in the complex role of the traumatized Seetha. Major Sundararan played the scheming Rangan with subtle finesse. Lakshmi’s husband of that time, Mohan, acted as her on-screen husband as well. Ashokan, Surulirajan and Baby Varalakshmi were the others in the cast.
Ra. Sankaran had earlier worked with V.Kumar in oNNE oNNu kaNNE kaNNu and then in thEn sindhudhE vaanam, and both were produced by V.C. Ganesan under his ‘Sudarshan Enterprises’ banner. ‘kaNNellaam un vaNNam’ and ‘unnidam mayangugiREn’ were still enjoying dizzying spells of popularity, and hence their third joint-venture too went naturally to Kumar. Years later, speaking of thooNdil meen in his siRappu thEnkinnam, Kumar recalled that they could come up with situations for only 2 songs in this suspense-filled story, and that both the songs that he composed for the movie became chart-busters.
‘ennOdu ennenavO ragasiyam’ (Jayachandran/ Swarna) is a scintillating stunner with lilting interludes. For today, however, I have picked the more elusive treasure: ‘vaazhvil sowbhaagiyam vandhadhu’.
* * * *
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world,
and not a stone tell where I lie…
- Ode on Solitude (Alexander Pope)
Last week, a friend chided me, quite sternly, for a lapse - He pointed out that neither had the V.Kumar series seen any fresh installments for ages, nor had a VK song been featured as SOTD for ever so long. Guilty on both counts, I could only mumble my apologies.
In the course of writing the malarum ninaivugaL series, I had the good fortune to come into contact with Mrs. Swarna and Suresh Kumar, and each conversation with them made me acutely conscious of Kumar’s greatness, as a composer of remarkable merit, and as a noble human being who was simple, gentle and compassionate. January 7 marked the anniversary of Kumar’s demise. 10 years have gone by since that unassuming musician made his final bow; his mortal remains consigned to fire, his immortal work remains to admire…
What better way to offer our tribute to VK than to revisit one of his best compositions ever! This song may have disappeared from the amnesic airwaves, but isn’t it enshrined forever in our memory enclaves? For those of us who grew up listening to tfm in the 70s in particular, this exquisite creation will remain very, very special.
Kumar’s favorite singers SPB and PS at their dulcet best, Vaali coming up with evocative lines that bring to life his beloved friend’s vibrant music vistas (For a long time, I thought the lyricist was Kannadasan!), the on-screen chemistry of the lead pair reflecting their off-screen intimacy (I can still remember Mohan’s eyes half-closed in contentment, as an adoring Lakshmi rocks his hammock, singing ‘aareerO aareerO’…), and Kumar as the master sculptor chiseling the song to wondrous shape… the song remains the perfect paean to sublime marital bliss.
How many auspicious joys the opening lines herald! The unconventional structure of the pallavi is a delightful surprise. The deft diversion with ‘en angamE unnidam sangamam’ and the graceful descent to the opening line fills me with rapture. The three interludes are filled with the melodious flourishes that Kumar is saluted for. The charaNams are so beautifully conceived- the first depicting the newly-discovered joys of conjugal intimacy (hark at PS lower her voice bashfully in ‘sugangaLai ninaithu!’), the second one mirroring the proud excitement of impending parenthood (SPB holds court here with his indulgent ‘naan aRiyaadha ragasiyam ondRu’), and the third charaNam painting the family portrait that is now complete with the arrival of their bundle of joy. And Kumar ensures that this beauty in conception is carried over to the execution as well- the charaNams flow in enchanting harmony. As is his wont in many of his songs, Kumar allows the second charaNam to meander on a course of its own before canalizing it back to the pallavi.
What a song!
Lyrics of the song here: (Thanks to Chandru)
http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=320
Over to the mellisai maamaNi…
‘vandhEn!’ endRaar, ‘thEn thandhEn’ endRaar….
http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3875
