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From: bb on: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:28 am
Song of the Day: Anarkali in Cinema - Part III
http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/949.html
- Saravanan writes:
Anaarkali in Cinema- Part III
Anaarkali did not figure in Tamil movies in the subsequent years, except in a comic sequence featuring Thangavelu and M. Saroja in ‘thirudaadhE’ (1961/ALS Productions).
The next movie based on the saga of the courtesan hit the marquee in 1966 and this Anaarkali spoke and sang in Malayalam. ‘Anaarkali’ (1966/Udaya Studios) starred K. R. Vijaya in the lead role with Prem Nazeer as Salim. Sathyan, Kottarakkara Shridharan Nair and Gracy were the others in the cast. Vaikkom Chandrashekharan Nair wrote the dialogues. The movie was directed by Kunchacko.
Kunchacko entrusted the album to M.S. Baburaj. Babuka sat with Vayalar Ramavarma and the duo came up with an outstanding album. P. Suseela had a field day rendering unforgettable songs such as the dainty ‘yEzhu chiraguLLa thEru, yEzhu niRamuLLa thEru’, the love-struck rhapsody ‘maadhala poovE maadhala poovE’, the caressing ‘praNaya gaanam paaduvaanai’, the hushed lament in the still of the night ‘ee raathrithan vijanathayil’, the regal and magnificent ‘mukhila simhamE mukhila simhamE’, and the melancholic farewell number ‘baashpa kudeeramE bali kudeeramE’. ’The inimitable L.R. Eswari endeared herself with the two songs ‘chakaravarthi kumaara’ and ‘arutharuthE’. Babuka had reserved the classical masterpiece ‘saptha swara sudha’ for the seasoned stalwarts M. Balamuralikrishna and P.B. Srinivas. However, the song that fills my heart with an inexplicable longing is the lilting ‘nadhikaLil sundari yamunaa’. A young Yesudas fills the romantic lines with youthful wistfulness and the hummingbird Vasantha responds with empathy.
Listen to ‘nadhikaLil sundari yamunaa’ from Anaarkali (1966/ Udaya Studios)
Sung by K.J. Yesudas & B. Vasantha
Lyrics by Vayalar
Music by M.S. Baburaj
* * * *
The next time Anaarkali found place in a Tamil movie was by way of a stage depiction as part of a song in the movie ‘uththaman’ (1976/Jagapathi Art Pictures). The movie was a remake of the Manmohan Desai blockbuster ‘aa gale jag jaa’ starring Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore and Shatrughan Sinha. The Tamil remake was directed by V.B. Rajendra Prasad and had Sivaji Ganesan, Manjula and Balaji essaying the lead roles. One of the major factors in the success of ‘aa gale jag jaa’ was R.D. Burman’s foot-tapping score. The music of ‘uththaman’ was entrusted to veteran K.V. Mahadevan, and the Thiraisai Thilakam came up with an album that finds place among his noteworthy efforts from the later years.
It is an evening of fun and frolic at the ‘Kashmir Tamil Sangam’. One of the events that has the crowd in raptures is a talent contest for couples. Gopi (Sivaji Ganesan) and Manjula (Radha) are among the participating couples on the skating rink. As they sing a joyous duet, they enact vignettes of the epic lovers, Laila- Majnu and Anaar-Salim.
The Anaar-Salim episode opens with a delectable dance sequence, and then SPB begins with ‘anaar endRaal maadhuLam, aasai koNda maadhuLam’. KVM inserts a delightful qawwali flourish in ‘kaathal kaathal kaathal’. With their happiness behind them, Anaar is entombed alive. Arriving too late to save his beloved, Salim sings a tearful requiem… The entire story is summarized in Kannadasan’s succinct lines…
Listen to ‘padagu padagu’ from uththaman (1976/Jagapathi Art Pictures)
Sung by SPB & P.Suseela
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by K.V. Mahadevan
* * * *
A Telugu adaptation of Anaarkali made its appearance on screen next, and this was a stately presentation from N.T. Rama Rao’s Tarakarama Film Unit. ‘Akbar Salim Anaarkali’ (1978) had NTR playing Akbar, and his son Balakrishna essaying Salim. Deepa was cast as Anaarkali and Jamuna essayed the role of Jodhabai. The movie was produced and directed by NTR.
Recalling the haunting songs of Filmistan’s Anaarkali, NTR invited C. Ramachandra to compose the songs for his remake of the epic love story. In the sunset of his career, the venerable composer came out with a scintillating album. And he made a tryst with posterity by getting none other than the unparalleled songster of Indian cinema Mohammed Rafi to render the songs. It was not the first time that Rafi was singing for a Telugu movie though; he had sung few verses of Kabirdas in Nagiagh’s ‘bhaktha ramadasu’ (1964) and followed it up by rendering Telugu songs in movies such as ‘bhalE thammudu’ (1969) and ‘aradhana’ (1976). Nevertheless, Rafi carved for himself an enviable corner in the annals of Telugu cinema when he sang the mesmerizing compositions of C. Ramachandra for the movie ‘Akbar Salim Anarkali’, for he paints iridescent hues on Chitalkar’s canvas to effects that are spectacular. Add P. Suseela’s delightfully dulcet flourishes, and what we have are sheer works of art…
Listen first to ‘taaralenthaka merisEnO’ from Akbar Salim Anaarkali (1978/ Tarakarama Film Unit)
Sung by Mohammed Rafi
Lyrics by C. Narayana Reddy
Music by C. Ramachandra
Listen now to ‘kalasukkunna gubulayee’ from Akbar Salim Anaarkali (1978/ Tarakarama Film Unit)
Sung by Mohammed Rafi & P. Suseela
Lyrics by C. Narayana Reddy
Music by C. Ramachandra
The album stores other veritable treasures of diverse delights such as ‘prEmisthE thappantaara’ (P. Suseela), ‘sipaayi O sipaayi’ (Mohammed Rafi & P. Suseela), ‘vela erigina dora untE’ (P. Suseela & Vani Jairam), ‘taane mElimusugutheesi’ (Mohammed Rafi & P. Suseela), ‘rEyi aagi pOni’ (Mohammed Rafi & P. Suseela) and ‘madana mOhanudE madhilO’ (P. Suseela)
* * * *
It was after quite a few years that Anaarkali made her appearance in Tamil cinema again, and this time it was in a story within a story. The movie was ‘saadhanai’ (1986/ Prakash Productions) and the lead actors were Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Nalini, Prabhu and Bhuvani (debut). The movie was scripted and directed by A.S. Prakasam.
Sivaji Ganesan played a movie director in ‘saadhanai’. In his biography, Sivaji Ganesan says that he did not try his hand at directing a movie in real life, as he felt that he would not have been an able director. He goes on to add amusedly that nonetheless, he did enact the role of a director in the movie ‘saadhanai’.
Ilaiyaraja composed music for the songs written by Vaali, Pulamaipiththan and Vairamuthu. The merry ditty of rustic longing ‘vaadi en rukkumaNi’ (Malaysia Vasudevan), the haunting ‘engE naan kaaNbEn’ (Malaysia Vasudevan & Vani Jairam), the duet celebrating the regal romance ‘O vaanmbaadi’ (SPB & S. Janaki), another duet, this time a grand, unhurried number marked by Ilaiyaraja’s famed western flourishes- ‘vaazhvE vaa vaazhvOm vaa’ (SPB & S. Janaki), the dazzling dance number ‘aththi marapoovithu’ (S. Janaki) and the operatic finale ‘anbE anbE engE engE’ (S. Janaki)- all the songs found instant appeal and gathered frequent airtime in the mid 80s. The composer made a rare screen appearance in the movie and this was widely spoken of at the time.
Sivaji Ganesan played a talented film director whose dream project is Anaarkali. (Perhaps Prakasam was inspired by K. Asif’s single minded pursuit!) The director embarks on his movie with Nalini in the lead role. The director is said to be smitten by the heroine of his movie (Faint shades of Guru Dutt’s classic ‘kaagaz kE phool’ here!) . Not wanting to cause havoc in his marital life, Nalini moves away and gets married. The director keeps his dream alive though, and after many years gets another opportunity to craft his Anaarkali on celluloid. Prabhu is his Salim and Bhuvani is his Anaar. The movie is in the making when the inevitable happens- the hero and heroine fall in love. And unable to face the opposition from her parents to her love, Bhuvani consumes poison just before enacting the climax scene which depicts Anaar being entombed alive….
Vairamuthu, in his ‘nEtRu pOtta kOlam’ elaborates further on ‘saadhani’ thus: ‘aayiram vaarthaigaLaal solla mudiyaadha arththatiyum thanadhu puruva asaivaal pulppaduthi vidugiRa nadigar thilagam Sivaji Ganesan avargaL ‘saadhani’ padathil Or iyakkum paathiram yERkiRaar. avaradhu uLmanathil erindhu koNdirukkiRathu oru latchiya thee. veLLiththirai, yugaththiRkum than peyarai uchchariththu koNdirukkumaaRu kalaamaaLigai ondRaik katti mudikka vENdum. andha kalaamaaLigaiyin veLichcham mozhi endRa vEligaLaiyellaam thaaNdi veLiyE veesa vENdum. Mughalaaya saamraajyathaal aNaikkapptta mOha viLakku Anaarkaliyum, avaLudaya raja kaathalan Saleemum Sivajiyin adimanadhukkuL kaalamkaalamaaga kaathal gaanam paadikkoNdE thirigiRaargaL. Anaarkaliyin salangai saththam pala iravugaLil Sivaajiyin kanavugaLai kooda kaayappaduthi irukkiRathu…’
The director finds the Anaar he was looking for….
Listen to ‘engE naan kaaNbEn’ from saadhanai’ (1986/ Prakash Productions)
Sung by Malaysia Vasudevan & Vani Jairam
Lyrics by Pulamaipiththan
Music by Ilaiyaraja
To a Mayamalava Gowlai tune in the lines of Viswanathan-Ramamoorthi’s classic ‘kallelaam maaNikka kal aaguma’, (which Rahman too would ingeniously adapt for his ‘sunta hai mera khuda’/ ‘sollaathE sOlaikkiLi’), Ilaiyaraja adds an inventive touch of Mughal mystique, and the singers usher in the brooding mien of the doomed lovers…The song is filmed on Sivaji Ganesan wandering along unfrequented paths in a misty hillside, while Nalini plays hide and seek as an elusive apparition…
The next song is the one that is composed for the dramatic sequence wherein Anaar is entombed alive, and Salim is galloping to save her. The actress portraying Anaar is actually breathing her last… she has consumed poison for she cannot bear the thought of separation from her beloved…
Vairamuthu, who wrote the lyrics for this song, describes the sequence thus:
‘andha maadhuLai mottu malaravaathaRku munbE karuga thodungugiRathu. innum orE naaL thaan padappidippu. adhuthaan uchchakkatta kaatchi. andRu mattum thaan avaL than Saleemai sandhikka mudiyum. aththOdu avaL than kaadhakukkum, thirapdathiRkum vidai koduththu vidavENdum endRu andha kalnenjappetROrgaL kattaLaiyidugiRaargaL. avaL oru mudivukku vandhu vital. andRaiya padappiRku visham arundhivittu selgiRaaL.
adhO! Anaarkalikku kallaRaiyezhuppum kadaisikkaatchi. avaLai sutRi ovvoru sengalaaga uyarndhu koNdE pOgiRadhu. paavam! aRiyaadhavargaL avargaL. paadhi piNathiRku kallaRai kattikoNdirukkiRaargaL. innum avaL kaadhalan angu vandhu sEravillai. Appozhudhu avaL paadum paattu, uyirin aaNivErgaLai pidiththu ulukkigiRa paattu.
indha paadalai iravil kEtpathillai naan. yEnendRaal vidiyum varaikkum enaal uRanga mudivathillai…’
Listen to ‘anbE anbE’ from saadhanai’ (1986/ Prakash Productions)
Sung by S. Janaki
Lyrics by Vairamuthu
Music by Ilaiyaraja
Filled with wonder on his lines matching the composition, Vairamuthu writes thus:
‘enakku isai theriyaadhu. swaragnaanam suttuppOttaalum varaadhu. aanaal indha paadalin olippadhivinpOdhu Ilaiyaraja avargaL sonna sila seithigaL ennai viyappin viLimbiRku thaLLina. indha paadalin mudhal saranathil ‘paavai seitha paavam enna’ endRu ezhuthi irukkiRen. avaradhu swaram ‘paa’ ena thodangugiRathu. ennai aRiyaamal adhE idathil naanum ‘paa’ endRu thondangi irukkiREn. saavai innum konjanEram thaLLippOdakoodaadhO endRa variyil avaradhu swaram ‘saa’ endRu thodangigiRathu. naanum ennai aRiyaamal ‘saa’ vendRu thodangithaan ezhudhi irukkiREn.
‘thaLLippOda koodaadhO’ endRa idathil iyalbaagavE thaaLam thaLLi varugiRadhu. naan idhanai aRiyaamalEyE ‘thaLLippOdakoodaadho’ endRu ezhuthi irukkiREn. indha oppumaigaLaiyellaam Ilaiyaraja avargaL enakku sutti kaattiyapOdhu ennaal nambavE mudiyavillai. ninaithu ninaithu paarkiREn….karaNam theriyaamal en kaNgaL panikkinndRana….’
* * * *
The story of Anaarkali has thus found celluloid adaptation over the years in numerous languages in India and Pakistan. Besides the movies mentioned, Anaarkali has found place in many Tamil movie songs…. ‘un aasai kiLi modern anaarkali’ crooned Jayalalitha in ‘sooriyakaanthi’ and ‘aavOji aa anaarkali’ goes a line in ‘nEththu raathiri yamma’. In later years we had songs such as ‘adi anaarkali enai paaradi’ (uLLaithai aLLi thaa), ‘alli alli anaarkali’ (arunachalam), ‘anaarkali adiyE anaarkali’ (varushamellaam vasantham), ‘anaarkali anaarkali’ (kaNgaLaal kaithu sei)…the list goes on…
In 2003, the acclaimed Pakistani director Shoaib Mansoor made a TV series of songs on love titled ‘Supreme Ishq’. One of these episodes had the beautiful Iman Ali playing Anaarkali. The story goes beyond Anaar’s death and depicts the erection of the tomb, and its subsequent transformation to a church under the British regime and its present existence as an obscure government office. You can watch this video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-M4hG3731s
or here:
http://www.tubeg.com/video/a39X6OQgfEk/Supreme_Ishq_-_Anarkali_(Shoaib_Mansoor).html
The saga of Anaarkali lives on, for love is an eternal theme and a boat cast adrift the ocean of love would always find its moorings in sympathetic hearts. Love may not always find a happy ending and lovers themselves are mere mortals, yet love itself is eternal and will move on in search of the next pair of victims to overwhelm…….
Oh, tell me whence Love cometh?
Love comes uncall'd, unsent..
Oh, tell me where Love goeth?
That was not Love that went...
- J.W. Ebsworth (Roxburghe Ballads)
* * * *
~ Concluded ~
http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7498
