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From: bb on: Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:49 pm
Song of the Day: A Tribute to Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan- Part II
http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/966.html
- Saravanan writes:
isaiyaai thamizhaai iruppavanE
A Tribute to Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan- Part II
Thus 1970 was a memorable year of KV as a music director, for all the 3 movies he worked for were commercial successes and his songs therein had won both critical and popular acclaim. Despite all this, 1971 saw only a single movie coming out with KV’s music, and that was again an APN venture - kaNkaatchi (Sri Vijayalakshmi Pictures). This time APN told the story of artistes performing in an exhibition- filling the narrative with their petty rivalries, hopes, disappointments and love, interspersing it with the mysterious disappearance of stage properties and the subsequent investigation. Sivakumar and Kumari Padmini played classical dancers Shankar and Gowri, while ‘Kallapart’ Natarajan and CID Shakuntala played modern dancers Madan and Mohini. Surulirajan and Manorama were also in the cast.
KV composed 6 songs for the movie. The first song is the breezy ‘thuLLum mangai mugam’ written by Nellai Arulmani, and sung by SPB & L.R. Eswari. The song has a longish prelude beginning with arresting guitar work followed by an incantation like humming and ending with rich oriental music. Swift change in beats occur throughout the number, and the singers, LRE in particular, seem to have a blast, swinging with the twists and turns that KV had adorned the charaNams with. Written by Poovai Senguttuvan, ‘chinna chinna kaNNaa vaa’ that begins with Seergazhi rendering the virutham ‘aaya kalaigaL aRubathinaangilum’ has L.R. Eswari in her mischevous elements, with KV springing a surprise by employing the tune of ‘theeratha viLayaattu piLLai’ midway. Manorama and S.V. Ponnusami render the fun-filled gypsy’s ditty, ‘kaadai pidippOm kowthaari pidippOm kaakkaa pidikka maattOm’ written by T.V. Pachaiappan. ‘kuRavar kulam kaakkum kumara nee vaazhga’ penned by Ulundurpettai Shanmugam and sung by M.R. Vijaya & B. Radha is a classical delight with startling swara notes. ‘kaaNum kalaiyellaam kaNkaatchi’ written by Selvabharathi alternates between Western and Carnatic styles, with PBS being accompanied in the Western fragments by M.R. Vijaya and in the Carnatic portions by Sarala.
The most popular song from the album is the Rathi- Manmathan duet ‘anangan angajan’ written by K.D. Santhanam and sung by SPB & L.R. Eswari. KV based the tune on Bhimplaas, and set the notes to a unique beat. However, the unfazed K.D. Santhanam came out spontaneously with the line ‘anangan angajan anban vasanthan manmanthan endRum vaNangum en uyir mannava…’. The song commences with a sonorous narration by A.P. Nagarajan. The movie version of the song has an extended postlude, which the audio clip below does not have.
Listen to ‘anangan angajan anban’
* * * *
Let us now proceed to 1972, a year that saw the release of 4 movies with music by KV.
Pongal of 1972 saw the release of APN’s agathiyar (Sri Vijayalakshmi Pictures). The story traced the mythological vignettes surrounding the sage Agathiyar. As the entire world gathered to celebrate the marriage of Shiva and Parvathi, the earth tilted northwards. Shiva requested Agathiyar to restore the balance by traveling to the southern direction. And as part of his heavenly mission, Agathiyar propagates equality among men, and inspires goodness in the hearts of all those whom he encounters. Interesting vignettes featuring Naradar, Kaveri and Ravanan were cleverly interwoven into the narrative.
Seergazhi Govindarajan was of course the natural choice to play the short-statured celestial saint. T.R. Mahalingam, R.S. Manohar, AVM. Rajan, Sasikumar, T.K. Bagavathi, Lakshmi, Kumari Padmini, CID Shakuntala and Master Shekhar were the other actors.
Sage Agathiyar was known as a great Tamil scholar and a talented musician. Hence APN was very particular that the songs should be outstanding, both in terms of lyrics and music. KV exceeded APN’s expectations and came up with a stellar album. Take the competition song between Ravana (Manohar) and Agathiyar, for instance. KV had TMS sing for Ravana and Seergazhi of course sang for Agathiyar. As the story goes, Ravana loses the competition. However as the song involved two great singers, APN had the strings of the Ravana’s veeNai snap at the end of the song signifying the defeat of Ravana. APN and KV had several rounds of discussions and decided that the song should be a ragamalika and the lyrics should have the names of the ragas. Dismissing the view of his assistants that only Kannadasan could come up with such lyrics, APN sent for Ulundurpettai Shanmugam. KV played the opening note on his violin. The learned poet did not hesitate before writing the opening line ‘vendRiduvEn ..endha naattaiyum naadhathaal vendRiduvEn’, thus bringing out the name of the raga Naattai. KV structured the song on 15 ragas and Shanmugam inserted the anmes of the ragas in lines like bairavai thuNaivan paadham paNindhu…. isaikEttu ezhunthOdi vandhaan….. aarabimaanam koLvaar…..shanmugapriyan ennum dhairiyamaa…. naadagamaa darbaar naadagamaa… hamsadwani amaindha mannavan naan… anaithum un vasanthaanaa…mOhana gaanam naan meetiduvEn….baagEswariyO paramporuLO…. paaRkadalil thuyilum saaranganO… yaar vandhaal enna kaambOdhi… gowri manOhari thuNaiyirupaaL…kalyaaNi maNaaLan kai kodupaan…saraswathi en naavil kudiyirupaaL… KV ends the song with attractive, apposite swaraatcharangaL such as samamaa nee sari samamaa, manidha nee paadhaga manidhaa and parigaasamaa saagasamaa. A wonderful composition that showcases KV’s class!
Listen to vendRiduvEn
‘agathiyar’ had 2 solos written by Ulundurpettai Shanmugam and sung by T.R. Mahalingam who played Narada- ‘aaNdavan dharisanamE mei adiyaar vENdidum anubavamE’ and ‘malai nindRa thirukumara maal marugaa’. The third solo sung by TRM was ‘muzhumudhaR poruLE muththamizh chudarE’, written by Nellai Arulmani. The song is a soul-stirring psalm invoking the blessings of Vinayaka and was wholly structured as a virutham. It is worth noting here that KV had grown up listening to the stage and film songs of T.R. Mahalingam and had remained his ardent fan all these years. In the mid-60s, TRM had approached KV on his own accord and sang few devotional songs under KV’s baton. And now he was singing for KV in ‘agathiyar’. KV was overwhelmed with joy and gave TRM these wonderful songs which the veteran adorned with delectable nuances.
Watch TRM and Baby Sridevi in malai nindRa thirukumara here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idwPXC07iUI
Seergazhi and TRM had 2 duets in the movie. The first is Shiva-Vishnu debate written by Era. Pazhanaichami wherein Seergazhi sings ‘namasivayam ena solvOmE’ and TRM insists ‘narayaNaa ena solvOmE’. The other duet is ‘isaiyaai thamizhaai iruppavanE’ written by K.D. Santhanam. Both the stalwarts outdo themselves in these dazzling duets which KV filled with intricate classical flourishes. KV once recollected how when he was sitting with Seergazhi and TRM for the recording, TRM pinched him surreptitiously, signifying that he wanted some special sangathis for himself!
KV set ‘isaiyaai thamizhaai iruppavanE’ to Karahapriya. Regarding the therapeutic effects of Karahapriya, KV has this to say: Karaharapriya is an excellent remedy for worry, distress and neurotic disorders. Tyagayya dissolves himself in the raga as he sings "Chakkaniraja." `When the royal road is available with all the comfort, why do you opt for dreaded lanes and bylanes' asks the saint. Another Karaharapriya song `Mithri Bagyame' counts the blessings of Sita and Lakshmana for being lucky enough to be nearer to Rama for his beck and call, and longs for the same proximity. Muthuthandavar sang in ecstasy, "Maayaviddhai Seigiraane Ambalavanan." Many music composers have used Karaharapriya in their films to convey sentiments. Rajeshwara Rao used it to express the lovers' mood in the song `Ariya Parumavada Madana.' Earlier, `Bagavan Avatharippar' composed by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu for the film "Valmiki" was also a hit. Another superhit is `Madhavi Ponmayilal.' For "Agathiyar," I composed `Esayay Tamizhay Iruppavane.'
In the course of his journey, Agathiyar comes across a small boy (Master Shekhar) taking care of his parents. Poovai Senguttuvan wrote the song ‘thaayiRsiRandha kOvilum illai’ for this sequence of the boy singing of the greatness of one’s parents all the while attending to his household chores. Poovai Senguttuvan fills the lines with heartwarming paeans to motherhood. T.K. Kala made her debut singing this song. Shanmugasundari, the mother of Kala, was known to APN from his stage days and when she requested him to give his daughter an opportunity to sing, APN recommended Kala to KV.
The next song is the dance song ‘thalaivaa thavaputhalvaa varugaa’ pictured on CID Shakuntala. The song was written by K.D. Santhanam. Radha recites the jathis while M.R. Vijaya renders the song.
KV set the song to Bilahari. Of Bilahari, KV has this to say: Bilahari is associated with love. `Naajeevadara' of Tyagaraja in this raga has always been popular. The saint, it is said, composed this in order to alleviate the acute stomach pain a man was suffering from. His prayer was answered and the man had relief. `Krishnaleela Tarangini' of Narayana Tirtha has the song `Poorayamamakamam' in Bhilahari. The saint cries out, "Hey! Gopala, bestow me with all the goodness so that I can continue to sing your praise." This Bhilahari song ensures one vigour and good health. In "Konjum Salangai" Ramalinga Adigalar's bakthi verses `Orumayudan Unadhu' set in Bhilahari and rendered by Sulamangalam Rajalakshmi was a popular hit. Another popular song is `Unnai Kandu Naan Ada Ennai Kandu Nee Aada' from "Kalyanaparisu." "Thalaiva Thavapudhalva," the song I composed for the film "Agathiyar" was set in this raga. The Hindi song "Korakagaz" ("Aradhana") owes its melody to the charm of Bilahari.
Watch thalaivaa thavaputhalvaa here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPEq9kK8hnM
K.D. Santhanam wrote the immortal ode to Kaaveri: ‘nadanthaai vaazhi kaavEri’ which Seergazhi rendered with characteristic panache. KV structures a surprise here too- he changes the pace and tune of pallavi midway; and this is the highpoint of the delightful song.
Accompanied by chorus voices, L.R. Eswari sang ‘kaNNaippOla maNNaikkaakkum ponniyamma’ written by Puthaneri Subramaniam.
Seergazhi Govindarajan had another solo ‘ulagam sama nilai peRa vENdum’. Written by Ulundurpettai Shanmugam, the song is sung by Agathiyar as he proceeds on mission to bringing balance to the earth. He avers that all inequalities ought to be ironed out and prays to God to bring contentment and happiness to all. He goes on to hope that there should be unity among people, and truth and righteousness should prevail.
Listen to ulagam sama nilai peRa vENdum
Thus KV painstakingly crafted 11 songs for ‘agathiyar’, and the songs abounding in classical richness fetched him well-deserved accolades.
* * * *
The next movie with KV’s music came in August 1972, and this was KSG’s ‘vaazhaiyadi vaazhai’ (Chitra Productions). KSG narrated the story of 2 sisters Janaki (Pramila- debut) and Kamala (P.R.Varalakshmi). Janaki is self-centered and proud of her striking appearance, while the elder sister Kamala is good-natured and docile. Her good looks fetch Janaki a rich suitor Shankar (Muthuraman). However, their father demurs as Kamala is still unmarried. Kamala then comes forward to marry a physically-challenged cook (Shanmugasundaram) so that Janaki and Shankar can get married. However, Shankar’s marital life is far from happy as Janaki goes to unreasonable extremes to preserve her looks. Fate intervenes eventually and teaches her a bitter lesson.
The highly implausible story was further worsened by an irksome melodramatic narration. KV’s songs in this movie did not do him much credit. With due respects, Seergazhi Govindarajan was perhaps not the right choice to render ‘angamellaam thangamO manmathanaadum sadhurangamO’. It seems incredible that the legendary Udumalai Narayana Kavi wrote a song that went ‘Hello sweety hello’ sung by S.V. Krishnamoorthi and M. R. Vijaya. I seem to recall another song ‘rOjaa mottum malarndhadhaam malarntha poovum sivandhadhaam’ sung by L.R. Eswari. Besides KV’s songs, KSG featured the song ‘enakkaaga vaa’ composed by K.V. Mahadevan from one of his earlier movies ‘selvam’ (1966) for a sequence in ‘vaazhaiyadi vaazhai’.
* * * *
Deepavali of 1972 saw 2 movies released with KV’s music. One was ‘annai abirami’ (Sri Kamakshi Agencies). G.N. Velumani thought he could repeat the success of ‘namma veettu deivam’ with another socio-mythological starring K.R. Vijaya. Subbu Arumugam wrote the story and dialogues. Here Vijaya played Abirami, born with the blessings of Goddess Abirami of Thirukkadayur. With her divine gifts and godly nature, Abirami brings about the deliverance of the village. Sivakumar, Senthamarai, Thengai Srinivasan, Kuladeivam Rajagopal and Manorama were the supporting actors.
The movie was a commercial failure and KV’s songs therein did not become hugely popular. Nonetheless I do recall M.R. Vijaya’s ‘naaga deivamE naangaL naadum deivamE’ being aired often even in the late 70s. TMS and M.R. Vijaya sang ‘thingaL malai soodum malai’. The longish ‘illai enbaar yaarada’ written by Ki.Va. Jagannathan and rendered by P. Suseela is another song worth recollecting, wherein the exploits of Kanyakumari, Meenakshi, Kamakshi and Abirami are recounted.
Watch ‘illai enbaan yaarada’ here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Gd7qWsWj8
* * * *
The other movie of KV to be released on Deepavali of 1972 is what is unreservedly his best film album ever, and going further, what would rank among the best Tamil film albums ever- Devar’s ‘deivam’ (Dhandayudhapani Films).
Even while retaining K.V. Mahadevan as the music director for his major movies, Chinnappa Devar had P.S. Diwakar compose music for his small-budget projects produced under the Dhandayudhapani Films banner during the 60s such as deiva thirumagaL, kaattu raaNi, thaayum magaLum, deiva cheyal and nEr vazhi. Shankar-Ganesh were introduced to Devar by Kannadasan, and soon they composed music for Dhandayudhapani Films’ subsequent ventures such as maharaasi (1967), akka thangai (1969) and maaNavan (1970). Devar got V. Kumar to compose music for his peN deivam (1970). Devar must have been highly impressed with KV’s works in APN’s movies, for when he embarked on an ambitious devotional movie with a galaxy of actors, he appointed KV as the music director.
The huge cast of ‘deivam’ included Gemini Ganesh, Muthuraman, AVM. Rajan, Sivakumar, Ashokan, K.R. Vijaya, Sowcar Janaki, Jaya and others. The movie narrated how Lord Muruga responds to the pleas of his ardent devotees facing hardships. And Devar had structured the story in such a way that the events take place in the temple towns of Pazhani, Swamimalai, Thiruchendoor, Thiruparankundram, Thiruthani and Marudamalai. Devar had taken the liberty of replacing Pazhamudircholai from the aRupadaiveedugaL with his beloved Marudamalai.
KV set about excitedly working on the album. He was working with Kannadasan for the first time and the duo came up with an amazing set of 6 songs- each song a veritable treat- one for each of the 6 temples. And KV made history with his extraordinary choice of singers, some of whom had never sung a film song hitherto. Devar, for his share, added to the history by making the singers appear on the screen in every song.
The first song is ‘kundRathilE kumaranukku koNdaattam’ featuring Thiruparankundram sung by the devout Bangalore A.R. Ramani Ammal. The heartfelt piety of the venerable singer is palpable in her cries of ‘arOhara’ towards the end of the song.
Watch kundRathilE kumaranukku here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu3I8iUrXbQ
Next we have ode to Swamimalai- ‘naadaRiyum nooRu malai’ sung by another great devotee of Lord Muruga- Pithukkuli Murugadas. The singer has his listeners in a hypnotic trance with his unhurried rendition soaked in religious fervour…
Watch naadaRiyum 100 malai here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9LD6YhNMQs&feature=related
KV got Radha- Jayalakshmi to render ‘thiruchendooril pOr purindhu’, the song set in Thiruthani. This is perhaps the only film song to be sung by Radha of the duo. The silken-voiced Jayalakshmi, of course, has many a memorable film song to her credit.
Watch thiruchendooril pOr purindhu here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7vymp-FwcU&feature=related
Seergazhi Govindarajan and TMS, both great devotees of Lord Muruga, appeared on the screen and sang ‘thiruchendoorin kadalOrathil senthilnaathan arasaangam’ filmed during the Soorasamharam festivities in the Thiruchendoor temple.
KV set the song to Mohanam. About this raga, KV has this to say: Mohanam is present where beauty and love coexist. Mohanam is a mellifluous ragam. It filters out the ill-effects of Kamam, Krodham and Moham bestowing immense benefits on the seeker. `Rama ninnu nammina' by Tyagaraja, `Gopika manoharam nagalingam namami' by Muthuswamy Dikshitar, `Mayil Vahana,' `Kapali' by Papanasam Sivan and `Ramanai Kannara Kandena' by Arunachala Kavirayar are some of the melodious compositions often heard. In cinema, `Giridhara Gopala' in "Meera" sung by M.S., `Aaga Inba Nilavinile' in "Mayabazar," `Thillayambala Nataraja' in "Sowbagyavathi," `Malargal nanaindana paniyale' in "Idhayakamalam," `Ninnu Kori Varnam' in "Agni Nakshatram," `Andanal mudal indanal varai' in "Pavamannippu," `Pazhaga theriya venum' in "Missiyamma" and `Thiruchendoorin kadalorathil' in "Deivam" are some of the super hit songs set in Mohanam.
Watch thiruchendoorin kadalOrathil here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U7VhBX21t0&feature=related
For a song sequence in the Pazhani temple, Kannadasan wrote ‘varuvaandi tharuvaandi malaiyaandi’, and KV sent for Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi and M.R. Vijaya to render the song.
Watch varuvaandi tharuvaandi here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrSopiZxuQ&feature=related
I have stored the best for the last. For a sequence involving the Marudamalai temple, KV played notes based on Darbaari Kanada and Kannadasan wrote ‘marudhamalai maamaNiyE murugaya dEvarin kulam kaatkum vElayya’. Legend has it that Devar was so moved by the lines that he gave the lyricist Rs. 1 lakh.which seemed a godsend to Kannadasan who was just then worried over lack of finances for his daughter’s wedding. KV picked a remarkable singer to render the song- the legendary Madurai Somu. Somu was said to be initially reluctant, but KV managed eventually to cajole him into acquiescence. Even then Somu insisted on rehearsals for 7 days before the song was finally recorded. And what a song it has turned out to be! To this day, this song is an integral part of temple festivities in the southern districts. This is the song you would most probably hear when tea-shops down south commence their morning routine- I have woken up everyday to ‘kOdi malaigaLilE’ blaring all over the neighborhood when I had gone for an audit in Sivakasi even as late as the mid- 90s.
Watch Somu and KV in marudamalai maamaNiyE here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82qfhI7uZf0&feature=related
Enjoy KV playing the song on violin here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htzqrzpDRnE&feature=related
Kannadasan, KV and Madurai Somu will be always with us, for this lone song has secured for them the boon of immortality.
And even had ‘deivam’ been the only movie he had composed music for, KV has claimed a glorious chapter for himself in the annals of Tamil film music.
The movie, of course, was a grand success, running for more than 100 days.
~To be continued ~
- Part 1: http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7679
http://www.dhool.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7696
