1943 -1992
While exploring the music of Tamil films I was quite surprised to note that there were so many legendary composers , many of whom were well known during their times, but slowly have faded from our memory. All of them may not have been prolific or very successful but made a mark for themselves during their active career. Some had even composed everlasting melodies but remained obscure. While listening to the songs composed by them , I started having the idea of why not trace the journey of Tamil film music from the early pioneers to the later day maestros.
Before I start off, let me confess very honestly-this is not a scholarly work on tracing the history or evolution of music in the Tamil film industry. I am not at all qualified to do that! This is just my own perception based on the songs that I have listened over the years. This is a small tribute to all those music directors , whom I feel contributed in some way or the other to the rich legacy of Tamil film music. This is surely not an exhaustive list and I must have missed out many , which reflects only on my own ignorance or bias and not in any way on their contribution in enriching the music of the last 80 plus years .
With that disclaimer , let me try to take you on an exciting musical journey of half a century , starting from the 1943 to 1992, from the iconic film Sivakavi , to Roja , from the composer Papanasam Sivan to A R Rehman , from singers M.K Thyagaraja Bhagawatar to S P Balasubrahmanyam , from M.S Subbulakshmi to S Janaki , lyricist Papanasam Sivan to Vairamuthu ! Since the music composers involved are around 25 , I can only talk about one of their songs from the hundreds or thousands they had composed . I have also tried to give a brief profile of the music directors only. It would be too large a scope to cover the singers & lyricists in the present blog.
Most of the songs are selected based on any of these criteria: describe that music director’s individuality/ have been a trend setter / remained evergreen even after decades/in some cases it was the composer’s very first song / in few cases with just a handful of films in their entire career, they had composed some memorable songs etc. In some cases, it may not fit into any of these criteria and was just my own personal favourite. Two music directors have been covered in detail in my earlier blogs and so I have skipped the profile about them-MSV & KVM.
Listing is based on chronological order of the year of the film pertaining to the song selected and not based on the respective music director’s debut or seniority . The sequence of the details mentioned for each song is : the year the song (film) was released /song/film/singer(s)/lyricist. I have provided the links to the individual song-you can copy & paste in your browser to listen to them.
1.Papanasam Sivan
About the music director…
Paapanaasam Ramayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was a composer & lyricist . Born at Polagam village in Thanjavur district , his given name was Ramayya. Having lost his father at a young age of 7, his mother shifted to Travancore ( Thiruvananthapuram) to his uncle’s place . There he learnt music and obtained a degree in Sanskrit grammar. After the death of his mother Yogambal when he was 20 years , he turned more towards spirituality , singing devotional songs, and visiting temples. He used to apply the sacred ash ( bhasma) on his body and came to be known as Papanasam Sivan. He learnt music from Noorani Mahadeva Bhagavatar, son of Parameswara Bhagavatar and later became the disciple of Konerirajapuram Vaidyanath Iyer, a well-known musician. Prominent disciples of Sivan were D K Pattammal and D K Jayaraman, the sister-brother duo.
One of his songs…
1943: வதனமே சந்திரா பிம்பமோ , மலர்ந்த சரோஜமோ–Vadaname Chandra Bhimbamo/Sivakavi/ M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagawatar/ Papanasam Sivan
As any fan of old Tamil film songs would know, the first “super star” of Tamil films was M.K Thyagaraja Bhagawatar. The films Sivakavi had some 29 songs with Soppana vazhvil magizhndu, Amba Manam Kanindhu unadhu kadai kan, Valalai paadum vayal etc being the famous ones . The early, vintage era music was more classical music based , with bare minimum orchestration and depended more on the singer’s vocal throw , being a transition period from the stage . Still , one can notice the early evolution of use of interludes and that too different ones for the first and second. It is said that though Papanasam Sivan composed the music, orchestration was taken care by another legend , G Ramanathan. The brilliance in singing by MKT paved the way for many others to emulate.
2.S.V. Venkataraman
About the music director…
Sozhavanthan Varadharajan Venkatraman ( 25 April 1911 – 7 April 1998) was born to Varadharajan Iyer and Lakshmi Ammal. He composed for around 200 Tamil ,Telugu, Kannada , Malayalam, and Hindi films and is considered as one of the pioneers in Tamil film music. Having lost his father at a very young age of three, he could not complete his education beyond fourth standard. He acted in few films , but after breaking his hand in one of the fight scenes , he bid goodbye to acting and focused on music. He was noticed by the legendary film producer A.V Meiyyapa Chettiar and got to compose for his film Nanda Kumar in 1938. Some of the films for which he composed music are: Tahsildar, Valmiki, Manonmani, Kannagi, Nandanar, Meera ( Tamil & Hindi versions) ,Irumbu Thirai. The music for the very popular Bhaja Govindam of Adi Shankaracharya , rendered by MS Subbalakshmi was composed by him.
One of his songs…
1945: காற்றினிலே வரும் கீதம்-Kaatrinile varum geetham/Meera/ M.S.Subbulakshmi/ ‘Kalki’ Krishnamurthy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikqFFjO_2cg
I have selected his Kaatrinile Varum Geetham rendered soulfully by the venerable MS Subbalakshmi for the film Meera (1945) from the many gems he had composed ; anytime you hear this you will get goosebumps. The tune, the sweet voice of MS and lyrics of Papanasam Sivan take you into a world from which you would not like to come back. I tried to explore what is the raagam in which it was composed-there are some contrary views between Sindhu Bhairavi/ Nata Bhairavi; it is supposed to have been inspired by a 1940 Non filmi Hindi song Toot Gayee Man Beena . I listened to that original song also but the melody and feel that you get in MS’ rendition is definitely missing!
3.C.R.Subbaraman
About the music director…
C. R. Subbaraman also known as C. S. Ram (18th May 1916–27th June 1952) was a famous film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar–Ganesh duo was his younger brother. His ancestors were from the Krishna district of present-day Andhra Pradesh and due to this, his family spoke Telugu well.
During his short lifespan of about 36 years and cinema life of 10 years, he made lasting fame with films like Devadasu, Ratnamala, Chenchu Lakshmi, Balaraju, Laila Majnu and others.Though not much is known about the teachers from whom he learnt music, it is said that he was a very quick learner and was well versed in playing the harmonium at the age of 14.
He became an assistant music director in the gramophone company HMV a, after having been introduced by Sundara Bhagavatar , who was the brother of well-known music director G. Ramanathan.
He spotted the talent of a young violinist and made him his assistant. This was the legendary T.K Ramamoorthy who would later partner with M.S Vishwanathan and become a legend. He had composed music for around 35 films, in Telugu and Tamil. from 1943 to 1952 , till death snatched him away suddenly at a very young age of 36 years. One of the pioneers to bring a fusion of western and classical music, he had groomed many singers and other music directors like M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagawatar , Ghantasala, MS Vishwanathan, TK Ramamoorthy etc.
While composing the music for the film Devdas, he passed away and his assistants MSV-TKR completed the rest of the songs and background music, paving the way for their success and a long innings.
One of his songs…
1949: விஞ்ஞானத்தை வளர்க்கப்போறேண்டி – மேனாட்டாரை
விருந்துக்கழைச்சு காட்டப்போறேண்டி-Vignayatha valaraka porendi /Nalla Thambi/N.S Krishnan & T.A Maduram/ Udumalai Narayana Kavi
The song that I have selected is an amazing “ peek into the future”. The style is humorous and is more of a conversational style -almost like a melodic dialogue. What prophetic lyrics written by Udumalai Narayana Kavi!-just see these samples:
பொஞ்சாதி புருஷன் இல்லாம புள்ளயும் குட்டியும் பொறக்குறாப்புல
-Cloning!
பள்ளிக்கூடத்துக்கு புள்ளைங்க போகாம
படிக்க கருவி பண்ணியும் வைக்கணும்..
Online classes during Covid pandemic!!
பட்டனை தட்டி விட்டா ரெண்டு தட்டிலே
இட்டிலியும், காப்பி நம்ம பக்கத்தில் வந்திடணும்
-Food delivery through mobile App!!
4.R. Sudarsanam
About the music director…
Ramakrishna Sudarsanam (26 April 1914 – 26 March 1991) was a music composer who had worked in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada Malayalam, Telugu and Sinhala film industry. He started his career with the 1939 film Thiruneelakantar and composed music for few films collaborating with T. A Kalyanam , Papanasam Sivan and started composing independently with the 1947 film Naam Iruvar. The songs rendered by the noted Carnatic singer, D.K.Pattammal for Nam Iruvar, Aaduvome pallu paaduvome anandha sudandiram , Vettri ettu dhikkum yetta kottu murase ( Mahakavi Bharatiyar’s poems) became very popular and made Sudarsanam famous.
Later Sudarsanam joined the AVM Studio‘s Saraswathi Orchestra Company and started working on a monthly salary. This association with AVM proved to be a big success for him and he gave many hit songs for the AVM banner.
Many of us would have heard his famous songs without realizing who had composed them like: Vazhkai yennum odam and Ka Ka in the film Parashakti, Anbale thediya yen arivu chelvam thangam , Azhagiya mithilai nagarinile yaarukku Janaki kathirindhal, Naan oru muttalunge, Indru vandha indha mayakkam yennai yengeyo kondu poguthamma etc.
One of his songs…
1952: ஓ ரசிக்கும் சீமானே வா ஜொலிக்கும் உடை அணிந்து-O rasikkum seemane/Parashakti /M.S Rajeshwari/ K.P. Kamatchi Sundaram
Although this song was based on some Urdu song , the way Sudarshanam master had arranged the orchestration for this song is amazing considering that it was year 1952! Clarinet, Mandolin, Shehnai, Guitar, Flute all come together in a melodious medley ; note that the song has such a fast tempo and even the minute pauses between the lines are filled with small bits of instruments. That is why such songs remain evergreen even after 70 years. Also, not to forget the excellent prelude and the humming that MS Rajeshwari does with so much of grace.
5.S. Rajeshwara Rao
About the music director…
Saluri Rajeswara Rao (11 October 1922 – 25 October 1999) was known predominantly for his works in the Telugu , Tamil , Hindi and Kannada films . A child prodigy, it is said that he could identify the Carnatic raagam at the young age of four. He was taken to Bangalore from his native Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh by Mr Huchins of the Huchins recording company . He got to enact the role of child Lord Krishna in the 1934 Telugu film Sri Krishna Leelalu and became a household name in Andhra with the songs he rendered. Later he was taken into the Gemini studios by the famous producer S.S Vasan and scored music for many of their films . During his early years he also went to Kolkata and learnt Hindustani music and to play instruments like tabla, dholak, mridangam, piano, harmonium, mandolin, guitar etc. He was one of the pioneers to bring classical music to films and orchestration , mixing of sounds etc.
One of his early epic compositions was for the film Chandralekha , in 1948 , produced by S. S Vasan that had the famous drum-dance sequence. It took almost one year for him to complete the music of that film . Way back in 1942 he had composed the songs in association with M. D. Parthasarathy for the film Nandanar that had more than 30 songs , mostly sung by the legendary Dhandapani Desikar ( Ayye metha kadinam umadhadimai, Yen appan allava, yen thayum allava ). Though his compositions for Tamil films are relatively less ( Telugu films being his major focus), the song that I had selected is quite popular to this day.
One of his songs…
1955: வாராயோ வெண்ணிலாவே கேளாயோ எங்கள் கதையே -Vaarayo Vennilave kelayo yengal kadhaye/Missiamma /A.M Rajah & P. Leela/ Thanjai N Ramiaha Dass
A simple song but it has a lilting melody with a pleasing use of mandolin that keeps you engaged though out the song. The prelude of the song also has a nice clarinet . Before PB Sreenivas became the de-facto voice for Gemini Ganesan, it was AM Rajah who rendered many hits for him. This duet is made more special with the fact that it was a rare duet of Rajah and P Leela, the legendary female singer. P Leela was a classical music trained and an established singer in the Malayalam films , also had a great innings in the Tamil & Telugu films. Many would not be aware that apart from being a play back singer , she was also an accomplished Carnatic classical singer.
6.Adi Narayan Rao
About the music director…
Penupatruni Adinarayana Rao (21 August 1915 – 19 August 1991), was born in 1915 in Kakinada of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh to Penupatruni Krishnayya Gowd and Penupatruni Anasuya and was a music director, film producer, lyricist and play writer. He also produced many hit Telugu films under his own production house, Anjali Pictures, named after his actress wife, Anjali Devi. He also composed and produced music for several Tamil and Hindi films. The one film in Hindi Swarna Sundari keeps his name alive with excellent songs rendered by Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar.
Adinarayana Rao is known for blending Hindustani music in contemporary flavour and simplified orchestration, and thereby bringing his music not only to the connoisseurs but even laymen. Memorable music compositions from Rao are: “Rajasekhara Neepai Moju Theera Leduraa” in the film Anarkali released in 1955, “Piluvakuraa Alugakuraa” in the film Suvarna Sundari released in 1957. One of his most popular compositions in Hayi hayiga Amani Saage (Telugu), Kuhu Kuhu bole Koyaliya(Hindi), Thesulavuthe then malarale (Tamil).
One of his songs…
1957: தேசுலாவுதே தேன் மலராலே –Thesulavude then malarale/Manalane Mangayin Bhagyam /Ghantasala & P. Susheela/ Thanjai N Ramiaha Dass
This is one song that sounds so good in all the three languages it was composed: Thesulavude then malarale in Tamil by Ghantasala & P Susheela, Hayee hayyega aamane sake in Telugu by Ghantasala & Jikki and Kuhu kuhu bole koyaliya in Hindi by Mohammad Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar. It is a raagamalika composed so beautifully by Adi Narayan Rao in Sohini ( Hamsanandi), Bahaar, Jaunpuri and Yaman ( Yaman Kalyani). It is said that Rafi initially had requested that Ghantasala himself should sing the Hindi version as well after hearing the original Telugu version. Being the humble person that he was , he felt he may not do full justice to the song that had intricate Carnatic music base. But due to the language constraint ultimately, he agreed to sing. Though I am personally a great fan of Rafi, if we listen to the versions sung by Ghantasala , one can understand why Rafi initially had apprehensions. Superb rendition by both Ghantasala , Jikki & P Susheela in Telugu and Tamil versions.
7.Ghantasala
About the music director…
Ghantasala Venkateswararao (4 December 1922 – 11 February 1974), popularly known by his surname Ghantasala, was a playback singer and film composer known for his works predominantly in Telugu and Kannada cinema and also in few Tamil films. He is considered as one of the greatest singers & composers of Telugu cinema. He is referred to as the ‘Gaana Gandharva’ for his mesmerising voice and musical skills. Ghantasala was born in 1922 into a Telugu Brahmin family of Ghantasala Soorayya, a professional singer in Chowtapalli, a village in Gudivada taluk of Krishna District. Having lost his father when he was a child, he was brought up by his maternal uncle. He took formal music training from Patrayani Sitarama Sastry, and joined Maharajah’s Government College of Music and Dance in Vijayanagram. Before becoming a playback singer in films, he was an accomplished Carnatic classical singer.
Ghantasala had also participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942, for which he was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release , he met Samudrala Sr., who advised him to try his luck in the film industry as a singer.
Ghantasala’s first break as a singer came from All India Radio. Ghantasala debuted as a chorus singer and for a character role in Seeta Rama Jananam by Pratibha Films. After this, he assisted well-known music directors Gali Penchala and C. R. Subbaraman. Ghantasala’s first film as a music director was Laxmamma. He introduced the technique of changing the vocal pitch and diction to suit the actor singing the songs. Ghantasala was well known for rendering the Telugu padyam and was incomparable.
N. T. Rama Rao‘s first film, Mana Desam also established Ghantasala as a music composer-cum-playback singer. He was the most prolific film composer and playback singer in Telugu cinema until the mid-1970s. He composed music for many popular Telugu movies, including Patala Bhairavi, Mayabazar, Lava Kusa, Pandava Vanavasam, Rahasyam, Gundamma Katha, Paramanandayya Shishyula Katha and Pelli Chesi Chudu, and also for popular Tamil and Kannada films in the 1950s and 1960s. The song “Siva Sankari” from the film Jagadeka Veeruni Katha (1961) is believed to be one of the most challenging songs from classical Hindustani and Carnatic style and was sung by Ghantasala in a single take.
One of his songs…
1957: ஆஹா இன்ப நிலாவினிலே ஓஹோ ஜகமே ஆடிடுதே-Aaha Inba Nilavinile Oho Jagame aadidudhe /Maya Bazaar/Ghantasala & P. Leela/ Thanjai N Ramiaha Dass
The bi-lingual film Maya Bazaar was a landmark film in both the Telugu and Tamil versions. With photography and special effects that was far ahead of its times ( Marcus Bartley, the Anglo-Indian cameraman worked on this ) . Although S Rajeshwar Rao was the music director assigned initially , he quit the film due to some differences after composing 4 songs. The film’s music was then completed by Ghantasala.
8.T.R.Pappa
About the music director…
Thiruthuraipoondi Radhakrishnan Sivasankaran (T. R. Pappa) (3 July 1922 – 15 October 2004) was born in 1922 at Thiruthuraipoondi, and was from a lineage of musical family. He learnt to play violin from his early childhood. Due to financial difficulties in the family, his education was stopped in middle. He joined as a helper to S.G. Kasi Iyer, elder brother of great singer S.G. Kittappa. In 1941, he shifted to Coimbatore, and started playing violin for some of the renowned music composers . Along with another well-known violinist , TK Ramamoorthy who also partnered with the legend MSV, TR Papa became one of the highly paid violinists.
In the year 1952 he got the chance to compose for a Malayalam film Athmasanthi and was also dubbed in Tamil under the same title. Papa also composed music for many Sinhalese films. As a Nilaya Vidwan of AIR from 1946, Papa accompanied the violin for many great classical vocalists. He composed music for many devotional albums with Seerkazhi Govindarajan . The song Chinnanjiru Penn Pole dedicated to the Goddess Abirami is notable. Papa scored music for the album Abirami Andhaadhi. Papa has also served as the Principal of Madras Music College.
T. R. Ramanna and Papa were classmates in Thanjavur and when the former was in the midst of the making of the film Arunagirinathar, the music director G. Ramanathan fell ill. It was TR Papa who completed the rest of the songs.
One of his songs…
1957: நீல வண்ண கண்ணனே உனது எண்ணம் எல்லாம் நான் அறிவேன் –Neela Vanna Kannane Unadhu Jalam yellam naan ariven/Mallika /P. Susheela/ M.K. Atmanathan
Although I would have selected the immortal song Muthai tharu pathi thiru nagai from the film Arunagirinathar as TR Papa’s best song, since I had already written about that in my blog on TMS, I have selected one more gem from this composer. A unique composition , that is rendered with the usual brilliance by P Susheela and lyrics written by a relatively unknown lyricist M.K Atmanathan who was also a music director. The mandolin and flute interludes are simple but complement the very intricate tune.
9.T.G. Lingappa
About the music director…
Thiruchirappalli Govindarajulu Lingappa (22 August 1927 – 5 February 2000) worked predominantly in Kannada language films. He also worked in Tamil and Telugu movies. T.G. Lingappa was the second son of G. Govindarajulu Naidu who was also a musician and had learned music from him. His family stayed in Thiruchi. G. Govindarajulu was a harmonium player in dramas, and had also taught music to K. B. Sundarambal. His business , selling musical instruments and gramophone records in Thiruchi, was not doing well and so shifted with family to Chennai.
There , the young TGL learnt many instruments like harmonium, mandolin , guitar etc and assisted many music composers like T.A Kalyanam, R Sudarshanam & CR Subbaraman. He had even bought an electric guitar from London and had played many instruments for veteran music directors G Ramanathan, SV Venkataraman and KV Mahadevan.TR Mahalingam the noted singer had produced few films and he was the one who gave the chance to TGL to score independently for the film Mohana Sundaram in 1951. Later on, another famous film producer-director BR Panthulu started giving opportunities to TGL . Among the many films they worked together, Sabash Meena and Thanga Malai Ragasiyam had great songs.
One of his songs…
1958: காணா இன்பம் கனிந்ததேனோ காதல் திருமண ஊர்வலம் –Kaana Inbam Kanindadheno kaadhal tirumana /Sabaash Meena/T.A Mothi & P. Susheela/ Ku Ma Balasubramaniam
While searching for songs composed by TG Lingappa, I came across this gem of a song , which I heard after many decades. It is really sad that the male singer of this duet is almost totally forgotten -T.A Mothi. I tried my best to gather some information about him but surprisingly there is nothing much available in the Internet about him. Long back I had listened to some of his songs that were for the 1956 film Vaana Ratham that was a Tamil dubbed version of the famous Naushad musical Uran Khatola. The songs were set to the original Hindi tune with TA Mothi singing the songs that were rendered by Rafi in the Hindi version. Recently in the YouTube channel Quarantine from reality, I happened to hear this song composed by TG Lingappa and understood that TA Mothi had sung just for a handful of Tamil films. The song selected here shows what a great singer he was-it is really a pity that we know so little about him. The classical touch in this song reveals his mastery.
10.G Ramanathan
About the music director…
Gopalan Iyer Ramanathan ( 1910- 20 November 1963) was born in Bikshandarkoil, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. Known as Isai Methai (Genius of Music) or Sangeetha Chakravarthy (Emperor of Music) , he is considered to be one of the influential Tamil music composers to take Carnatic music to the masses. Notable for his association with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, G. Ramanathan also composed for films of Salem Modern Theatres and Coimbatore Central Studios. His career lasted until his death in 1963. During the 1950s , G.Ramanathan’s music was also one of the contributors to the box office hits of the leading Tamil movie stars Shivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.
It is a sad to know that when it comes to recording the lives and times of some of the legendary artists, we as a country are far behind. I was shocked to learn that exact date of birth of a legend like G. Ramanathan is unknown . GR’s biographer, Vamanan indicates that his birth year could have been 1910. GR’s father was Gopalsamy Iyer who worked as sub-inspector in the Indian Railways. Having lost his parents while being young, he was taken care by his elder brother Sundara Bhagawathar. He could not study beyond standard 5.
He joined the Baratha Gana Saba, a drama troupe and played harmonium at the age of 18. Then he joined the V. A. Chellappa Drama company, and sang playback and played harmonium. In 1932, he first played musical instrument for a Tamil film called Galavarishi which was produced in Bombay.
In 1938 GR became the music director for the film Sathyaseelan produced by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in Bombay followed by the Vipranarayana (old). He went on to score the music for films that were subsequently produced in Madras like Bookailash, followed by Parasuraman and Bhoologa Rambai (old). He was also a resident music director for the Modern Theatres since the beginning ( K. V. Mahadevan had also did few films for them).
GR’s genius lies in the fact that he never had proper training in Carnatic music and learnt mostly through “ kelvi gnanam “ (learning by listening). In the very early years, he had pioneered the use of extensive orchestration and pioneered the fusion of Carnatic music with western music.
GR bought out the best from his singers and gave many career- best songs for them. T. M. Soundararajan said that if one could sing to the satisfaction and the tune of GR that singer could easily sing for the tune of any music director.
GR’s last film was Deivathin Deivam by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. In the year 1963 , he died of a heart attack in the midst of composing for the film Arunagirinathar, which was then completed by T. R. Pappa .
One of his songs…
1958: யாரடி நீ மோஹினி-Yaaradi Nee Mohini /Uthama Puthiran/T.M Soundararajan, Jamuna Rani, Jikki &A. P. Komala/ Udumalai Narayana Kavi
A song that was far ahead of its times! A beautiful fusion of typical Tamil folk with Persian , jazz , rock & roll genres of music that was conceptualized way back in 1958 long before the later day maestros in Tamil film music. Around 70+ musicians rehearsed for 4 days to get this right. Right from the beginning when TMS starts off with that classic “ Ha” till the drums+ claps at the end this song will keep you engrossed. Excellently choreographed and picturised , with a stylish acting by the one and only Sivaji Ganesan, this song will last for eons .
11.Chitalkar Ramachandra
About the music director…
It may surprise many readers to see this name in a blog about Tamil music composers. It was only a few years back that I came to know that this very famous composer of Hindi films songs ( he was among the top most five legends of Hindi film music world, along with Naushad, Shankar-Jaikishan, S.D Burman & O.P Nayyar) started his career with Tamil films Jayakodi ( 1940) and Vana Mohini ( 1941), which were directed by Bhagwan Dada, the noted Marathi & Hindi actor.
Since I have written a detailed blog on CR in my Hindi film music section, I am providing the link to that so that I need not repeat the same:
The reason for selecting a music director who must have composed just 3 or 4 Tamil films is that the song that I am going to describe is a timeless classic that stands apart for its majestic orchestration , scintillating dance by two legendary dancers from the South -Padmini and Vyjanthimala . This one song is enough to keep CR’s name evergreen in Tamil film music.
One of his songs…
1958: கண்ணும் கண்ணும் கலந்து இன்பம் கொண்டாடுதே-Kannum Kannum Kalandhu Inbam Kondadudhe /Vanjikottai Vaaliban/P. Leela & Jikki/ Kothamangalam Subbu
In many aspects this song is an epic-the orchestration by C Ramachandra ( it is said that the percussion section alone consisted of around 24 musicians!), choreography by the famous dance masters Hiralal and Sohanlal brothers, and excellent dance by two leading dancers of Indian film industry-Padmini and Vyjantimala.
This song starts off with an alaap by P Leela in a classical style picturized on Padmini dancing in typical Bharat Natyam steps. I myself discovered what a great singer P Leela was only while doing some study for this blog. In 50’s and 60’s she was a formidable force to reckon with among the female playback singers of Tamil films. Just as you get enchanted with her singing, comes another legend, Jikki (her actual name was Pilavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni) who was well known for her terrific versatility. That “Jilu jilu jilu jilu endru naane , jagathai mayakkiduvene” adds an unexpected dimension to the song, which shows C Ramachandra’s genius . And who can forget that very famous catch phrase that is used by many Tamilians even today, rendered by the actor P.S Veerappa-Sabash Sariyana Poatti!!
The entire song shuffles between the classic style of Padmini-P Leela versus the reverberating western style by Vyjantimala-Jikki .
My limited knowledge about the percussion instruments prevents me from identifying exactly which of them were used, but I can easily identify, Mridangam, Pakhawaj, Tabla, Dholak, Dhol, Morsing, the typical Kerala’s Chenda vadyam etc. I am sure the rich legacy of Maharashtra’s Lavani, Tamasha & Dhol tasha( typically played during Ganapati processions ) must have influenced C Ramachandra to compose one of the best percussion pieces ever heard in film music.
12.A.M Rajah
About the music director…
Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah ( 1st July 1929- 8th Apr 1989) popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was one of those rare playback singers who was also a successful music director. A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Chhamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His family had to shift to Renukapuram in Madras, as known then, when he lost his father died at a very young age of three months. He obtained a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Pachaiyappa’s College .
Having noticed his two compositions while he was studying , the noted film producer, S.S Vasan booked Rajah for his upcoming film, Samsaram. Soon Rajah was composing for the films of MGR -Rajambal and Kumaari. When the noted film maker Raj Kapoor dubbed his Hindi film Aah in Tamil, the music directors Shankar-Jaikishan chose AM Rajah and Jikki to sing the songs.
Like it happens with many people who are too outspoken and forthright in expressing their views, Rajah ruffled the feathers of many producers, directors and music composers and became a difficult person to work with and started slowly losing out on opportunities. Even the legendary C.V Sridhar who made hit films like Kalyana Parisu, Then Nilavu with him that had evergreen songs , had to part with him after the film Then Nilavu due to serious differences . However, he continued to sing for Malayalam films under the music direction of G. Devarajan .
Rajah had a very unfortunate, fatal accident on 8th April 1989 while boarding a moving train in Valliyur station in Tamil Nadu .
One of his songs…
1961: பாட்டு பாடவா பார்த்து பேசவா-Paattu Paadava Paarthu Pesava /Then Nilavu/ A.M Rajah/ Kannadasan
The film Then Nilavu was a great musical, with many songs from the film being popular to this day. Songs like “Chinna Chinna Kannile, Kaalaiyum Neeye, Malare Malare Theriyatha, Nilavum Malarum paaduthu” and Paattu Padava”. Most of the songs based on the horse-hoof beat rhythm turn out to be hits, and this is no exception. The superb orchestration , the small flute pieces in between the lines make this song so catchy. AM Rajah and PBS were always the preferred play back for the ever-romantic Gemini Ganesan and this song by Rajah no doubt fits him to a tee.
13.Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy
About the music director…
I made a small attempt to write about the institution in Tamil film music world called Vishwanathan -Ramamoorthy in my blog:
One can never do justice in writing about this great composer duo as they had given the best songs for more than two decades together and later , as an independent composer MSV carried the baton successfully for another three decades. I may need more years of study to write further about their music; I could only touch upon very briefly about them in my earlier blog .
One of his songs…
1961: மாலை பொழுதின் மயக்கத்திலே நான் கனவு கண்டேன் தோழி-Maalai Pouzhudin Mayakathile Naan / Bhagyalakshmi/ P. Susheela/ Kannadasan
Based on the raagam Chandrakauns, this is one of those songs where the tune, the lyrics and the singing come together in such a way that you are left speechless to say which one of the three is better. Just as you get immersed in the tune with an excellent Veenai playing along, comes Susheela’s divine voice that is so captivating and when you are listening to her, Kaviarasar’s words start making you think: how can someone even think of such lines?!
இன்பம் கனவில் துன்பம் எதிரில்
காண்பது ஏன் தோழி
கனவில் வந்தவர் யார் என கேட்டேன்
கணவர் என்றார் தோழி
கணவர் என்றால் அவர் கனவு முடிந்ததும்
பிரிந்தது ஏன் தோழி
இளமை எல்லாம் வெறும்
கனவு மாயம், இதில் மறைந்தது சில காலம்
தெளிவும் அறியாது முடிவும் தெரியாது
மயங்குது எதிர்காலம்
One lifetime would not be enough to complete listening and appreciating the gems created by Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy & Kannadasan combination!
M S Vishwanathan
Why this separate section on MSV if we had already seen him along with his illustrious partner ? As I said with some music directors, the heart is not satisfied with just one . Also, logically V-R as a duo were a formidable force but MSV , even after his separation from TKR continued to rule the Tamil music industry for another two decades. Let us look at one of his iconic songs that I could not include in my earlier blog on him.
One of his songs…
1967: மாதவி பொன் மயிலால் தோகை விரித்தாள்-Madhavi Pon Mayilaal Thogai Virithhal /Iru Malargal/T.M Soundararajan / Vaali
The noted lyricist, Vaali ( Tiruchirapalli Srinivisan Rangarajan) had always considered this song one among his best. There cannot be any doubt as to why. The grandeur in orchestration that MSV has created in this song based on Karaharapriya raagam and the way the legend TMS has rendered with a virtuosity that only he can do and finally the lyrical beauty in Vaali’s words-all of these make this song eternal.
The prelude has excellent sitar, flute ,veenai and sets the tone for the song. Vaali’s mastery in describing the beauty of the heroine’s face :
வானில் விழும் வில்போல் புருவம் கொண்டாள்
இளம் வயதுடையாள் இனிய பருவம் கண்டாள்
கூனல் பிறை நெற்றியில் குழலாட
கொஞ்சும் குளிர் முகத்தில் நிலவின் நிழலாட
கலை மானின் இனம் கொடுத்த விழியாட
அந்த விழி வழி ஆசைகள் வழிந்தோட
நல்ல மாதவிப்பொன் மயிலாள் தோகை விரித்தாள்
வண்ண மை இட்ட கண் மலர்ந்து தூது விடுத்தாள்
காதல் மழை பொழியும் கார் முகிலா
இவள் காதலன் நான் இருக்க பேரெழிலாய்
MSV completes this song with a scintillating jati-swaram by TMS and a delightful percussion that has a mix of typical mridangam, ghatam, morsing, kanjeera with the unique chenda vadyam of Kerala. As I had mentioned at the beginning of my blog on MSV few months back, it is really a grave injustice that MSV was never recognized by the government for the National awards.
14.S.M Subbiaha Naidu
About the music director…
Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a. SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was a music composer, conductor, and orchestrator who worked as an in-house music composer for Central Studios and Pakshiraja Studios .SMS also worked with many films under Jupiter Pictures banner and was a favourite of M. G. Ramachandran. Born in 1914 in Kadaiyanallur, SMS ran away from home with dreams of finding his fortune in Singapore, but ended up working in drama troupes such as those of Jagannatha Aiyer and Nawab Rajamanickam Pillai. Finding himself drawn more to music than acting, SMS learned music from masters such as Rajagopala Iyengar and Subramaniya Bagavathar.
Fondly known as “Sangeethayya” in the south Indian film industries, he preferred Indian music more and generally avoided Western influence in his music. SMS worked jointly with other composers on a few movies in the early 1940s. He then composed music for the first movie in which MGR played the hero, Rajakumaari in 1947. While he was composing music for this film at Central Studious, SMS made the acquaintance of the hero MGR. This laid the basis for a lifelong friendship between the two, which was further strengthened with the films Marma Yogi Malaikkallan ,Nadodi Mannan,Thaayin Madiyil, Aasai Mugam and Thalaivan etc. His tunes were very catchy and reached the masses easily. He had given many songs to the noted actor-comedian-singer J. P. Chandrababu ( e.g Kunguma Poove Konjum Puraave) .
Some of the unique contributions and anecdotes about SMS:
- In 1947, SMS was the first music composer in Tamil film industry to start the play back singing concept with Tiruchi Loganathan singing “Kasinimel Nangal”, a playback song for M. N. Nambiar in the movie Rajakumari.
- In 1948 it was under SMS’s composition, that Kannadasan wrote his first song “Kalangathiru Manamey Un Kanavellan Nanavagum Oru Dinamey” for Kanniyin Kathali , sung by K. V. Janaki.
- M. S. Viswanathan and Kannadasan, always acknowledged many a times the crucial role played by SMS in shaping their career. They had organized a grand function to celebrate the 60th birthday of the master composer.
- It was M. S. Viswanathan who took care of the childless SMS and his wife at his own house and attended to their every need with solicitude till their end.
One of his songs…
1962: சிங்கரா வேலனே தேவா-Singara Velane Devaa /Konjum Salangai/S. Janaki/ Ku Ma Balasubramaniam
In my opinion, this song can be considered as one of the best ever by S Janaki. The way she took up this challenge with the unique instrument of South India-Nadaswaram that is known for the highest octaves is remarkable. The nadaswaram for this song was played by the noted Nadaswara Vidwan Karakurichi Arunachalam who was an expert on this very difficult-to-play instrument . Composed in the Aabheri ragam by SMS, he chose the perfect singer S Janaki based on the recommendation by another legendary singer P Leela who suggested that only SJ would be able to match the pitch of the nadaswaram.
The lyrics of this song are just a few lines ..the rest is all about the fantastic duet between S Janaki and the Nadaswaram…really an iconic song that will be remembered for centuries.
15.K.V.Mahadevan
About the music director…
In my earlier blog “ The under-stated elegance of K V Mahadevan, I had described the person and his music as a humble tribute to this veteran who gave excellent music for almost half a century in the South Indian film industry . I am providing the link to that blog here:
I have selected a song that I could not include in that blog( there will be hundreds of such songs !)
One of his songs…
1963: சின்னஞ்சிறிய வண்ண பறவை எண்ணத்தை சொல்லுதம்மா –Chinnanchiriya Vannapparavai Ennathai solluthamma/Kungumam/T.M Soundararajan & S. Janaki/ Kannadasan
Darbari Kananda is a favourite raagam in both Tamil and Hindi film music and most of the songs based on this raagam are hits; this song is no exception. Like in many of KVM’s compositions, the tune , lyrics & singing take predominance over any extra-ordinary orchestration. At the stage when the heroine ( played by Sharada) starts fumbling in the lines Ulagam theriyavillai, ondrum puriyavillai, the hero ( Sivaji Ganesan) chips in and goes to the stage to support her . And that is where this song goes to the next level. The “jugal bandhi” -a competition between them is a masterpiece in composition and singing. The majestic voice of TMS and the soft and sweet voice of S Janaki complement each other so well. Both perform the intricate alaap towards the end of the song brilliantly.
There is an anecdote behind this song. It seems Seerkazhi Govindarajan was originally supposed to sing this but on insistence of Sivaji this was given to TMS . Once in an interview I heard TMS himself saying that Seerkazhi might have done a better job as he was well versed with the type of intricate alaap at the end of the song, but sometimes , the actors play a major role in choosing the singers rather than the music directors!
16.G.K.Venkatesh
About the music director…
Gurusala Krishnadas Venkatesh (21 September 1927 – 17 November 1993) primararily worked in Kannada cinema during the 1960s, 1970s and until the late-1980s, but had also composed music for Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. He is credited with bringing in Western background score into Kannada films and had composed music for many popular movies of Rajkumar in the 1960s to 1970s.
Born in a Telugu family, Venkatesh learnt music from a very young, veena from his elder brother G. K. S. Pathi. Even as a teenager, he began playing Veena for the great music directors such as S. V. Venkatraman, S. M. Subbaiah Naidu and C. R. Subburaman. Apart from being a composer , GKV was also a talented singer. While working under S. M. Subbaiah Naidu , he had become close to M. S. Viswanathan (MSV) during the late-1940s.
In 1952, he composed music independently for a Malayalam film, and gradually progressed with Kannada films and soon became a much sought after and one of the successful music directors in Kannada films along with T. G. Lingappa and Vijaya Bhaskar. GKV launched P. B. Sreenivas as a successful singer in Kannada films. At some point of time Ilaiyaraja and L. Vaidyanathan were playing instruments under GKV’s troupe, assisting to compose music. Fate had some ironic twist in his life and after the debacle of losing his money in producing a film, GKV was taken into Ilayaraja’s orchestra as a mark of respect by the former student to his guru.
GKV was also a technical wizard apart from being a fine composer. His re-recording techniques , use of instruments in his songs and background scores still feels fresh and advanced even today. Although the number of Tamil films for which he had composed music were not too many ( less than 20) , he left his indelible mark with some evergreen melodies like the one mentioned here.
One of his songs…
1971: தொடுவதென்ன தென்றலோ மலர்களோ –Thoduvathenna Thendralo Malargalo/Sabatham/S.P Balasubrahmanyam /Kannadasan
One of the very early hits of SPB ( he must have been just around 25 years when this was made), one can hear the youthful voice of SPB , full of expressions and that typical “signature” laugh at the end of the song when he says “ malargalo” . A very stylish composition is what one can say about this GKV’s song that he composed after a long gap in Tamil films. Ilayaraja himself played the guitar in this song , which has his expertise stamped all over.
17.Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
About the music director…
Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan (2 March 1935 – 8 September 2008) was a famous classical music violinist and a music composer for few films. When one listens to him playing the violin , it appeared as if it was a toy for him that could do whatever he wanted! Purists may not like his style but he brought the difficult instrument to the masses with his amazing bowing skills. He was known for his dexterity and subtlety in handling the violin and catered not only to the music scholar but also to the layman. His play reflected his own different moods and the demands of his audience with whom he established and enjoyed a good rapport. He dwelled with ease and competence in the high as well as the low octaves.
At the age of 12, he used to accompany great stalwarts like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Maharajapuram Santhanam in vocal concerts as a violinist and had even performed with Nadaswaram vidwans like T.N.Rajarathinam Pillai and Thiruvenkadu Subramania Pillai. He stopped accompanying vocal artistes in 1976 to concentrate more on solo concerts. He was famous for his fingering techniques on the violin. His interest in new attempts and innovations led him to work with veteran thavil vidwan Valayapatti_A._R._Subramaniam. They performed over 3,000 shows together. Vaidyanathan had deep faith in the therapeutic merits of music.
He also made a significant contribution to Tamil devotional music. A. P. Nagarajan giving him his first break in the movie Vaa Raja Vaa. He had several hits such as Agathiyar in which “Sirkazhi govindarajan” acted as Agathiyar. And Raja Raja Chozhan, for which he scored music, were also phenomenal hits.
One of his songs…
1971: வென்றிடுவேன் உன்னை வென்றிடுவேன் எந்த நாட்டையும் நாதத்தால் வென்றிடுவேன்-Vendriduven Unnai Vendriduven, Yentha Nattaiyum Nathathaal Vendriduven/ Agathiyar/T.M.Soundararajan and Seerkazhi Govindarajan /Ulundurpettai Shanmukham
Before writing about this song, I should first thank God for having been born as a Tamilian , for the language has such a great beauty in the play of words. The entire song set as a raagamalika ( should I say a mini encyclopaedia of various raagam!) of sixteen different raagam has a beautiful play of words that convey a meaning and also the name of the raagam.
Nattai, Bhairavi, Thodi, Aarabi, Shanmugapriya, Darbar, Hamsadhwani, Vasantha, Mohana, Manolayam, Bageshwari, Saranga, Kambodhi, Gowri Manohari, Kalyani and Saraswati are the 16 raagam mentioned.
The beauty of the Tamil language is that each word leads to multiple meanings and interpretations like : Yendha Nattaiyum nadhathal vendriduven here means he can conquer any “ nadu”-country with his “ nadham”-song and this line is sung in the Nattai raagam. The entire song goes like this ( it is an eight-minute song) and whoever understands Tamil can enjoy and appreciate the beauty.
The lyricist Ulundurpettai Shanmukham must have had a real challenge when the producer A.P Nagarajan and music composer Kunnakudi wanted him to incorporate the name of raagam in each line. The main point to note is that with all the word jugglery, the entire song conveys the competitive challenge between Ravanan and Sage Agasthiyar. Though the story is that they both had a competition on playing the instrument Veenai , for cinematic experience it was felt that a song would have more appeal. For Kunnakudi , it must have been a child’s play to compose being the vidwan he was, but the lyricist really came up with a masterpiece.
As far as the legendary singers TMS and Seerkazhi were concerned, I do not have any qualification to comment anything about their singing as they were so great .
Such songs are really one in a million!
18.V.Kumar
About the music director…
Varadarajulu Kumar (V. Kumar-28 July 1934 – 7 January 1996) was born in Chennai, Tamilnadu on 28 July 1934 to Varadharajulu and Dhanabhakiyam couple. Known as Mellisai Maamani, V Kumar was introduced to Tamil film music by K. Balachander and had composed music for many of the films of Balachandar , especially in the early years.
Nothing much is known about him from the Net . It was so great of late Shri S.P Balasubrahmanyam for providing some information about him in his Youtube program Simply SPB. I could understand the V Kumar was a very amicable and simple person who had very good relations with all those he worked with. In that program , SPB explained about how he lost out the opportunity to sing one of the greatest ever compositions of V Kumar ( the song selected in this blog), Unnidam mayangugiren, ullathaal nerungugiren .
Like it always happens when there is someone so immensely talented in the music field, others , no less talented generally lose out . Many of V Kumar’s great compositions were thought to be that of his more illustrious contemporary, MSV. When you go through this small list of songs, you would be surprised to know that these were all composed by V Kumar. In spite of having tough competition from MSV, KVM , V Kumar had created a niche for himself and gave many evergreen melodies.
- Naan unnai vaazhti padugiren nee varavendum
- Aduthathu Ambujatha paatheella, ava aathukaarar konjaradhe kettela
- Aadi adangum vaazhkayada aaradi nilame sondhamada
- Oru naal yaaro yenna paadal
- Kalyana saapadu podava
- Thamarai kannangal then malar kinnangal
- Vetri venduma pottu paarada edhir neechal
- Punnagai mannan poovizhi Kannan
- Naan unnai vaazhti paadugiren nee varavendum
- Kaadhoduthaan naan paaduven
- Unakenna kurachal nee oru raja
- Moothaval nee koduthai vaazhvile munnetram
- Devan vedamum, Kannan geethayum oru padayil
One of his songs…
1975: உன்னிடம் மயங்குகிறேன் உள்ளத்தால் நெருங்குகிறேன்-Unnidam Mayangugiran Ullathhal Nerungugiren / Then Sindhude Vaanam/K.J. Jesudass /Vaali
One of the best compositions of V Kumar, this song has an excellent piano in the prelude and throughout the song with a beautiful feel of a ghazal. As mentioned earlier , V Kumar initially wanted SPB to sing this but as he was very busy those days, he could not get his time. Ultimately this went to KJY and as SPB himself said in his Simply SPB YouTube channel, it went to the right singer! For KJY also this remains one of his best songs in Tamil.
19.Shankar Ganesh
About the music director…
Not much information is known about this duo who shared the first name with another legendary musician duo of Hindi film world Shankar -Jaikishan. What I could gather was that Shankar ( Shankaraman) of this duo was the younger brother of the famous music composer C R Subbaraman ( mentioned in this blog at serial number 3) . Even his birth date or year is not known, leave alone any other personal details .
After lot of struggles, having knocked the doors of various composers , they began their career playing various percussion instruments and assisting them. They had worked as musicians for G Ramanathan, Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy and GK Ventatesh. Gradually they became as assistants to Viswanathan– Ramamoorthy in the mid 60’s . When Kannadasan started his own film titled “Nagarathil Thirudargal” , they got the opportunity to score the music. Unfortunately, this film was shelved , but Kannadasan introduced them to Chinnappa Devar and they had their first hit film Magaraasi in 1967. As a mark of respect to both Kaviarasar Kannadasan and Chinnappa Devar they used to call themselves ” Kavinger vazhangiya thevarin” Shankar Ganesh.
They hit the jackpot when the musically inclined MGR gave them two films :Naan Yen Pirenden and Idhaya Veenai which helped them come up as successful music directors. Shankar from the duo died early; however, Ganesh continued take the band forward with the name Shankar–Ganesh.
In the 80’s , Ganesh had a major accident when a parcel received by him purported to be from someone seeking a chance as a singer contained a tape recorder and cassette and on switching it , he was badly injured as there was a bomb blast. Luckily , he pulled on despite the setback and continued his musical journey.
One of his songs…
1975: என் காதலி யார் சொல்லவா இசையென்னும் பெண்ணல்லவா-Yen Kaadhali Yaar Sollava / Thangathile Vairam /K.J. Jesudass & S.P. Balasubrahmanyam /Vaali
The most unique thing about this song is that this was the first Tamil song that the two legendary singers of South , KJY & SPB sang together . Although it is supposed to be a disco song , it has a nice melody . It is really to the credit of Shankar Ganesh that despite working amidst the stalwarts like MSV, Ilayaraja , they created a niche for them and gave some memorable hits.
20.V Dakshinamurthy
About the music director…
Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy (9 December 1919 – 2 August 2013) was a veteran Carnatic musician and composer and music director of Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films, predominantly in Malayalam films. He has composed music for nearly 125 films. He composed around 1400 songs over a period of 63 years. Fondly known as Dakshinamurthy Swamigal, he was instrumental in pioneering classical music-based film songs. A well-respected figure in both Malayalam & Tamil film industry for having groomed many of the singers.
Dakshinamoorthy was born on 9 December 1919 as Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy Iyer, to Parvathiammal and D. Venkateswara Iyer a Bank Officer, at Mullakkal in Alappuzha, Travancore, British India. His interest in music was nurtured in part by his mother, who taught him keerthanas of Thyagaraja Swamikal when he was still a child. He also learnt Carnatic classical music from Venkatachalam Potti in Trivandrum.
In 1948, he came to Chennai with his parents and had his first opportunity to compose independently for the film Nalla Thanks in 1950. The hero of the film was Augustin Joseph, a well-known stage actor and singer, who was also the father of renowned singer K. J. Yesudas.
R. K. Shekhar, father of the music director A. R. Rahman was his assistant for a few films. He was one of the very few artists to have been active even at the age of 93, when he was still composing .
One of his songs…
1977: நந்தா நீ என் நிலா, நிலா- Nandha nee yen nila / Nandha nee yen nila/S.P.Balasubrahmanyam/Ira Palanisamy
This was very popular when it was released , but over the period it must have been forgotten . A beautiful composition set in Dharmavati raagam, this is one of the early classics of SPB . The richness of his voice and his ability to sail through the extra-ordinarily long Pallavi with ease is simply amazing. The very structure of the Pallavi is something unique and reflects the genius of Dakshinamurthy swamigal.
21.Ilayaraja
About the music director…
Ilaiyaraaja is a name that needs no introduction . For a majority of Tamilians , the day is not complete without listening to at least few of his songs, especially for those who were in their early teens when he stormed into the Tamil music world like those hundred violins bursting forth in a symphony, typical in his compositions. Born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943, in a small village Pannaipuram , he became a leading musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer and ruled the Tamil film world like an emperor. Honoured with the title Isaignani he is one of the most prolific Indian composers, in a career spanning over forty-five years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts.
In his later years, Ilaiyaraaja started to celebrate his birthday on 2 June instead, so that people of Tamil Nadu can celebrate only that of Karunanidhi on 3 June, as both their birthdays fall on the same date. It was done out of respect for the late politician who bestowed him the title “Isaignani”.
While working for his first film Annakili, Tamil film producer Panchu Arunachalam added the prefix “Ilaiya” (Ilaiya meaning younger in Tamil language) to the name Raaja, and renamed him as “Ilaiyaraaja”, as in the 1970s there was another popular music director with the same suffix, namely A. M. Rajah
His life story is quite well known to almost all and so I need not write much about his initial struggles and the break he got with Annakili film in 1976 . If the phrase in English “ like a whiff of fresh air” can be musically defined it has to be with the type of music that he brought in . For the initial two decades or so, when people like me in college days used to listen to his songs , one can never predict how the song would progress, especially the preludes, interludes, the unique instruments he would use. Like a magician he would take few notes from the Tamil folk music, set them in a Carnatic raagam like no would have ever thought about and then suddenly at the unexpected moment he would introduce the western symphony notes …and then blend them into a sublime melody that would make the listener go into raptures. For me , one of his immortal songs, Poonkadave thaazh thiravai always remains the defining song which carries all the elements I had just now mentioned.
Like I had said in my earlier blogs about the older legends like KVM, MSV ,for a person uninitiated into the intricacies of music , it would be a sacrilege to talk about his music. For that I need to listen more to his songs , may be for years with the knowledge of the raagam, the western notes he had used in composing them and may be after that I can attempt to write something!
One of his songs…
1976: மச்சான பாத்தீங்களா மலை வாழை தோப்புக்குள்ளே –Machhana Pathheengala Malavazha Thoppukulle/ Annakili/S. Janaki/ Panju Arunachalam
Again , it would seem outright silly to talk about one song from thousands of melodies he had created , but I would always consider this one song as the defining moment in Tamil film world. It just split the Tamil film history into Pre -Ilayaraja and Post -Ilayaraja. When I ( like million others ) listened to the first humming of S Janaki: Laaali lali lalo…laaali lali laloo…yen machane, machhnane….machane patheengala , mala vazha thoppukkulle …with the flutes playing in tandem with S Janaki , the interludes that were like a roller-coaster ride .it was like Oh God …what is this ….who is this composer …how can one even think of such a tune and more so the orchestration that was never-dull-a-moment. Ilayaraj had arrived….and it was a great 20 plus years of sheer bliss for Tamil music.
This was also the beginning of a great innings IR had with S Janaki and later with SPB, KJY, Malaysia Vasudevan, Jayachandran, and many new singers he introduced like Jency, Chitra , Sujatha into the Tamil film music world.
22.T Rajendar
About the music director…
Thesingu Rajendar (born 9 May 1955), also known T. Rajendar or T. R., is an actor, filmmaker, musician, cinematographer, and distributor. TR is known for being able to speak mostly in rhyming sentences that has become a sort of his trademark !
The sleeper hit film , Oru Thalai Raagam propelled him into the industry . Apart from being a music director & lyricist he normally does the multiple roles of director, actor, art director, production manager and even playback singer. During the 1980s, many of his movies were successful and his songs usually had some unconventional music pattern and lyrics that sometimes appeared to not exactly fit into the metre but somehow, he could carry that off successfully and became a sort of USP for him. Over the years, his films became too predictable, tending to follow the similar storyline and oratory style of repetitious dialogues.
However, as a music director he did give some good hit songs that were very popular those days.
One of his songs…
1980: வாசமில்லா மலரிது வசந்தத்தை தேடுது-Vasamilla Malaridhu, Vasanthathai Theduthu / Oru Thalai Raagam/S.P. Balasubrahmnayam/ T Rajendar
There was some controversy as to who actually composed the music for Oru Thalai Raagam, with the official credits initially been given to A A Raj, which was disputed by T Rajendar and he had even vowed not to see that movie at all. However, if one listens to this song , it does have that unique style of lyrics and tune which defined TR’s music. Personally, I am not a great fan of his music , but as a chronicler of Tamil film music, I should definitely include him. Leaving aside my personal bias, he did compose some very good, popular songs like:
- Moongilile paatisaikkum kaatralaiyai thoodhu vitten
- Yenthan paadalgalil nee neelambari
- Vaigai karai kaatre nillu…etc
23.L. Vaidyanathan
About the music director…
Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan 9 April 1942 – 19 May 2007) was an acclaimed violinist and music director , trained in the classical Carnatic music. He was born in Chennai to V. Lakshminarayana, and Seethalakshmi, both accomplished musicians. He was the elder brother of accomplished violinist duo L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam. He was famous for having composed the tunes of the iconic TV serial : Shankar Nag’s Malgudi Days ( the title tune ‘Thaana na nana’ ). All three brothers received their musical training from their father.
Vaidyanathan started his career assisting the noted music director G. K. Venkatesh and composed the score for over 170 films in languages including Tamil and Kannada. His notable works include Pesum Padam, Ezhavathu Manithan, Dasaratham and Marupakkam in Tamil. He was one of the best music arrangers in the country and was known for his use of rare and unknown instruments, subtly mixing sounds from the mandolin, flute and violin with various folk percussion instruments before the advent of present-day technological advances in sound mixing. He collaborated with C.Ashwath and composed music for many Kannada movies in the name Ashwath-Vaidi.
One of his songs…
1982: காக்கை சிறகினிலே நந்தலாலா –Kakkai Chiraginile Nandalala/ Ezhavathu Manithan/K.J.Jesudass/Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharatiar
Although he was not much popular as a music director in Tamil films, having scored for very few movies , personally I always liked this song from Ezhavathu Manithan as it was a unique composition . The song has a very beautiful melody and at the same time a jazz style orchestration . For a Mahakavi Bharatiyar’s poem this was a unique experimentation .The way he had brought out the deep baritone of KJ Jesudas makes this song one of the best every by KJY.
24.V.S Narasimhan
About the music director…
Narasimhan is the son of the violinist Gottuvadyam Srinivasa Iyengar. He studied Carnatic music from age four under his father and used to accompany his father in his concerts. Narasimhan also learnt Western classical music and entered Tamil cinema as a violinist, playing for all leading composers like S Rajeshwara Rao, Ghantasala, Vijay Bhaskar etc. While working with G K Venkatesh as violinist he got into a friendship with Ilayaraja who was also working for GKV as a guitarist and assistant . This led him to work with Ilayaraja right from the debut film of Ilayaraja -Annakili.
His violin in the films Raja Paarvai and Netriken were remarkable for their excellence. Narasimhan debuted as a composer with Achamillai Achamillai (1984), having chosen by the director K Balachandar. He had also contributed to Ilaiyaraaja’s non-film albums like How to Name It?, Nothing But Wind etc.
One of his songs…
1984: ஆவரம்பூவு ஆறேழு நாலா நீ போகும் பாதையில் –Aavaram Poovu Aarezhu Naala Nee Pogum Padhayil/ Achhamillai Achhamillai /S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & P. Susheela/ Variamuthu
Starting off with an excellent humming by P Susheela , this melody has a totally different feel and was a great hit when it was released. The interlude music were unconventional and SPB ‘s excellent voice and singing added more charm.
25.A.R. Rehman
About the music director…
Allah Rakha Rahman was born A. S. Dileep Kumar on 6 January 1967 is a music composer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with some forays into international cinema. Rahman started off his career composing documentaries, jingles for advertisements and Indian television channels. Rahman’s film-scoring career began during the early 1992 with the Tamil film Roja directed by Mani Ratnam. This film was a turning point for him as it had become quite a hit not only in Tamil but in Hindi also. This success was followed by many Tamil films, like Bombay, Kadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda, and S. Shankar‘s debut film Gentleman. He is nicknamed “Isai Puyal” (musical storm) and “Mozart of Madras”.
Many of his songs have a classical base with a western treatment and orchestration that was unique and had superb audio effects. One of the flop movies, Duet had some of the best songs he had ever composed and they are my personal favourites. Like Ilayaraja, I need not write much about him as any Tamil music fan would be knowing better than me . Together, IR and ARR brought Tamil film music to a pan-India and even international stage that none of their predecessors could ever achieve, despite composing equally good music.
One of his songs…
1992: புது வெள்ளை மழை இங்கு பொழிகின்றது –Puthu Vellai Mazhai Ingu Pozhigindradhu/ Roja /Unni Menon and Sujatha Menon/ Variamuthu
Like how IR revolutionized the music scene with Annakili, ARR ‘s debut film Roja brought another dimension to Tamil film music. The use of synthesizers, keyboards and electronic music got more prominence and gave the listeners a completely new experience . This particular song , gives you a real feel of the white snow-clad Himalayas, perfectly in sync with the situation.
Over a period, ARR’s music with superior sound effects, orchestration would take more prominence , at times even rendering the singer & lyricist’s role to the side-lines. My own passionate listening to Tamil film songs ended with the early 90’s and I have not been following much of it subsequently, having moved out of Tamil Nadu . Hence my personal journey of Tamil film music ends with ARR.
If any reader is wondering why I have not talked about Deva, Vidyasagar, Harris Jayaraj , Yuvan Shankar Raja, D Imman and the more recent Anirudh, Santosh Narayan etc she has to pardon my total ignorance about their music.
Due to the constraint of length of the blog, I might have missed out many music directors even from the period I had covered-may be one day I shall write about them .
Acknowledgements: I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:
- You Tube
- Wikipedia
- Ms. Shubashree Thanikachalam’s videos in YouTube -Quarantine From Reality
Disclaimer:
The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been mentioned and embedded here only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.
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