Musical Hatari..

Danger!

This is what Hatari means in Sawhili language.Swahili is one of the many dialects of Africa.’Hatari!’ is also the name of a 1962 film directed by Howard Hawks and John Wayne.The film was very popular in the ‘60s and the ‘70s because of many reasons.

It had some breathtaking live wildlife chases never seen before on the screen.

It was shot near the picturesque Mount Meru, a dormant volcano near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

The actors (and therefore the characters) were from different parts of the world like the USA, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy.

One of the most popular tunes in the world , the ‘Baby Elephant Walk’ was composed for this film by the world renowned composer Henry Mancini. Mancini was the winner of Academy and Grammy awards and has also scored music for the ‘Pink Panther’ theme- a beautiful piece in Jazz.

Another world- class composer, who hails from India and who has given many excellent songs over the last 33 years gave a song that according to me is a Musical Hatari!

And that is today’s Rare Gem.

The song is ‘Nandavanaththil Vandha Kuyile’ from the film ‘Annai Oru Aalayam’(1979).

The Hero takes the Heroine for a ride(literally and metaphorically!).

Hunting is his hobby and the Heroine- as usual- is scared of animals and the forest.
He takes her on his jeep to show her the myriad hues of the forest.

The entire song is very fast and moves aesthetically like a Cheetah!

The opening itself is very beautiful and prepares us for the Ride.

The Pallavi in the magnificent voice of SPB is an incredible combination of power and elegance.

In fact, the entire song brings out the subtleties and the contrast. For example, the beginning of the first interlude is westernised with the electric guitar and the allied instruments and suddenly the flute appears from nowhere.

It gives traces of the Raag Jog. The beats then change when the trumpets take over.

The CharaNam is also astonishingly beautiful and we feel like being in KaLakkad forest.

We get to see the lions, tigers,antelopes,jackals, elephants in the second interlude.

The Bass work is so wonderfully conceived to give us the feel of the forest, the animals and the ride.

Truly a musical Hatari!