‘’Maanjolai
kiLithaano maan thaano..what a song! What a tune! But you don’t give such songs
or music for my movies..” , said that gentleman
to the young composer.
It was the 200th
day celebration of ‘Kizhakke Pogum Rail’
in the presence of a galaxy of stars in Tamizh
Cinema at that time (early 1979). No points for guessing who that ‘young
composer’ was. But I am not sure how many will get it right if I ask them to
say the name of the gentleman who made this statement.
It was none other than Sivaji Ganesan.
There is more than one irony in that statement but the most striking one is
that the tune of the song quoted, was
first composed for ‘Deepam’- the
first film in Sivaji-Raaja
combination- but was rejected by the director
and the producer, a fact which Sivaji did not know. But the fact
remains that the music ‘Deepam’ was
no way inferior. This being the case, what would have made Sivaji say that in a public forum?
I feel that Sivaji,
a man of details noticed the spark
in the composer long back and he
wanted him to raise the bar when it
came to composing for his movies.
And that is what happened after this. Irrespective of the quality of the movie,
Raaja sir’s music was always special for Sivaji
movies from then on.
Almost 14
years after this, Sivaji Ganesan
openly admitted the admiration and awe he had for ILaiyaraaja and called him one of the greatest ever after the
release and success of ‘Devar Magan’.
The admiration was of course mutual. When the great actor passed away, Raaja sir, who was running a high temperature, rushed from Bombay (he had just then completed the
BGM of ‘Lajja’) and led the funeral
procession along with the two popular
actors.
Before I take up the rare gem, let me say a few words about Sivaji Ganesan, who I consider as one of the greatest actors Indian Cinema has seen.
In my opinion, Sivaji
is one of the most misunderstood artistes. At one end of a spectrum, we have people who appreciate his
histrionics in all sentimental
movies and at the other extreme, we have people who ridicule the actor. Of course, in between there are saner voices
who know who the real Sivaji is.
Somehow, he has always been identified with that sing-song dialogue delivery. But Sivaji was a great actor not because of this alone. His expressions are unmatched
and can never be imitated. I remember reading how Rajaji-who hated films- appreciated his role as Bharata in ‘SampoorNa RamayaNam’(1958). Sivaji
stole his heart in one particular sequence when Rama(NTR) leaves him in the forest after handing over his foot wear.
‘The expression on Bharata’s face is incredible’, Rajaji would say later.
One of the many great qualities of Sivaji was his propensity to assume a great figure as his role model.
For example, for his role as ‘Thirunaavukkarasar’
in the film ‘Thiruvarutchelvar’(1967),
he chose Kanchi Paramacharya as his role model, visited the Mutt, observed him very closely and
enacted the role.
Before donning the role of a mrudanga vidwan in ‘Mrudanga
Chakravarti’(1983), he studied in depth about the great legend and genius Palghat
Mani Iyer. His movement of lips, aggressive body language while playing and
even sitting with his elbow rested on the instrument and palm on the face
before a concert were inspired by Shri.Mani
Iyer(it is a different issue that people who have never watched the mrudangam
legend in action and people who haven’t even heard that name in their life, criticized
Sivaji for his ‘over-acting’ ).
Sivaji
was also very well informed and had all details of the places (international)
in his finger tips including the history
and the geography. He had a photographic
memory. During his make-up sessions, an assistant would read out the dialogues to him and that was it. To imagine that the lengthy dialogues which were part of
the movies of the ‘50s and the ‘60s, were read out to him only once, is
quite unbelievable but it is true.
I feel the synergy between ILaiyaraaja and Sivaji
Ganesan was mainly because of the fact that many qualities are common to
both. Punctuality, Dedication, Setting a
totally new trend and starting a new
era, eye for details, Photographic memory and above all the love, passion and devotion for the profession..
Time now for the Rare
Gem.
In fact, this song
used to be very popular those days but unfortunately not many from that
generation remember this now. Supposing somebody asks me the meaning of ‘energetic melody’, I will play this song- ‘ThoraNam Aadidum’ from ‘VetRikku Oruvan’ (1980) without batting
an eyelid. Though there are many features
in this composition, the first thing
that strikes one is the prelude.
Look at the way the composition starts.
A very different kind of percussion (is
it an African drum?), playing ‘ta ki ta’ ‘ta
ki ta’ 16 times(4 cycles of chatushram)..Isn’t it amazing? Then we
have two different sounding instruments(not sure if both
are sounds from key boards or if those are rare instruments) followed by the
zestful flute. The strings move with precision to lead us
to the humming.
Rain of melody in a matter of 40 seconds!
Before I turn my attention to the interludes, I must say a few words here. At times I have been
accused of saying only good things
about a composition. So for a change, let me say a couple of negative things too.
First is the voice of TMS who sounds
totally out of place. Mind you, he was past his prime and it would have been
nice if SPB had rendered this song.
Secondly, the lyrics. I am surprised
that Panchu AruNachalam could write
so badly. If there is no link between the lines in the first stanza, the awful and below average words in the second stanza make it even vulgar to a
certain extent. Perhaps, this is where
the tune ‘covering up’ pedestrian lyrics comes into play(remember his recent show dedicated to MSV sir!).
Now that I have expressed myself candidly, let me focus
on the interludes.
The scintillating flute
plays with finesse in the beginning of the first
interlude and is intercepted by the special
sounding instrument as it completes one part of the melodic piece. Yet another sound
from the keys takes over and the
complexion changes with the higher
octave strings joining and the two making merry showing a burst of colours.
The keys play ‘ta ki ta’ ‘ta ki ta’ continuously and acts as the percussion. The guitar enters with poise and moves along with the special sounding keys. The flute which was watching the fun from behind,now
takes joyous flights and leads to the first
charaNam.
The second
interlude is yet another example of his mastery over orchestration.
The strings first play impeccably
pausing for a fraction of a second every time. The keys (another new sound) respond briefly after each piece. Now, the flute takes over and expands the melody played by the keys. What a progression!
The flute
continues to delight etching a beautiful melody in the process. The resonant guitar enters and sounds with a touch
of poignancy. By the time Janaki
sings ‘aararo aaraarira ro’ to the backing of bass guitar, we are in a spell..
.. a spell cast
by the musical magician.
‘Why man he doth
bestride the narrow world…and we pretty men walk under his huge legs’, said
the Bard of Avon.
It applies not just to Caesar..but to the two gentlemen as well..
Sivaji
Ganesan and ILaiyaraaja!
