Thoughts on the philosophical song, so much a part of our films at one time, but not anymore.
As a movie, I did not care much for Manjhi: The Mountain Man, but there are some interesting things in it, like the song O Rahi. I’m talking about its lyrics, which go Chal apna rasta bana… Badlega khud ko to hi badlega yeh jahaan… Chingaari hogi to aag jagegi… Go make your own path… Change yourself and see the world change… You have to light a spark to make a fire. These are the kind of words you used to find on motivational posters on office walls – which, these days, have been downsized to positive-thinking pictures on your Facebook wall. These particular lyrics aren’t the greatest, but I’m talking about the genre of the song: the philosophical (or spiritual, or motivational) song that rises above the specifics – the specific character, the specific film – and resonates with a larger truth, something that could be about you or me. It was good to see a film make room for such a song again.
The most moving story I’ve heard surrounding this genre of song has to do with the Tamil lyricist Vaali. Accounts of his life have it that he was contemplating suicide at one point, until he heard a song (Mayakkama kalakkama, from the film Sumaithaangi) written by the legendary Kannadasan. That’s the power a popular song can wield, and Kannadasan had a godly talent for imprisoning cosmic truths in five-minute bars of melody. It’s impossible to pick one, but take Aasaye alai poley… Wishes are like waves, we are but boats that bob on them. It isn’t just the thought. It’s the astounding imagery. The restlessness, the tidal pulls of the water. The rockiness of the boats on them, mirroring the wavering mind. The words are like exfoliation for the soul. It’s why night was invented. The clamour of life over, you sit back and clear the mind with this uniquely Indian mode of musical meditation.
The romantic duet shows no sign of disappearing. The let’s-have-fun-with-friends number, too, is alive and kicking. Even the sad song keeps popping up. But the philosophical song is on life support. You hear a reassuring wheeze once in a while. Yun hi chala chal from Swades. Or the gorgeous Arziyaan from Delhi-6, with the plea Marammat muquaddar ki kar do Maula, as if fate were something that could be repaired, like a table with a wobbly leg. And this year, we’ve had the superb Unakkenna venum sollu, from Yennai Arindhaal, with a father jotting down life lessons for his daughter. Maybe this isn’t exactly a philosophical song – the Tamil term, thathuva paadal sounds so much better – in the sense that it’s a little too tethered to these two characters, but it’s a great example of how a song with philosophical undertones can be fitted into a modern-day movie (a mammoth star vehicle, no less), whose rhythms are expressly determined to indulge the texting-tweeting audience.
The young audience, in other words. Ask a filmmaker why he doesn’t commission philosophical songs, and he’ll probably say that you can’t just thrust a heavy-sounding number into a narrative meant for young audiences, for whom most movies are made today – they’d hoot, holler, or worse, tune out of the film and start updating their Twitter feeds about how bored they are. Maybe that’s why films, these days, don’t pause to reflect, to philosophise. Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya… I went along where life took me, blowing off worries like cigarette smoke. Songs don’t get much younger, happy-go-luckier than this number from Hum Dono, and yet it’s hard to see today’s young audiences sit through a stretch where the protagonist just… mused like this. What would Dev Anand’s songs – or Raj Kapoor’s, for that matter –have been like if today’s distractions had existed then? Maybe we’d have had no Jeena yahan marna yahan… Or Kisiki muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar… Or Kiska rasta dekhe…
The placement of this kind of song is as important as its presence, and one of my favourite instances is from Gunga Jumna. The story is about two brothers from an underprivileged family who end up on opposite sides of the law, and right from the first scene we see these oppositions. The teenaged Gunga is already doing menial jobs. The younger Jumna, though, is destined for greater things. Hinting at the law-keeper he will become, we see him hunched over his schoolwork, reciting mantras (Lying is a sin… Stealing is a sin) that, in the hands of a lyricist, could well yield a philosophical song. A little later, Gunga and his mother drop Jumna off at school and go to work. It’s a typical upper-class household – a shrewish wife, an alcoholic husband. After yelling at the mother, the wife asks Gunga to rouse the still-sleeping husband, who ends up thrashing the boy for his efforts. The camera zooms in to register the boy’s face, his hurt, and we cut to the teacher at school leading the class in the marvellously idealistic Insaaf ki dagar pe, whose lines are like the mantras Jumna was reciting earlier. It’s a philosophical song, all right, but it comes as a counterpoint, as if to say that idealism is all well and good if you have the luxury of sitting in school and spouting those ideals. That’s its own kind of philosophy.
An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright ©2015 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
MANK
September 5, 2015
Brangan, my favorites. SD Burman and shailendra were really good at creating philosophical songs
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7KR67xAVj5U
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z6Lr0JYAro
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDHmknKBDM
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andyetitmoves
September 5, 2015
Your article immediately brought to mind piya milenge from Ranjhanaa in recent(-ish) times, the song at that time made me wonder where these songs are as well. May be it’s narrow minded of our film industry to assume that today’s youth wouldn’t appreciate the odd thatthuvam..
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olemisstarana
September 5, 2015
May I add another here? “Ae malik tere bande hum…” from Do Aankhen Baarah Haath. I bawled when I saw the movie the first time, though Sandhya is always a bit much for my taste. It’s been so long since I saw the movie, but what I remember of it is this incredibly moving elegy to a man who believes in others and the power of inherent goodness. I must revisit and see if my developing rational brain had the taste that I thought it did. You know, as I am typing this, it feels a little more like a dirge and perhaps not completely apropos to your point, but I’ll leave it here anyway because I love the song and will be humming it all day now.
We really don’t have songs of this sort much any more, do we…
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David Wooderson
September 5, 2015
Vairamuthu used to infuse philosophic lines and musings wherever he had the chance. It is sad that Karki generation of lyricists doesn’t find a way or not willing to do it due to unwillingness of both filmmakers and the audience.
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Salim
September 5, 2015
Interesting topic. One of my favourite philosophical songs:
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Sev
September 5, 2015
Great read. While listening to the song and its picturization brought tears into my eyes. Such pathos! Thanks for bringing it back to my notice. Such craft has become so rare in Indian films (uncool I guess is how it appears to the new-age filmmakers) so as to appear extinct. I am glad someone mentioned the Piya Milenge song from Raanjhnaa. I feel like such craft of popular Indian film-making might just stay alive, howsoever weakly, in the hands of filmmakers who have emerged from small towns like Anand Rai, Vishal B, and their ilk. Rank outsiders who devoured Indian films while growing up in the decades before the NRI/cool type filmmaking and rampant inflection of “upscale” rich kids from the manors of Bollywood stars took over virtually every aspect of filmmaking. Its ironic, but the more connected these filmmakers are to Bollywood through their families, the less they seem to have understood or imbibed the lost crafts of watching, appreciating, recognizing and making what used to be a regular, commercial hindi movie.
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Madan
September 5, 2015
Ask a filmmaker why he doesn’t commission philosophical songs, and he’ll probably say that you can’t just thrust a heavy-sounding number into a narrative meant for young audiences, for whom most movies are made today
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Anu Warrier
September 5, 2015
Brangan, it is interesting that you should muse on philosophical songs. A long time ago, I’d done a post on them:
http://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-favourites-philosophical-songs.html
(If it’s a faux pas to post a link to my blog here, please delete this comment.)
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Rahul Tyagi
September 5, 2015
Somehow, just reading the tagline under the post’s heading made me think of Luck By Chance songs rightaway, and then in a fraction of a second my mind jumped to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, then Lakshya, then Rock On (clearly the mind works in non-mysterious ways… it just seemed to follow the Farhan Akhtar/Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trail). I have always thought Rahman has done quite a few such songs, but clearly SEL (and Amit Trivedi with many of his male-chorus-anthems…a la Udaan!) seem to be doing many more of these in recent(ish) times!
And now I’ll just keep coming back to “Ye Zindagi Bhi”, “Sapno se Bhare Naina” and “O Rahi Re” throughout the day! 🙂
Ek raasta kaanto ka hai, ek rasta phool ka
Tujhpe hai, kaun se, tu raaste ko chuney
Ek raasta hai soch ka, ek rasta bhool ka
Tujhpe hai, tera dil, ab kya kahe kya suney
Hoga tera hi ye faisla,
Hai sochna, ya bhoolna….
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cl
September 5, 2015
As I was reading this I kept wondering how difficult it must’ve been for you to choose and mention just one song when, I’m sure, you’ve would’ve been thinking of a dozen others too written on similar lines and equally good. 🙂
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M. Pranav Rohit Kasinatgh
September 5, 2015
I really liked your thoughts in this article. However, I think Music directors like Amit Trivedi do leave a lot of space for philosophical songs in their repertoire. The song ‘Naav’ in Udaan is uplifting to say the least. “Zinda hoon ” from Lootera tackles the righting of wrongs and has wonderful lyrics and lastly “Haan Reham” from Aamir is a song that addresses divinity. “Nenje Ezhu” from Maryan is a good example of recent uplifting songs!
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Di
September 5, 2015
My fav
Kuch reet jagat ki aisi hai
Har ek subah ki shaam hui
Tu kaun hai tera naam hai kya
Seeta bhi yahan badnaam hui
Phir kyon sansaar ki baaton se
Bheeg gaye tere naina
Kuch toh log kahenge
Logon ka kaam hai kehna
People will talk; let them. Because the people who berate him for coming (openly) to a whorehouse (and her, for being a whore) are the same ones who sneak into the brothels under cover of darkness.
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Akhilan
September 5, 2015
Really nice read BR. In the recent past, one of my favorite songs along similar lines is: ‘Der Lagi Lekin’ from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara…
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SVP
September 6, 2015
I wish there were such songs today. I think the ‘shayari’ pieces from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara are variants for the younger generation – meant to be sent as forwards and text messages and put up on Facebook walls.
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brangan
September 6, 2015
cl: Oh yes, it’s always difficult in these short pieces to write about all the songs/films you like — and then you’ll have someone piping up with “But how could you write about philosophical songs and not mention this song…” 😀
But then I know that the comments section will bring up more songs and the discussion can continue there.
Oh, and yes, Sapnon se bhare naina is a great number. S-E-L, when they were in form, were really something.
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cl
September 6, 2015
“Kannadasan had a godly talent for imprisoning cosmic truths in five-minute bars of melody.”
– YES !
This philosophical song in a female voice (for a change)
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Santosh Kumar T K
September 6, 2015
“marammat muqqadar ki kar do maula” has a thematic cousin in a “bigadi kismat aapke dar par sanvarati hai arre qismat sanvarati hai” from “piya haji ali” 🙂
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ThouShaltNot
September 6, 2015
When it comes to Kaviarasar, it is a problem of plenty and cherry picking can be a fool’s errand, but here are my picks:
Mounaththil vilayaadum mansaatchiye…
(Prelude to the song is this: “So, you want to know something about this nothing…but one thing, it is a nasty thing!” Ah, Kannadasan’s paean to pangs of conscience masquerading in myriad forms)
Ninaikka therintha manamey, unakku marakka theriyaadhaa…
(This is a lament of a lover who is wilting under impending separation)
Siriththu vaazha vendum, pirar sirikka vaazhnthidaathey,
Uzhaithu vaazha vendum, pirar uzhaippil vaazhnthidaathey…
(a simple, cheerful and mood uplifting song)
My choice of Hindi song (not sure who penned it) that resonates wistful simplicity, “Koi lauta de mere, beete huye din, beete huye din woh mere, pyaare palchin…mere khwaabOn ke mahal, mere sapnOn ke nagar, pee liya jinke liye, maine jeevan ka jahar…”, which with the inexorable march of time, makes the lines achingly real!
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cl
September 6, 2015
Gulzar ! 🙂
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Sifting
September 6, 2015
Since ‘cl’ and ‘salim’ have already added a couple of beauties, adding another
Note: Haven’t figured out how to post songs here – BR could you please do the favour if it doesn’t.
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gvsafamily
September 6, 2015
Hasn’t the tradition been kept alive in Tamil cinema? Rajnikanth, for instance, tries to fit in a ‘thathuva padal’ in most of his movies (examples – my favorite ‘oruvan oruvan mudalali’ or the more recent ‘Oh Nanba’. IMO, even ‘Ballelakka’ from Sivaji qualifies) Maybe except in Enthiran (which was anyway a very un-Rajni like film)
But of course all these come with such heavy Rajni touches that the ‘thathuvam’ is also relegated to secondary role!
Someone like Vijay or Surya too try to do it in their own way, I suppose, mostly by interspersing ‘thathuvams’ in their macho intro song. So I think the thathuva padal very much exists even today, but has just morphed into a different (perhaps, unrecognizable) form.
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brangan
September 6, 2015
gvsafamily: Not really. Those songs are direct descendants of the hero-glorification-cum-thathuva-paadal that MGR pioneered… Moondrezhuthil en moochirukkum… etc. Except it’s more overt now.
If you take the sub-genres of the thathuva paadal, then it’s still somewhat there. The hero-glorifying somg is one. The amma-aatha song is one (we had one as recent as VIP)… in the sense that it could apply to anyone who’s missing his mother. But I guess I was talking about songs with a level of abstraction in them.
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yoganand netrakanti
September 6, 2015
Sir, Why does your article has confined itself to Tamil movies, lyricists and even Hindi. In fact there are a number of songs penned in Telugu in the yesteryear lyricists. Even well-known lyricist in Telugu late Sri Veturi Sundarramamurthy has written a number of songs which exhort the audience. For instance “Krushi Vunte Manushulu Rushulautaru” (If there is effort humans will turn sage-(my own translation) have from ‘Adavi Ramudu'(1977). Another contemporary lyricist Srivennela Sitaramasastry continues to pen a number of lyrics some of which have “positive thoughts” in a very cryptic meaning hidden in the lines. Whether it is about human relations, love, laughter or even personality development.
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satishkvasan
September 6, 2015
Khushi aur dukh mein farak na mahsoos ho kahan,
Main dil ko us makam mein lasts chala gaya..
Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya…
So beautifully written, composed, sung and finally Dev Anand on screen..
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Ram Murali
September 7, 2015
My all-time favorite philosophical song is “Ellorum Sollum Paatu” written by Vaali in “Marupadiyum.” I think I’ve mentioned this song in various forums numerous times just because it reflects my attitude towards and respect for the song. As dramatic as it may sound, the truth is, the song has become a part of my life. It has been a feedback loop of sorts for me ever since I was in my early 20s, quite immature, impulsive and was going through a low (thanks to my own doing; no one else to blame) phase. The sheer power of the lines in that song have been absolutely taken me out of my present moment every time I listen to it. Esp. the lines, “Naayagan Mel Irundhu… Noolinai Aatuginraan… Naamelaam Bommai Endru Naadagam Kaatuginraan” and “MayakkangaL Nervadhillai Thelindhavar Nenjiley” It’s sad that they don’t make them like these songs anymore!
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savitha
September 7, 2015
Sure, songs are so much part of my life. I start the day humming a song and end on the same tune; it gets so fixed in my head. The other day I was in a terrible fix and totally disturbed, when out of pure coincidence a call I received had a ringtone ‘dharmam thalai kakkum thaka samayithil uyir kaakum’. So true !!!
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tonks
September 7, 2015
Raj Kapoor’s songs wouldn’t have been as affecting, had it not been for Mukesh’s voice with its unique quality, its depth of feeling that seemed almost tailor made for this sort of a song with sadder overtones and more serious lyrics
How silly seem the petty, ego based squabbles and molehills of life that loom like mountains, when you consider that, at the end of the day :
“Ik din bik jayega maati ke mol”.
And it helps to keep things in perspective by reminding ourselves :
“Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon
pal do pal meri kahani hai
pal do pal meri hasti hai
pal do pal meri jawani hai”
And this Malayalam thathva ganam compares the egoistic, self centred thoughts and competitive behaviour of humans to waves in the sea that compete with each other in futility
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Rahini David
September 7, 2015
Musings:
#1: One song that I would like to see remixed/remade/recycled is “Thairiyamaaga Solli Manithan Thaana” 😛 It would be nice to see what the current crop does with a topic like that. First, the songs chastised drunkards, then they were given philosophical songs and then the drunkards took over and stopped being even slightly apolgetic about it. This type of trend is what I was talking about in the other thread. Having an eye open for these can amuse us a lot.
BTW, Is the song “Thom Karuvil Irunthom” supposed to be philosophical? That song always confused me. What is he saying there?
#2: Older songs had heroes itself singing these songs, MGR (Unnai Arinthaal), Sivaji (Antha Naal Mudhal), Gemini (Manithan Enbavan theivamagalam) all had their share. Even the women had their chance in “Konji Konji Pesi Madimayakum” etc and so did the comedians in “Puthiyulla Manidharellam” and others
For some time (late 70s, 80s and early 90s), the Thathuva Paadal was sung only be Vagabonds or beggars who will witness what is going around them and pass commentary. Examples being “Deivam Thantha Veedu”, “Pookalai Pareekatheenga Kaadhalai thaan murikaatheenga”, “Akkam pakkam paarada chinna raasa” etc.
Even Prashant started being all philosophical when his granny does not allow him to enter the house in “Nadanthal Irandadi”. Is homeless not a problem anymore or are the vagabongs not wise anymore?
#3: Having a mike in your hand can make the philosophical juice flow in your brain. “Ovoru Pookalumea”, “Kan pona pokilea” and “Ellorum Sollum Paatu” being the ones in the top of my brain.
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Ketan
September 7, 2015
Good read BR. I am quite surprised that no one mentioned the title song of “Kal ho na ho”. Or for that matter “Bas itna sa khwab hain” from Yes Boss. And then there was this song from Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman which was on similiar lines but unable to recall it at this moment. “Jab koi baat bigad jaaye”from Jurm too is a good example in recent ( ok, not so recent) times.
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PN
September 7, 2015
The comment about Rajni reminded me of my favorite moment from “Linga”- its when they are building the dam and there is like a “Let’s Do this” song, I think its called “Indianeee va”.
It gave me goosebumps- as hearing Rahman’s voice always does, and I shed a tear or two in my patriotism 🙂
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Rahul
September 7, 2015
Nothing beats this for me
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?7v=a0PIHBB7Lh8)
— Rahul, getting an “invalid video ID” message
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Iswarya
September 7, 2015
The words are like exfoliation for the soul.
Was that line subconsciously inspired by “Erumbu tholai urithu paarka yaanai vandhadhadaa/ Idhaya tholai urithu paarka gnanam vandhadhadaa”? 🙂 Another proof of Kannadasan’s awesomeness!
The near-demise of the genre of philosophical songs is one more good reason why I think I was born at least one generation too late, given my penchant for metaphysical musing. I was the kind to hoard these songs on my mp3 in my late teens and reserve them for my go-to-sleep playlist. A great favourite back then, even when I knew very little Hindi and barely understood the whole lyrics was this:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nI51ESCus1U
And with Tamil, I still remember how keenly I waited to catch Simla Special on TV just to see what led up to Kamal’s heartbreaking disillusionment with false friends in this song:
It was a song that used to regularly affect me when I was still a vulnerable school kid and make me all misty-eyed, but by the time I grew up and happened to finally watch the whole movie, I was hugely disappointed by how much that movie was undeserving of that little gem of a song (as I felt then). Which makes me wonder, if a heavy song like that could be fit into such a featherlight movie then, what is it that makes it impossible for movies today to support any such songs at all? Is it due to the lack of any kind of inner conflict these days in the movies which can be resolved neither by fistfights nor by drinking bouts?
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Iswarya
September 7, 2015
The Chandrababu/Nagesh/Johnny Walker genre of songs seems gone forever. Maybe because the sort of crowd that throngs theatres these days resents any form of even mild criticism/ribbing directed at itself! Instead when comedians choose to sing anything alongside the hero these days, it’s only more of the misogynistic/TASMAC rubbish. There is the occasional “Kandha Karavadai” kind of attempted satire, but it takes care not to tread on the toes of its core group of patrons.
The last time I remember hearing a full-fledged philosophical song in Tamil was in that unlikeliest of all films, “Gemini” with its “Thalakeezhaa porakuraan..” sung by a bereaved gangster!
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doctorhari
September 7, 2015
Totally second Ram murali’s comment above. That is one beautiful, almost other-wordly song. Apart from the lyrics what elevates that song is the unhurried tune and the simple orchestration. One more song that comes under that category for me: Chittuku chella chittuku (Nallavanuku nallavan).
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ThouShaltNot
September 7, 2015
Kaviarasar wrote in his now famous AOT song, “Vaazhvin porul enna, nee vandha kadhai enna?”, which more or less sums up the category of “thathuva paadal”. It is a contemplative/meditative song about a person’s station in life, or life’s tribulations or its sweeter moments. Etc. In such a song, the lyricist extrapolates the film’s context to a generic context. The really gifted poet also imbues it with evocative imagery. In the Tamil movie scene, there were others, but for sheer range and pithiness (IMO), Kannadasan was the Colossus. For e.g, take KA’s metaphor for the condescension of the high and mighty… Paramasivan-Paambu’s poser to Garuda. And the lines,
“Uzharandha idathil irukkumbodhu ulagam unnai madhikkum,
un nilamai konjam irangi vandhaal nizhalum kooda midhikkum,
madhiyaadhaar thalaivaasal midhikaathey endru, avvai sonnadhu”
is a neatly put transcendent truth, but has great relevance to the story in Sooryakanthi. Not just his movie songs, he was good outside it too. His “Anubavamey Kadavul” had these lines
pirappil varuvathu yaadhena kaettaen,
pirandhu paarena iraivan paniththaan
(and off he goes, one after the other)
…
irappu enbathu aedhena kaettaen,
irandhu paarena iraivan paniththaan
and he wraps up with this beauty:
anubaviththey dhaan arivathu endraal,
aandavaney, nee aen, ena kaettaen
aandavan sattru arugu nerungi,
anubavam enbathey naan thaan endraan
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silverambrosia
September 8, 2015
Am enjoying the thread and several of the songs posted. Wish I could contribute with lots of songs but am also finding it difficult to recall many now. Listened to ‘Bas itna sa khwab hai’ after a while and enjoyed it. There’s also ‘Rangeela Re’ from Rangeela which is in a similar vein… The first song is saying I have huge dreams, and is an elucidation of just how big those dreams are. The Rangeela song is more like ‘if you sent your mind/heart to it, you can achieve anything’.
I really like the ‘insaaf ki dagar pe’ song and love the film it comes from. Some lines are more reflective of the mindset prevailing at the time the film was made such as ‘duniya ke ranj sehna, aur kuch na munh se kehna’, that idea doesn’t serve much purpose, but aside from that the song encompasses so much. There’s so much there that anyone want to impart to their kid. As you mention, the song effectively juxtaposes the situation of Jumna, sitting in class enthusiastically imbibing the ideals which will go on to have a massively formative role in his life, while Ganga is toiling away in other people’s homes bereft of the opportunities his brother will come to enjoy. The film is a very good exploration of long-standing questions concerning how far we are culpable for our wrongdoings and how far our successes (or relative incorruptibility) can be attributed to ourselves. One position is similar to that implied by the ‘Rangeela Re’ song i.e. that we are what we make of ourselves. The counter perspective is that when one is reasonably well established in life, it is easy to retrospectively appropriate credit for having steered on the right path, and that many things are not purely contingent on ourselves but are determined by externalities. The film ‘Ganga Jumna’ suggests that it’s a combination of both things, but holds that ultimately we are responsible for ourselves. I find myself in a large part agreeing with that. Though, I can think of extreme situations and circumstances, where virtually everything is determined by externalities, and the concerned individual really cannot exercise any volition of their own. This piece is about songs, and the kind of musings and thoughts they provoke about, so i don’t think i’ve gone too off-topic.
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Shalini
September 8, 2015
“it’s hard to see today’s young audiences sit through a stretch where the protagonist just… mused like this.”
I think that’s the key point – meditative songs exist even today in films but they are invariably background songs now, no one actually sings them on screen. The Swades number you mentioned might be the last instance of an actor willing to muse out loud. The same is true of the “sad” song. Can’t imagine a Deepika or Kangana or whoever is it these days, lip-syncing “chand phir nikla magar tum na aaye.” Song acting in general is a dying (dead?) art. Perhaps we should take a cue from those old philosophical songs and keep moving. 🙂
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brangan
September 8, 2015
Shalini: Gasp. You’re putting up a Gulzar song. Gasp. 😀
Iswarya: Sometimes it isn’t even about the lyrics. I mean, there are many Kannadasan songs where you marvel at the words and the exactitude of the fresh rhymes (aamai / oomai). But even his “simple” lines are breathtaking.
Vaazha ninaithaal vaazhalaam
Vazhiya illai boomiyil…
This one just gets to me every time. The sly ‘zha’ rhyme-pattern apart, this is almost like prose. But the thought is astounding. When someone comes whining to you, this is really the best thing you can say: Just get a fuckin’ grip, dude. Stop snivelling. There’s a ton of other things you can do. (That’s my attempt at translation for the ‘yo’ generation 😀 )
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cl
September 8, 2015
That song from “Parichay” reminded me of this from “Namkeen”
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cl
September 8, 2015
This is getting all serious and sombre, so …
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tonks
September 8, 2015
An example of a recent song with philosophical lyrics :
Chithirai Nila from Kadal
chithirai nila, orey nila
parantha vaanam
padacha kadavul
elame othaiyile nikkuthudey
nee kuda othaiyile nikkuradey
ettu vai makka
ettu vachu aagasam thottu vai makka
April Moon, single moon
wide skies
god who created us
all standing alone
you are also longing alone
step ahead friend
stead ahead and touch the skies friend
manithan ninaithal
vazhi pirakkum
manathil-irunthu
oli pirakkum
puthaikindra vidhayum
muyarchi kondal thaan
boomiyum kooda thaazh thirakkum
if the human being desires
all new doors would open
Light would flow from the heart
even the planted seed
need to try hard
to open the lock earth
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SK
September 8, 2015
Great piece!
The one song that immediately came to my mind was “Bawara Man” from Hazaron Khawaishein Aisi. Not very philosophical but..
I have been reading your posts for a long time, finally get to comment 🙂
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Iswarya
September 8, 2015
Tonks:
Is that translation yours? 🙂 That first line “April Moon” totally took me by surprise!
BR: (Let down by the URL in my previous comment. It’s a favourite song also. Can you help fixing it?)
As Shalini says, the actors/directors of that period could really sell that kind of singing on screen. Even “Vaazha Ninaithal” with Sivaji doing all the goofy whining stuff worked because they all somehow seemed to believe in it. The way the so-called philosophical songs are shot these days, either perfunctorily, or worse manipulatively as in “Ovvoru Pookalume” (which I dislike in equal parts for its bad grammar, two-penny motivational gyan, maudlin exploitation of the physically challenged and the unedifying sight of Sneha mouthing the song in her insufferably schoolmarmish manner, phew..) makes you wish they just didn’t bother with this genre at all. That, and a dearth of decent lyricists to pull it off. Can’t think of anyone other than Thamarai or in rare, inspired moments, Na.Muthukumar turning out anything worth the name.
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usha
September 8, 2015
A lot of the songs listed here are part of my life…in good times and bad times..
some additions
zindagi aa raha hoon main – mashaal
sansar se bhage phirte ho – chitralekha
tora man darpan kehlaye – kajal
door gagan ki chaaon mein – title song
door ka rahi – jeevan se na haaro jeene wale
recent movies-
chale chalo (lagaan) and bande me tha dam (munnabhai).
jahan ravi nahi pahunchta vahaan kavi pahunchta hai. So true..
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brangan
September 8, 2015
Oh, I hate/ detest/ loathe “Ovvoru pookkalume.” Ugh. Just gives me the heebie-jeebies. Another song that does that to me is “Anandha yaazhai…” The preciousness (beginning with the word “yaazh”) is insufferable. Sorry, had to vent 😀
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ThouShaltNot
September 8, 2015
Back for second/third helpings. Little do you realize, that a little indulgence here (KA of course) can lead you astray. But, I believe addiction to his art doesn’t require atonement. Chews up space for sure, but as long as BR doesn’t banish, what the hey?! Or as the bard himself put it elsewhere, “mangai ullam pongum bodhu, vilangugal aedhu”. I am no mangai, but irrational exuberance does afflict a man (or a paamara rasigan if you will), although I promise my exuberance is finite and fleeting 🙂
Within the movie space, there is the “veedu varai uravu, veedhi varai manaivi, kaadu varai pillai, kadaisi varai yaaro?” or “ninaipadhellam nadanthuvitaal, dheivam aedhum illai” etc, but his encapsulation of filial bonding in the last stanza of “Malarndhum malaraadha..” will remain a timeless masterpiece. Savithri waxes eloquent about her brother (to her little one) thusly:
Siragil enai moodi arumai magal pOla, valarththa kadhai sollavaa
Kanavil ninaiyaadha kaalam idai vandhu, piriththa kadhai sollavaa
…piriththa kadhai sollavaa
Kannil mani pOla maniyin nizhal pOla, kalandhu pirandhOmadaa
Indha mannum kadal vaanum maraindhu mudindhaalum
Marakka mudiyaadhadaa, uravaip pirikkamudiyaadhadaa
Poof. You need one hanky for the on-screen duo of Sivaji-Savithri, but you need another hanky for the emotive power of those lines (assuming you are moved by such sentiments). But, it was not all tearjerkers that he reveled in. He was equally good if not better with his Kaadhal varigal. There were many, but here is one that sparkles most for me
unnaik kaanaadha kannum kannalla, unnai ennaadha nenjum nenjalla
nee solladha sollum sollalla, nee illaamal naanum naanalla
ingu nee oru paadhi, naan oru paadhi
idhil yaar pirindhaalum, vaedhanai paadhi
kaalangal maarum, kaatchigal maarum,
kaadhalin munney, neeyum naanum vaeralla
Touche! Ok, I’m outta here 🙂
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tonks
September 8, 2015
Iswarya: I know and love Tamizh as much as my mother tongue, Malayalam, but I would not venture to translate on my own, at least not here, where there are so many experts around 🙂 That was from the net 🙂
Speaking of which, I probably consider Tamizh, the most poetic language I know. The beauty of the lyrics :
*Muzhumathi avalathu mukhamaakum
Mallikai avalathu manamaakum
Minnalkal avalathu vizhiyaakum
Mounangal avalathu mozhiyaakum
Maargazhi maathathin panithuli avalathu kuralaakum
Makarandha kaatin maankutty avalathu nadayaakum*
I know Hindi as well as I know Tamizh. Is it only me that feels that the Hindi lyrics of the same song (and to be honest, most ARR songs that have both Tamizh and Hindi versions) lack the same poetry?
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superfan
September 8, 2015
Why, no film reviews this week? Payum puli, welcome back….
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Iswarya
September 8, 2015
BR: You just made me feel like a co-conspirator from some secret society out to torch the people who rave about “Anandha Yaazhai.” That song won some awards and all, I believe, and what the heck! It’s an awful, awful mess of, as you say, the “precious” and the “pedestrian,” with zero cogency in the images! It borders on the schizophrenic. It seems to be built on the principle of, ‘hey.. let’s toss all this together and see what comes out.’
The very first time I heard the song for myself after being conditioned by a lot of raving praise, I went like, OK… twanging lyre, then… colouring book? If love was an umbrella, in the sense of protection (an image worthy mostly of an LIC ad), then is it faulty love or a leaky umbrella that gathers a thousand raindrops into it? That word “kootugiraai” additionally was such a strained and idiotic rhyme to pick up! And I’m like, give me a freaking break! If this lyrics is winning awards, I’m going to stop listening to songs right away.
And somewhere in the middle, he describes the beauty of the landscape or some such thing, as “unbearable”! Like literally!
So, so glad to know you hate the song too. I had begun to suspect my own (and despair of others’) judgement about that particular song since nobody else seemed to notice anything wrong with it! 😀
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Iswarya
September 8, 2015
Tonks: I’m no good at Hindi, but I know this is a fairly common comment made about many ARR songs. Surely you must have heard the anecdote about Vairamuthu’s “Poongatrile” from Uyire?
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Madhu
September 8, 2015
Just gives me the heebie-jeebies.
BR! Thank you, thank you! Same here, somehow I can take ‘kadavul ullamey’ from Anbulla Rajnikanth – which is something of the same sub-genre, if you will – than that fake-y ovoru pookallumey. That whole Sneha portion in Autograph gives me heebie-jeebies! 😀
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Iswarya
September 8, 2015
ThouShaltNot: This thread is certainly eating up comment space (BR, please excuse) and as you say, no apologies for Kannadasan love! In talking about his ability to capture subtlest shades and moods of love, there is nothing to equal how he spells out the pangs of long-separated but mature love here:
Ennangalaale paalam amaithu
Iravum pagalum nadakkavaa?
Ithanai kaalam pirindhadhai enni..
Iru kai konde vanangavaa?
Forget for a moment how beautiful the opening image is. It’s the last line that always affects me so much there. If it were the panting passions of a younger love, they would picture a very different reunion, but the sober love of a wife who had high-mindedly left her husband not to be an obstacle to his research obviously has a quality of hero-worship to it and the expression of her joy would first be a gesture of grateful submission both to the heavens and to him, as Kaviarasar so perfectly underscores here.
Wow, now the recollection of that song has just made my day! I will listen to “Kaadhal Siragai” on a loop all day inside my head. 🙂
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tonks
September 8, 2015
If this lyrics is winning awards, I’m going to stop listening to songs right away.
Iswarya : surely you mean “if these lyrics are winning awards” -sorry couldnt resist 😉
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tonks
September 8, 2015
Surely you must have heard the anecdote about Vairamuthu’s “Poongatrile” from Uyire?
Nope, I’m afraid not.
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Madhu
September 8, 2015
Some of the songs aren’t on-your-face philosophy, but the beauty of messages conveyed is a treat.
Take the song ‘ezhudhugiren oru kaditham’ from Kalki:
munooru naal garbathiley vaaraadha pen neeyadi
or the lines
oomaikkum naakkugall vendumadi
urimaikku porida thevayaidi
I automatically (and unfairly) attribute the lyrics of that period to either Vairamuthu or Vali, but I have no clue who the lyricist is – any idea, anyone?
Or the other one ‘engirundhu vandhaayadaa’ from Five Star, which describes the pain of being lonely in a marriage; by Thamarai:
vizhaakallil ivall thanithirukkiraal
kanakkallil dhinam vizhithirukkiraal
The whole song has beautiful lyrics throughout.
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Priyangu
September 8, 2015
Something on these lines in this article, it would also be nice to see an article from BR on why there aren’t any movies these days about philosophers/ saints? When the recent “Baahubali” movie was announced, I initially thought it was about that saintly man standing upright in Shravanabelagola. Even that story would have been riveting, at least going by what I’ve read in Amar Chitra Katha several decades ago. Is it just that people may not like the ending of a macho hero becoming a saint giving up all the pleasures of life?
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Shalini
September 8, 2015
@Di – your comment is a straight copy and paste from Anu’s blog post on her favorite philosophical songs. Would have been nice to acknowledge that and credit her.
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Ram Murali
September 8, 2015
Madhu – Ilandhevan (according to the Kalki wikipedia page) wrote the lyrics for the songs in “Kalki.” Haven’t heard of him at all. But the lines that you cited were lovely. It also reminded me of the haunting “Kanne…Navamaniye…” song from “En Bommukutti Ammavuku.” I have a fascination for songs like that that manage to express pain in a beautiful manner. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I have even more respect for songs like “Ellorum Sollum Paatu” which do a fabulous job of describing pain and offering words of solace. In that respect, I also love “Pesugiren…Pesugiren…” from “Satham Podaathey,” esp. the line, “MutruPulli Arugil Neeyum Meendum Chinna PulligaL Vaithaal Mudivenbathum Aarambamey…” I thought that the play of words with a period and ellipsis was very creative.
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Iswarya
September 8, 2015
Tonks: Er.. Was almost sure I’d typed “this kind of lyrics” and dashed off the comment in a hurry. But this blog can boast of a rising number of red-pencillers these days and that somewhere makes me so happy! 😉
As for the Uyire episode, remember reading somewhere or watching it said in some awards function that Gulzar marvelled at the “Poongatrile” lyrics so much that he picked a bone with ARR for having made him compose the Hindi version “Aye Ajnabi” first and so giving him no chance to compete with what VM had done. Tried googling for a link now to verify the story, but don’t seem to find one.
Shalini: Does Di write under another name in this thread? Couldn’t find whose comment you were referring to! Just curious.
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Rahul
September 8, 2015
Apologies, BR. Not sure how that happened. It is “beet gaye din bhajan bina re” written by Sant Kabeer and sung by bhimsen joshi
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brangan
September 8, 2015
tonks / Iswarya: Heh. Sivaji-kke Santhi theatre-kku vazhi sonna kadhaiya irukke 😛
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tonks
September 8, 2015
BR : to be frank, I was holding my breath till now, in case there was some unique grammar rule that allowed that usage, which I did not know about 😉
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Srinivas R
September 8, 2015
Tonks: Though I agree that in general, Tamil versions of ARR songs have better lyrics, the example you gave is actually an exception IMO. The Hindi version of the lyrics was better fit for the events on screen, IMO. That sense of being together but with a distance was better conveyed in Hindi lyrics, I thought.
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Srinivas R
September 8, 2015
About thathuva padal, I am fan of the inspiration + hero worship songs of Rajini, the best being “Vetri nichayam” from Annamalai.
imaya malai aagamal, enadhu uyir pogadhu
sooriyan thoongalam, enadhu vizhi moodadhu
quoting from memory, so apologies if it’s wrong.
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Madhu
September 9, 2015
Ram Murali: Thanks for that. I haven’t heard about this lyricist either. Pesugiren is one of my favorites too.
Vairamuthu’s, metha vaangunen thookatha vaangala is another imagery that is too beautiful in contrast to the pain behind it. And in the same Mudhal Mariyadhai, I love the raasavey unna nambi number too, those lyrics and that music!
One of the favorites from Kannadasan – vandha naal mudhal – such a soothing song with meditative lyrics.
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Iswarya
September 9, 2015
Watching the “Zindagi Ka Safar” video here led up to “Oh Mere Dil Ke Chain” and then I googled a bit more to stumble on Ittefaq (1969). Rajesh Khanna seems to have appeared as an artist/painter in quite a number of films, and this was the thought that struck me: Why don’t we have any movie heroes these days in these “inward” kind of roles? Why are they all only blue-collar workers/small-time crooks/policemen/jobless wastrels and so on – basically characters who either have no “inner life” to speak of, or at least whose “inner life” is never explored in films? Even if a movie is made about a struggling artist, all the problems are more or less externalised, like alcoholism, financial problems, family discord, lack of recognition and so on. I’m thinking of the one-offs like “Mugavari” here. Is it because the audience can no longer relate to the idea of inner conflict? I think the whole genre of philosophical songs taps into that part of life, the musing-reflective-reasoning part of life which, for all intents and purposes, seems to have completely vanished from the screens. Is it essentially a soulless generation growing up watching mainstream movies now?
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tonks
September 9, 2015
You are probably right Srinivas because I have not seen the movie, so I do not know about the lyrics fitting the events on the screen. I only spoke about the beauty of the words and the way they sound when sung and for that, I stand by what I said. At least that is how I feel :).
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ThouShaltNot
September 9, 2015
@Iswarya: Agree with what you say about his deft handling of love in those lines. He could also write exquisitely about besotted love (of a different kind) as he did in “Gangai karai thOttam, kanni pennin koottam, Kannan naduviniley…”. But, this song belongs to P Susheela and her mesmerizing voice. She casts a spell all the way (and I say that as a big SJ visiri) and KA’s lyrics (much as they hold their own) are mute spectators to the magic PS weaves.
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ThouShaltNot
September 9, 2015
Syntactic BooBoo: Kanni penngal koottam…
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Iswarya
September 9, 2015
ThouShaltNot: No disagreement there at all! – Another big PS fan 😉
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ThouShaltNot
September 9, 2015
If metaphysics is right up your alley, KA has that covered too 🙂 His
“Kodi asaindhadhum kaatru vandhadha, Kaatru vandhadhum, kodi asaindhadhaa…” takes on the good old chicken or egg question. He then makes merry with many fun posers and responses. OK, it’s just a sweet song.
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Srinivas R
September 9, 2015
I haven’t listened to much of old Hindi songs, so my favorites of philosophical songs in Hindi are more recent. Usually the sufi numbers seem to hit a right chord with me. My fav is “Allah ke bande” and Kailash Kher has this quality of sounding like a wise old voice speaking to you personally.
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Vivek
September 9, 2015
BR – whatever you do, do not take this blog down. Ever. This is where I come to, when I crave for thoughtful discussions in good English, amongst other things! 🙂
On this post, SPB came up with a gem in “Sigaram” with the song “vannam konda vennilave”. Beautiful lyrics with the simplest of melodies and for a long time, I though Ilaiyaraja was the composer!
see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKADxuFkzr8
Yuvan came with an under-appreciated “vaanam namadhe bhoomi namadhe” for the movie “pathinaaru”. For free, Yuvan came with a great soundtrack for this movie. This song, in particular, has uplifting lyrics and Shankar Mahadevan’s nuances complement them beautifully! Hear “nitham yuddhangal nizhal pola thodarndhaalum, saththam podaamal jeyippome vaa..” – see how he softens up “saththam” a tiny, tiny bit)
see:
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Vivek
September 9, 2015
speaking of good English, it really should have been “when I crave thoughtful discussions in good English”.. 🙂
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Ram Murali
September 10, 2015
Vivek – 100 years each for you and SPB! I just commented on “Sigaram” in an earlier comment a few days ago. SPB, the actor, the singer and music director were all in peak form in this movie. “Vannam Konda Vennilavey” is an absolute gem. If you remember, SPB plays a music director in this movie (BR – ena thalaivarey, M word use pannidavaa?!) and he “composes” this song for the following “situation” – The heroine dies in a flight accident. The hero, not knowing this, sings this song as he awaits her arrival. The lines (by Vairamuthu) are beautiful:
Vaanam Vittu Vaarayo… Vinnile Paadhai Illai… Unnai Thoda Yaeni Illai…
It’s absolutely ingenious the way Vairamuthu’s lines state one thing – the heroine is on a flight back (“Vaanam Vittu Vaarayo”) while suggesting something else – the heroine will never return (“Unnai Thoda Yaeni Illai”)
PS #1: For those non-regular commenters, M refers to Meta, a term that BR uses quite a bit (of course, only where appropriate) and we tease him a bit about it!
PS #2: BR – That does make you want to write about “Sigaram” in your Breviloquent Rewind section, right?! 🙂
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tonks
September 10, 2015
whatever you do, do not take this blog down. Ever. This is where I come to, when I crave for thoughtful discussions in good English, amongst other things!
Ive marvelled at the high standards of English and knowledge among the people who comment here and wondered why it was so.
Perhaps its like this :
To understand BR’s writing requires a basic standard of English. Thats like the IIT screening test.
To get all the nuances, the humour and the ‘non breviloquent loquaciousness’ (so to speak), and to become a fan, an addict of this blog, one requires a much higher understanding of English. Sort of like the proper IIT JEE test.
After getting through both exams, one proudly joins the institute, to be promptly humbled : because every single person in the class is quite as good, or miles better than you are.
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ThouShaltNot
September 10, 2015
Bama Vijayam is a movie about the futility of keeping up appearances, about shying away from an extravagant lifestyle when you cannot afford it. In essence, it is about “living within your means” (put another way, don’t live like the Americans do, who build explosive credit 🙂 ) – a message pounded into our heads by our parents. Here, KB pounds the same message. For good measure, he ropes in Kannadasan (his goto man) for the lyrics to this eventual blockbuster of a song. The credit here largely goes to KB, but the lyricist has to live up to the director’s expectation. Keep it simple and inject humor into the situation to relay the message. As Stevie Wonder put it, Signed, Sealed, Delivered! (BTW, the Joie de vivre in this visual is so contagious!)
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Vivek
September 10, 2015
@Ram Murali: 🙂 100 years to SPB.. +1 that! Yeah, remember the situation quite well. The movie, as whole, was really good dealing with intricate relationship issues. For me, Delhi Ganesh’s performance stood out in that role of a manipulative middle aged man taking advantage of a troubled young woman (Ramya Krishnan). He is one guy who could have done varied roles (like Nasser) but somehow ended up in stereotypical roles all the time.
Tonks: “every single person in the class is quite as good, or miles better than you are”
.. spot on!
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tonks
September 11, 2015
Its my Ilayaraja collection on the car pendrive this week and heard a song yesterday thats a fire brand, revolutionary, feminist, motivational song with a female protagonist (for a change). Loved the “josh” in the lyrics. Havent seen this movie yet, reading the plot now, it sounds like “An indecent proposal” with some added drama, but hard to picturise this song fitting into any of the recent Tamil flicks.
Oh oru thendRal puyalaagi varumae
Oh oru deivam padi thaaNdi varumae
kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae
kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae
Oh oru thendRal puyalaagi varumae
adukkaLai thudaippathum padukkaiyai virippathum
adhu peNNin thozhil illayae
sarithiram padaikkavum tharithiram thudaikkavum
varuvathil pizhai illayae
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tonks
September 11, 2015
Can I post an English song?
There is new group called “The Script” who have made some lovely songs. Most of their songs have great lyrics and music. One of my favourites is a wonderful motivational song called Hall of fame.
“Yeah, you can be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the King Kong
banging on your chest
You can beat the world
You can beat the war
You can talk to God,
go banging on his door
You can throw your hands up
You can beat the clock (yeah)
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks
You can be a master
Don’t wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you gon’ find yourself
Standing in the hall of fame (yeah)
And the world’s gonna know your name (yeah)
‘Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah)
And the world’s gonna know your name (yeah)
And you’ll be on the walls of the hall of fame
You can go the distance
You can run the mile
You can walk straight through hell with a smile
You can be the hero
You can get the gold
Breaking all the records they thought never could be broke
Yeah, do it for your people
Do it for your pride
How are you ever gonna know if you never even try?
Do it for your country
Do it for your name
‘Cause there’s gonna be a day…
When you’re standing in the hall of fame”
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ThouShaltNot
September 12, 2015
KA’s last movie song was “Kannae Kalaimaanae..”. The privilege (unbeknownst then) of reciting it went to Kamal. A pensive Kamal, whose character yearns for his love to be reciprocated, dazzles with some of the most tender expressions of love seen on screen (look, we are talking Kamal here). The song has very good lines overall, but let us get to the bottom line:
…kaadhal kondaen, kanavinai valarththaen
kanmani unnai, karuththinil niraiththaen
unakkae uyiraanaen, enaalum enai nee maravaadhae
nee illaamal edhu nimmadhi, nee thaan en sannidhi
Lets do a double take on the last 2 lines. “My life is all yours, forget me not forever. Where would I find solace without you, its only through you I commune with divinity”. One way to look at it is as a last gasp plea of a disconsolate lover for recognition (of reality). Another way to look at the song (given its finality to KA’s life) is KA addressing his own fealty to Tamil and Tamil poetry. Given we know what happens to the characters, the verse portends what is coming (Aside: Kamal is a master at portraying unrequited love and has recited another beautiful Hindi song on this: “Sach mere yaar hai, bas vahi pyaar hai, jiske badale mein kOi tO pyaar de, baaki bekaar hai, yaar mere…”. In other words, only love that is requited is true. All else is claptrap).
Coming back to this song, if the acting by the on screen pair of Sridevi&Kamal or Raja’s tune or Yesudas’s soulful rendition of the song hadn’t already breached your defenses, that last line should have. What is remarkable about this song is its simplicity. In most songs, if not all, KA doesn’t fish for fancy words from Sangam literature. His is a language of the commoner. His lyrical aesthetic, according to Tamil scholars, can be summarized by three traits – elimai (ease/simplicity), surukkam (concision) and vilakkumurai (articulation). They are interrelated IMO, but elimai was likely his biggest calling card (and crowning achievement) that set him apart. IMO, he did not get his due recognition from the GOI. But, restitution for his soul came another way. Immortality. And he was even prescient about it.
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newbie
September 13, 2015
Timely article. Agree with comments here that suggest that the whole ‘thathuva paadal’ category has become endangered as the current age Hero needs either booze or brute strength but never philosophical thinking to solve his problems. I kind of believe though that it would take just one successful new ‘thathuva paadal’ to save or resuscitate this category (For eg., after the Kolaveri song, every movie now seems to release at least one song with video recording of the audio recording). Quite a challenge indeed as music, lyrics, the song setting – all must come together in order for the song to become appealing to younger audiences. The excellent ‘Nirpathuvae’ song from Bharathi (2000 movie) is the most recent 100% philosophical song (in Tamil) that I can think of but I can hardly imagine it becoming a viral hit in these times. ‘Ava enna enna thedi vandha Anjala’ song from ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ kind of has that elusive quality (with its semi-philosophical lyrics and mellow music) but such songs are few and far between. As the maestro Ilayaraja hilariously demonstrates here, music has moved on much with the times, and it would be brilliant if some bright imaginative people manage to reinvent this category for the texting-tweeting audience.
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Madan
September 17, 2015
There is no problem yet with English lyrics. Some of the mainstream pop may be inane but if you dig deeper, there is lots of good stuff. Fiona Apple makes albums in like once in a blue moon but her lyrics can be smart, witty and insightful.
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tonks
September 17, 2015
*1 O Clock, 2 O Clock Kan Muzhichi Pinnadi
3 O Clock, 4 O Clock Kai Pidichu
5 O Clock, 6 O Clock Rock Irukku Ammadi
7 O Clock, 8 O Clock Kicku Irukku
Velai Thorum Leelai, Veru Enna Velai
Palli Kooda Paadam Enna Solla Vaendum
Ram Bam Bam Aarambam
Bam Bam Bam Paerinbam*
Speaking of Ilayaraja, lyrics and English songs, I was listening to the above song two days back and was reminded of the ‘Haley and the comets’ hit. Not just the lyrics, the music of ‘Ram Pam Pam’ too is a little like 50s/60s rock and roll.
One, two, three o’clock
Four o’clock, rock
Five, six, seven o’clock
Eight o’clock, rock
Nine, ten, eleven o’clock
Twelve o’clock, rock
We’re gonna rock around
The clock tonight
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