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Interview: Madhan Karky
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
#Ilayaraja75 – His lesser-known songs for Tamil heroes
February 2, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/southern-lights-illaiyaraaja-ilaiyaraaja-75-his-lesser-known-songs-for-tamil-heroes/ If you take Rajinikanth films, you’ve probably heard the ‘Guru Sishyan’ numbers, or the ones from ‘Veera’. But ‘Sodi kili enge’? Read on. I wanted to write something to commemorate the Ilayaraja 75 concert, but I kept getting stuck. Given that an orchestra from Hungary will […]
Interview: Sid Sriram on ARR, Ilayaraja, MSV
January 23, 2019
I had a generic idea about @arrahman’s composing style, but @sidsriram dived into the creation of (vocals of) Adiye, Ennodu nee, Thalli pogaathey… and showed a very specific process. (Coming soon. Sid Sriram on Ilayaraja, and on MSV). For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Readers Write In #56: Make a musical, Or Don’t: A rant on the usage of songs in modern Tamil cinema
October 18, 2018
First in the ‘Chekka Chivantha Vaanam’ review, and now in the ‘Vada Chennai’ review — I much liked BR’s views on the usage (or lack thereof) of good songs. I, for one, am really really glad that BR brought this up. I am an audiophile. I love listening to songs in the theater. I enjoy […]
Readers Write In #53: Muted Symphony
October 14, 2018
2018 marks 25th anniversary of Ilaiyaraaja composing and recording a Symphony with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. At that time he was the first Asian composer to do so. The Symphony was never released to the public and Ilaiyaraaja has largely remained silent about this work since then. This is a write up leading to celebrate […]
Live: SaNa listens to a situation, makes the BGM
October 13, 2018
Santhosh Narayanan talks about his composing style, how he makes a basic tune that is then developed and handed out to the players. He plays a BGM piece from Pariyerum Perumal – first on the piano, and then the final output (as played by the whole orchestra). He discusses contributors like Pradeep and Sean Roldan. […]
Interview: Santhosh Narayanan
October 9, 2018
Santhosh Narayanan talks about his 25th album, Vada Chennai, directed by Vetri Maaran. He speaks of the song, Kaarkuzhal kadavaiye, and why he wanted it in this album. He talks about his sound and why it came about, and how he goes about composing a song. He speaks of how ideologically inclined directors like Pa […]
Subramaniya Bharati’s poetry in Tamil cinema
September 11, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/subramaniya-bharati-poetry-tamil-cinema-southern-lights-baradwaj-rangan The great Tamil poet, activist and social reformer died on September 11, 1921. Here are some of his songs that made it to the big screen. Had this been a literary web site, I would have used this occasion to talk about AR Venkatachalapathy’s Who Owns […]
Not ‘Chennai’… these songs are about ‘Madras’
August 22, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/chennai-songs-about-madras-southern-lights-baradwaj-rangan On Madras Day, a flashback to songs that celebrate the city. Azhagiya mithilai nagarinile (Annai, 1962): A two-toned convertible carrying a young couple cruises through near-empty roads. This was still the studio era, so it’s surprising to see actual outdoor shooting (instead of a car propped […]
The man who made (and named) Ilayaraja
August 16, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/tamil-composer-singer-ilayaraja-panchu-arunachalam-mentor-death-anniversary-southern-lights-baradwaj-rangan Last Thursday was Panchu Arunachalam’s second death anniversary. Here’s a flashback to the time he introduced his most illustrious protégé. Panchu Arunachalam, who passed away on August 9, 2016, wore many hats. He is remembered as a lyricist – he began that phase of his career […]
Interview: Yuvan Shankar Raja
August 9, 2018
Yuvan Shankar Raja talks about the three distinct phases of Tamil film music — the MSV era, the Ilayaraja era, the Rahman era — and why, later, it’s been difficult to get a composer who monopolised the scene. He speaks about his legendary father, Ilayaraja, and explains the difference in their composing techniques, using two […]
A shout-out to Jayasurya’s performance in ‘Njan Marykutty’…
July 5, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/njan-marykutty-jayasurya-performance-southern-lights-baradwaj-rangan Plus, thoughts on cis actors in trans roles, ‘Asuravadham’, and a beautiful ‘singer’s song’ from the seventies’. Since everyone’s talking about Ranbir Kapoor’s performance in Sanju, allow me to direct your attention to Jayasurya in the Malayalam film, Njan Marykutty, where the actor plays a transgender. […]
The contentious nature of the National Awards
April 14, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/the-contentious-nature-of-the-national-awards-baahubali-village-rockstars-sridevi/ Musings on the country’s most prestigious film awards – and this is not about whether X deserved to win over Y. Another year. Another set of arguments over the National Awards. For instance: Did Sridevi deserve Best Actress? Indeed, under normal circumstances, would her performance in […]
On being home-schooled in Tamil through the film song
March 15, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/southern-lights-home-schooled-tamil-film-song/ Paying attention to lyrics is a wonderful way to increase one’s proficiency in a language. (Added incentive: It’s fun too.) These days, a lot of the music I listen to comes from the phone. I just type in the name of a song I feel like listening […]
Readers Write In #32: O Butterfly and things that even Google can’t buy
January 27, 2018
A piece about things that still do not have a google address, such as an obscure rendition of O Butterfly. Seemed apt to put this up now, given the Padma Vibhushan for Ilayaraja (though this isn’t really about him). Ilayaraja fans and maybe Vikram fans as well would be familiar with the 1991 hit song O […]
Word painter
January 11, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/article/southern-lights-20-years-of-thamarai-in-tamil-cinema This is Thamarai’s 20th year in the movies. The lyricist talks about her poetry, her personal life, her politics. Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor – “by the creator of Percy Jackson” – is the last book I expect to find in Thamarai’s living room, […]
Reviewing (and re-viewing) Rahman
November 2, 2017
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/article/southern-lights-reviewing-and-re-viewing-rahman Thoughts on the ‘2.0’ soundtrack and its composer, who keeps going on and on and on. What makes AR Rahman tick? That’s the question I had while listening to the composer’s soundtrack for Shankar’s 2.0. This isn’t about how he manages to keep making music, 25 […]
The TM Krishna interview
August 3, 2017
My video interview with TM Krishna, on Tamil film music. (The promos appear first — these are bits that did not make it to the final cut of the interview.) Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Readers Write In #13: Adho Megha Oorvalam and how Rahman gave Ilayaraja feedback
April 8, 2017
I am a happy man these days. My DTH provider is now offering me Jaya Max as a part of the package I have already subscribed to. Why Jaya Max? Because it plays Ilayaraja tracks mornings 7 to 8 and nights 9 to 10. Watching a TV channel to listen to music may seem an […]
A brief chat with AR Rahman…
March 14, 2017
This was done when AR Rahman was in town to release the music of ‘Lake of Fire’. We didn’t get much time with him, but we did get to tour his school. My favourite part of this experience is also least “professional” aspect. We barely got any time to set up, and I used a lapel […]
March 13, 2019
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