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Ilaiyaraaja and Mani Ratnam: On their shared birthday, ten songs from their ten films
Here are the top numbers from each film, where they both leave their respective marks: in other words, song sequences that stand out because of the music as well as the staging. Is the Ilaiyaraaja-Mani Ratnam combination the greatest among all the other directors the great composer has made great music for? I’m not sure. […]
Readers Write In #161: The curious case of ‘Sarattu Vandiyil’
April 24, 2020
(by Sanjay Shankar) As a 90’s kid (well.. technically late 80’s, but who’s checking), I have eagerly anticipated and listened to soundtracks from Mani Ratnam (MR) movies, by IR and ARR. These composers have churned out great tracks for other filmmakers, but they seem to have reserved some of their best work for MR. In […]
Readers Write In #150: The healing, therapeutic effect of Aye Sinamika
March 25, 2020
(by Raghav Ravichandran) The world is in distress after the outbreak of the deadlyCOVID-19 or Coronavirus. Every time you turn on the TV or look at your mobile, we get to see news of new positive cases tested in India or elsewhere and the death toll as a result of this virus. It’s impossible to […]
Tuning In: Sid Sriram on the creation of ‘Vaanam Kottattum’ songs
January 21, 2020
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Tuning In: Sid Sriram on singing for Ilaiyaraaja in PSYCHO
January 14, 2020
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2020 Film Companion.
Readers Write In #127: Five favourite Tamil songs of ARR from the decade gone by
January 10, 2020
(by Raghav Ravichandran) The past decade has actually been a pretty mixed bag as far as ARR is concerned in my opinion. I don’t think I would have said that pre 2010. It was tough not to like an ARR song till then. But from 2010-2019, there have been many songs that still send shivers […]
Ilaiyaraaja’s masterclass at the International Film Festival of India
November 27, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/ilaiyaraajas-balki-masterclass-at-the-international-film-festival-of-india/ Balki gave Raja a situation and asked for the score to be composed on the spot. It was a privilege to watch the great man at work. The Ilaiyaraaja masterclass took place this Wednesday evening. Balki was moderating it, and I met up with him for […]
‘Ungal Naan’: In search of the “greatest” Kamal Haasan-Ilaiyaraaja album
November 18, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/kamal-haasan-ilaiyaraaja-album-greatest-baradwaj-rangan Given the number of fabulous scores the maestro has crafted for the actor, here’s an attempt to settle on one being above all others. From the first film they worked on (16 Vayathinile, in 1977), the Kamal Haasan-Ilaiyaraaja collaboration is one for the ages. While it […]
Readers Write In #93: 27 years of Rahman
August 27, 2019
(by Nirupama V) A.R Rahman’s music has always been a part of my life. I have an old CD that contains the video songs of Baba from when I was 4 years old that used to be played on our old Philips VCD player that doubled as a tape recorder. I vividly remember falling in […]
Tuning In: Singappenney
July 25, 2019
TUNING IN is a segment where we talk about songs and albums. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Interview: GV Prakash Kumar
June 12, 2019
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Happy 76th, Ilayaraja, and yes, just be yourself
May 29, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/happy-76th-ilaiyaraaja-and-yes-just-be-yourself-interview/ We should really, really stop expecting celebrities to conform to our notions of “good behaviour”. In the sixteen-plus years I have been writing about cinema, one thing has remained constant. Whenever I have run into (either casually or for the purposes of an interview) someone who’s […]
Interview: Madhan Karky
March 13, 2019
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#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 […]
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