when you listened roja album the first time....

[coucou]

the first album and best album of arr. unfortunely, i couldn't have listened to this album on the year when movie release. i lisened it few years ago. i thing it is normal this "mix of western music" in roja because the new music directors have utilised it in their movies. but now , i thing in 1992, this album would be the REVOLUTION ( the new era of tfm) because it 's very very different of type of ilayaraja's music. maybe, it was in first time we hear western music in tfm.
IF somebody listened to this album when it was released, he can say how he find this album?????????????????

[arsenicblue]

the music was revelation. the biggest differnce one cud feel apart from the western influence was the music was a lot clearer and sharper.
to hear a song in tamil that sounded world class in a crappy 15w sanyo 'tape recorder' was really an unforgettable experience.

all the instruments that were used seemed to be doing their best to atract your attention. the flute was there, the veena was there and then there was this guy yelling yelelo ...
the beats were not like conventional drums they were more kinda synthesised and continous. they all seemed to get deep into ur ears.

there were a lotta new singers unheard in tamil like hariharan, minmini[dunno wat happened to her] and even dr.spb seemed to sound a lot better.

on the whole listening to rahman's music for the first time was an exprerience which i won't probably get again.

[dinesh2002]

ahahah yea man..i was only 4 y/o when Roja released,here is 1 guys reaction to Roja's release!!


It was an early Monday morning. The air was cold and there was the usual Monday morning tension.

The radio was switched on as usual, bringing upon songs that merged with the morning breeze, mostly heard but not listened. Suddenly came this piece of music that was totally new and different. Was this a Tamil song? And then the male singer started singing... "Pudhu Vellai mazhai ingu pozhigindrathu" Everyone was rooted momentarily. This was new. It was something we have never heard before. The music, the instruments, the appropriate clash of cymbals, the singer reaching heights and then suddenly lowering his range again.

This time we listened.

Even while continuing with the chores, we curiously awaited the end of the song for some announcement on details of the song.

The song ended and unfamiliar names were mentioned:
Unni Menon, Sujatha and AR Rahman!

The magic had begun! That was my first experience with AR Rahman, some ten years ago....



Mesmerised by this one single song, we felt compelled to buy the cassette (no CDs then). Everything about the album looked unusual. The cast: Arvind Swami, Madhubala. The singers: Unni Menon, Sujatha, Minmini and Hariharan! Was this a usual Tamil movie, we wondered. Hurriedly, we came back and listened to the songs.
"Chinna Chinna aasai, siragadikkum aasai".... what lovely, soft lyrics, cute singing and the music! Then there was S.P.Bala in all his glory with "Kaathal Rojaave enge nee enge". At last, a familiar voice! Amazing song. "Puthu Vellai mazhai" again. Felt like we were transported to the Alps. "Rukkumani, Rukkumani, akkam pakkam yenna saththam". Final song: "Thamizha Thamizha". Who was this Hariharan? Amazing voice. Such an emotionally power-packed song.

Strange songs, strange arrangement, strange chorus. Everything about this album was new.

Back to side A again.

We kept on listening to the songs and spread the news. "Hey friends, have you listened to Roja?" A new dimension
to Tamil film music. Scoured the newspapers and magazines for any news or articles on the album. AR Rahman !
Only in his early 20s! Wow! We can relate to him. Another genius in the making.

Evening came. Gathered with friends and circulated the music. Exciting times were here. Wait ! There is an interview with Minmini on radio. Turn the volume up. Wow! She is cool. Ask her to sing. She obliges. Wide grins on everyone's face. Another day, and more listening. Not satisfied with the cassette alone, we look out for the songs on radio.
Squeals of delight every time Roja or AR Rahman is mentioned. Everyone's favourite seems to be "Chinna Chinna aasai." We relish the music.

Then a very important question is asked: What next ? More ! We are hungry for more ! Thus began the journey...

Postscript:

Roja is dubbed into several languages and now AR Rahman's music has spread to the Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi communities. AR Rahman goes on to win the Best Music Director award in the Tamil Nadu State film award, followed by the Best Music Director Filmfare Award (Tamil films). Roja gets the National award for Best Film on National Integration. AR Rahman also gets the Best Music Director's National award for 1992. Vairamuthu bags the Best Lyricist's National award for 1992. Minmini wins the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for the Best Playback Singer for 1992. Magnasound and Lahiri Recording Companies separately release instrumental versions of the songs in the Roja soundtrack.

http://www.dhwanii.com/rahmania/1992.html

[rajasaranam]

nice nostalgia :)

1992

I was in my first year in the college some where around June i joined college and the Audio of Roja was released in july maybe ? i heard 'chinna chinna aasai' first time at a tea shop. the sound, music everything was new, immedietly went to a music shop and bought the cassette. went home and shared the album with my elder and younger brother and said ' intha music romba nalla irukku'. Became crazy over the songs overnight that it used to play non-stop in my 'national-panasonic' 2in1. ove the time I bought the cassettes in Tamil, telugu and hindi just to have a feel of how the singers sing in other languages. the craze was on for around some months. till Devar magan came and 'inji ' took over 'Chinna chinna'. but roja was spreading around us :)
somewhere in december we went for a all tamilnadu tour. 'Roja' was playing everywhere we went, may it be tiruchi, tanjavore , madurai or kodaikaanal

we were hearing news that roja is a hit all over india . I felt very proud for a tamilian getting this famous in hindi belt. then came 'pudhiya mugam' after a long gap this was also with us during our tour.. the cassettes were playing all day. at nights the people preffered listening to ' Raja' which i did with much disgust as i was operating the Player and loved listening to 'Roja' in loops. One of my friends said 'dei Rojava niruthittu Rajava podraaa..'

the very next year we went on an all india tour and here we understood how far Roja has spread it fragrance may it be jaipur, agra delhi or shimla the songs of roja were palying everywhere . [but Pudhiya mugam was nowhere to be found] when we played PM people used to ask is it from The same MD. we would say proudly yes. but somehow PM never appealed to them. it was Roja that took them or us instantly. OneBus driver stole my tamil roja cassette though he had a hindi version of it :( and i scolded a friend of mine who gave my cassette to him for playing in a bus we travelled . it seems that the driver literally said ' paun padtha hoon saab yeh cassette mujhe de deejiyae'

rest is history.

[rajasaranam]

maybe, it was in first time we hear western music in tfm.


no we have heard western music right from the 50's in TFM and it was never announced .
the uniqueness of the Album Roja with its crystal clear recording and new Age music seems to make us think it is the first time we heard western music in tfm.

[rajasaranam]

Hey folks that ws one of the greatest albums in TFM please pour in your comments on it :thumbsup:

[thumburu]

I heard Roja when I had gone on a picnic with my friends. I got instantly hooked to "pudhu vellai mazhai" and soon I could not have enough of it. Rukumani was also catchy. The other songs were just passable. I saw an unassuming name ARR on the casette cover and felt he had the potential to make a mark in TFM. But to be frank, I did not have an inkling that soon he was destined to become the uncrowned king of Indian Film music.

[kbee]

I heard Roja when I had gone on a picnic with my friends. I got instantly hooked to "pudhu vellai mazhai" and soon I could not have enough of it. Rukumani was also catchy. The other songs were just passable. I saw an unassuming name ARR on the casette cover and felt he had the potential to make a mark in TFM. But to be frank, I did not have an inkling that soon he was destined to become the uncrowned king of Indian Film music.
I posted in another forum also. "pudhu vellai mazhai" is a chineese song that ARR probably was "inspired". Since ARR keeps telling that chineese like "Mohana Ragam" I am wondering if pudhu vellai mazhai is in the same ragam.

When I heard Roja (doing my 1st year MCA and we were in hostel), I could clearly differentiate the audio quality (remember in our hostel we had a small tape and a "PAANAI" which acted as BOSE for us!) and the difference in instruments. Most of the ppl enjoyed the preludes of Chinna Chinna Aasai and thats what hooked most of us to Roja songs. I really enjoyed all ARR songs during my 3 year mca course, starting from Roja to Karuthamma. I bought every tape of ARR that time. Even Karuththamma we bought the tape the first day, because the music and lyrics would be good in Barathiraja movies. Ada "Pazhasa kalappaatheengappa" - Gnyabagam varuthe Gnyabagam varuthe Gnyabagam varuthe - sevur aeri kuthichchu cinema paatha Gnyabagam varuthe - hostel wardenkitta maatikittathu Gnyabagam varuthe!

[Dragun]

I was only 8 or 9 when it was released, and a friend of my mom brought the tape from India. I loved it and made a copy for myself and listened to it over and over. I didn't know know about music directors or anything at the time. A few years later we went to India and I liked some ARR albums a lot, like Gentleman and Thiruda Thiruda. It wasn't until later that I found out Roja was by ARR. Before Roja the only Tamil film songs I liked were from IR (and I had the Anjali and Ejamaan songs on one side of a tape and Roja songs on the other :-) )

[Lankan-Flava]

All of your memories of first listening to "Roja" are cool to read. I was only 6 when i was first amazed by these songs.

Pudhu Vellai Mazhai is my favourite. The song elevates you onto a level you would have thought you could of reached while listening to a song. Kadhal Rojave is simply breathtaking, Rukamuni, so much power, and tamizha tamizha is a soft soothing melody introducing the world to the phenomenon of Hariharan. I don't think A.R.R has even come close to the standard he set in "Roja"...maybe Deepa Mehta's "Water" will, only time will reveal.

Roja is probably the finest pieces of music in tfm history and yet it is probably the least listened, mainly due to the fact that so many people never want to get sick of such wonderful, amazing, extravagent, soul-stirring magic.

[music man]

Hi friends, I have come after a long time.Yes Roja is infact one of the best albums in TFM, also one of the best by ARR.I was studying 5th standard at that time.Before that the radios would beam music from IR's hit movies.But suddenly we heard a new sound completely new in all dimensions.As everyone had mentioned it was the song "Puthu Vellai Mazhai" that stole the show initially.I watched the movie in theatre and the songs were all superb.Suddenly everyone were talking about this guy called A.R.Rahman who had come in place of IR in Mani Rathnam movie.The magazines praised AR.Rahman as "music whizkid" and praised about the songs and the excellent rerecording and BGM. Though many claimed that ARR would be a one film wonder ,he proved everyone wrong and the rest is history.
Friends! why dont we start a individual threads on ARR's movies like Gentleman,Kadhalan etc etc.
Meanwhile I miss many of the old time surfers like C~P,rs,maddy,paran,vijay etc etc.Are they still in TFM writing in different names?

[MADDY]

Hey guys u just saw the age of ppl. when Roja was released.......Dragun-9 yr old, Apna dinesh - just 4 yr old!hahaha!!...Music man- 10 roundabouts and me- 10 yr old......so see ARR, nambalayellam pingiliye pazhukka vechitaruppa....

Jokes apart......it was August 15th....i was with my family having spl lunch prepared by mum and was watching spl oliyum oliyum......last song in the list was Roja.......i just could not believe my ears......wat clarity and wat a tune mannn....it was just out of the world......i called up all my pals asking them abt their opinions and everyone were stunned ........immediately i started searching for MD's name in DhinaThanthi cine ads section and told my dad it is some one called ARR.....my dad told me he mite be some old man who shuld have worked for IR and MSV and will last only 2-3 movies......the next week kumudham carried a photo of K.Balachander with a young man lifting his arms.......picture was so unclear that i tought it wa some mentally retarted kid that KB was helping out....but when i read that article i realised this was the person who is going to rule me and my thinking just like my mom has ruled me...since then i have followed ARR like a mad person......ARR is just not a MD for me but a major "Psycological and attitudenal change in my life" thanks to roja

[dinesh2002]

Hi guys..time for my turn...eheheheh..ok...i didint follow THE FIRST time with arr/roja,but my parents used to say when i was 4,i enjoyed Roja songs allot,and pester them to play them often,anywayz,it happened when i was 7 (yea,3 years later only) i got to know the magic of ARR.It was some show day in my skool,and we,the malaysians,inculding indian,malay & chinese sang all 3 different languages songs.yea,we sang malay,chinese & tamil song,guess what song was chosen for the tamil song??Chinna Chinna Aaasai,yes,and i was the translater for my teacher that time :P ,everyone was so proud to sang the song that time and we stole the show for taht day... yes,we got the most apriciation from the teachers & parents,and we could see them enjoying Chinna Chinna Aaasai beats !

[rsubras]

hey music man it was very nice to see u remember my nick (rs)...dude thanx a lot......... i was more of a silent watcher in the new look TFM forum.

o.k it is my turn now.... i was in 10th standard then ..... August 15th 1993, they played chinna chinna aasai in DD oliyum oliyum......wow amazing song that was.........hooked me the instant i heard it........ i was longing for that song to be played again on DD...but in subsequent weeks, they played only Kaadhal rojave...which i didnt like as much as i did chinna chinna aasai.........

that was the time, i had dislike for the senior musicians in the field, their pompous nature, the way the films glorified them........ :) it was a whiff of fresh air.......... but i didnt have much of thought about A.R.Rahman, i only thought he was just another one-film wonder until i heard pudhiya mugam........... that was classic stuff......... but more than ARR's music, it is one of his interview that made me a crazy fan of his. "ella pugazhum iraivanukke"...man he is chancelessssssssss........ his humbleness bowled me over....... i used to buy all his cassettes, with a friendly warning to ARR, "hey, intha thadavai kavuthudaathe" :) and pray to GOD for ARR's successs........... each time he signs up a film, i wud tell to GOD, please please this one only, he needs to click in this film to make it big ...................i did this till he got muthu............. each ARR's film is like a festival.............. each ARR's achievement is a family celebration and i used to admire ppl who associate with ARR also. prabhudeva, shankar, manirathnam etc..,

flash back over...................

[Scale]

:D ROJA yaralla thaan marakka mudiyum. Unforgettable moment 8) .

When I was 11 :roll: ; Me and my friends were returning from a cricket match (we won) :lol: and I suddenly started hearing the song of PUDU VELLAI MALAI song :o from a HUGE speaker kalyana kontattam. Just Imagine how it would have sounded. I was almost 100mts away when I was hearing this. Odinen Odinen. The more I reach closer I m completely hooked by the different sound. Amazing. engada irukkan sound system karan. apparam avan kitta kettathukkapuram thaan therinchathu MR'S MOVIE ROJA ARR MUSIC.

I dont even know ilayaraja was replaced. I LIKED ANJALI AND DALAPATHI VEERYMUCH IN THEIR COMBO. to do to do something, adi rakamma kaia thattu. I m still wondering does arr HAVE any contribution towards anjali and dalapathi. sound differents from other IR albums. MR would hav not picked arr just like that. appa arabinchathu thaan, BOSE varaikkum niruthamudiyalai.

Infact Bombay audio release was a different experience for me and I can't forget even now. At that time my taperecorder become crap and katha thukki pakkathu veetu windowla vachhi thaan cleara ketten. I was almost praying pls play bombay from morning to nite. Kannalane i guessed immediately it is Chitra & was almost dancing on the corridar to ARR's Humma Humma. my family members guessed immediately that it is whiz-kid album on seeing me going crazy :rotfl: . vettula ippa kooda enna rahman thambinu thaan koopiduvanga. it makes me really proud :) .

LONG LIVE THIS GENIUS FOR HIS MUSIC, AND HIS HUMILITY.

[music man]

Hi rs.Nice to see you.I was too a silent member of this new look TFM.Finally decided to break shackles due to this topic.In addition to Roja,it was the song "Margazhi Poove" in May Madham that made me one of the hardcore fans of ARR.I even learned keyboard of my own and I would play all these songs on my little keyboard.Nice to hear from you.The most surprising thing to me is that I used to think that Dinesh could be a 30 yrs old man,but now it's surprising to find he's lot younger than all of us.Yes the music of ARR had brought us together.

[Arjuna]

Infact I was a die hard IR fan before the release of Roja !! Roja completely changed it and I became such an ARR fanatic - I bunked my Physics Ist Semester Exams at REC Trichy in 1997 December to come to Chennai to buy the Iruvar Audio Cassette!! I wuld rate Iruvar as one of ARR's all time best - and as the best BGM ever!! I have the DVD and everytime u play it - the BGM haunts u!!

[Arjuna]

Guys - how abt netru illatha matram from pudhiya mugam - I think that got ARR lots of fans - followed by Gentleman!! Btw does anyone know the raagam of En veetru thotathil song from gentleman..I used to think it was Sahana (my fav)..but it seems its something else

[Arjuna]

Scale - its nice to see a fellow ARR fanatic like u :)..

But I really think ARR shuld pull his socks when it comes to tamil music and give us music as he did in the 1990s..The last good soulful album from my ARR was kandukondein kandukondein for which he shuld have got the national award..did that idiot anu malik win the award for the yr 2000?

[Scale]

Scale - its nice to see a fellow ARR fanatic like u :)..

But I really think ARR shuld pull his socks when it comes to tamil music and give us music as he did in the 1990s..The last good soulful album from my ARR was kandukondein kandukondein for which he shuld have got the national award..did that idiot anu malik win the award for the yr 2000?

I think you are talking about just Tamil Albums and u kidding ARR lacks soulful these days?. Have you heard Meenaxi, TLOBS, Swades, Kisna are they not soulful & now BOSE?

ARR Music have matured a lot and he is well settling in a new dimension. To me it is more soulful these days. Dont expect foot-tapping in every album. BOYS too he has given enough. I can understand that many of the tamil speaking ARR fanatics miss the beauty of the Hindi lyrics and his magical composition. No doubt he is versatile & experimental. But I can see him laying a strong foundation (rehearsal) for the upcoming International projects.

ARR is a masterbrain in picking up the projects too. Do u all want ARR to choose the same projects like Karakattakaran/kari versions for years. Look at the projects he has taken in Hindi and Internationally. On contrary,he never missed to satisfy his tamil fans too by GF, Aa Aah.

Upcoming
a) THE RISING
b) LOTR
c) WATER

& the previous one in VM'sRaaga Dance, WOHE, Bombay Dreams UK/US. Others like NMLagaan, SWADES, BOSE.

ARR Desa pattru (from his songs) parthu pullarichu poochu. Desa pattrunranthu ratthathula irukkanum harmonium thu la theda koodathu. Kodumba pattra vena thedalam.

If ARR signs one album in Hindi or Tamil, the advantage is it can be dubbed in several languages and he get many state awards, more box office collections. Can hear the same song from different singers. It reaches wider audiences. One & only with ARR Film Industry can do that.

I wish ARR shud get these titles too. Dr. ARR, 10 National awards, Grammy Award Winner, OSCAR etc.. Definetly he has got that potential and I doubt in future will anyone be able to achieve this much from India.

Grow up dudes. Let ARR explore the globe.

[Scale]

Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 1:54 am Post subject: Re: Roja = among Time Magazine's Top Ten Best Film Soundtrac

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dinesh2002 wrote:
Roja:Though he is renowned as the preeminent composer of modern Bollywood, A.R. Rahman was born and still works in Madras, 1,000 miles south of Bombay. His Tamil compatriot, the writer-director Mani Ratnam, yanked him out of jingle-writing to compose his first full score for Roja (The Rose) the tale of a woman whose lover is kidnapped by terrorists. Through this grim political parable, Rahman laced some spectacular melodies that not only serve the drama, they create their own[EM]as in the duet ballads "Yeh Haseen Vadiyan" and "Roja Jaaneman," which first are grounded in recitative, then suddenly ascend into celestial melody. This astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman. He plays with reggae and jungle rhythms, fiddles with Broadway-style orchestrations, runs cool variations on Morricone's scores for Italian westerns.



http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,soundtracks,00.html

a great news...but so dissapointing its not the Tamil Roja!


THIS IS THE HIGHEST TRIBUTE AN INDIAN COMPOSER CAN IMAGINE . AMAZING !!! (ARR IS REALLY BLESSED).

DINESH, IF U READ THE ARTICLE AGAIN IT's MENTIONED WELL AT THE BEGINNING ITSELF THAT HE IS FROM MADRAS & HIS TAMIL COMPATRIOT - MR. FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING THEY MIGHT HAVE PICKED THE HINDI VERSIONS . Everyone should know that Roja is from ARR. Any north indian/foreigner shud not assume thats its from Anumalik or NS (local bollywood MD's) ...

LONG LIVE THIS GENIUS . EAGERLY AWAITING "TLOR" FOR MORE MIRACLES TO HAPPEN .

DINESH, PLS SAVE THIS LINK AND POST IT IN YR WEBSITE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE . THANKS