Sridhar - IR combo - one of the top in TFM

[app_engine]

Sridhar - IR combo has produced some memorable numbers in TFM.

While most Sridhar obituary columns mention iLamai oonjalAdukiRadhu, the others are not dwelt upon much, unfortunately.

To me, Sridhar ranks among the top few in getting the best from IR (that the Hindu article calling Sridhar connoisseur of music is 100% apt).

Yes, the partnership began with the hugely successful (and still popular) numbers in IO:

-என்னடி மீனாட்சி (எஸ்.பி.பாலசுப்ரமணியம்)
-தண்ணி கருத்திருச்சு (மலேசியா வாசுதேவன்)
-கிண்ணத்தில் தேன் வடித்து (கே ஜே யேசுதாஸ் / ஜானகி)
-நீ கேட்டால் நான் மாட்டேன் என்றா சொல்வேன் கண்ணா (வாணி ஜெயராம்)
-ஒரே நாள் உனை நான் நிலாவில் பார்த்தது
(எஸ்.பி.பி / வாணி ஜெயராம்)

எல்லாமே வாலி எழுதியவை.
http://www.thiraipaadal.com/albums/ALBIRR00193.html


To me, this was the album that made the TN revolution of tea shops & buses playing songs:-) The HMV record player that had the speaker in the top cover was introduced around this time (prior to that a separate amplifier was typically required to get decent sound from vinyl records. i.e. if we do not count the horn that came with some of them which probably was liked by only dogs as in HMV logo).

They probably sold a lot of these players to tea shops in TN as I've seen the same player in so many of them.

Just about the same time the concept of having a 'cassette deck' in buses caught up and people started skipping the govt. buses to private ones (that the govt. buses also started to have them was a much later, knee-jerk reaction from the corp's). It wasn't till many years later that I realized this is a "mostly-TN-only" phenomenan and kudos to Raja for that!

That way, IO music can be called as an influence in Thamizh culture even.

However, the best song of this combo (IMO) is yet to come, i.e. in their next movie.

About AUA in my next post.

[MrJudge]

Yes, AUA is just awesome. It is trendy, youthful and masthAnA's varied rhythm is still fresh. And again all songs are penned by vAli. :)

He got the best from IR in nineivellAm niththyA IMO, I would day it is the best of the bests.

When I read about his last wish in AV, I was like :cry:

[natha1729]

playing songs in buses and speakers was there in kerala too in the 60s, 70s. malayalam, hindi, mgr, jaisankar, sivaji' gowravam songs was played a lot. indians all over are musically sharing (if nothing else they share) inside and out without copyright greed issues, it is embedded in the soul and it was at one time worth more than anything

[irir123]

I think Sridhar's last film with IR was "Thanthivittaen ennai" - and it had the brilliant "kangalukkul ennai yezhudhu"!

[s ramaswamy]

Hi,
Nothing to beat Sridhar and Visu-Ramu combine, apart from Sridhar and A M Raja and Sridhar-MSV combine.

Sridhar-VR combine:
1. Nenjil Ore aaalayam
2. Nenjam Marappadillai
3. Sumai Thangi
4. Policekaran Magal
5. Kalaikkovil
6. Vennira Aadai
7. Kaadaliikka Neramillai


Sridhar-A M Raja:
1. Kalyana Parisu (first for both Sridhar as director and Raja as MD)
2. Then Nilavu
3. Vidivelli

Sridhar-MSV:
1. Ooty Varai Uravu
2. Nenjirukkum Varai
3. Sivanda Mann
4. Kodi Malar
5. Avalukkendroru Manam
6. Utharavindri Ulle Vaa
7. Urimaikkural
8. Meenava Nanban

I might have missed some more films, but Sridhar's combination with V Chalapathi Rao gave us the memorable album Meenda Sorgam.

Regards
Ramaswamy

[Sureshs65]

That Sridhar - Illayaraja combination was a superb one is beyond doubt. What can one say of 'Ninaivellam Nithya' (I mean when it comes to songs. Otherwise there is a lot to be said about that movie. Not all of which would be complimentary !!) 'Oru Odai Nathiyagirathu' and 'Thendral Ennai Thodu'. Outstanding stuff.

Sridhar's collaborations with VR and MSV were also great and has given us some lovely songs. Absolutely no doubt about Srdhar's superb taste when it comes to music.

I have this theory that whenever Illayaraja is called to make music to a director who had a fabulous combination in the past, Illayaraja puts in best foot forward and gives us some outstanding music. Sridhar is one example. K.Vishwanath and K.Balachander are the other examples. In each case, there was a lovely Director - Music Director combination which gave great songs (KV with KVM and KB with MSV) before Illayaraja entered the scene. He takes over from his predecessors left and gives us some amazing numbers.

It is a bit difficult to choose the _best_ combination when it comes to Illayaraja and a director. It can be BR - IR, or Manirathnam - IR, Mahendran - IR or Sridhar - IR. I personally wouldn't want to rate any combination here but Sridhar - IR was definitely special in the sense that all others mentioned were budding directors whereas Sridhar was a veteran by then and IR was at his personal best in Sridhar's movies.

We should all be thankful to Sridhar for extracting and giving us so many amazing numbers from different music directors. May his soul rest in peace.

S.Suresh

[tfmlover]

ராத்திரி பொழுது ஒன்ன பாக்கிற பொழுது
அடி வேர்த்து கொட்டுது
வார்த்த முட்டுது கேக்குற பொழுது
அடி ஒங்கிட்டே தான் என்ன இருக்கு அதை
தெரிஞ்சுக்கிறேன் கிட்டே நெருங்கு
ஓ ! :shock:
indha paattu sridhar movie ?

[app_engine]

tfmlover - We're trying to find certain things to appreciate in a combo that enriched TFM and not to nitpick them. If your intention is to show that lyrics - music has degenerated due to IR, please visit the lyrics of "ALL" songs of urimaikkural which has "SHAME" written in many places, much worse than what you've quoted. For decency's sake, I won't quote here. In addition, this is not the place to discuss non-IR stuff.

s ramaswamy, appreciate the great list that you've put together. However, since this is an IR forum, we'll limit this thread to Sridhar's extractions from that genius. Of the other greats, let's discuss in the appropriate forums.

natha1729, may be you're correct about Kerala playing songs in "buses" in 60s & 70s, though I doubt how many buses were run by non-KSRTC in Kerala during those days. And, to my knowledge compact cassettes themselves were not around in 60's. If you mean playing on simply loudspeakers - vElA's & marriages etc, that is definitely not my topic of discussion. I believe that's a universal thingy, even abroad:-)

One thing I'm sure - I lived there from 86-02 and except some areas around Palakkad (due to Coimbatore influence and that too only private buses that run short distances), I didn't find any craze of buses playing songs. And at no point any KSRTC bus played music during that period.

The situation cannot be compared with TN at all.

And about tea shop music? Absolutely a TN-only culture:-) In fact it's a point of ridicule and making fun of TN for most of my malayALi friends:-))

[irir123]

"Nanum oru thozhilali" was another Sridhar-IR combo product! i think the movie itself was a see-it-forget-it kind, and I remember only one song "naan poovedutthu"

[DeepTrance]

I think Sridhar's last film with IR was "Thanthivittaen ennai" - and it had the brilliant "kangalukkul ennai yezhudhu"!

Wasn't the Uma Ramanan sung "Muththamma muththu muththu" from this movie as well?

[thumburu]

Sridhar was one of the rare breed of directors who made woman-centric movies, some of which like "AlaigaL","Avalukkendru oru manam", "AUA" were well ahead of those times.His niche audience being the upper middle class , he had to resort to some mass MGR movies purely due to financial compulsions. Iam glad he identified Raja's music prowess , cutting across all genres [ Raja was widely perceived as village/folk music director] early enough and gave him an opportunity to showcase his talent for urban milieus like "ILamai Oonjalaadugiradhu" , "Azhage Unnai Aaraadhikkiren" and how well did Raja come out with flying colors!!! "kurinji malaril", "en kalyaana vaibhogam" , "ore naaL" are my most favourite songs till date, from the above movies.
The only thing worth remembering in "Ninaivellam Nithya" are the awesome songs. Same goes with "Thendrale ennai thodu". In both of these 2 movies, every single song was was a chart topper.
There is an obscure Sridhar movie "Oru oadai Nadhiyagiradhu" which has another excellent "ReethigowLai" song "thalaiyai kuniyum thaamaraiye" , after the unforgettable "ChinnakaNNan Azhaikkiraan". The other good songs from this movie are "kanavu ondru thondrudhe" , "en dhegam amudham" , Janaki at her erotic best and a lilting duet "Thendral ennai muthamittadhu"

[kamal133]

There is very good songs in Thanthuvittein Ennai *ing Vikram, Rohini

Kankalukkul Ennai Eluthu..

I just rememeber only this song and i know there are other good songs...anybody?.

[app_engine]

It's extremely difficult for me to choose between 'azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn' & 'ninaivellAm nithyA' as to which is the best album of this combo.

However, it's easy to choose the best song from this team (i.e. IMO) :-)

நானே நானா! (வாணி ஜெயராம்)

Absolutely mesmerising number!

This song can easily make it to the top few numbers by IR himself, for its simple yet endearing melody, lovely singing, exotic lyric (vAli again for all songs in AUA I think) and the stunning orchestration. Yes, the orchestration is stunning by any standards and is timeless.

That's why it was immensely popular when released, reverberating in every function in TN as well as the now common bus-casts & tea-shop-casts! That it didn't have the top hero / heroines didn't matter. (Only recently I saw this on youtube and was surprised that it's by a drunken Latha -mostly associated with MGR in a nonMGR project- singing to Jai Ganesh). Very sweet, evergreen number.

Except the 'தனிமையில்' (வாணி ஜெயராம்) song, which was occasionally played in radio and not that popular, all other songs too were big hits! This song was possibly the starting point for more mukkal munagals to come in the future.

ஏ மஸ்தானா (நிறையப்பேர் பாடியது - எஸ் பி பி உள்பட) was loved by all the bell-bottom youths of those days, especially for it's 'ஹாயாயா ஹாயாயா ஹயா ஹயா':-) Quite a trend setter!

குறிஞ்சி மலரில் வழிந்த ரசத்தை (பாலு / வாணி) was a free flowing, running melody while 'அபிஷேக நேரத்தில்' provided enough mischief. I still wonder why SPB pronounced 'ஜென்மம்' as 'ஷென்மம்' in this song:-)

The two liner based on the title had some sweet guitar and soft singing by PJ while 'என் கல்யாண வைபோகம் உன்னோடு தான்' sounded like a typical pre-IR days' song. The last one probably took some time to "grow on me" and even now is not a top favourite, though preferred by radio stations most of the time to other songs from this movie.

I think the movie was a success too but regardless the album was a big hit and proved to be a winner for the combo!

All songs are here:
http://www.thiraipaadal.com/albums/ALBIRR00068.html

[app_engine]

Looking back, those were times (IO / AUA) when Raja was like a waterfall & kAttARu with lot of energy. The lead guitar was one of his pet toys those days (2nd interlude of orE nAL, prelude of nAnE nAnA are evergreen and classy) and most old-timers can remember spotting his relatively "wild" photos in magazines:-) (Holding an electric guitar with bell bottom pants, hair with "step cutting", sun goggles and broad belts - what a difference to his mottai & or sAmiyAr looks later on).

His music during that time period was full of thuLLal and lot of surprises, no doubt!

[Sanjeevi]

Yeah I loved / love much AUA songs but I will prefer NN and TET over AUA. In AUA, there is a beautiful title song (kutty song).

Was Abiseka nerathil bigger mass song than Masthana or not at that time?

[app_engine]

The time period when Sridhar worked with Raja for his next 3 films were most memorable for me (college years) and it began with ninaivellAm nithyA.

Though we were by then accustomed to cassette players / walkmans, the concept of 'company-recorded-cassette' hasn't caught up much at this point of time. I'm not sure whether that started in places other than Chennai even, at this point of time (1982).

So, LP records and recording centers. ரெகார்டிங் சென்டர்கள் காட்டில் மழை தான். பர்மா பஜார் TDK காசட்டுகளை அருமையான விதத்தில் நிரப்பித்தருவார்கள்:-)

Though the stereo effects of NN appear somewhat childish now, they were so "impressive" at that point of time. Interestingly, when one of our classmates got this recorded, he got the whole LP record copied and it has mesmerising instrumentals as well (BGM tracks of tik-tik-tik, ullAsappaRavaigaL title music etc). So the cassette was a gold mine and went on rounds in the hostel.

The songs took TN by storm. Actually the movie had as much hype as some of the current big star movies (the debutant Jiji - Gemini's daughter - had her pic appearing in almost all mags and was probably the most publicised debutant till date).

பனிவிழும் மலர்வனம் was an epitome of IR style fusion and became the anthem of all youths at that time. தோளின் மேலே had extraordinary orchestration and was a consummately racy song. நீதானே எந்தன் பொன் வசந்தம் with its fancy orchestration was probably occupying the top spot for instrumental crazy fellows like me. நினைவெல்லாம் நித்யா நித்யா -the one liner with its flute interlude was sweet. கன்னிப்பொண்ணு கைமேலே had tribal style percussions and didn't have as much longevity like others (probably because of the mismatch of the style to the singers chosen) and ரோஜாவைத்தாலாட்டும் தென்றல் with the best ever duet combo of TFM -ok-ok- out of those who associated with IR -placed it it high pedestal. (Though I like the song's pathos version 'கானல் நீர் போலெந்தன் காதல்', the tune repeat could have been avoided / replaced with a different melody to complete a great album)

Film was horrible & deservedly utter flop. (I think Jiji went back to her medical college). Still the songs are remembered ever after:-)
http://www.thiraipaadal.com/albums/ALBIRR00430.html

[Sureshs65]

I remember the first time I listened to 'Pani Vizhum Malar Vanam'. I had come to Madras from Hyd and went to attend a wedding. It was there that I heard a music troup play this song and was fascinated.

The songs of this movie were excellent. They will also take the first prize for the 'worst picturised best songs' ever!! Jiji has left a lasting impression in our collective conscious. How can you ever forget what she did to these songs !!! :-)

S.Suresh

[app_engine]

'தென்றலே என்னைத்தொடு' - possibly the first film whose trailers I've seen on theater more # of times than any other TF:-) And it did have really impressive clippings of the songs which easily enticed youngsters to the movie.

Also possibly the first movie whose songs I heard in the trailer for the first time in theater rather than in record / cassette / audio shop etc, for whatever reason. May be they released the disc after the trailer.

And they were catchy! Promptly we went to the movie which was average. (Sure Jayashree was way different from the likes of Revathy, ரொம்ப தாராளம், and she won many marks with the students those days...to my eyes, Mohan looked tiny in front of her and so the movie was funny in a different way).

Songs and the movie were huge hits and I lost count how many times I would have heard 'தென்றல் வந்து என்னைத்தொடும், ஆஹா சத்தம் இன்றி முத்தம் இடும்' in the sweet voices of KJY / SJ. Even now it plays on repeat some days in my car. Very sweet song with innovative tabla / drums combo rhythm. Almost bordering on semi-classical, may be due to the way KJY rendered. The most favourite part for me is the end of the first line in saraNam when they extend the 'mmmm' for e.g. போதும்..ம்ம்ம்...

என்னாங்க மாப்பிள்ளை (SJ) was interesting with some comical dance movements, ஏம்மா அந்தி மயக்கமா (MV) a tune which almost got reused in mAyakkaNNAdi, கவிதை பாடு குயிலே குயிலே (SPB) again had new rhythm style for the time period.

Songs here:
http://www.thiraipaadal.com/albums/ALBIRR00649.html

[Sureshs65]

This was a time I was in Madras for my holidays and I remember this movie getting released along with 'Udaya Geetham'. My friend and I were arguing which of these had the 'better' songs and I was plugging for this movie. IIRC, 'Udaya Geetham' was publicized as Illayaraja's 300th movie and was hyped up quite a bit.

It is true that even those who are not very seriously into film music get instantly attached to the title song. Whenever a friend of mine hears this song in my car, he immediately exclaims, "Aha, this must be Illayaraja's best song." I like "Kavidai Paadu" for its innovative rhythm.

S.Suresh

[rajasaranam]

Iam surprised you guys are missing out 'Kannane Nee Vara' and 'Puthiya Poovithu' for its innovative rhythm and structure. I involuntarily shake my head for that 'tang tatang' rhythm, everytime I hear the song.

One of the albums whose cassettes were rendered useless due to multiple listenings. I remember having an original cassette aswelas all the songs recorded into a TDK along with Uthayageetham and Ithayakovil......Glorious days those were :)

[rajasaranam]

though Sridhar is hailed and appreciated for his keen ears to music and had churned out the best ever from whichever composer he had worked with...One doubt still lingers in my mind that He would've only approved the tune for all those songs while the orchestration for the songs would've been under the composers scope... or Is it possible that he came into the picture when orchestration was being done too? Did he butt into that department of 'Raaja' and ask him orchestrate in a certain way/style that He wanted? For mostly other directors dont get into that domain I believe. :|

[Sureshs65]

RS,

You are right about 'Kannane' and 'Puthiya Poo'. It used to be a tough task to select between the title song and 'Kannane', one based on Hamsanadam and the other on Malayamarutham (or a variant). I still remember Ananda Vikatan's review of this movie and the reviewer going ga-ga over both these songs. 'Puthiya Poo' came to Telugu via 'Kotha Kothaga' (Coolie No.1)

S.Suresh

[app_engine]

Hey, how come what I typed about kaNmani & pudhiya poovidhu missing?:-( I think while editing some typo, I inadvertently deleted it.

Yes, I did talk about the innovative rhythm for these songs:-)

[rajasaranam]

Suresh,

Coolie No.1 was dubbed into Tamil with the same title and the song made a reappearance as 'Solai Pookale Poothathu' Bayangara Karpanai Varatchi Pola the whole lyrics were like juggling around the lyrics of 'Puthiya Poovithu poothathu' :)

[MrJudge]

In Koffee with Anu program, Deepan Chakravarthy said that he was doing the lead role in the movie 'rANi thEni' and couldn't come for the recording of a hit song, so Raaja finished off the song with SPB. While Raaja was doing the RR work of 'rANi thEni', DC was present in the studio. Raaja asked him to sit and didn't speak a word to him. While they were having lunch together Raaja told him that his acting was ok on-screen but he needed to decide which path he wanted to take. Because Raaja just informed him that the year's super hit song 'pani vizhum malar vanam' was supposed to sing by him.