We were talking Sridhar-Viswanathan Ramamoorthy-P.B.Srinivas the other day. Together, these titans of Tamil cinema created a wealth of great cinema and music that are smash hits even today.
1. "Nenjil or aalayam" - A milestone film in Tamil cinema. It was remade into Hindi as "Dil ek mandir" but Viwanathan Ramamoorthy's music was at a different plane altogether. In fact, Sridhar remade quite a few of his films to Hindi. But for all the great composers in Bombay, not one film was able to match the Tamil original's music. Anyway, "nenjil Or aalayam" boasted of a whole host of beautiful songs. But PBS' "ninaipadellaam naDanduviTTaal deivam yEdum illai" is perhaps the most popular. A beautiful melody with trademark Viswanathan Ramamoorthy orchestration and brilliant Kannadasan lyrics.
2. "Nenjam marapadillai" - Sridhar roped in Kalyan Kumar and Devika again for his next film. Inspired by Madhumati, this was a romance across births. Again hugely successful, the film boasted of great music. PBS revels in two evergreen duets - with S.Janaki in "azagukkum malarukkum jaadi illai" and with P.Suseela in the haunting "nenjam marapadillai".
3. "Sumaitaangi" - I have already talked about the two great PBS solos on Gemini Ganesan - "manidan enbavan" and "mayakkamaa kalakkamaa". In addition he also had two popular duets with S.Janaki - "inda paruvattin kELvikku badil yenna" and "maambazattu vaNDu".
4. "Policekaaran magaL" - Easily one of the great soundtracks of Tamil cinema. It deserves to be so cherished if only for that duet-of-duets "inda manDratil ODi varum" with S.Janaki and PBS. Viswanathan Ramamoorthy's orchestration is simply out of this world. The flute pieces keep your heart soaring and you are left wonderstruck at the creative juices that flowed from this musical duo. PBS sounds breathtaking here. With S.Janaki, he also rendered "aanDonDru pOnaal" and "pon enbEn". Both great songs.. and then finally the solo "nilavukku en mEl ennaDi kObam". This is a true treasure of a soundtrack and it is heartening that the film manages to generate such interest today also.
5. "Kaadalikka nEram illai" - Sridhar's most successful film and a definitive Tamil comedy, one of the best ever of Indian cinema. It boasted of a great set of character artistes. Musically also, the film is worth treasuring. Doesnt if after all boast of one of the greatest PBS-P.Suseela duets of all time - "naaLaam naaLaam tiru naaLaam"? Magnificent orchestration again. Other memorable PBS songs in this film include "maaDi mElE maaDi kaTTi", "onga ponaana kaigaL puN aagalaamaa" and "anubavam pudumai".
These were the best tracks of the combo that I can immediately recall. There were other memorable soundtracks as well like "Kalai kovil" and "Venniraadai" .
We can spend eons going gaga over Viswanathan Ramamoorthy's melodies on PBS but lets round off now with a few final sparklers- "uDalukku uyir kaaval" and "paartu paartu ninDaradilE" from "Mana pandal", "yaar siritaal yenna yaar azudaal yenna" in "Idayatil nee", "kaNgalE kaNgalE " from "Vaazkai kaDagu", "yennai toTTu senDrana kaNgaL" from "Paar magale paar", "iLamai koluvirukkum" and "kaadal nilavE" from "Hello Mr Zamindar", "idaz moTTu virindiDa" from "Banda paasam", kaaTru vandaal talai saayum" from "Kaathirunda kaNgal", "mounamE paarvayaal" from "Kodi malar", "nilavE enniDam nerungaadE" from "Ramu" and "pon onDru kaNDEn peN angu illai" from "Paditaal maTTum pOdumaa". All classics!!
The genius of Viswanathan Ramamoorthy is such that they tend to overshadow the other giants of Tamil cine music. That would be a travesty. There is the legendary K.V.Madevan first. In a recent concert to honor PBS, K.J.Yesudas mentioned "oruti oruvanai ninatu viTTaal" as one his favorite songs. Indeed, this enchanting duet is one of the best ever. Other gems include "yedo manidan pirandu viTTaan" from "Panitirai", "paarten siritEn" from "Veera Abhimanyu", "tOL kaNDEn toLE kaNDEn" from "Idhaya kamalam" and "yEn siritaai yenna paartu" from "Ponniyin thirunaal".
With G.Ramanathan, PBS sang only a few songs but they are memorable ! "kaaTru veLi iDai kaNNammaa" from "Kapal OTiya tamizan", "inbam pongum veNNilaa viisudE" from "Vanji kOTTai vaaliban" and "yen aaruyirE" from "Deivathin deivam".
Time has not diminished PBS' standing. The appeal of his melodies has only increased with time. I think it is fair to say that he is the most well-known singer of the 50s and 60s today. Even the likes of TMS and P.Suseela have weathered with time but not PBS. For, his art was based on pure melody and the magic of pure melody can never diminish. We can only thank the Good Lord for gifting us with the ability to hear so that PBS' magical vocals can soothe us. His magic is destined to be eternal.
1. "Nenjil or aalayam" - A milestone film in Tamil cinema. It was remade into Hindi as "Dil ek mandir" but Viwanathan Ramamoorthy's music was at a different plane altogether. In fact, Sridhar remade quite a few of his films to Hindi. But for all the great composers in Bombay, not one film was able to match the Tamil original's music. Anyway, "nenjil Or aalayam" boasted of a whole host of beautiful songs. But PBS' "ninaipadellaam naDanduviTTaal deivam yEdum illai" is perhaps the most popular. A beautiful melody with trademark Viswanathan Ramamoorthy orchestration and brilliant Kannadasan lyrics.
2. "Nenjam marapadillai" - Sridhar roped in Kalyan Kumar and Devika again for his next film. Inspired by Madhumati, this was a romance across births. Again hugely successful, the film boasted of great music. PBS revels in two evergreen duets - with S.Janaki in "azagukkum malarukkum jaadi illai" and with P.Suseela in the haunting "nenjam marapadillai".
3. "Sumaitaangi" - I have already talked about the two great PBS solos on Gemini Ganesan - "manidan enbavan" and "mayakkamaa kalakkamaa". In addition he also had two popular duets with S.Janaki - "inda paruvattin kELvikku badil yenna" and "maambazattu vaNDu".
4. "Policekaaran magaL" - Easily one of the great soundtracks of Tamil cinema. It deserves to be so cherished if only for that duet-of-duets "inda manDratil ODi varum" with S.Janaki and PBS. Viswanathan Ramamoorthy's orchestration is simply out of this world. The flute pieces keep your heart soaring and you are left wonderstruck at the creative juices that flowed from this musical duo. PBS sounds breathtaking here. With S.Janaki, he also rendered "aanDonDru pOnaal" and "pon enbEn". Both great songs.. and then finally the solo "nilavukku en mEl ennaDi kObam". This is a true treasure of a soundtrack and it is heartening that the film manages to generate such interest today also.
5. "Kaadalikka nEram illai" - Sridhar's most successful film and a definitive Tamil comedy, one of the best ever of Indian cinema. It boasted of a great set of character artistes. Musically also, the film is worth treasuring. Doesnt if after all boast of one of the greatest PBS-P.Suseela duets of all time - "naaLaam naaLaam tiru naaLaam"? Magnificent orchestration again. Other memorable PBS songs in this film include "maaDi mElE maaDi kaTTi", "onga ponaana kaigaL puN aagalaamaa" and "anubavam pudumai".
These were the best tracks of the combo that I can immediately recall. There were other memorable soundtracks as well like "Kalai kovil" and "Venniraadai" .
We can spend eons going gaga over Viswanathan Ramamoorthy's melodies on PBS but lets round off now with a few final sparklers- "uDalukku uyir kaaval" and "paartu paartu ninDaradilE" from "Mana pandal", "yaar siritaal yenna yaar azudaal yenna" in "Idayatil nee", "kaNgalE kaNgalE " from "Vaazkai kaDagu", "yennai toTTu senDrana kaNgaL" from "Paar magale paar", "iLamai koluvirukkum" and "kaadal nilavE" from "Hello Mr Zamindar", "idaz moTTu virindiDa" from "Banda paasam", kaaTru vandaal talai saayum" from "Kaathirunda kaNgal", "mounamE paarvayaal" from "Kodi malar", "nilavE enniDam nerungaadE" from "Ramu" and "pon onDru kaNDEn peN angu illai" from "Paditaal maTTum pOdumaa". All classics!!
The genius of Viswanathan Ramamoorthy is such that they tend to overshadow the other giants of Tamil cine music. That would be a travesty. There is the legendary K.V.Madevan first. In a recent concert to honor PBS, K.J.Yesudas mentioned "oruti oruvanai ninatu viTTaal" as one his favorite songs. Indeed, this enchanting duet is one of the best ever. Other gems include "yedo manidan pirandu viTTaan" from "Panitirai", "paarten siritEn" from "Veera Abhimanyu", "tOL kaNDEn toLE kaNDEn" from "Idhaya kamalam" and "yEn siritaai yenna paartu" from "Ponniyin thirunaal".
With G.Ramanathan, PBS sang only a few songs but they are memorable ! "kaaTru veLi iDai kaNNammaa" from "Kapal OTiya tamizan", "inbam pongum veNNilaa viisudE" from "Vanji kOTTai vaaliban" and "yen aaruyirE" from "Deivathin deivam".
Time has not diminished PBS' standing. The appeal of his melodies has only increased with time. I think it is fair to say that he is the most well-known singer of the 50s and 60s today. Even the likes of TMS and P.Suseela have weathered with time but not PBS. For, his art was based on pure melody and the magic of pure melody can never diminish. We can only thank the Good Lord for gifting us with the ability to hear so that PBS' magical vocals can soothe us. His magic is destined to be eternal.
1 comment:
Wow! very well written about a great genius....
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