Music And Movies

'Aradhana' released in 1969 was important in more ways than one. Rajesh Khanna became a super star. While Rafi and Kishore both sang for Rajesh Khanna in that movie, Kishore was chosen to be the voice of Rajesh Khanna. Kishore Kumar who had till then mostly sung for himself (when he was on screen) or for his friend Dev Anand, decided to become a full fledged singer. The R D Burman - Kishore Kumar - Rajesh Khanna combination would leave a huge impact on Hindi film music, which is felt even to this day. I am sure those in the know will tell me that 'Aradhana' was not by R D Burman but was by S D Burman. While it is true, many industry insiders are on record saying that S D Burman was not well during that time and R D composed some of the songs. Going by the style of S D Burman and the later style of R D Burman my guess is that 'mere sapno ki rani kab ayegi thu' and 'kora kagaz tha yeh mann mera' were probably R D's creations. Whatever be the e...

(Ghulam Haider) In this part we will not be talking much about MSV but rather about the trendsetters in Indian film music. I would say that until the arrival of Illayaraja, the trendsetters were all Hindi film music directors. We need to have a look at this because Hindi film music had a great impact on Tamil and Telugu film music. ( I am guessing it may have had an impact on Kannada film music as well but I am not well versed in Kannada film music of those times. Malayalam though took its own route and while there were some Hindi melodies which did get copied there, their music on the whole remained quite consistent with their aesthetics.) It is well known that both in North and South of our country, film music started initially as a sort of extension of classical music. The tendency was to adhere to the ragas closely and the singing was full throated like the classical musicians. Singers were praised for their resounding voices and for their ability to capture the 'esse...

Last week we saw some of the westernized songs which MSV composed. These songs have stood the test of time and these are the songs through which lot of current day youngsters associate MSV with. These songs also helped MSV make a second transition. The first was when along Ramamurthy he transitioned out of the G Ramanthan era. The second transition happened when he transitioned out of the Vishwanathan Ramamurthy era and established his own unique style. This style was not limited to the 'western inspired' songs. The style was also evident in the melodies he composed during those time. These melodies shed their melancholic tone and became celebratory melodies. This was the major shift after he moved away from Ramamurthy. These melodies had more 'in your face' approach and were able to instantly catch the attention of the listeners. I will be dealing with the melodies he produced in the 1966-1971 timeframe. We will take a look at the later day melodies in a differe...

With Vishwanathan and Ramamurthy going their separate ways, an era ended and Vishwanathan took a new avatar as MSV. Unlike the melodious but subdued Vishwanathan Ramamurthy, the new MSV was flamboyant. His music brimmed with energy and he started venturing into newer territories. Even his melodies took a new sheen once he became MSV. In this part we will see some of the songs wherein MSV builds his own signature style which was different from the Vishwanathan Ramamurthy style. Let us start with a song by which the Rahman generation and Anirudh generation knows MSV by. This song also appeared in 'Pithamagan'. For many this is the trademark MSV. 'ponmagal vandhal' from the movie 'Sorgam' The song has a superb rhythm arrangement. The standard sarvalagu mridangam which was used extensively by Vishwanathan Ramamurthy is used in a totally novel way in the charanam. The tune of the charanam is also very energetic and TMS's voice fits the song to a T. ...

Before we go and talk about MSV's music after the split, let us examine what Vishwanathan Ramamurthy left behind for Tamil film music fans and what their legacy is. The first point about their music has already been made. They were the ones who modernized Tamil film music and got it out of the clutches of classical music. The second important aspect was their dominance led to their sound being 'the' sound of those five years from 1961 to 1965. Let me give you some examples here. Listen to these two songs and without reading further try and guess which of these songs is by Vishwanathan Ramamurthy and which isn't. First this one. Then this one. Or let us take these two songs. First listen to this: Then listen to this: You can see that there is a certain similarity in the songs, though those who have keenly followed Tamil film music will know which of these songs are by KVM and which are by Vishwanathan Ramamurthy. KVM did have his own style b...

A question which lot of people ask about Vishwanathan Ramamurthy is, "What was Ramamurthy's contribution to Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy pair?". We all know that Ramamurthy faded away after composing for a few films post their split and Vishwanathan became MSV and for the next decade and more he would be the most sought after music director in the Tamil film industry. Now, I personally have no inside information about who did what in the Vishwanathan Ramamurthy duo and I have read some conflicting reports. No one has really spoken about this in public: not the music directors themselves, nor the lyricists, the producers, directors or actors. What we can do is to analyze how things were post the split and come to some conclusion on what could have been Ramamurthy's contribution and how MSV's style changed after Ramamurthy left. We have to undertake this exercise with a bit of humility and also with the disclaimer that it is only an exercise in understanding som...

1965 was the year Vishwanathan Ramamurthy split into MSV and T K Ramamurthy. MSV would go on to dominate the Tamil Film Music for decade and half while Ramamurthy would fade away. That is in the future though. We will now check what 1965 held for the music lover. While 1965 did not reach the height of 1964, the year did produce some great songs and a few iconic ones at that. Songs which are heard even to this day and in all probability will be heard for many more years to come. This was the year of 'Enga Veetu Pillai' and the most famous and most parodied song of MGR, 'naan aanaiyitaal' The constant and energetic rhythm, TMS's voice, MGR's charisma in the song, the lyrics: everything comes together perfectly to raise the image of MGR and also imprints itself in the listener's heart. The Spanish bull fight type of guitar in the interludes works perfectly for this song. (The movie's theme, which first appeared as 'Ramudu Beemudu' in Te...