SPB: A Musical History: Part 18 - SPB in 2000s and Paadutha Theeyaga

(You can read the earlier parts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7, Part 8, Part 9,  Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16 & Part 17)

In the post 2000s, the number of memorable SPB songs came down. He did keep singing the hero intro song for Rajni, I personally am not a fan of 'balelakka' and other songs of the same nature. It was clear that the new gen, with its constantly changing singers and that unending quest for something 'different', was calling SPB only for select songs. There was no guarantee that these songs were good. Telugu and Kannada probably gave more opportunity to SPB compared to Tamil. The Hindi imports became popular in Telugu and Kannada as well, with Sonu Nigam become a big hit in Kannada. 

A couple of songs of SPB that I like from the 2000s are Raja songs. I will give them here and then we will talk about SPB and his program, 'Paadutha Theeyaga'.

Here is a nice Kannada song in SPB's voice, 'modhalane baari' from the movie, 'Nannavanu'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vOMZ_YYT-o

Raja in Telugu, in 2000s, had started using the new voices but when it came to a classic movie like 'Sreeramarajyam', he opted for SPB to deliver this lovely song along with Shreya Ghoshal. 'jagadanandakaraka'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENRb__nSo7w

In the same movie, Raja asks SPB to bring out the emotion in his voice, which SPB obliges. 'gali ningi neeru'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDnylWdLD9c 

If you haven't heard this song, do listen. For the tune, for the orchestration and the inherent emotion.

This song, tuned by James Vasanthan, for the movie 'Nanayam' was a song which got decent play time. SPB and Chitra. 'naan pogiren'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWlsbVfEnII

A typical high energy SPB number under Raja. 'kathi katti' from 'Muthuramalingam'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujyr8vhDC04

Observe there is no loss of energy in SPB's voice, which still sounds youthful.

A philosophical 'vangum panathukkum' from 'Dhoni'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjlCDqHd4FU

Almost blues type melody and SPB delivers with his usual style.

One of the last Raja-SPB collaboration for a movie, the soft melody, 'nee dhan en kanavu' from 'Tamilarasan'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEgUO0XbAz8

Another favorite of mine from the 2000s. The wonderful title song from the movie, 'Godavari'. K.M.Radhakrishna's superbly inspired tune. No wonder they made made SPB sing it for no one else would have done justice to this lovely melody and to Veturi's outstanding lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQ3X4SBxvM

Through all these songs we can observe some things clearly. SPB's voice has not lost its sheen. Sometimes, he is louder in higher reaches but other than that the voice retains its quality. He is able to convey the emotions as only he can. Yet, he was sidelined, not due to any deficiency in him but due to the changing times. It was sad that singers who were far inferior to him got more songs during that period but time changes things in strange ways. We have no choice but to accept the passage of time and the changing tastes.

(You may not have found your fav SPB song of 2000s here. I just put what I loved. You can always let me know of a SPB song in the 2000s that you liked)

Sometime during the second half of 90s SPB anchored on ETV a program was called 'Paadutha Theeyaga'. This program should also be included in SPB's contribution to music because what he spoke in this program was pure gold. Anecdotes from recordings, discussion on musical styles of various composers, introducing the instrument players who were always behind the scenes, explaining the greatness of lyrics and the lyricist, applauding the young talent and giving them tips on how to sing well and interacting with the guest in a very natural manner were part of the program. I have watched many singing competition programs (sometimes called reality shows) on various channels in various languages and I can say with certainty that none of them maintained their quality for so long. Some of them like one of the Malayalam shows with Sharath, M G Sreekumar and Usha Utup and later Chitra had some superb seasons and did the Indian singing idol initially. Later they slowed turned out to me more reality shows with the judges going over the top in their assessments and lot of crying involved in the program.

SPB ensured that the dignity of the program was intact. I think ETV probably gave him a free hand and that helped. His presence ensured that the show's dignity would not be compromised. Additionally, he spoke amazing Telugu in these programs. Many a times I watched this program only to hear the Telugu of SPB. He also ensured songs from all eras were sung and in later days ensured songs of all genres were sung as well. What mattered most though was SPB's recalling the past and the stories he told. 'Paadutha Theeyaga' is a great document about this amazing musical form called film music and ETV must archive it carefully. For no one has spoken so much about the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film music as SPB has done. As I said earlier, he brought to light a lot of instrumentalists who were languishing in the shadows. SPB was involved in similar programs in Tamil but for various reasons they did not reach the heights of 'Paadutha Theeyaga'. He did a similar program in Kannada but I have not watched it to comment on it. (The other person on television who has been conducting his programs with great dignity for a long time has been Amitabh Bachchan). It will be great if some OTT platform buys 'Padutha Theeyaga' so that we get all the episodes in one place. 

Here in this episode, with another legend, K Vishwanath as the judge, SPB makes it clear towards the end when a contestant cries that this is not staged and such things will not happen when he is conducting the program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7IwabooqHo

This is an excellent episode because both SPB and K Vishwanath share lot of nuggets about their works in this. Even if you skip the singing, watch K Vishwanath and SPB talk. As usual, their Telugu is also melodious.

Here is another episode where SPB is guiding very young folks. As usual he makes them sing some outstanding old melodies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl9Xm8NTLAg

You can also hear him explaining the musical details of 'ninna leni andhamemo' song. Also observe around 35min mark. You can see that in an earlier episode he has got S.Rajeshwar Rao to a program and honored him. Also Koti, the guest, says what we feel about the program at around the 41min mark.

Here is another interesting episode wherein the 'Paadutha Theeyaga' alumni come together and SPB speaks about the progress of 'Paadutha Theeyaga'. Then he goes on to talk to the singers about their progress in life. Also speaks about Ramoji Rao's foresight about the program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxr7Kl9NlEs

Go ahead and find other episodes on youtube. As I said, it will be great if someone archives every episode.

The next part will be the concluding part in which we will look at SPB's legacy.