Gautham pairs with IR

Director Gautham Menon,  Music Director - Ilayaraja.

Both these geniuses don't need an introduction.  I am a big fan of both.

Gautham's movies have always been different and refreshing with a style that's very unique and classy.  He announced his arrival with a wonderful Tamil movie 'Minnale'. The ones that followed that - Kakka Kakka , Vettaiyadu Vilayaadu, Vaaranam Aayiraman and Vinnaithandi Varuvayaa - to name a few - showcased his talent to the world.

His team is always technically rock solid.  I am always impressed by the songs that come out of his movies, which tells a lot about his taste and the influence he has on the Music Directors.

That leads us to the announcement that Maestro Ilayaraja will be the Music director for Gautham Menon's next venture - Neethane en Ponvasantham.


GM has worked with ARR and HJ until now.  This will be his first with Ilayaraja.


I am sure this will also be a blockbuster!

Classic vs. the Classic

Enjoy the latest from Vidyasagar, wonderfully sung by Madhu Balakrishnan and Binny Krishnakumar.

Movie - Thambi Vettothi Sundaram, 2011
Music - Vidyasagar
Singers - Madhu Balakrishnan, Binny KrishnaKumar ( Raa Raa fame !)


Now, watch the Classic from Ilayaraja !





Movie - Thanga Magan, 1983
Music - Ilayaraja
Singers - SPB, Janaki

And, finally this is by the great 'Raveendran Master' sung by KJ.Yesudas.

Sharreth - Maestro

180

Songs of this Tamil movie are some of the best in recent memory. They are in repeat mode in my car and home and I get goosebumps every time I listen to them.

It's really sad that the Music Director of this film Sharreth is not popular in Tamil though we hear from every musician on Tamil TV that Sharreth is the 'go to' person for technical aspects of music.

Songs of 180 are pure magic.  The compositions, the orchestration, the complexities, the melodies....all have the stamp of Sharreth in them.  Karky's lines are precious!

One of the songs, which has a Middle Eastern touch - 'Nyayam Thaana' is simply superb.  Very tough song , wonderfully sung by - Sharreth himself. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see this piece of video in 'You Tube' ! Enjoyed Sharreth's humor as well !

Thanks to 180,  I've become a big fan of the Jayendra ( director ), Siddharth, Priya Anand,  Nithya Menon, Balasubramanian ( Cameraman) and Karky ( Lyrics).

Hats off to the crew of '180' for creating a Masterpiece!

Please watch this movie in Big Screen to enjoy the technical aspects.

I am sure you'll enjoy it as much as my family and I did.

Nilave Ennidam Nerungadhe !

If I were asked to pick one song that touches my heart every time I listen to it,  this song would be it.

'Nilave Ennidam' from the Tamil movie 'Ramu'.  Music by the legend MSV sung soulfully by non other than the great PB Srinivas. 

I remember watching this movie while I was in elementary school.  Not sure if the management expected it, but thanks to the storyline, the entire school came out crying ! 

Now to 'SOMAS', who has sung this  song in his blog.  I remember writing about him a few years back.  He has a wonderful voice and he is a wonderful singer.

While I was fixing my blog roll this morning, I happened to go to his blog. 

SOMAS has done a wonderful job.  Check it out !

PAA - Music - Average!

I was expecting an outstanding album from Ilayaraja. At this point, after listening to the songs from the Hindi Movie PAA a couple times, I have to say ....

'It's just Average - Nothing special'.

Being a Ilayaraja fan, this is a big letdown for me!

Mr. IR - Why do you recycle and why Bhavadharini ?

Mr. Balki - Please try Harris Jeyaraj the next time, if ARR is too expensive.

My Favorites

Another Ilayaraja song this time. From the tamil movie Agal viLakku.

Came out in 1980. I was doing my 2nd year Bachelors degree at MCC Tambaram.

I remember singing this song for the college audition. Hmm...I was rejected !

Vijayakanth during his leaner times in life ( physically and during the start of his career I guess ). Looking at the bell-bottoms, and the pants that go up to his chest...makes me laugh...thinking..I've done that too. Not to forget his hairstyle.

Shoba - An amazing actress whose life was cut short by God knows what happened. They called it suicide. Suspicious that so many Tamil actresses commit suicide ( Silk Smitha , Fadafat Jayalakshmi, Deepa, Simran's sister - to name a few ).

Ilayaraja - I have no words for his music. Truly the Maestro.

Yesudas - What a voice..!!!

Not sure who the female singer is..but she has also done a great job

My Favorites

'Mella Pesungal' was the first film for (Late) Vasanth and Banupriya.

I didn't watch the movie but I loved the songs from that movie, especially this one:

Deepan Chakravarthy who became famous after 'Poonkadhavae' from Nizhalgal has sung this song with Uma Ramanan.

The movie was directed by Bharathivasu ( SanthanaBharathy and P Vasu - who did a couple of films together ).

One of Ilayaraja's several masterpieces.

I am not sure why Deepan just faded away. I love his voice. Even these days I see him on TV his voice is good.

Chinmayi's love for Tamil

Chinmayi has written about a 'Frooti' commercial. Looks like Tamil words have been spelt wrong.

This is not new, I've seen several commercials, banners, hoardings like that and I don't like it either.

I wrote a comment for her post and as I expected she has ( until now ) censored it.

Here is what I commented on:

Tamil fans and music directors welcome Non Tamil speaking singers with open hands and hearts. Examples: Sadhana Sargam, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal.

( Please note that the reverse is not true especially in Bollywood ).

All of them are wonderful singers with superb voice. But...their Tamil pronunciation has several problems( For example all of them pronounce ga as ha....raa gam becomes raa ham ! )...and the music directors don't care about it.

AR Rahman, Ilayaraja, Harris Jeyaraj, Vidyasagar and the others use these singers quite often in Tamil films.

But look at this. When AR Rahman, does a Hindi film, his South Indian Singers get coached by Hindi pundits for proper pronunciation.

Isn't this hypocrisy? Shouldn't AR Rahman do this in Tamil also? ( Even to the native singers who can't pronounce Tamil words correctly !)

I understand why Chinmayi doesn't want to release my comment though she has written her heart via the FROOTI post.

I don't blame her. AR Rahman is her guru / everything.

But for me, I would like AR Rahman to do what he does in Hindi. ie.

Coach the singers to pronounce Tamil right !

GV Prakash

I am a hardcore Ilayaraja fan. Possibly because I grew up listening to IR's music. Till date, I consider IR as the king of melodies.

As IR faded away...thanks to AR Rahman, who conquered the tamil music world with his foot tapping numbers, I began to wonder if the Melody of IR would be gone forever.

But Rahman, Vidyasagar and to some extent Deva filled in for melodies. ARR continued..but he was more on the Rhythm side ...and Vidya Sagar, who was a mix gave us some amazing melodies. Deva, whom I respect a lot too..gave some wonderful hits.

IR showed his face every now and then and kept proving that melody still ruled in the Tamil music world !!

Then came Harris Jayaraj who is also impressive..though I feel he repeats himself a lot..!!

Enter GV Prakash...ARRs nephew. A young kid who impressed the tamil music world via 'Ottagatha kattiko'..he began to impress me with his hits.

I feel GVP has a good balance of Melody and Rhythm all thanks to his wonderful keyboard skills, solid knowledge of digital side of modern music and his natural tilt towards good melody.

My most favorite album of GVP is 'Veyyil'. Very impressive. One of my favorite songs in recent times is 'Veyyilodu Vilayadi'. Kailesh Kher, Jassie Gift..what a combo. Wonderful lyrics as well. I also liked 'Uruguthe' and 'Kadhal Neruppin'.

These days, whenever I see an album by GVP I immediately listen to it. And I have to tell you he always impresses me.

Way to go GV Prakash.