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V.Kumar: Malarum NinaivugaL

Topic started by bb (@ 24.6.231.170) on Wed Jul 7 00:37:21 EDT 2004.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Saravanan is starting a new series on V.Kumar, titled 'V.Kumar: Malarum NinaivugaL'. He has been in touch with V.Kumar's wife and son and is planning a comprehensive series of articles on V.Kumar. I am sure this will be a treat for VK fans. This will also feature unique introductions to the songs by V.Kumar himself, in his own voice. Thanks to Govind and VK's family for their help on this.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Kupps (@ 192.76.80.74) on: Thu Sep 23 15:53:39 EDT 2004
  
  e.hari,
  
  mostly that old man of "recording shop" who is fond of "burma kadai" has given these LP records to the master blaster :)
  
  
• From: Bala (@ 68.38.80.142) on: Thu Sep 23 20:56:38 EDT 2004
  
  Saravanan
  
  Thanks for the songs 'Rum Rum..' and the way sings 'Ammu..' is funny, but still good. I thought 'Dhaagam ' was LRE, Swarna has done a good job. (anyway these were the songs that played in 1972 in Ilangai Vanoli when I was 5-6 years old. My elder sisters were all big radio fans)..
  
  'Punnagaiyo..' was a regular feature those days. Never heard 'Paalu Vikira Padma', MV really sounds strange...
  
  "Illadha Pillaikku' sounds familiar while the 'kinnathil thEneduthu ' sounds like the 'Chiththi' song
  
  Thanks any way for the great writing
  Bala
  
  
• From: Saravanan (@ 213.42.2.11) on: Fri Sep 24 12:10:25 EDT 2004
  
  Thanks for your responses, Hari and Bala!
  
  Bala, thanks for the info that the unakkum enakkum songs and 'punnagaiyO poomazhaiyO' was often heard in the radio in 1972!
  This is the type of info that I don't often have- one of the disadvantages of being younger :(
  
  Kupps, never knew that Virunduagar thatha has become so famous :) I'm sure he must have forgotten me, though I remember him with gratitude, especially when listening to songs that I got from him.
  
  However, I must add that though from him I did get many songs that had eluded me for long, there are various other places from where I got many other rare songs, in Sivakasi, Bhavani, Coimbatore.. I even travelled to a village called Thondi because my friend told me that there was a recording center that had some rare 70s songs there. I explored the small lanes of North Madras too, weekend after weekend, and added to my collection of songs from the 40s and 50s.. Seven Wells, Clive Battery, Mannadi and Vannarapettai had (probably still have) some small, humble audio centers where some passionate old-timers retained rare old LPs, and willingly recorded the songs for me, charging only a pittance!
  
  Looking back, I feel I have lost out on hanging out with friends and other fun, but when I get happy responses from this thread, and for the songs I bring for the wednesday SOTDs and in the VJ thread, I feel it was all worth it :)
  
  When speaking to Swarna, I played bits of these songs for her, and she exclaimed that she had not heard them for ages!
  
  
• From: sk (@ 216.52.229.252) on: Fri Sep 24 18:27:06 EDT 2004
  
  Saravanan:
  
  Thanks for introducing us to some obscure songs. Except dhAgam, kiNNaththil and illAdha piLLaikku (very good songs, these 3) all others are new to me. I wish you had given audio links to some of the songs which you have only described in words. If you do have them in digital format, can you give audio links please?
  
  
• From: sk (@ 216.52.229.252) on: Fri Sep 24 18:28:12 EDT 2004
  
  Saravanan:
  
  Also, did you listen to the `bommalaattam' song that I sent you?
  
  
• From: Da Vinci (@ 24.194.154.86) on: Sat Sep 25 22:44:10 EDT 2004
  
  Saravanan,
  
  'pAlu vikkira...' and 'rum,madhuram...' were very enjoyable. The first one was very familiar to me (probably, 'Tamil Sevai's' sevai), but the second one didn't ring any bell in me.
  
  
• From: Saravanan (@ 213.42.2.11) on: Mon Sep 27 00:26:30 EDT 2004
  
  Thanks for your feedback, sk and Da Vinci.
  
  sk, yes I got the bommalattam song. As I have explained earlier, due to space constraints, it may not be possible to give links for every song in every film. Also, I have some songs only in cassettes.
  
  However, as regards those songs that I have in CDs which I have not given links for in the series, I'll upload them in yahoo briefcase and give the links at the end of the series. Is that ok?
  
  
• From: OISG (@ 195.229.241.186) on: Mon Sep 27 10:37:55 EDT 2004
  
  Dashing Jai( in Tie & suit) in a dark blue colour poster was on my school wall.The songs did become popular and when i listened to them after years i could get the tune,pallavi of Dhagam and Rum. Swarna has done a great job. TMS,moving away from from his usual style and has freaked out in "Rum". aaha!keatu ethanai naaLachu!vaazhga!
  
  Info about "Paalu vikkira" is really interesting.MV did need that many introductions.))Punnagayo -TMS again has done a wonderful job.
  
  Ïllatha piLLaikku - another good one but why Soolamangalam always gives you feeling that she is singing for Sowcar or some other 40+ woman?
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 192.76.80.74) on: Mon Sep 27 11:18:55 EDT 2004
  
  "but why Soolamangalam always gives you feeling that she is singing for Sowcar or some other 40+ woman?"
  
  Same here too. Perhaps, the more popular devotional songs of soolamangalam gives an elderly conciousness. To me soolamangalam is synonymous to murugan paadalgaL, as she was introduced in this fashion to me by our neighbourhood piLLayaar koil. :)
  
  Saravanan,
  I am in search of apt word to express my feeling about your painstaking effort in collecting such songs. In my post what i meant was "most likely" in the word "mostly". Surely there is not just one "burma kadai" thatha whom you found out to give you these invaluables, i realised, there are many such "burma kadai thathas" throughout TN whom you have had associations in getting the lost+found.
  
  
• From: sk (@ 216.52.229.252) on: Mon Sep 27 13:06:08 EDT 2004
  
  Saravanan:
  
  Thanks!
  Your idea of posting briefcase links for rare songs is good. You can keep the links live for just a week and can add a comment to that effect. Those who are interested (there are several of us here) will download the songs soon after they are posted.
  
  
• From: Saravanan (@ 195.229.241.169) on: Tue Sep 28 11:56:59 EDT 2004
  
  sk, I'll follow your suggestion.
  
  OISG/Kupps, even by your yardstick, SR was well suited for 'illadha piLLaikku'!
  
  Kupps, this pursuit led to many interesting incidents; some of which are really funny, though I didn't think so then! I'll send you a mail sometime, recounting some of them :)
  
  
• From: raj (@ 61.246.255.3) on: Thu Sep 30 03:33:44 EDT 2004
  
  Read all the writeups at one shot.
  
  Navagraham, Nootrukku nooru,Patham pasali,Vegulipenn
  
  Wow!! these are movies which can be seen for those wonderful songs
  
  Naan unnai vaazthi paadugiren is a creative magic by Vkumar and great rendition by PS and not to forget apt lyrics by Vaali.
  
  Vaali-VK combination enthralled Music fans which is really a fact!!
  
  Thanks sara for these wonderful writeups
  
  
• From: bb for Saravanan (@ 24.6.251.57) on: Fri Oct 1 04:31:08 EDT 2004
  
  

  Part XII - unakenna kuraichal, nee oru raja!

  
  Two other films that came out in 1972 with VK’s music were deiva sankalpam and maapiLLai azhaippu.
  
  deiva sankalpam (Sri Padmanabha Pictures) starred AVM.Rajan & Vijayakumari.. The film was produced by V.G.Venu and directed by P.R.Somu. I know only one song from the film: ‘achcham vittu naaNam vittu unnai kEtkindREn, sung appealingly by PS. Lyrics by Kannadasan.
  
  maappiLLai azhaippu (Om Murugan Movies) starred Jaishankar, Kanchana, Vijayalalitha and Manohar. It was a usual thriller of a race driver who avenges the death of his fiancée and brings the criminals to justice. The film was scripted by K.S.Madhangan and directed by Raghunath.
  
  It was also dubbed in Telugu as Aada Pillalu Ardha Raatri Hatyalu (1974/Sridhar Kala Mandir)
  
  The only song I know from this film is uLLathil nooRu ninaithEn, unnidam solla thavithEn, an exquisite SPB/PS duet. While SPB mesmerizes as usual, PS flirts and taunts with ‘aasai kOdi piRakkum, achamO..sollamal ennai thadukkum’. Lyrics by Vaali.
  
  I have only poor quality cassette recording of these songs, and hence am unable to provide audio links. Apologies.
  
  * * * *
  
  And so we come to VK’s most popular album from 1972: veLLi vizha (Kalakendra).
  
  KB had two releases in 1972. kaNNa nalama had music by MSV, and veLLI vizha came to VK. It was on the sets of vELLI vizha in Vauhini Studios that the overworked KB suffered a massive heart attack and had to be rushed for treatment. Thus the film was held up till his recovery, and found a slightly delayed release.
  
  The film starred Gemini Ganesh, Jayanthi, Vanisri, S.Varalakshmi, V.Gopalakrishnan, Thengai Srinivasan, Manorama, Srividya, Shanmugasundaram, Rajapandiyan, Rajkokila and others.
  
  GG played Bala, a Tennis Champion and Jayanthi, his naïve and loving wife, Bhanu. Vanisri is his ardent fan Sheela who finds herself gradually falling in love with him. Bhanu dies suddenly, leaving Bala with 3 kids. Sheela goes to Singapore, and from there maintains a long distance relationship with Bala’s family. Sitting in Singapore, she involves herself in the day-to-day activities of the household, the progress of the children at school, and even chides Bala when the monthly expenses shoot over the budget! The children grow up, regarding her as their mother-in-proxy. But when she returns after 25 years, they refuse to accept her. This unexpected rejection breaks her heart.
  
  VK and Vaali wrought a wonderful album and VK filled it with delicious surprises that encompass some of tfm’s finest moments.
  
  In a landmark achievement, the timid VK made bold to set aside sacrosanct conventions of tfm and cajole PS and LRE to slip into each other’s well-worn shoes, albeit for a brief while..
  
  The situation for ‘naan saththam pOttuthaan paaduvEn is this: The ace champion Bala is lodged in a hotel in Bangalore. His crazy fan Sheela is desperate to meet him. She manages to bag the room next to his, and sings a boisterous song proclaiming loudly her determination to meet him. A song tailored for our exuberant LRE, you would suppose. But not wanting to tread the beaten track, our VK went and persuaded the gentle PS to go for the jugular! And an amazed PS found herself greatly enjoying this rumbustious outing!
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/naansatham.rm
  
  KB came up with some innovative touches here too. Bala is in the next room, and is highly irked by the frisky Sheela and her noisy song. He plugs the vent between the rooms. Then there is peace for a while, as we hear few muffled lines. And when N.Balakrishnan’s camera shifts to Sheela’s room, we hear the song back in its high-spirited revelry! Vaali incorporates the Kannada line ‘illi nOdu illi nOdi duraiyappa’ to remind us that the sequence takes place in Bangalore.
  
  Now that Sheela has had her say, let us visit Bhanu.
  
  If Jayanthi happens to look back on her career in Tamil Cinema, she is sure to take pride in the wonderful roles that came her way, thanks to KB. And as the innocent and lovable Bhanu, she came up with a performance of a lifetime, perhaps matched only by her wonderful work in KB’s punnagai. So much so that when DD showed a retrospective of KB’s works sometime in the early 90s, Suhasini wished aloud for an opportunity to play a role like Bhanu.
  
  Bala brings home a nightie one night and coaxes a dismayed Bhanu to wear it. When she finally appears before him in the nightie, he bursts into peals of laughter, for she has bedecked herself in all her jewellery, thinking naively that it would go well with this strange apparel! Her innocence fills Bala anew with delight and making her sit beside him in the bed, he asks her to sing a song.
  
  Bhanu promptly adopts a cutchery posture and embarks on a Telugu keerthanai! An amused Bala hushes her, pretending to rebuke her for singing a devotional song in bed. And before a startled Bhanu can gather her wits, he has sweet-talked her into singing a whispery song of love!
  
  Who would have thought of LRE as a possible candidate for this song? Even a humble newcomer MD would have insisted on PS if he were to compose a song for this situation. But that momentous day VK seemed determined to break all rules and he unhesitatingly allotted this song to the enthusiastic LRE. He had even earlier given her atypical melodies like ‘paRavaigaL siRaginaal aNaikka kaNdEnaiyya’ and ‘muththaaramE un oodal ennavO’, but kaathOduthaan naan paaduvEn is in a class of its own. Akin to V-R’s ‘ammamma kELadi thOzhi’ before and GKV’s ‘nEram iravu nEram’ later, LRE does a volte-face here, and displays a delightful facet that tfm seldom explored.
  
  In every interview of hers, LRE never fails to thank KB and VK for giving her this song. VK, in particular, comes in for warm words filled with reverence and gratitude. ‘He coached me so patiently. “Imagine this mike to be your husband, and you’re singing softly so that only he should hear” he explained’ recalls LRE. And the talented LRE verily transforms herself into the bashful Bhanu who is singing reluctantly to appease her amorous husband.
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/kaadhodu.rm
  
  The picturization was appealingly apposite. As the song progresses, the baby begins to snivel in hunger. Bhanu knows she ought to feed him, but how? She is not able to unfasten the nightie easily, for she has secured it tightly with an oddiyanam! Bala chuckles with mirth at her predicament. All the while a spool tape is recording her song..
  
  VK might have sought inspiration from ‘jeena yahaan’ for the pallavi, but his distinct mellifluous signatures are evident throughout the wonderful song, which has attained the halo of an immortal classic over the years.
  
  For the meaningful female duet kai niRaya sOzhi,however, VK reverts to the time-honored tenets. And so PS is back in familiar terrain, singing for the demure Bhanu, while LRE responds spiritedly for Sheela.
  
  Sheela has by now begun to love Bala, though she knows only too well that he is a married man. Her principled brother (Gopalakrishnan) perceives her mind, and admonishes her; he also points out how her unthinking obsession would lead to a storm in Bala’s tranquil life. She accepts the truth in her brother’s counsel and refrains from expressing her love. But Sheela’s playful words and deeds have already sown seeds of suspicion in Bhanu, who is now torn with misery.
  
  It is the night of ‘siva raathiri’; and trying to keep awake, Bhanu plays a game of dice with her mother-in-law (S.Varalakshmi). Sheela is in the adjacent room, playing with Bala. In the course of this song, Bhanu gives vent to her fears indirectly and pleads with Sheela not to upset her marital life. Understanding Bhanu’s oblique allusions, Sheela assuages her agitated feelings, and assures her that she has no such intentions.
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/kainiraiya.rm
  
  Vaali’s imaginative lines portray the feelings of the two women, even in apparent analogies to the game. The repartees are rapid, and the references razor-sharp. I particularly like the lines where Bhanu queries ‘oNNu vizhum idathinilE reNdu vizhalaamO?’ to which Sheela urges ‘pandhayathai vaazhkkaiyendRu eNNI vidalaamO?’ PS brings about an effortless depiction of the turbulence of a fiercely possessive heart, and LRE manages masterfully to convey the complex emotions of Sheela-of trying to hide the ache of an unexpressed love, even as she puts Bhanu’s fears to rest.
  
  The delicate Bhanu doesn’t live long after this, and Bala is left with 3 children to look after. Sheela is in distant Singapore. Bala and Sheela engage in a remarkable platonic relationship, and the children, thirsting for affection, start regarding Sheela as their surrogate ‘mummy’. As the years pass, Sheela steadfastly remains single. She corresponds regularly with Bala and his children and is strict in her instructions, gentle in her counsel, and loving in her long-distance interactions. Even without seeing her, the children accept her involvement unquestioningly and submit themselves willingly to her administration. The belief that she would come one day fills them with hope, and this childish faith sustains their growing years. oru naaL varuvaaL mummy mummy.. (TMS/PS) provides a précis of the years rolling by…The children grow up, find employment, get married..
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/orunaal.rm
  
  Now KB wanted a song that reflected the solace seeking ruminations of the aged Bala, and Vaali wrote the haunting unakkenna kuRaichal..nee oru raja. When the discussion turned to which singer would do justice to this emotional soliloquy, VK had only one person in mind: his mental mentor MSV. KB too had fallen for MSV’s rendition of ‘nEraana nedunchaalai’ for his kaaviyathalaivi earlier. But he wondered if MSV would acquiesce, for MSV had been a reluctant singer, even in his own compositions. And he had hitherto never sung for any other MD. Considering these factors, KB was not inclined to take VK’s suggestion seriously and asked him to think of some other singer.
  
  However, VK was firm in his stance. He approached the master whom he held in awe and placed before him his humble request. MSV had been appreciating VK’s works from the beginning, and his heart filled with happiness at a chance to show this appreciation, he readily agreed to sing for VK. He is said to have greatly commended the fine nuances in VK’s composition, especially the refreshing dissimilarity of the two charaNams, and sang the song, savoring every note.
  
  So it came about that the great mellisai mannar sang this grand song under the baton of the unassuming mellisai maamaNi. And with VK showing the way, in subsequent years, other MDs too would call MSV to honor them by singing in their music: IR (aananda vaazhvin aadharam neeyE), GA (Odam engE Odum), Chandrabose (endha vazhi pOvadhu), S.V.Ramanan (aaNdavanE unnai vandhu sandhikkavENdum) and ARR (aalalakaNda) are some such memorable instances; nonetheless VK’s simple ‘unakkenna kuRaichal’ towers over these songs.
  
  Listen to Swarna reminisce on the songs of veLLi vizha, and MSV spontaneously agreeing to sing for VK:
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/swarnavv.rm
  
  And listen to VK himself heaping praise on MSV’s magnanimity:
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/vkonmsv.rm
  
  And here is that treasured moment:
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/unak.rm
  
  veLLi vizha is thus enshrined in the chronicles of tfm as a historical album, and will bespeak forever the genius of its self-effacing composer.
  
  * * * *
  
  As I had mentioned earlier, it was in 1972 that S.S.Balan’s Telugu adaptation of KB’s iru kOdugal was released. Collector Janaki (Gemini Arts) starred Jaggiah, Jamuna & Jayanthi.
  
  VK was the MD, but the songs he composed here were different from his works in the Tamil original. ‘nee vannadhi nee vanakunnadhi’ (PS/Jamunarani) and ‘anaganaga oka chilakamma’ (PS) became very popular.
  
  However, the chart-topper from the film was SPB’s fun-filled hari katha, ‘abhinava kuchela’. It was probably the Telugu equivalent of ‘paappa paattu paadiya bharathi’. SPB has a blast singing this one!
  
  Join the fun here:
  
  http://www.andhrakitchen.com/telugusongs.php
  
  (It is the 13th song under ‘S.P.Balasubrahmanyam Toli Patalu’)
  
  And with that song, we wind up our 1972 journal. Many thanks to sk and Sathya Kabali for their help.
  
  ---we’ll move on to 1973 next---
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 192.76.80.74) on: Fri Oct 1 12:08:21 EDT 2004
  
  Saravanan,
  
  Splendid write-up, especially about veLLivizhaa. Your write-up cleaned-up the dust in my memory of VK interview in DD long ago, and makes it fresh.
  
  I am eagerly awaiting for another writeup on your tryst to acquire the TFM wealth.
  
  

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