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FOREVER NEW M.S.VISWANATHAN MELODIES

Topic started by Pandu (@ 203.199.236.37) on Fri Jan 26 02:08:33 EST 2001.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

"Mellisai Mannar" "Akila Ulaga IsaiChakravarthy" MSV is undoubtedly a person who has served tamil film music industry with the greats around.

Imagine doyens like Gemini SS Vasan, AVM Chettiar, Nagi Reddiar in the production side, great composers like G Ramanathan, CR Subburam, SM Subbiah Naidu, SV Venkatrama Iyer, KV Mahadevan as contemporaries, Udumalai Narayanakavi, Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram, Marudhakasi, Kannadasan etc., around, when MS Viswanathan succeeded a new Era of Film music, with competent challenging singers like Trichy Loganathan, CS Jayaraman, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, TM Soundarrajan, PB Srinivas and other singers like P Susheela, Jikki, LR Eswari, Jamunarani and others.

It was film industry then and not called film business as at present. Strict quality control was being enforced and a variety was given by unique identity for each song be it tune, lyric or singerwise. Remember not everyone can become a producer those days and there were not many films numberwise. There was restricted film productions with more knowledgeable technicians. Despite all this, the melodies composed by MS Viswanathan alone and with TK Ramamurthy rose above all challenges and are still ringing even today.

It is a fact that each song sounds with a pep of a new song till date. I want all our unbiassed fans and friends to post their opinions about his melodies.(NO FANATICS PLEASE)

Tell me, if Iam wrong, when I say :

"The name of the singer could be identified with the song of MSV ( although making it TMS song, Sirkazhi song, PBS song, Suseela Eswari song etc)" - You cant do it most of the songs after 1980s.

"You can totally hum a BGM, sing the song with the BGM melody and rejoice" - Even this was absent in songs after 1980s, especially with other Music Directors, though they are great.

"Number of movies worked alone dont count for excellence in music"

"To compose a song with a variety in the tune, excellent rhythm changes, newer orchestral arrangements with a boon entry in the then TFM scene,(Imagine Puthiya paravai -Western, Aayirathil oruvan - Karnan -Hindusthani etc) was a revolution"

The Great master did it! Undoubtedly he needs to be appreciated.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: NU Moorthy (@ 203.199.236.6) on: Tue Feb 13 22:26:39 EST 2001
  
  Sad Old timer - Why don't u commit something constructive instead of trash talking yourself?!
  
  MSVs greatness has to be felt by one's own senses. It is true that MSV made sons and great songs as well. Let us discuss the songs...evergreen.
  
  
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 156.153.255.195) on: Wed Feb 14 04:31:59 EST 2001
  
  yennai vittal yaarum illai, neela nayanagaLil
  
  sachin's forward defensive push races past the hapless bowler. So too MSV's tunes simple & uncluttered it keeps you going back far more.
  
  vengayam, ungaLayae urichi ippidi "beautiful information" yenga kannila irundhu kanneer varavachiteengaLae...
  
  
• From: Kris (@ 203.199.235.169) on: Tue Feb 20 10:41:26 EST 2001
  
  Well said kupps and vengayam.MSVs Bharathiar composition "Sindhu nadhiyin misai" for kai kodutha deivam still rings with a variety in his compositions and BGM throughout the song. Great job by MSV
  
  
• From: Siva (@ 203.199.235.157) on: Thu Feb 22 21:43:59 EST 2001
  
  The great maestro MSVs super hit songs be it MGR, Sivaji or any staarer, have made even mediocre films a hit. Eg. The film ponnunjal was flop those days, but the song "Aagayappanthalile" was a super hit with TMS and PSs voices. The movie picked up after the song for fans preferred seeing the movie for the song.
  
  
• From: Music4ever (@ ) on: Wed Jul 16 10:25:24 EDT 2003
  
  Is there a link for the following song by SPB composed by MSV in Poi Kaal kuthirai directed by KB?
  
  Ellam therigiradhu
  enakku ellam therigiradhu
  mana kannukku munnalE
  oru kaanadiyei polE
  azhagu ellam therigiradhu
  
  
• From: Music4ever (@ 130.111.58.78) on: Wed Jul 16 10:28:54 EDT 2003
  
  Who can forget MSV's evergreen "Aayar paadi maaLigayil thaai madiyil kandrinai pol maaya kannan thoongugindraan thaalelo"? What a gem.
  
  
  
• From: S Ramaswamy (@ 203.94.226.8) on: Sat Jul 19 07:46:20 EDT 2003
  
  Hi all,
  
  We Tamil people keep forgetting that there were great MDs, including the unmatched MSV-TKR duo, before the meteoric rise of IR. Most of the young TFM fans are not aware of any film songs before the IR days. It's a sad state of affairs which is in total contrast to the Hindi fiml Music fans. I, for one, couldn't care less for any songs post-1973 when MSV's decline started. IR's songs, at least in the initial days, were hummable, but nowadays almost all film songs are trash. The decline has been alarming. I am of the firm opionion that the beats are the main reason for the lack of melody in current day songs. Just listen to the re-mixes of old Hindi film songs and you will understand my reasoning. They kill the soul of the songs and make one song sound similar to the next. The variety of percussion beats and the harmony of the BGM have kept alive the songs of the 1950s and 1960s to this day. They are unmatched. And the variety of the singers too is unmatched to this day. One can tell after listening to a song for a brief while that this has been sung by Jikki, TMS, PBS, Jamunarani, PS, Ghantasala, TL, TA Mothi, Sirkazhi, LRE etc, but nowadays this is not possible barring SPB. Rest sound alike, at least to my ears.
  
  Talking abt MSV he's the best-ever MD produced by the Indian film industry perhaps after SD Burman, according to me. The variety of songs he and TKR had given is astounding. And most of those are alive even now!
  
  
  
  
• From: musiclover (@ ) on: Tue Aug 12 09:03:51 EDT 2003
  
  To put it simply no MD (Not even RD Burman) has given varities like the greatest MSV. From 'Vaan Meeteele' (1951/3) to Unakenna Mele Nintrai O Nanda lala (1982. Unimaginable variriety, yet one can definitly say it is of MSV. It is basically the skill to retain / hold their originality makes all the music directors great.Their supremacy is acknowledged for a particular duration, theri power to hold the taste of the masses. Any original style, especially IR / AR are great hits, and evergreen. Where MSV stands above others is his long stint, and originality in varities. Certain great tunes of MSV have inspired other MDs and they have presented in their respective style and imagination have become hit songs. Now, many a times things are not value based, it is basically time-pass, lets not expect long lasting songs.
  
  
• From: purv (@ 205.231.151.131) on: Thu Aug 14 21:39:00 EDT 2003
  
  Forever new MSV melodies?? I am thinking of the wonderful SPB solo in Payanam (i.e., Thendralukku...)- the opening piano piece is ah, so sweet. Just one amongst dozens, I'm sure.
  
  Even one of MSV's latest films, 'Vetri Vinayagar' (1996) had some terrific songs (I just can't recall them, but I've seen the movie though).
  
  Regards,
  purv
  
  
• From: Rameshp (@ ) on: Fri May 7 07:56:15 EDT 2004
  
  we cannot list Forever. because whatever he scored during his peak time, still enjoyable.
  songs from the film "kanmani Raja".Song ''OODUM KADAL OODAM". "KATHAL VILAYADA". master piece from MSV. Listen the BGM.Amazing. especially OODUM you can feel the seashore atmosphere.
  
  2.Film MOONDRU THIVANGAL.SONG "MOOILLILA ROJA'.
  EXCELLENT BGM. BELIVE THAT HE SCORED IT EARLY 70'S.
  RAMESH
  
  
• From: purv (@ 198.38.6.253) on: Fri May 7 10:47:23 EDT 2004
  
  Has anyone yet mentionned the songs in Madhurai Meeta Sundara Pandiyan (1978 MGR starrer, I think)? There was a few good classical songs in that film; I just gone done hearing some of them.
  
  
• From: Gyan (@ 4.158.114.179) on: Fri May 7 13:32:52 EDT 2004
  
  Closest MSV type composing geniuses in all-time music - No.1 is M.K.Arjunan; 2: A.T.Ummer; 2. V. Dakshinamoorthy 4. K.V.Mahadevan, 5.R.D.Burman, 5. Vasant Desai) U've to study MSV' tune structure, it is just complete and perfect. MSV is not that much about sublime moods as IR or as much sweetness as Salilda; because MKArjunan has come up with most difficult melody structures than anyone else and is on par with MSV. It is very difficult to find MSV or MKA style consistently in other Indian composers. By the way, MSV gave superbly difficult compositions more in Malayalam than in Tamil because of hihg quality competition then from MKA, VDakshinamorrthy, Devarajan, Shyam, KJ Joy, Varma, Baburaj, while in Tamil in the 70s it was just MSV-TKR, SG, VKUmar, KVM, the last 3 hardly that prolific as MSV.
  
  According to me, MSV is the ultimate - TUNESMITH. that is why IR willingly give up his achievements for MSV. By the way, MKA is a Cochin man, and IR used to play for MKA with Gangai Amaran, and that probably explains why IR composed his First Symphony in Cochin!!! Because, IR knows at his level, who the greatest composers of all time are and they happen to be in south India itself.
  
  Another "according to me", hey, find another IR, can we? The Ultimate COMPOSER. Ultimately: 1. MSV, 2. IR, & 3. MKA - we in south India are damn lucky to have been blessed with these ultimate music makers of all time. This alone should be the greatest envy of any other culture, according to me!
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 192.76.80.74) on: Fri May 7 14:20:08 EDT 2004
  
  ahem...im bit doubtful about R.D.Burman's name in the tunesmith's list. Personally I dont find RDB's tunes to be as complex in melody as compared to MSV, V.Dakshmoorthy, K.V.M.
  
  I am sorry that I have not heard songs of MKA or ATU(might be i have heard one or two of them but would not have known that its theirs).
  
  I would say that RDB can be in the league of IR when it comes to ranking complexity of melodies in tune. IR is almost next to the above mentioned stalwarts in this category.
  
  Well, I am not a musical savvy. Whatever I have read and felt by hearing their songs I am saying this. I would be happy if my mistakes are corrected.
  
  
• From: Gyan (@ 4.158.117.227) on: Fri May 7 16:01:08 EDT 2004
  
  Kupps, i wanted to included a feww Kannada and Telugu composers, but only sporadically heard, and they were very good, but one is overwhelmed like us with our own music. I want to acutally listen to more of other language music and determine their apporaches, but nobody seems to know much about their own composers in other languages. Anyway, RDB has got a different style more in the MSV than IR type camp. and he is not close to MSV' achievements, but the quality is there.
  
  MKA is one composer no music fan must ignore. Simply, sheer class and sheer depth. sums up the heights of MKA. The greatest competitive envirorment in music anytime anywhere according to me, was witnessed only in Malayalam films in the entire 70s between 4 giants - Devarajn, MKA, Salilda & MSV; in this Salilda stole the show despite composing only for 25 mal films, why? because of the extraordinary sweetness in the composing and brilliant rhythmic orchestration. That did not mean that Dev, MKA or MSV were not equally accomplished, in fact, were greater because of extraordinary variety of Dev & MSV. Innumerable films (no wonder MSV is credited with more than 1000 films, and he has contributed in no less messure to Telugua as well as Kannada also, I hear.) But, even though Salilda stole the hearts, and MSV- Devarajan did many various styles of songs, i would tell you that two people who may inspired each other to bring out their best was and entere into a duel, perhaps: MSV and MKA, their malayalam songs were extraordinary, simply extraordinry - no comparison to the eternal quality of their songs: but, MKA composed only around 150 films, and only for malayalam and lacked that much variety as MSV. Likewise, AT Ummer, in that class of composing, though had variety, did not do more than say 100 films. Dakshinamoorthy was even fewer. But, i would tell any advanced listener to give a hearing to MKA and ATUmmer, without fail. (You'll see IR' second big influence after Salida is MKA (classy orchestration, brilliant passages, use of harmonica, maybe even ATUmmer (native rhythms, emotional depth, solo violin usage.)
  
  This is how I group the composers, based on melodic patterns, depth & lenghts of melody lines, rhythms, moods:
  
  Class A: MSV, MKA, VDakshinamoorthy, KVM, ATUmmer; NEXT HALF, Vasant Desai, RDB, VKumar
  Class B: IR, Devarajan, Salilda, SJaikishen; NEXT HALF Shyam, K.J.Joy, Ravindra Jain, Hemant Kumar
  Class C: Rajan-Nagendra, Vijay Bhasker, GKVenkatesh, Sathyam, Sankar-Ganesh, Bappilahiri, LP, OP Nayyar
  Class D: Karthik Raja, Rahman, SAR, Vidhyasagar, YSR, Anand-Milind, etc...
  
  Class A&B are THE two approaches to film music as brought to great heights by MSV(Class A) & IR (Class B); one is pure and pure and original and extraordinary perfect music for the soul; the second is just mind-boggling, innovative, energetic, vibrant, breathtaking, taking in influences and many other things dynamic.
  
  
• From: sim (@ 82.206.129.118) on: Sat May 8 02:36:54 EDT 2004
  
  MSV was in the class of Satyam of the early 70s in Telgu, and Rajan-Nagendra of the 60s through mid 80s in Kannada. Perhaps the only Tamil composer to have composed melody simple and pure.
  
  
  

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