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ARR's interview in Hindu .....-Intresting Point

Topic started by MumbaiRamki (@ 63.186.8.168) on Sun Dec 12 18:45:07 EST 2004.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/12/13/stories/2004121300340100.htm

1.The 'Yuhi chaala ' song from swades was orginally composed for Lagaan .

2.Harris Jeyaraj worked with him only for 2 films !!

3.On today's music -
"What is today's Tamil film music all about? They are nothing more than fast numbers or remix downloaded. What took me weeks to make music for a "Gentleman" or "Rangeela" can be done today if you have a computer, software and then pre-set the rhythms and you have a disco number! Fast music is no big deal today as anyone can become a music director"

4.Rajiv Menon film in tamizh .

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: observer (@ 208.254.219.2) on: Wed Dec 15 18:50:31 EST 2004
  
  Vijay:
  
  "As for Vidyasagar, several albums that sank without a trace. He has never really introduced anything new to TFM, but is a good melody composer."
  
  You do VS a grave disservice. He was the first person to bring bhangra into TFM in Jai Hind. Rahman was caught off-guard on that one, and followed by hinting faintly at bhangra in Indian, then doing a poor fusion in Baba. He fused mass and class innovatively in Alai, achieving a smoother merge between dnb and folk than ARR. He did an excellent rustic score for Pasumpon that sounded neither like IR nor like ARR. And so on.
  
  "Boys was still the last album to be a major trendsetter and the music sold well in spite of the movie not doing well. That speaks of the prowess of ARR."
  
  I already agreed about Boys. My question is what since then?
  
  "What Rahman needs is a better choice of films. Films that will see the daylight in the first place and that would also do justice to his songs."
  
  Who doesn't need better films? It could be argued that Rahman himself is responsible for some of his delayed films (though not Water, admittedly). Unlike the typical ARR-basher I've no great issue with his method of working, but the fact remains that this is his weakest link. And this is where his competition is hitting him hardest. Especially YSR, and to an extent VS, who with their sheer prolificity combined with a level of quality indistinguishable to the common man from ARR are succeeding in replacing ARR in the minds of TFM-listeners.
  
  No doubt to this you'll say that ARR doesn't need to be doing the films YSR/VS are doing since he's doing fewer but superior films. Unfortunately, since most of these superior films are flopping, the few-but-good strategy is not proving to be the greatest so far.
  
  
• From: Dude (@ 209.23.214.123) on: Wed Dec 15 19:08:57 EST 2004
  
  1) Buddy, have you heard the song:
  "Aadaludan paadalai kettu rasipathile daan sugam sugam"... do you know who dances to that song? MGR! Please search for that song, listen to it and come back and tell me what year that movie came out.
  
  2) The bhangra song by VS you mentioned: "Mutham thara yetha idam..." is an exact copy of "Gori naal ishq mita" by Bally Sagoo
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 68.16.25.50) on: Thu Dec 16 10:28:39 EST 2004
  
  "The level of sonic mastery and melodic invention in 7GRC is extraordinary. Agreed he's not fundamentally, conceptually taken it beyond ARR, many of the same strategies are in place, but quite simply his tunes have that strange much-sought after feel of newness/oldness and catchiness/melodiousness that Rahman has been having a hard time achieving lately."
  
  
  all this is subjective. If no one had told you that the MD was YSR, you wouldnt have probably figured it out just by listening to the songs. Thats what I mean by individuality. Listen to the melodies from "kaNgaLaal kaidhu sei", songs like "theekuruviyaai" and you will know what individuality is about. They are far superior technically to the so-called melodies of YSR in Kaadhal Konden.The sandham(word construct) in "theekuruviyaai" is mind-boggling and the way he has used the seemingly out-of-tempo "yedhomma yedho maadhiri" in the song and yet made it into a one smooth piece is ingenuity.
  
  On the other hand, Kaadhal Konden had 3 YSR'shis inspirations here from his 2 recent hits:
  http://www.iespana.es/i2fs/tamil-yuvan.html
  
  and ironically these are being considered his best works. 7G Rainbow Colony's theme is inspired as well.
  
  "He fused mass and class innovatively in Alai, achieving a smoother merge between dnb and folk than ARR. He did an excellent rustic score for Pasumpon that sounded neither like IR nor like ARR."
  
  again this is just your prefernce. I personally find Kizhakku seemayile to be better in terms of folk/rustic songs than Pasumpon. VS had more than a generous dose of IR influence in his early days. Even now, his consistency is far from good. And like someone else pointed out he has lifted from other sources for some of his "hit" songs as well.
  But I'll grant that he is a good melody composer, much better than YSR.
  
  In summary, You are confusing your own tastes/dislikes/prefernces with commercial success. Stick to one at a time. If you are talking about technical aspects of music and what each MD brought to the table, Rahman has brought alot more. Even in his recent Tehzeeb, he has set 18-th century poems/Ghazals to music but set in a modern ambience. Mere usage of Bhangra or trance genre in a tamil song doesnt an innovation make.
  
  If you are talking just about commercial success, like I said Rahman's coverage is extensive and he would be the least concerned about a few misses here or there when his sights are set on something bigger for the moment. You say that WOHE or Bombay Dreams have led to nothing. I say that it doesnt have to. Rahman doesnt want to settle down in London or China. He bagged the opportunity and he made the best of it. Getting an opportunity/invitation is a big thing in the first place. why was IR and not someone else invited to compose a symphony by RPO? Think about it.
  
  "Especially YSR, and to an extent VS, who with their sheer prolificity combined with a level of quality indistinguishable to the common man from ARR are succeeding in replacing ARR in the minds of TFM-listeners. "
  
  Once again you are just talking about TFM. Rahman's target audience is not just TFM listeners anymore, pl. keep that in mind. He has a better coverage and probably earns more in a year than what VS or YSR make by doing 10 TFM films in a year, 8 of which dont make it to the charts at all.
  
  "Unfortunately, since most of these superior films are flopping, the few-but-good strategy is not proving to be the greatest so far."
  
  It worked for 10 years. We'll wait for his upcoming films before deciding his strategy is worthless. Leave alone good films, he hasnt even being doing much films lately to warrant a comparison with novices like YSR. Like I said much earlier, its his own decision to reduce his choice of films in TFM for better opportunities in HFM and abroad. Like how IR reduced his films when he had to compose symphony #1 and now his TIS. So there is no need for him to feel threatened.
  
  If he gets back to doing 7-8 TFM films a year like how he did in the mid-90s and still isnt being talked about much then its time for him to push the panic button, not now.
  
  And I dont buy your theory that you are doing all these discussions because you are genuinely concerned that ARR's attitude is affecting his music. My gut feeling is that you are doing it just to corner some attention or to vent your frustrations on ARR :-) Because if ARR's recent music(in Swades, AE etc.) is of any indication he isnt the least bit mentally bothered by his competition.
  
  
• From: Guess Me (@ 202.83.37.24) on: Thu Dec 16 11:06:28 EST 2004
  
  Great post vijay.
  
  "Once again you are just talking about TFM. Rahman's target audience is not just TFM listeners anymore, pl. keep that in mind. "
  
  If Nattamai or Rajasaranam was around here, you would have seen the following message.
  
  "THIS IS newtfmpage.COM"
  
  :)
  
  
• From: rajasaranam (@ 61.246.88.64) on: Thu Dec 16 11:24:47 EST 2004
  
  THIS IS newtfmpage.COM
  
  
• From: Jacky (@ 61.2.39.28) on: Thu Dec 16 11:33:35 EST 2004
  
  Guess me,
  Now you should be happy!
  
  
• From: Genesis (@ 136.1.1.101) on: Thu Dec 16 11:43:43 EST 2004
  
  Observer,
  
  Just be honest... Do you really believe what you write?
  
  I hope you are like one of the stock brokers who recommends something, because he will get his commission... what I do not understand is what is your commission here.
  
  I am sorry to say this.. you are SICK.
  
  
• From: Music4ever (@ 130.111.58.78) on: Thu Dec 16 12:07:49 EST 2004
  
  Since the music of 7GRC is being talked about as being the next best thing after sliced bread, I concentrated on its songs and immediately discerned an interlude in "Kanaa kaanum kalangal" as reminding one of the thenali song that goes "Swaasame Swwasame". The other song kann pesum vaarthaigal reminds one of a number in jodi that goes jeeva. Does anybody else think like me?
  
  Having said that, YSR should be commended for producing ear-pleasing music for just 7 lakhs. He is not at all bad.
  
  
• From: Guess Me (@ 202.83.37.24) on: Thu Dec 16 12:23:31 EST 2004
  
  "THIS IS newtfmpage.COM"
  
  You never disappoint, rajasaranam :)
  
  
• From: observer (@ 208.254.219.2) on: Thu Dec 16 13:01:00 EST 2004
  
  Vijay:
  "all this is subjective."
  
  And therefore worthless? Are all subjectivities but yours automatically disallowed from discussion? Don't all our subjectivities combine to create the objectivity we call the success of the album? If you claim on the other hand that real "objectivity" is the reaction of some chosen few, who gets to be in that select club? And why? Did God give them that special privilege?
  
  
  
  "Listen to the melodies from "kaNgaLaal kaidhu sei", songs like "theekuruviyaai" and you will know what individuality is about."
  
  Well you just now ruled out all subjectivity from the discussion. So forgive me if I could care less what you think about it.
  
  "I personally find Kizhakku seemayile to be better in terms of folk/rustic songs than Pasumpon."
  
  I never said Pasumpon was superior to ARR's stuff, I said it was different from ARR and IR in response to your charge that he'd brought nothing new.
  
  "In summary, You are confusing your own tastes/dislikes/prefernces with commercial success."
  
  Not at all. 7GRC did better than KKS, KK did better than Kizhakku and so on. I mentioned precisely those albums that were indeed more successful than ARR's. The audience like them more. My liking them is incidental.
  
  " Even in his recent Tehzeeb, he has set 18-th century poems/Ghazals to music but set in a modern ambience. Mere usage of Bhangra or trance genre in a tamil song doesnt an innovation make."
  
  And "usage" of ghazals does? Why pray? I already explained why YSR's use of trance wasn't mere dabbling, he really did fuse Indian popular melodicism with trance.
  
  "You say that WOHE or Bombay Dreams have led to nothing. I say that it doesnt have to."
  
  I know you do, you already said that several times. Commissioning an artist indicates hope on the part of the sponsor and promise on the part of the artist. We can only know that these hopes and promises were fulfilled when more assignments flow in. In the case of ARR they haven't. I take that to mean that ARR failed to click with the intended audiences. WOHE was a flop in China. BD was moderately successful in the UK because of the huge Asian population looking for a "classy" white thing to do, and a disaster in the US because of the small Asian numbers. I draw the logical conclusions.
  
  "why was IR and not someone else invited to compose a symphony by RPO? Think about it."
  
  I already did, much before I arrived in this forum. IR's music did, and does, show a great debt to the same dead Western composers who're endlessly recycled by the might-as-well-be-dead western symphony orchestras. The connection and therefore the commission is easy enough for anyone to see. It DOES NOT prove, despite what IR-fanatics may claim, that IR is the greatest composer in the history of mankind.
  
  Clearly in your eyes there is a simple linear scale of artistic merit with white folks at the very top. So those Indians who please whites are automatically superior to those who don't. Unfortunately it's not so simple, there are a million parameters that go into our aesthetic decisions that whites don't know a thing about. The have their own parameters, and excellence by those terms is just one of many possible excellences.
  
  "It worked for 10 years. We'll wait for his upcoming films before deciding his strategy is worthless. Leave alone good films, he hasnt even being doing much films lately to warrant a comparison with novices like YSR."
  
  New, Udhaya and KKS certainly ought to be compared with the work of "novices" like YSR. They compare poorly.
  
  "So there is no need for him to feel threatened."
  
  Then why did he criticse other composers?
  
  "And I dont buy your theory that you are doing all these discussions because you are genuinely concerned that ARR's attitude is affecting his music. My gut feeling is that you are doing it just to corner some attention or to vent your frustrations on ARR :-)"
  
  The logical response to that is, why respond then and give me attention? If criticising ARR is a desire for attention, then what about praising ARR, or defending ARR? Isn't that too a quest for applause from the likes of Guess Me? If all of us are seeking attention, then why not cancel it out of both sides like in an algebraic equation, and just take it for what it is: debate?
  
  "Because if ARR's recent music(in Swades, AE etc.) is of any indication he isnt the least bit mentally bothered by his competition."
  
  The music for these films has been commercially disappointing for ARR. If you're saying YOU liked them, we already decided that we don't care about anyone's subjective responses, didn't we?
  
  
  
• From: observer (@ 208.254.219.2) on: Thu Dec 16 13:04:57 EST 2004
  
  Genesis:
  
  "Just be honest... Do you really believe what you write?"
  
  Do you?
  
  

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