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The most scathing IR criticism ever, probably!

Topic started by cyk (@ 216.65.106.130) on Sun Sep 3 23:55:27 EDT 2000.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I found this in the official message board of arrmp3 (geocities.com/arrmp3) run by Karthik, by someone called Pennathur. The write-up is probably the most scathing criticism I've ever come across of IR!!

cyk


Sites like aaraamthinai and indiainfo seem to be publishing motivated stuff about rahman.

let's face it folks there are still some people who can't accept the fact that Ilayaraja is no longer the Raja he was. It is not just that he has retired from the scene or something Rahman has ushered in a new order of things and has come out on top in a more comptetitve market. These controversies also have regional element to them. And please believe me I am not being parochial. Rahman's music is urban and specifically rooted in his favourite city (mine too) MAdras. Ilayaraja is a reluctant resident of Madras and for the talent that comes out of Cumbum, Madurai, Thenee he is the supremo. The composers and musicians in his - Raja's - camp (all incredibly talented) who work on TV serials and small clips for the movies will never accept that Ilayaraja's time is up. And they have been naysayers for a long time. For some time Ilayaraja tried propping up his sons Kartik and Yuvan Shankar, who unfortunately aren't even a glimmer in comparison to their illustrious father. And Kartik the upstart and braggart needlessly muddied himself badmouthing Rahman. Today neither of the boys are anywhere on the scene.

The comparisons that some people wouldn't like to make are as follows:

Ilayaraja was a swollen headed man - how many of you know that the title Isaignani was self-anointed?
While Rahman continues to remain a humble person and makes no great claims for himself except that he slogs his whatever off for each and every song

Ilayaraja was virtually hostile towards the press and never deigned to grant interviews or enven show himself in public. Rahman is approachable and fields soem fairly sensitive questions

Ilayaraja is but one in a long line of film composers in the many languages of India. But have you ever heard him acknowledging his own guru - GK Venkatesh - or MSV or anyone else? Rahman n the other hand is profuse in his praise for other composers and even acknowledges the genius of Ilayaraja

Rahman was the guy who taught Ilayaraja to use multi-track recording and remastering with Punnagai Mannan - and it is an open secret in Kodambakkam that at least two songs in the movie were composed by Rahman - and that's how KB caught hold of Rahman for Roja (remember KB produced the film) Raja has never acknolwedged tha man by now

Rahman continues to be a gracious man and participates in free events every now and then. While he may not be like the great MSV (who took care of SM Subbiah Naidu till his last days, performed free with his harmonium for some plantation workmen in Sri Lanka, who can even today be seen taking a walk down Santhome High Road in the evenings chatting up with the local potti kadai guys, or having a stroll by the beach) he is approachable. We do know that Raja came from very humble origins but how much does he mix around or remain rooted with people in everyday life?

In an interview on TV some years back someone asked MSV has Ilayaraja set you aside and has Rahman set aside Raja. To which the inimitable MSV replied, "No one sets aside anyone else. One: the listeners decide these matters as we just exist to satisfy their musical needs and two: only God can set people aside" Isn't it interesting that most Rahman fans are fans of MSV too? It is indeed a coup that Rahman got MSV to sing on "Sangamam"? With Rahman we are seeing the return of those balladish robust strains we would hear in every MSV solo.

And one more thing Rahman steers clear of something that Raja loved to do - interfere with the movie script and its direction etc. And that's what led to his downfall and parting of ways with his close friend Bharatiraja. The slide for Raja began with "Captain Magal" when Bharatiraja threw Raja off the sets for monkeying around. After which BR erased all the background score and the two songs already composed and called Hamsalekha to score the movie.

Fame is a very fickle thing. You don't know when it will part from you. MSV never let fame go to his head and has retired gracefully. While Ilayaraja just cannot, having lorded over the scene like a banyan tree (nothing grows underneath a banyan)

The story of Ilayaraja is a lesson to all of us.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: sengam Jafar (@ 216.234.161.71) on: Sun Sep 17 00:33:14 EDT 2000
  
  To pennathur,
  from the name, i realised the truth, Hi pennathur u are definitely familiar with these guys, sengam sekar, Ezhumalai, Sampath. In the series u are also a mamma from Thiruvannamalai. Unna pathi nalla theriyum now u are living in Cleveland ,Ohio. Moodikittu poda.
  
  
• From: Raaja Rasikan (@ 202.9.169.15) on: Sun Sep 17 02:03:36 EDT 2000
  
  ******But just look at what ARR has achieved in half the time (wisecracks and one liners wanted please!!) that Raja took. Two
  National Awards, a Padmashri, 7-8 Filmfare Awards.*****
  Cannot stop laughing when i read this..Dear pennathur Roja was directed by Mani and produced by KB where as 'Annakili' was done by Panju Arunachalam a less known film personality of that period..and within in ten years Raja composed more than 400 films that is at the rate of 40 films an year....and some 3 films per month and also 15 songs per month at the rate of 5 songs per film and the RR for those films.....and the total songs for those ten years comes around 2000 songs..and almost 1000 songs wer hits...so these are facts...and certainly people like u can't understand this...
  
  Raaja Rasikan
  
  
• From: pennathur (@ 63.14.0.220) on: Sun Sep 17 02:43:00 EDT 2000
  
  Sengam Jafar,
  
  If that's your name, the moon is made of green cheese, the earth is flat, Al Gore is from Maharashtra. It's a fact that I am from Pennathur.
  
  OK Guys. Are you denying that ARR won those two national awards just like Raja did - but in just half the time!
  
  The problem with IR's music is that there is too much of it. And unless you go cherry picking you will end up with a lot of lousy stuff. For every "kanne Kalai Maane..." you will have one "Vaare vaa, sugam thareen thaa..." Listen to some old IR numbers and they can be pretty bad.
  
  And if you can't respond to my post vaaye moodikittu iru. Western claasical pathi theriyada summa pesakkudaathu. Unfortunately there are so many IR fans who know little else but their His Master's Voice.
  
  And to that guy who made the wisecrack abuout MS vs. Alisha Chinai. If you go to Badrinath, or Kedar, you will find people playing MS Subbalakshmi on rickety old tapes. And if you travel into the interiors of Rajasthan, you will find people still singing MS's Giridhara Gopaala from the original Mirabai.
  
  And yes, popular taste is the ultimate indicator of quality. Mozart was a riotous composer whose melodies became popular in the cheap houses and brothels of Vienna. The Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, startedx their career in most obscure places.
  
  Soe years ago when Madurai GS MAni was performing some light classical songs at German HAll in T.Nagar (GN Chetty Road, near Bala Mandir) the workmen laying the road outside queued up outside the hall to listen to the music. GS Mani ever the sport, invited them to come in and take their seats much to their surprise.
  
  Ultimately it doesn't matter who the hell you are in life. Nawaab ho yaa naukar, yeezhaiyo pannkkaarano, art is for everyone.
  
  And by the way out here in Cleveland I have a lot of friends from Russia, China and Eastern Europe. Last night we were singing all of Raj Kapoor's great numbers. "Mera joota hai japaani.." "Mein Aawara hoon..." And there was this girl from Kazakhastan who pulled out Alisha Chinai's "Made in India" It races your blood man!!!
  
  Incidentally even as late as 10 years back if you got into a autoricksha in Madras and asked to be taken to MS's concert, you'd reach it wherever it was!
  
  "Kandukondeen, Kandukondeen...." the cymbals are crashing around my head.
  
  
• From: arpee (@ 195.99.125.202) on: Sun Sep 17 05:54:13 EDT 2000
  
  dear pennathur,
  while you have been pointing out this and that you are very conveniently forgetting the rubbish you typed in arrmp3.com(the very reason you are here today).why is that you have been heaping rubbish and being vitriolic towards raja,has he harmed you in any personal way?If you think typing out rubbish and false statements like this are the way to show your devotion to ARR-well you ARR fans are a really ,insecure sorry lot.
  the doyens in carnatic music all have great respect for raaja's music-probably you know better than the likes of pattammal,semmangudi,mandolin sreenivas,veena gayatrietc!
  I have been listening to wcm for more than 15 years-in fact the sole inspiration which made metake to WCM was IR's BGM and his arrangements in songs-This has only made me appreciate his music more in depth-HE IS A VERY GOOD WCM COMPOSER TOO.
  you talk as if we are all village idiots sitting in one corner of tamilnaduand you are putting yourself in a pedestal by mentioning cleveland and whatnot(believe me I am typing this from uk
  where I have been working for the past 2-3 years)
  We fans of IR are not some doddering oldies,most of us are in our late 20's and 30's,who were exposed to his music-we tasted the best music -and we know when we listen to good music.believe me acceptance by northies or whites doesn not mean ARR is a better composer-they just found he was better than the likes of Anu mallik,jatinlalit and company.they never got to listen to IR when he was in his peak(he still is,but other factors have just been operational-commercialfor one) .
  Popularity does not equate with quality-always.
  you have been name dropping mozart ,bach etc.have you paused to reflect why mozart's music was popular in cheap places?was it not because that was the music in those days-what is WCM now was the most modern music in thosedays.The way you have typed will make it seem that cheap places in europe usually listen to wcm day in and day out.
  I have the complete collection of mozart symphonies-I have never bothered to listen to many of them more than once-he should be judged by his works like Symphony 25,29 ,39 and 40 etc.and judge IR by his better compositions -not by some rubbish every film composer has to indulge in .
  read the article by lincoln in kumudam-whether kumudam is trying to be provocative or not,whether it is a third rate magazine or not,most of points in that article are quite valid.I suppose truth will hurt.
  And if you get the oppurunity,see barathy-and try to appreciate good music and the fact that one of factors for people's failure to appreciate good music,real music is your pseudocomposer/sound engineer ARR.
  
  
• From: observer (@ 202.144.64.4) on: Sun Sep 17 07:36:50 EDT 2000
  
  sabAsh sariyAna potti
  
  

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