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Mumbai Moham - What do Tamils put up with the bad and mediocre singing of Mumbai artistes?

Topic started by Indhu (@ 24.76.127.63) on Sat Dec 1 22:44:28 EST 2001.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

This is my question....Udit Narayan, Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, Kavitha Krishnamurti,Sonu Nigam - All sing in Tamil. But their Tamil is really very bad. Are Tamils deaf, tolerant, or have no PERUMAI in their own language? Is there really a shortage of good, tamil-speaking singers? Or is this really Tamil Inferiority Complex?

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Indhu (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Mon Dec 3 12:12:10 EST 2001
  
  Oh don't be quite so condescending, guy. Move on, if you think this whole discussion is predictable. It is a Choice that is available to everyone.
  
  And nobody said anything about returning to the old guard (or should that be Coot?).
  
  And, yeah, if you do have any unpredictable insights about this whole affair, then please share it with us. I, for one, am all ears.
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.133) on: Mon Dec 3 12:29:01 EST 2001
  
  Before I go, one more thing I'd like to mention:
  
  If u are going to boil this down to profit versus language, a word of advise.
  
  Money is Everything.
  
  Let's say that tfm and the whole tamil industry sort of reforms overnight and decides tat they will only uptake all future assignments for the upliftment of the Tamil language and Tamil culture, what will the end result be?
  According to your logic (where u are saying that there is such a thing where profit motive leaves behind language upliftment), the profits are going to go down. Let's face it. (How many ads does the culturally correct DD Podhigai have as when compared to Sun TV, Raj Tv, etc? )
  Ok, so now profit goes down, and less people r interested in listening to tfm or watching tamil movies. Then what next? It bcomes a vicious cycle. Talented people will go elsewhere bcos they can't have bread n butter if they wanted to be involved in the tf or tfm industry. No opportunities, no good technology, etc etc.
  
  Then there is going to be no significant tamil movie industry. So people r just going to watch Hindi movies or English movies for entertainment. The end result is this: In trying to place too many regulations to safeguard the Tamil language, u r actually in the process, going to kill the very tfm/tf medium. This kind of fatalistic attitude is not going to get anyone anywhere. This is like chopping off a finger becos the nail has grown too long. There r many cities and countries where there is no significant movie industry of their own due to lack of finances. Tamils should be happy they have something to call their own, as it is a privilege. The thing which keeps it going is the $. This is not about greed, but about simply paying off the huge debts to stay alive. A huge gamble is taken in making a movie and if not for finances, this industry won't exist.
  And we won't have such a webpage called newtfmpage.com
  
  and i didn't mean to be condescending, but was just frustrated to see this good topic go down the often repeated arr is bad, ir is good track.
  
  Summary:
  I just think in order to come up with good solutions for this problem, the profit vs. tamil language idea is not a very sound argument.
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Mon Dec 3 13:21:18 EST 2001
  
  I do not know how many of us are aware of what is tamil culture based on...Indhu has/had a vaild worry in hers..Going a bit back, our ancestors have well established the fact that Iyal, Isai, Nadagam were three different but crucil pillars for tamil culture's stability..This probably means that the growth of tamils style of living, customs etc...This still holds good though the fact is invaluable "Art of Drama" has almost vanished today...In europe I have great opportunities to see the famous "Opera", with a bunch of Germans, who were really proud of it, some trying to explain me what was going on in the stage..Those were some occasional moments I had to worry about where we are heading to..Drama, though profit was a part of it, there was definite compulsion that we have to have skilled actors/singers/musicians/stage decorators/story writers with good dialogue all at one time...Most of the good old cine actors were born out of this...In the name of technology, yes, we slowly deviated ourselves from them and we are now in a position unable to differentiate the importance of Drama from Cinema.., which probably ended up consumption of one over the other..We lost it...I don't think we have a chance to get back as their families have gone with the wind...Many other important such things we have lost ..Theru koothu (I remember of seeing a few during my school days), karakaattam, kaavadi aattam...some we have lost to the core...I don't hesitate to put the blame on cinema, where a punjabi actress can do good tamilian role as her job is just to show her face and a non-tamil speaking guy can sing (kill) tamil without any barrier..I put the blame on cinema and people who are in coz just for their own benefits they do this..I put the blame on cinema coz it reaches/dominates about 80% of our population..a destroying evolution...Indhu..we are never going to get back what we have lost..in the name of evolution we (in every form) going to encourage in the eventual process and probably going to loose more...Don't be surprised a tamil movie without one sentence in tamil...people blame cinema..cinema hits back it to us...i don't see a solution for this at all...
  
  
• From: KS (@ 165.122.128.250) on: Mon Dec 3 13:40:16 EST 2001
  
  WhyNot,
  
  Agreed money is important but money is not everything. Even in general, MONEY SHOULD NOT BE EVERYTHING. By saying that money is everything, you are accepting that losing a language (or anything else valuable for that matter) is fine with you for the sake of money. Which is what others are doing anyway…which is what we as a society have to stop them from doing. When more and more people like you join them then would there be anything that can save the cause? I don’t think so.
  
  I know it is difficult to convince you on this at this time (think I can guess your mood:)). But I’m sure there are people/things whom you value so much that would not want to lose them for the sake of money. Similarly, you need to hold that kind of high esteem and respect for your language to feel that it is more important than money. In fact, ask your mother if she believes that money is everything (I’m sure you will take this in the right spirit). Maybe, she can change your opinion about this. To decide on some issues I at times try to think what my mother’s opinion would be regarding the same. That is one thing (may not be the only thing) that makes me feel that I’m thinking right and am making the right move.
  
  I see primarily 2 areas where change has to come over:
  
  1) We as a society have to exercise better self-control and have to reject certain things before it is too late (but then, that self-control is what is difficult :))Fortunately, with regards to the TFM, it is not too late yet. Anything that seems to be hurting us should be voiced against and in fact, if not buying such cassettes/CDs is going to help the situation, then maybe we should do it. Hope, it doesn’t get that worse:(
  2) MDs should not give in to the pressures of the field they are in. Agreed it is a matter of survival for them. But then, if they give in to the lures of the field, then it would only be too evident that they don’t hold that high an esteem for the language (easier said again!). This change will not come overnight. But yes, WE can create the difference by behaving in the right manner – reject those unacceptable ones. Just the way they feel insecure about their position/existence in the FM indutry when they perform badly, our rightful behaviour will also make them give things their due importance.
  
  Of course, there are others involved in the film industry who can contribute to the change but then their course of action would depend on our reactions to their work. And that is why, we have to encourage MDs who are working for the benefit of the art and apprehend those who don’t value our culture and sentiments and hurt us.
  
  
• From: Indhu (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Mon Dec 3 13:43:46 EST 2001
  
  I don't see why the "Money is Everything" dictum can't go hand-in-hand with "Good Taste and Integrity." I don't see them as being mutually exclusive. You apparently do, WhyNot.
  
  Indhu
  
  
• From: Trend (@ 216.68.113.230) on: Mon Dec 3 14:00:41 EST 2001
  
  KS,
  
  "if not buying such cassettes/CDs is going to help the situation, then maybe we should do it."
  
  If you guys think you are in a situation which needs to change, first of all it's necessary and absolutely a must to buy cassettes/CDs which is going to help the situation.:)
  A good first step is always to embrace what we think might improve the situation rather than denying the unwanted.
  IMO, this applies to culture too.
  
  
• From: Trend (@ 216.68.113.230) on: Mon Dec 3 14:05:17 EST 2001
  
  Indhu,
  
  "I don't see why the "Money is Everything" dictum can't go hand-in-hand with "Good Taste and Integrity"
  
  I think good taste(and integrity) and money go hand-in-hand in the top rungs of the ladder.It's the pretenders in sense of aping whatever that sells sacrifice good taste and integrity to make money.IMO
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Mon Dec 3 14:10:55 EST 2001
  
  I think good taste(and integrity) and money go hand-in-hand in the top rungs of the ladder.
  
  Not necessary....A good, valuable, cuturally important movie can be a total failure when compared to a junk commercial movie..Well, i don't attempt to mention anything here....And the whole argument is about the same ...
  
  
• From: KS (@ 165.122.128.250) on: Mon Dec 3 14:44:23 EST 2001
  
  Trend,
  
  I understand what you are saying(i'm buying Azhagi and Kasi:))...while embracing what we think might improve the situation is indeed a good first step, don't you think it is indeed better to deny the unwanted when you know the "unwanted"!?
  
  
• From: Bharath (@ 192.25.158.12) on: Mon Dec 3 15:06:01 EST 2001
  
  for all the discussions and other parphenalia focussed on tamil singers.. i frankly have to say.. they r not worth so much support...
  
  how do these "hindi singers" come into prominence?
  
  they come up in what ever native way that bollywood has to recognize singers.. like shows recommedations etc..
  
  so whats wrong with us?
  
  madras has the the bets music resources in the country.. come december and we have hordes of young artists parading their skills.. they r channels and means for tamils singers to come up...
  
  so why arent there any new tamil singers?
  
  yes! it does seem that lack of native talent is leading to such exports.. i have not seen many tamil singers in the recent past to demand the kind of respect that we give spb of hariharan or shankar mahadevan.. srinivasan is the only tamilian among the lot to be singing frequently...
  
  i guess in a MD's perspective imported singers r better than whats currently available..
  
  is there anyone with his fingers on the pulse of the singing community in tamil nadu... who can provide and answer to this... i frankly dont see any new male singer in the horizon.. regarding female singers we have harini and nithyashree.. and thenthe cup board is bare
  
  
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Mon Dec 3 15:19:13 EST 2001
  
  "that lack of native talent is leading to such exports"
  
  i don't think so. i do not know whether you happened to watch AVRamanan's Sapthaswarangal..Many different voices, few times better than existing voices perform..i really do not understand whether our MD's attempt to take a chance with these guys..what i wanted to say is that there are plenty in TN..the question is who is ready to expose them.....
  
  

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