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Maestro Ilaiyaraja has to change style radically

Topic started by Nithin Sreedevan (@ nc.pr.mcs.net) on Tue Mar 3 19:42:34 EST 1998.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Ilaiyaraja has to change style radically to be accepted by the growing City audience

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: kiruba (@ slipper.watcom.on.ca) on: Sun Mar 8 17:53:34 EST 1998
  
  Well, A R Rahman's music does not necessarily have the originality that IR's has. I cannot proudly play ARR's music if my American friends come home. I can do this with IR music. But still ARR's music might help prevent people defecting to MTV. I am sure IR will still have a major role to play in TFM.
  
  
• From: Nithin Sreedevan (@ nc.pr.mcs.net) on: Sun Mar 8 18:53:12 EST 1998
  
  Dear Ravi and Ganesh
  
  I am not being greedy or ambitious for IR. In fact, I am throwing up a lot of criticism, because he is like God, smiling and accepting the complaints, and knowing when to give what the music lover needs in a measure far beyond imagination.
  
  If he happens to see these comments, he will be least hurt because he has done a variety of different stuff that no one can ever emulate.
  
  What I am saying is, today if he wants to compete and continue he needs to find a contemporary sound pattern to compete. I am not asking Sivaji to be a Kamal or a Rajni.
  
  Music is presentation of sound as Raja himself has said, it is nothing but wind. I want IR to break out of his set pattern and style and come out of the classical, symphony, folk stuff and go pop, rap and jazz. Is that something bad? We want to see his version of contemporary popular music.
  
  I agree for originality and style, there is no one that can ever come close to Raja. But, it is time the new audience also enjoyed his music in the forms that he has yet to encourage really, such as Rap, hard core Jazz and a little bit of Rock.
  
  As for KIRUBA, I must say that on the contrary I am able to play ARR's music over IR's music for my foreign friends, because they are better able to relate to ARR's idiom. IR's is too sweet, too deep, too region specific and too folkish sounding for them to really enjoy as a group of people. In private, probably yes, but I cannot play most of IR songs in a crowd, it just does not seem to gel with the party atmosphere.
  
  
  
• From: R.KRISHNAKUMAR (@ giasmdb.vsnl.net.in) on: Tue Mar 10 11:59:41 EST 1998
  
  Thalaiva Nithin ... yarrappa nee ?
  unnakku 'party atmosphere uuda gel annam aah' ?
  Unna IR pattu pottu , party le kooth adi nnu yarrum sollaliyee.
  ARR poodu, Aqua pooddu, Back street dogs poodu, thanni poodu, rum, whiskey poddu
  .. idhu ella am than 'Contemporary Sound (not music)'.. yarru vendam ne sonnange,
  edhukku veena indha madhiri topic la pottu enga mood a kedukkare. style mathannam ahh...?
  NITHIN voda, NOTHIN Style a irrukku.... so Nothin sreedevan eppidi ?
  'go pop, rap and jazz' ... please remove jazz from that line... paavvam jazz, adhhu unna enna pannichhu ? Finally apart from my apologising for this response, please listen to GURU, b4 starting this topic again. GURU.. is a thing by itself, every possible shade of the human emotion is touched upon in just 5 songs, ...... Oh I'm sorry, I have already started exaggerating, .. no you cant have that 'party atmosphere'... you don't need ILAIYARAJA for that... as a popular Tmaizh adage goes..'KOSSU ADDIKA, KUNDANTHADI EDHHUKKU ?????'
  
  
• From: aruLarasan (@ psiphi.umsl.edu) on: Tue Mar 10 18:26:42 EST 1998
  
  krishNakumAr,
  
  thanks for reminding the word kuNdAnthadi. Sorry for the digression.
  
  
• From: Anand (@ 129.107.27.48) on: Fri Mar 13 16:11:04 EST 1998
  
  Well , the suggestion about the change in IR's style is well thought of.Considering his capabilities ,he can do it "if he wants to".
  
  As the saying goes,"Genius is a person who can do anything he wishes and at anytime".
  
  So ,the whole point boils down to whether IR really wants to do something about it.I am sure he will do it once he decides to do it.
  
  Right now his preferences are such.It is his preference ,that is all.And it is not the question of ability.
  
  Being an IR enthusiast,I myself thougt about it many times.But as time goes ,one can see that his preferences right now are different from others.
  
  
• From: Nithin Sreedevan (@ nc.pr.mcs.net) on: Mon Mar 16 01:10:39 EST 1998
  
  Friends
  
  I am taking back by words. I will tell you why I made such a brash statement about Raja needing to change his style.
  
  First, I have been irritated to find upteen guys imitiating Raja's exact orchestration style. The ones I know are: Viju Shah, Deva, MM Keeravani and I though ever ARR in some of his early non-dance songs. Therefore, I began to find it disgusting to know that Raja's style is becoming too cheap.
  
  But let me tell you, I am hearing the original himself now and again and there is no way no one on this earth can be as subtle, classy, sophisticated, suave, delicate, intricated, simple yet complex like our one and only God of Music.
  Recenlty, I have bought many of his CD's after also swayed to another region of musical illusion by ARR's Ratchagan, etc.
  
  There is no doubt, that the Ragadevan needs no change in style, he has done everything that music can do and could never do!
  
  
• From: Subhramaniyam Swamy (@ panorama.nus.edu.sg) on: Mon Mar 16 01:59:53 EST 1998
  
  Nithin:
  
  You are switiching views at a tremendous rate! :-)
  
  
• From: k.r.ravi (@ 218.houston-03.tx.dial-access.att.net) on: Sat Mar 21 00:48:55 EST 1998
  
  Well, Subramania swamy, your sense of humour is just great. Couldnt help laughing. Sorry guys, i am serious again. Well, nithin, you are confused about what raja should do. Raja did come to TFM to make MONEY, but that was a long time ago. He was fresh, enthusiastic, exuberant ......... etc. But 20 years of churning out music PLUS THE GREAT BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE FOR EVERY FILM(Many people seem to ignore this aspect. Other music directors were good composers . but BGM was just a duty for them), must surely have mentally given him a different dimension to think and to live his life. I mean just because a few people are trying out new things(Mostly imitation) he may not have the fire or thirst to still go onto that particular style and start doing wonders with it. He may feel that its enough done and then he accepts some assignments because he cant be idle(One of the hard working men the planet has ever seen).Ilayaraja doesnt change with trend or time. but rather he changes it. So, Even if people are doing wonders with new electronic stuff, computers etc......., they dont have the melody in there songs that can pull in your soul and make it stable for sometime. Its something like using a CRAY super computer for data entry. I would equate Ilayaraaja to MS-DOS where tons of books and Megabytes of code were written , but yet unable to unravel the secret of just a mere 340 KB of code.
  
  
• From: NaNbaN (@ 205.214.209.10) on: Tue Mar 24 14:27:03 EST 1998
  
  Folks ,
  
  Does he need to change his style ?
  Does IR style gone out of TREND ?
  To answer these questions first one has to know what is his style? .
  
  Folk + jazz mix ?
  Folk + Western Classical ?
  Carnatic + folk blend?
  Folk Innovation ?
  Carnatic Innovation?
  
  His Creative songs seems to fit one or the other above category. This doesn't seem to me
  as a style but rather as a platform to built his
  own imagination. Now , I like to raise a question ? ( maybe U guys don't agree)
  
  What is his PRESENT style?
  
  I am really can't understand what style
  he is following? . But one thing is sure . He is trying take his TREND and blend it with
  NEW trend.( Istrongly feel so) . Which you know , i know is absolutely not needed . He has to stick to orginal 'platform' and come with
  'Killer' tunes and subsequent good compsing.
  
  But why the hell is he not doing it? . . He seems to have lost his ENTHU. It may be difficult to digest this point. Me think the reality
  is, he seems to have his lost ENTHU. or Maybe ( yeah maybe) tooooooooooooo TIRED.
  
  It completely up to the director to get a good
  song out of IR?.
  
  Bring a good situation , you get a good song. Inspire IR , You get a Good song
  or atleast pay him more , You get a Good song.
  what comes out clear is that , A GOOD SONG
  IS NOT IN THE HANDS OF IR. (Unless he himself explicitly decides and comes out of rugs to give a good song).
  
  Conclusion . He has gone out of his own successful trend which was producing songs like a song machine. This is the reason for his poor show in terms of commercially and quality-wise . By meanig quality, i am not comparing his songs with ARR but with OLD IR songs.
  
  Let me check, whether i am wrong ? ( I will be happy to be proved wrong).
  
  Does IR's recent songs have the 'PUNCH'
  he had in his old songs?
  
  Where is the Touch of 'violin' he had in his
  songs?
  
  Where is mesmerizing ' flute' he had in his
  songs?
  
  What happened to Innovations and experiments ?
  
  Why is IR in very loose in song composing nowadays ?
  
  Is he drifting to the NEW trend?. Which is not natural for him or Is that he has done great
  songs in the past , that even he himself unable
  to repeat . I really don't know ?. IR must
  be knowing?
  
  Let him stick to natural talents and come out with good songs. ( Fan's Dream)
  
  Aathangatthudan,
  NaNbaN
  
  
• From: Pinch Srinivasan (@ 1cust72.tnt4.nyc3.da.uu.net) on: Tue Mar 24 15:54:28 EST 1998
  
  Dear Nanban,
  Please Listen to the kannada songs "Nammora Mandara Hoove", (For God sake do not even think of listening to the Tamil Version"Kangalin Vaartaigal") you have answer to all your questions raised about IR's current trend or style or what ever you call each one of them is so different and I am very positive he id not give one like this in tamil for a long time until his recent Devadai and KM, but NMH Is still far above these new ones, one of the bests in 90's
  
  

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