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Gems of K S Chitra

Topic started by AVR (@ 143.127.3.10) on Mon Jun 10 09:36:14 EDT 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Off late, K S Chitra has become one of my hot favourites amongst female singers. Her voice has a unique and rich timbre which I really enjoy. lets take this opportunity to discuss songs by her in Tamil and various other languages - Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. Her songs sung under the tutelage of Ilayaraja, AR Rehman, Ravindran et al are really excellent, moreover she has a delightful classical touch as is seen in her rendition of "alaipayuthe" and the Sindhubhairavi songs. She has done a great deal of Hindu and Christian devotional albums in Southern languages...lets discuss those. My favourite Chitra song so far remains "gopika vasantham" and her duet with SPB in the Telugu
movie Swathikiranam. What a voice and that sharpness!

So please, lets discuss her songs!! :-)
(If this topic has been discussed in full detail - similar to the Vani Jairam thread - please post a link to it). Otherwise lets make this an encyclopedia of KSC songs.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: av (@ 132.206.73.163) on: Wed Jul 2 23:13:56 EDT 2003
  
  I was just listening to a magnificent song rendered by KSC for guess who - the Annu Malick of the South - DEva :-). And what a speedy song - Shyamayam Radhike. Film: The Prince.
  
  
• From: av (@ 132.206.73.163) on: Wed Jul 2 23:14:39 EDT 2003
  
  I was just listening to a magnificent song rendered by KSC for guess whom - the Annu Malick of the South - DEva :-). And what a speedy song - Shyamayam Radhike. Film: The Prince.
  
  
  
• From: Ravi (@ 192.147.58.6) on: Thu Jul 3 12:31:37 EDT 2003
  
  Mmm... Mr.Naaz, a good point there! But why I question the authenticity of the interview is because we have seen interviews Chithra in the past and she had been quite consistent in her praises and views. So all of a sudden, when you see such mind blowing praises, it makes the reader wonder (atleast a person who has followed her interviews well) if the words really came from her!
  
  But Mr.Naaz, u really did make a good point about IR which I guess many miss expressing. Though I do have high regards for IR, I do feel at times his 'indifference' or a self-imposed restriction on appreciation is unwarranted. It is very true that the singer is also majorly responsible for giving life to a musician's tunes. I wonder why IR, at times, becomes 'saintly' probably musing "I should be above such mortal feelings and thoughts". As I said earlier, I am an ardent fan of both IR and Chithra and how many times I have hoped to see him talk about my favourites - Chithra, PS and the like in his interviews.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.87.30.219) on: Fri Jul 4 09:03:56 EDT 2003
  
  All -
  
  News on Chitra, SPB, Madhuri and Raveendran episodes of Sangeetha Sagaram:
  
  http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lf/stories/2003070401670200.htm
  
  
• From: sriram (@ 63.246.166.168) on: Fri Jul 4 11:08:22 EDT 2003
  
  can someone please please tape the Asianet programmes? please, someone help this poor starved KSC fan?
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.25.241) on: Fri Jul 4 15:03:12 EDT 2003
  
  That makes two of us sriram :-) It will be nice if we can get ouor hand ont he tape since Raveendran is also being featured. Great composer !
  
  
• From: AV (@ 132.206.72.96) on: Fri Jul 4 15:50:38 EDT 2003
  
  MS - Were you finally able to listen to those Chitra devotional songs on http://www.malayalavedhi.com ?
  
  
• From: Kaumudi (@ 136.142.153.250) on: Fri Jul 4 18:46:59 EDT 2003
  
  It is funny that while you guys are talking about this issue of Chitra naming {one of}her best song in recent times as Bani bani (hello!!!), I have been listening to what I consider as one of her best songs in telugu in the recent past - from the new telugu movie Praanam - which she sang for the first-time music director Kamalakar. Such creativity in the song and KSC has done ample justice to the song. I am talking about the song Vaathapi - see link: http://www.telugufm.com/modules/music/moviedetail.aspx?mid=10206
  
  Kamalakar shows a lot of promise and the fact that he has chosen Chitra for this song shows his maturity in not compromising for a less talented voice. The music interludes are so good and novel. And of course, Chitra did her best in adding her own touch to the song.
  
  One sore point (may be minor, I don't know): Chithra ends her pallavis, before getting into the interludes & charanam, in Vaa instead of Vaathapi. Vaa doesn't make any sense either in telugu or sanskrit. Other than this minor detail, the song is very much listenable more than once.
  
  Snehama by KSC and Hariharan is also good. Hariharan, as always, needs to improve his telugu pronunciation.
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.25.241) on: Sat Jul 5 01:37:16 EDT 2003
  
  AV: nope :-( That says I am forbidden still.
  
  
• From: AV (@ 132.216.68.119) on: Sat Jul 5 19:31:04 EDT 2003
  
  Ampadi Thannil
  
  http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/l/02000L000R
  
  Chitra - Sandhyajali.
  
  
  http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/l/02000L000T
  
  Chitra - Varamanjal.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.87.30.219) on: Tue Jul 8 11:34:32 EDT 2003
  
  So I sat and listened to the songs from Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon for a whole afternoon. It is a trendy album, with usual Annu Malick trademarks, and some catchy refrains. There is some jungle-bookery in the aaous and aa-aaous in the soundtrack which leads to some unintended comic relief.
  
  This album is also the BIG one for Chitra in HFM (comparisons to LM in SSS and Silsila or Lekin are approximates - not appropriates.)
  
  The two current chartbusters are also examples of Chitra's inadequate hindi.
  In the song "Chali Aai Chali Aai" - sometimes she says "Aai" sometimes "Aayii". After these many songs in Hindi, she still has difficulty wrapping her tongue around a simple word like "Mai" (she pronounces this as Mey.) The stanzas are so overloaded with Annu-Malickery that Chitra's voice is rendered incidental (or was this the idea to begin with?)
  
  The other foot-tapper: Bani Bani Bani Re Bani (her "best" song to date according to Chitra) is characteristic vault and clip. She begins with mouth-wide-open singing, and then very quickly moves to her pisu-pisu lisping. Why she does this, only AM and God know. Or don't. Or maybe that's not such a big deal. Whateva.
  
  When listening to this number please pay close attention to the enunciation of the words - Prem, Ab, Mai. In this regard, Chitra seems to have taken a cue from Anuradha Sriram's Taal: Ab becomes Abbu (rhymes with "Ooopar Rabbu Hai" (how true!). Prem turns to Premu (as Ishq turns to Issku in AS's "Issku Bina") - Premu Meri Aankhon Mein Hai - Aankhon becomes Aakhon (wrong, but widely used by even natives). Ab can be pronounced as "ab-eu" (prolonged ending) if the lyrics were in the braj dialect - but that is not the case here. Here it is glaring, and no linguistic reasons can make it less so.
  
  But -
  
  I am all for Chitra's success in HFM! She's paying them back in the same SS/UN/SG/ASami coin - one that is a dented, disfigured and devil-may-care tamizh. Revenge is sweet. And Chitra measures up with ease.
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.25.241) on: Tue Jul 8 13:19:01 EDT 2003
  
  AV:
  
  thanx. I listened to some of them. Nice melodies.
  
  Naaz:
  
  Comaparison of KSC in Hindi with Sadhana in tamil may be apt, but please spare her the humiliation of being compared with flat voices like Udit narayan.
  
  
• From: AV (@ 132.206.72.96) on: Tue Jul 8 14:54:39 EDT 2003
  
  MS:
  
  Do you have a discography of Chitra's devotional recordings as well as her pure classical concerts? Please do share it with us. As per latest inerview, she is planning to enter the pure classical circuit following Yesudas' footsteps. That will be something.
  
  Unfortunately, not much of her work is available on the web, and I do not live in the South, so the web is pretty much my only source. Please do share some more of her songs with us. Speaking of Chithra in Hindi, her Swathi Thirunaal song is a delight. Isn't it tuned in a Sarang variant? In fact Brindavani Sarang, if I may speculate. Reminds me of a Hindustani bandish adapted by Naushad "Saawan Aaye Yaa Naa Aaye".
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.87.30.219) on: Tue Jul 8 17:18:28 EDT 2003
  
  MS -
  
  The comparison was on language abilities, not singing competence. However, in a purely "tonal" sense, I'd rank Sadhna way, way above Chitra. Her tamizh songs I don't think much of, but if you care, please listen to two songs by her from non-film albums:
  "Har Baath Pe Hairan Hai Murakh Hai Yeh Nadan Hai" (from Vaada) and "Ghata Ghir Aayi Hai, Barsaat Bhi Ho Jaye Gi" (from Kabhie Aansoon, Kabhie Khushboo, Kabhie Naghma) These should be available at MIO, I think.
  
  
• From: Ravi (@ 192.147.58.6) on: Tue Jul 8 18:35:27 EDT 2003
  
  Wow! some good analysis here! Naaz - do you think Chithra's Hindi diction is as bad as Sadhna's Tamizh? Well I dont think so. But I do agree on Sadhana's voice capability - truly gifted! Well even the pronounication part cant be blamed on the singers 'coz they wouldnt be in a position to judge their diction. The MDs and lyricists should take care of that.
  
  AV - thats some pleasing news - about Chithra entering into the carnatic foray. I feel film songs rendering has really 'spoilt' her style - at times she sounds screechy (Though I am a die-hard fan of hers, I have to accept this fact!). But one should listen to her Malayalam songs! Amazing!! I feel her voice wasnt utilised to its fullest yet in Tamizh. Though my mother tongue isnt Tamizh, I love Malayalam songs and its even surprising to note that MDs with different styles gel to the typical Malayalam songs style when composing Malayalam songs (eg. Vidhyasagar, Salil Chowdhury). Maybe therez some music magic in MFM!!
  
  I have one cassette of Chithra's Krishna songs titled "Krishna Darshanam". I think the songs are available on musicindiaonline.com under Carnatic > K.S.Chithra section. My favourites are : Smara vaaram, Jagadho dhaaranaa and Alaipayudhae (the way the song starts on a low note and goes to a beautiful high pitch is very pleasing and makes one appreciate the composition). I havent heard Swathi Tirunal songs rendered by Chithra yet. Any pointers on web will be greatly appreciated.
  
  
• From: Raj (@ 206.97.63.112) on: Tue Jul 8 19:02:53 EDT 2003
  
  Ravi: Try Malayalam section in MIO. You get Swati Tirunal compositions by Chitra, Jesudas and others. You will like her Chaliye Kunjanamo.
  
  
• From: sriram (@ 139.95.250.2) on: Tue Jul 8 20:20:49 EDT 2003
  
  Naaz, can you please elaborate on why you rate KSC lower in a "tonal" sense?
  
  

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