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Why is Vaali not as successful as Kannadasan & Vairamuthu

Topic started by Radhai (@ h32be.s86b1.baynetworks.com) on Thu Oct 7 13:21:51 EDT 1999.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Time and again, I have wondered why Vaali is not as successful as Kannadasan & Vairamuthu. If critics say his songs are not as catchy as the other two lyricists' I will not agree as he has lasted for more than 35 years now.

He has written some great songs for MGR which MGR used for his political entry. (Something similar to what VM has been doing for Rajanikanth for quite sometime now)

Go ahead give your views. Do u feel he has been unlucky or do u feel he deserves nothing more than what he is now?

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Radhai (@ h32be.s86b1.baynetworks.com) on: Mon Oct 11 17:29:14 EDT 1999
  
  Raasaathi Unna Kaanadha nenju ... ,
  Maniye manikkuyile...
  Munnam seidha dhavam..
  All songs from Devar magan are all good examples of how well Vaali can pen his lyrics.
  
  Both Vaali and IR are great by themselves. Their combination is great and there is no question of who gained more.
  
  
• From: Jana (@ pppa38-resalecolumbus1-2r1168.saturn.bbn.com) on: Mon Oct 11 19:30:03 EDT 1999
  
  Radhai:
  If you would like to know about some of the incidents happened in Vaali's life, you can go to this site
  http://www-anw.cs.umass.edu/~ravi/ppp/
  You need Murasu anjal font and preferably Netscape Navigator - I had problems viewing smaller fonts in IE.
  
  
• From: Udhaya (@ 205.218.142.217) on: Mon Oct 11 19:49:25 EDT 1999
  
  V. Balaji,
  Vaali reuses the same cliched analogies over and over, "kaanal neeraal theeraatha thaagam gangai neeral theerndhathu"(pudhu pudhu arthangal) the same analogy shows up in (idhayaththai thirudathae in Oh priya priya). Chinna Thambi had good lyrics? What did you like? Kuyilap Pudichchu koondiladachchu? or "palingu pola un veedu vazhiyila pallam maedu"? How come you haven't mentioned the exhaustive list of pathetic stuff that he wrote for AVM movies.
  
  I can list some amazing tunes by IR saddled with adolescent lyrics:
  -All of Idhayathai Thirudathae
  -Many songs from Sembaruththi (what is salakku salakku selai all about?)
  -All of Sagalakala Vallavan, Thoongathae Thambi Thoongathae...why all this? name one sensible song from the Kamal/Rajini AVM movies.
  
  Let's come to his recent stuff. He wrote the most imagination-bankrupt pallavi of the year in Kadhalar Dhinam:
  Roja Roja Roja Roja
  Roja Roja Roja Roja
  
  The songs he wrote for Deva are legendary. Does "Eppadi Eppadi Samanjatheppadi" ring a bell? Quite an honorable doubt for a seventysomething poet isn't it?
  
  I mentioned songs from the post-VM period and you give me Ilamai Oonjalaadugiradhu and Azhagae Unnai Aaradhikkiraen as examples. And you call me outrageous? Ilamai Oonjaladukirathu was good I agree. After that Vazhvae Mayam was decent (not an IR movie but still good). Now can you give me 8 other movies with comparable stuff by Vaali in the 80s? VM has several times that in his tenure with IR.
  
  You sit with any lyric enthusiast and compare the stuff that Panchu Arunachalam,Pulamaippiththan,Gangai Amaran, Muthulingam, Mu. Mehtha, and Vairamuthu wrote for IR with the stuff that Vaali cranked out in the post-VM period and you tell me if his works were superior.
  
  In the post-VM period, IR's best songs were usually penned by R.V.Udhayakumar,Arivumathi, Pazhani Bharathi or Vaasan.
  
  My last statement was an overall statement about the state of lyrics in today's TFM and yes it does apply to Vaali.
  
  Radhai,
  Are you sure "Raasathi" wasn't written by Panchu Arunachalam?
  
  
• From: Jana (@ pppa38-resalecolumbus1-2r1168.saturn.bbn.com) on: Mon Oct 11 19:57:55 EDT 1999
  
  Vaali's song "Azhagu malaraada, abinayangal kuuda, Silamboliyum pulambuvathai kel" in Vaideki Kaathirunthaal. Nobody could pen it down the feelings of an young widow. If you don't remember the lyrics.. Here it is..
  Azhagu Malaraada.. abinayangal kuuda
  silamboliyum pulambuvadai kel...
  Viral kondu meettaamal vaazhkindra veenai
  kulir vaadai konjaamal kodikkindra solai
  pagaliravu pala kanavu iru vizhiyil varum pozhuthu... [Azhagu malaraada]
  
  Aagayam illamale oru nilavau tharai meedu thallaaduthu
  Aadaaram illaamale oru kodiyum aadaamal thalai saayuthu
  Thaalathil seraatha thani paadal ondru
  Sangeetham kaanaamal thavikkindrathu
  vidiyaatha iravedu kidaiyaadu endra uur sonna
  vaarthaikal poyyaanadu
  vasantham ini varumo vaazhvil imai perumo.
  oru poludu mayakkam oru poludu thayakkam
  padiledum illaada kelvi... [Azhagu malaraaada]
  
  
  Uudaada pullaankuzhal enadazhagu soodaatha poovin madal..
  Theikindra manjal nila, oru thunaiyai thedaada vellai puraa..
  Poonkaatru meduvaaga pattaalum podum, ponmeni neruppaga kodikkindrathu ..
  neerutri paayada nilam pola naalum en meni tharisaaka irukkindrathe...
  Thanimaiyilum thanimai kodumaiyilum kodumai
  Inimai illai vaazhvil edarku inda ilamai.... [Thanimaiyilum]
  veranna naan seitha paavam .... [Azhagu malaraada]
  
  Isn't it a grat lyric?
  
  
• From: Jana (@ pppa38-resalecolumbus1-2r1168.saturn.bbn.com) on: Mon Oct 11 20:05:43 EDT 1999
  
  Udaya..
  This is regarding the songs in Idayathai Thirudaathe.. As you know the songs are originally composed in Telugu. In order to keep in sync with the lip movement, the lyric has to be modified accordingly. In doing so, you may not get a real good meaningful song. Hence, this one can be exempted from criticism. Hope you agree with me!
  
  
• From: Ravi (@ tide76.microsoft.com) on: Mon Oct 11 20:33:09 EDT 1999
  
  Jana
  
  Was listening to the "Azhagu malarada" song just a day back. I hadn't seen the movie but the theme of the song was very evident when I listened to the lyrics. The way it has been penned is simply excellent. And the music just adds up to the beauty of the song.
  
  
• From: rameshb (@ spider-th013.proxy.aol.com) on: Mon Oct 11 22:17:13 EDT 1999
  
  Jana
  excellent portrayal of young window in that song. I have never attempted to have a closer look at the lyrics, since the tune and BGM itself are mind-boggling. Vali has all the capacity to write evocativelyrics, he probably didn't have a signature of his own to find himself a unique spot in TFM.
  
  
• From: Hehehehehe (@ bkj-cache81.jaring.my) on: Mon Oct 11 22:51:27 EDT 1999
  
  portrayal of young window??
  
  
• From: Genius (@ srirama.intecom.com) on: Mon Oct 11 23:22:29 EDT 1999
  
  heheehheh..
  whats that portrayal of young window??
  
  
• From: eden (@ 202.54.71.157) on: Tue Oct 12 05:13:25 EDT 1999
  
  Ravi!
  `Music just adds up to the beauty of the song'???
  
  I'm sorry! The last thing that I like in that song is the lyric...
  
  The song is great for the following reasons: excellent composition, nice orchestration, beautiful classic melody, soul-stirring singing by SJ, nice situation in the movie (R Sunderrajan was good once-upon a time), good on-screen performance by Revathi...with so,so lyric!.. cited reasons are in descending order, IMHO!
  
  Comparing a woman who is forced to remain a widow with `tharisu nilam' is one of the most offending a poet can pen...
  
  
• From: rameshb (@ stagfw.thehartford.com) on: Tue Oct 12 07:01:14 EDT 1999
  
  eden,
  comparing widow to a 'tharisu nilam' only symbolizes the virtual feelings of a young widow. It is a manifestation of reality, how long one wants to hide beneath the mendacious codes of our ancestors? If the same lyrics were written by kannadasan , it would have become another milestone. If vali or VM comes up with something, they get censured.
  
  
• From: Ravi (@ 202.188.156.142) on: Tue Oct 12 08:49:06 EDT 1999
  
  I can't accept that Valli is not successful as KD and VM. A long list of his greatful song shows that he is more succesful than other music directors.Kamal, a best actor in TF world had choose Valli for write songs for almost of his movies.
  Ex:Devar Magan,Mahanadi, Guna, Abborva Sagotharargal, Satya, Magalir Mattum,
  Maniratnams movie:Dalabathy,Mouna Ragam, Ithayathai Thirudathe, Anjali, Agni Natchathiram
  Some more movies:Vaidehi Kathirunthal(except Megam Karukkayile, Alage Unnai Arathikkiren and much more movies.He also wrote screenplay and dialogs for the movie Chittukuruvi and had acted in movie Poikkal Kuthirai and kaiyalavu manasu(a serial directed by KB)
  
  
  
  
  
• From: (^!^) (@ 208.24.179.211) on: Tue Oct 12 10:19:10 EDT 1999
  
  Neither Kannadasan nor Vairamuththu were chosen to be the title of a movie. Vaali has been - What do you mean he is not successful?
  
  
• From: AM (@ uranus.singnet.com.sg) on: Tue Oct 12 11:36:25 EDT 1999
  
  Talking about Kamal, I am curious to know who has written the lyrics for the songs in "Hey Ram", Kamal's latest movie. Does any one know? I understand that Vaali is also acting in this movie.
  
  
• From: Radhai (@ h32be.s86b1.baynetworks.com) on: Tue Oct 12 13:06:22 EDT 1999
  
  Udhayaa, I am positive 'Raasaathi unna ' was written by Vaali. Regarding Chinna Thambi songs, 'Povomaa ...' was penned by Gangai Amaran. Thooliyile, Uchan Thalai and Kuyile pidichu were written by Vaali. Well, i personally feel Kuyile pidichu is a good song in the sense in the movie it is sung by an innocent guy who sings naturally. The same situation in 'Pudhuppudhu Arthangal' was handled differently.... in the song 'Keladi kanmani'.
  
  Also, the songs in 'Senthamizh paattu' were really good. Some of KB's greatest hits had Vaali's songs.
  
  
• From: Udhaya (@ 205.218.142.217) on: Tue Oct 12 14:16:30 EDT 1999
  
  Guys,
  What Vaali wrote for MSV is not in question here. I have many personal favorites of Vaali but in the 80s he wrote lyrics with contempt, even in interviews he had mentioned how low he deemed the task of writing TFM lyrics, and it showed in the quality of songs. Yes there were occasional good ones like, "Amma endrazhaikkaatha uyir" but I'm talking about the overall ratio of good and bad songs that he wrote for IR in the 80s. Vaali never gave a Sindhu Bhairavi,Ninaivellaam Nithya, Kadhal Oviyam,Mann Vaasanai,or Mudhal Mariyathai for IR and that's my point. His caliber of lyrics for IR pale in comparison to Vairamuthu's lyrics for IR.
  
  Jana, "Idhayaththai Thirudathae" being a dubbed film is not a good excuse. Vairamuthu wrote great stuff for "Salangai Oli", a dubbed Telungu movie.
  
  Coming to the theme of this thread, I would say Vaali was probably more successful than VM or Kannadhasan if we are talking total number of songs, length of career, and the money made.
  
  
• From: bb (@ ts001d40.cha-il.concentric.net) on: Wed Oct 13 00:45:55 EDT 1999
  
  udhaya, interesting points.. i would guess that the reason for his contempt + his longevity is that,
  1. he was past his prime in the later IR days and now..
  2. still, he couldn't be replaced bcos there was a shortage of younger talent. VM could have replaced him had he not broken up with IR.
  vaali's mastery over thamizh is something i admire.. whether he did justice with that mastery in his film songs is debatable.
  
  

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