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V.Kumar: Malarum NinaivugaL

Topic started by bb (@ 24.6.231.170) on Wed Jul 7 00:37:21 EDT 2004.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Saravanan is starting a new series on V.Kumar, titled 'V.Kumar: Malarum NinaivugaL'. He has been in touch with V.Kumar's wife and son and is planning a comprehensive series of articles on V.Kumar. I am sure this will be a treat for VK fans. This will also feature unique introductions to the songs by V.Kumar himself, in his own voice. Thanks to Govind and VK's family for their help on this.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: vengayam (@ 210.212.80.18) on: Fri Oct 15 04:17:53 EDT 2004
  
  satya kabali's memories bring back mine. a ten year old had no interest in a movie which did not have Nagesh so i did not care when I was left behind for the movie. It was many years later that I caught up with the movie.
  My grouse against KB is simple.
  The man assembles his cast with care.
  The small characters too hold your interest they are not mere props.
  But somehow the sum of the individual parts do not add up to a whole.
  add to this his usual perverted endings and scenes which scream out "Itho paar en director's touch" you are left shaking your head.
  It is really a case of what could have been...
  Arangetram is no exception.
  after watching theensemble performance (subbayah, rajam,pramila,sundaribhai et all) you felt still something was missing.
  by the way the poster of pramila unhooking her b... added further fuel to the "B " background controversy.the poster war with Marupiravi? is chronicled elsewhere in this forum.
  Amidst all this VK came in with a soothing album , unobtrusive but effective like a gentle river flowing throgh the narrative.
  my pick audio wise is "moothaval nee" not necessarily the visuals.
  which brings me finally when did KB team up with BS Loknath His early movies were I believe with Balakrishnan
  
  
• From: Saravanan (@ 213.42.2.22) on: Fri Oct 15 14:11:19 EDT 2004
  
  The title track doesn't seem to be complete in the above link. I have uploaded it again here:
  
  http://in.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/sarva1511/vwp2?.tok=bcG2APUBtYis4l8f&.dir=/&.dnm=title1.mp3&.src=bc
  
  
  
• From: SK (@ 199.90.34.67) on: Fri Oct 15 15:37:23 EDT 2004
  
  A memorable write-up for 'One of the memorable' movies! But the write-up will not be complete without that haunting scene::
  "Pramila is sitting with her saree down on her lap and the blouse exposing her upper body.... another person walking by looking at her with eager eyes.... her brother chiding her for this... and Pramila says," ada pOdaa, aambaLainnaalE maRaththu pOiduchchu"!
  Shook me up hard with the powerful scene, dialogues, acting and picturization.
  Great movie.
  Thank you, Saravanan!
  
  
• From: GK (@ 151.203.67.139) on: Sat Oct 16 11:18:26 EDT 2004
  
  Well I concur with the sentiment expressed about this film and the writeup. Both are amazing.
  
  
• From: nagarajan (@ 82.128.1.86) on: Sat Oct 16 17:43:12 EDT 2004
  
  In 1978, KB appeared in Malarum Ninaivugal in Chennai Tholai-k-katchi. He was asked whether he would put messages in his films. KB told he would tell the messages indirectly andhe naratted that family planning message was told in 'Arangetram'. Immediately, the following scene was shown :
  
  Pramila was on her trip to her home town; her mother (MN Rajam) not coming out of the room; when she finally comes out, Pramila got shocked to see her mother again in the family way.
  She immediately asks her mother "emma, dhinamum kolam podariye, edhuththappila suvaththile errikkirathadhai padichchadhe illeyaa?" Just opposite to her house, there will be the family planning propoganda painting "Naam Iruvar Nammkku Iruvar"
  That was the message told by KB in this film.
  
  
• From: thumburu (@ 83.89.145.50) on: Sun Oct 17 16:04:48 EDT 2004
  
  kudos to Saravanan for the excellent recapitulation of the lost "Arangetram" era. His writeup just unfolds the movie before me.
  
  
• From: OISG (@ 213.42.2.11) on: Mon Oct 18 04:38:00 EDT 2004
  
  I have imagined a JC/SPB version also for MuthavaL nee koduthai.That would have been wonderful.MuthavaL should rank high among PS's best.Extremely moving.
  
  The news about SNS's mother "laughing bits" in andavanin thottahilE is a news.Lalitha has done a good job as well.All the singers have done justice to the lyrics and the music.A wholesome album.
  
  On the movie.....
  
  Shameless exposition of Sheer undiluted perversion by a mentally sick person. I don't see even an iota of difference between the damage what Mehmood did to SouthIndians by his portrayal and this one.It requires colossal depravity from a traumatised mind to come out with a movie like this.
  
  
• From: mythila (@ 193.88.72.179) on: Mon Oct 18 09:04:09 EDT 2004
  
  Sara, your Arangetram recount made my weekend. Thanks.
  I had a peek of the climax scene of this movie
  when I watched Moonru mudichu and ever since that, I longed to see
  Arangetram. oNLY LAST YEAR i HAPPENED TO WATCH
  WITH lots of interruption in the Podhigai and I must admit, this movie shook me. I particularly liked the portrayal of Lalitha's mother. She was the only soul who really understood her ,
  empathized with her and she intuitively knew something was seriously wrong with Lalitha.
  My mom told me , the sight of dalda dabba used to chill her for a long time.
  Thangavelu's char seems to be too Utopian to believe even for the present days. KB should have given a positive end by showing Lalitha lead a dignified existence sans her selfish family.
  My pick is "maapillai ragasiyam sollava".
  This must have been a very challenging situation for VK and yet he came out with a good melody. VK,LRE and the lyricist have done a fab job in bringing out the irony of the situation.
  
  
• From: Saravanan (@ 195.229.241.184) on: Tue Oct 19 00:16:07 EDT 2004
  
  Thank you all, for your varied, interesting observations reg. arangEtRam :)
  
  Vengayam, I guess this was B.S.Loknath's first film with KB.
  
  Mythila, I too saw moondru mudichu first and arangEtRam years later! If I remember right, Sridevi & Y.Vijaya, and also Kamal and Rajini are watching arangEtRam in the theatre and Sridevi starts sobbing at Lalitha's plight in the end.
  
  
• From: nononocactus (@ 130.127.75.186) on: Tue Oct 19 22:10:23 EDT 2004
  
  Hoorible movie of all time. Its only the tolerant and self-effacing indians who can produce such a movie and shoot their own culture, is it not?
  
  
• From: bb for Saravanan (@ 24.6.251.57) on: Thu Oct 21 01:29:31 EDT 2004
  
  

  Part XV - arangEtRam…. natpil thadumaatRam….

  
  The next crunch arises when Thyagu needs Rs. 300/- urgently to be paid as an advance in the Medical College. Lalitha approaches her manager (Gemini Mahalingam) for a loan. The man pays, but preys on her flesh as quid pro quo.
  
  Lalitha is transferred to Hyderabad. She is now past caring about morals and virtues. Her steely determination to lift her family from its abject deprivations and to ensure a brighter future for her siblings drives her to selling herself; chastity takes a chastisement here. Being in distant Hyderabad makes it easier for her to sink unnoticed into the wretchedness of prostitution. Blissfully unaware of all this, her large family proudly looks up to her as the provider of prosperity, the saviour from scarcity.
  
  And we come now to the next audio clip. Mangalam (Jayachitra), who had always wanted to be a singer, is now shown having music lessons. And in the course of this song, KB keeps shuffling the shots between the saastrigaL’s house, radiant in its newfound affluence and the barely lit boudoir in Hyderabad where Lalitha’s furtive customers merge into the darkness.
  
  VK springs another surprise here. He roped in the venerable Tiruchi Loganathan to sing the notes for the Music Master Neelu, while Swarna sang for Jayachitra. VK’s baton swings in superb sync with the swiftly changing shots; the song and the sleaze alternate in his captivating canvas.
  
  http://in.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/saravksong/vwp2?.tok=bcc3iOUB9AccLn4Y&.dir=/&.dnm=lesson.mp3&.src=bc
  
  Which brings us to the song that is the soul of the story, the haunting moothavaL nee koduthaai, the classic that has immortalized arangEtRam in the annals of tfm.
  
  In an interview, to a questioner who queried him on the relevance of songs in movies, KB gave this insightful explanation: In Indian cinema the music comes from the same oral tradition which inspires all our arts. It may seem forced to a Westerner but we have all grown up with it. I do not think we are using or misusing music more than we have done before. I decided that I would not be ashamed of song sequences but use them to my advantage. I do them to entertain myself as much as the audience. You have to build these sequences into your screenplay, and at a point where it will give you the pause you want, lift a moment or emotion, provide a link or a leap. It is a license to transcend dramatic logic, use abstraction. Don't you do that in literature? If using songs makes it easier for people to grasp what I am doing, I do not mind using that language. Think of it as a compromise, or as a method of communicating.
  
  And KB was very often aided in this endeavour by Kannadasan who encapsulated in few imaginative lines the essence of KB’s stories. Take this song as a case in point. Mangalam gets an opportunity to sing for a radio programme. As the song is going to be aired live, the rest of the family is seen sitting expectantly in front of the radio. In her room in Hyderabad, Lalitha too has tuned in, eager to listen to her sister sing.
  
  And Mangalam sings her song, making it a poignant paean to her sister, a soulful salute to her sacrifice. Little does she realize the appalling proportions of that sacrifice! An overwhelmed Lalitha listens to it, but her joy is short-lived, for a persistent customer knocks at her door. The shots alternate between the recording studio, the enraptured family members in keen enjoyment, and Lalitha’s misery.
  
  Reflecting over the onerous responsibilities that have found placid repose on her sister’s shoulders, Mangalam breaks down in the course of the song, but composes herself soon and continues to sing. In this version of the song from the movie, we can hear Lalitha sobbing her heart out towards the end, after she switches off the radio, unable to listen anymore to the emotion-choked words of sister. B.S.Loknath focuses on Mangalam again as she completes the take.
  
  Kannadasan, VK and PS vie for equal honors with KB, for together they have ensured that the song assumes the halo of an immortal creation, a perfect work of art. PS brings in an aura of angst that strikes at the core of the listener’s heart. Among VK’s best ever efforts!
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/moothaval.rm
  
  The next song is the tender SPB/PS duet aaramba kaalathil adhu irukkum. A film shooting takes place in the village’s seashore. A duet is to be filmed on Jaishankar & Lakshmi. The village inhabitants throng excitedly to watch the shooting. Amidst the multitude, Devi (Jayasudha) and Pasupathi (Sashikumar), a rich youth from the neighboring village exchange surreptitious glances. And so do another pair- Thyagu and the Usha, the thasildar’s daughter. The camera zooms back to Jai and Lakshmi after capturing the secretive dreams of the lovers.
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/aarkaalt.rm
  
  Things move quickly from this juncture onwards. Devi and Pasupathi’s affair comes to the family’s knowledge and both sides agree to get them married. When this news is conveyed to Lalitha, she joyfully gives them the go-ahead and also comes home to attend the wedding.
  
  But she is in for a nasty shock when she sees Pasupathi, for he had been her customer in Hyderabad! As both look at each other, the horror of the situation dawns on them. She cannot call off the wedding, as it would mean accepting her own immorality; while he too cannot condemn her openly, as it would mean admitting that he had visited her. Each one fears that the shameful truth would be revealed by the other, and curse inwardly the cruel coincidences that fate conjures up..
  
  Even as Lalitha and Pasupathi are still reeling in shock, the wedding festivities commence with traditional fun and frolic. At the evening nalangu, one of the women begins the customary taunts, singing yEnadi marumagaLE unnai evaradi pEsivittaar... VK found the long-forgotten veteran singer T.V.Rathinam, and fetched her to render these mischief-filled lines in a classical style:
  
  http://in.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/saravksong/vwp2?.tok=bcc3iOUBbKeSH8op&.dir=/&.dnm=enadimarumagale.mp3&.src=bc
  
  Mangalam and others urge the subdued Lalitha to give a fitting reply to this provocation. And seized by a renewed realization of the irony of the situation, Lalitha launches a feisty attack on the maapiLLai. Punctuated with forceful innuendoes, her song leaves Pasupathi squirming sheepishly with guilt. In a masterstroke, VK dangled this challenge in front of LRE and that remarkable songster takes on the dare spiritedly. She is caustic, witty, furious, jeering and forlornly sad in scintillating turns in the course of this tricky song maapiLLai ragasiyam sollavaa. VK’s brilliant interludes accentuate the poignant paradox of the situation. In this movie version, we can hear the inquisitive Janaki Athai (Sundaribai) enquiring from Lalitha’s friend about Lalitha’s salary.
  
  http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/mapillai.rm
  
  Now that her family’s fortunes have taken a turn for the better, Lalitha even contemplates ending her miserable existence. But Thyagu comes to her and reveals his love for Usha, the thasildar’s daughter. Lalitha promises to do the needful and get them married. This is a big blow for their ill-natured Janaki Athai, who had hoped that she could get her daughter Meenu (‘achachO’ Chitra) married to Thyagu. She confronts Lalitha and unscrupulously tries a bit of blackmailing, as she now suspects the truth. A distraught Lalitha, with tears brimming in her eyes, lays her head on Girija’s lap, and implores her to sing a song that would bring peace to her turbulent mind…and Girija sings paaviyE kaNda vaNNam even as Lalitha weeps in anguish…
  
  http://in.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/sarva1511/vwp2?.tok=bcw1iOUBsKN22Npk&.dir=/&.dnm=paavi.mp3&.src=bc
  
  As they say misfortunes don’t come in singles. Thangavelu, who had earlier seen Lalitha in Hyderabad, returns to the village now. And by a cruel quirk of fate, Ramu saasthrigaL and Visalam happen to overhear him revealing the vile verity concerning Lalitha. Horrified at the disgrace, the saastrigaL promptly disowns Lalitha. The thaasildar stipulates that Thyagu’s wedding could be solemnized only if Lalitha was sent out. A heartless Thyagu orders her to get out and Ramu SaastrigaL too condemns Lalitha in harshest terms. Visalam is the only soul who appreciates the purity of Lalitha’s sacrifice, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Amidst this commotion, Nadesa Udaiyaar stands at the doorstep and offers to give refuge to Lalitha. Thyagu and Udaiyaar have a war of words, and to prevent them from coming to blows, Girija sings this hymn sri maatha before a picture of the benign goddess. The camera travels from face to face, capturing the plethora of emotions, as Lalitha is shown leaving with Udaiyaar.
  
  http://in.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/sarva1511/vwp2?.tok=bcw1iOUBGiQ9rrYV&.dir=/&.dnm=srimatha.mp3&.src=bc
  
  The large-hearted Udaiyaar now goes one step further, and decides to get Lalitha married to Thangavelu. The noble Thangavelu readily agrees and ties the knot. But this unexpected happiness is too much for Lalitha’s fragile mind, and it tiredly gives way now to benumbing insanity. Lalitha is seen running wildly on the seashore, beating the dalda tin…her long lost loud peals of laughter are heard above the din of the surging waves...she is searching for the village lunatic Thangam to redeem her pledge…
  
  * * * *
  
  Thus VK came up with one of his finest efforts for arangEtRam. His music was one of the strong points of the complex story, and lifted each intricate turn to absorbing heights. Even as he used comparative newcomers like SPB and Swarna, and gave stunners to front ranking artistes like PS and LRE, he sent for long forgotten singers of yore like Tiruchi Loganathan, P.Leela and T.V.Rathinam and employed their seasoned voices to telling effect.
  
  But his experience while working on the album was far from happy.
  
  This is what I have heard, though I cannot vouch for the entire authenticity of the narrative:
  
  As we have seen earlier when Gemini Balan decided to remake iru kOdugaL in Telugu in 1972 as Collector Janaki, he asked VK to compose the songs. This was quite natural, seeing that it was VK who had scored the music for iru kOdugaL. VK readily acquiesced, for he rightly deemed working for the esteemed Gemini house as a great honor.
  
  What he had not reckoned for was that in doing so, he would be incurring KB’s annoyance.
  
  We have to go a few years earlier to understand this further. Seeing the phenomenal success of Bama Vijayam, S.S.Balan engaged KB to make it in Telugu. In the course of the shooting, things started to sour between the director and producer and led gradually to unpleasant mutual mud slinging.
  
  Now when VK came to know of KB’s displeasure, it was too late to go back on his word. He set about composing music for Collector Janaki, but ensured the tunes were not recycled from iru kOdugaL. He came up with some refreshing songs for Collector Janaki.
  
  However, it is said that just at the exact timings of his schedule for Collector Janaki, KB would summon him to work on arangEtRam. This happened quite a few times. And while VK could accommodate KB’s wishes most times, on a few occasions he expressed his inability to break away from his work immediately to attend to the simultaneously progressing work on arangEtRam.
  
  This led to a few exchanges on either side, and VK never got to work with KB ever again
  
  Thus the two friends, who had earned fame and fortune together, and had complemented each other’s brilliant efforts so far, parted ways now, never to meet again. They were not even in talking terms till VK’s demise in 1996.
  
  But an emotional Swarna, while recalling that ominous day, added that KB, along with his wife was among the first mourners to rush to their house. Seeing his lifeless friend, KB shed copious tears of grief. Perhaps he regretted the lost years; even as memories of earlier, happier times came flooding in!
  
  
  -thodarum….
  
  
  
• From: Sathya Kabali (@ 67.85.213.154) on: Thu Oct 21 01:55:02 EDT 2004
  
  Saravana:
  Wonderful writeup as usual.
  
  Saravanan Arangetram padam paRRiyum , song situations paRRiyum sila details kEttapOthu enathu collectionilirunthu thEdi eduththEn; pala varudangaL kazhiththu anthap padaththai oru scene vidaamal paarththu, meendum appadam paRRiya eNNa alaigaLai enakkuL Oda vittathaRkaaka Saravananukkuththaan naan nanRi sollaNum.
  
  about VK’s work in this movie.It is also sad to note that this was the last movie he worked with KB. A great loss to his fans.
  This movie itself must have been a challenge to VK. KB must have had a long discussion with VK about the story and how the songs had to fit in the appropriate situations.
  Padaththin kathaiyOttaththukku ERRapadi paadalkaL including the short verses amaikkappattirukkinRana.VK had chosen a variety of singers (from the veterans T.V.Rathnam ,P.Leela and Trichi loganathan to the teenage girl who sang the short verses. )for this film.Some of the short verses and aandavanin (pathos) and mooththaval come in important situations in the film. KB than mEl vaiththa nambikkaiyai VK enRum poyaakkiyathillai.
  Songs enRu thaniyaaga sollumpOthu VK pala nalla melodies thanthirukkalaam.
  Arangetram wiil remain as the finest album ever by VK (As Saravanan rightly pointed out).
  
  

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