V.Kumar: Malarum NinaivugaL

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V.Kumar: Malarum NinaivugaL 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.

Responses:

Old responses
From: vengayam (@ 203.197.203.98) on: Fri Sep 10 04:43:48 EDT 2004

"voice ballad" was what I intended and not a ballet or a ballot ;-(
From: vengayam (@ 203.197.203.98) on: Fri Sep 10 04:48:12 EDT 2004

on third thoughts"voice ballet" is right. it is indeed a dance!!
From: Saravanan (@ 195.229.241.182) on: Fri Sep 10 11:05:47 EDT 2004

vengayam, I wholly agree with you that 'navagraham neenga navagraham' is a unique composition, and I believe a very popular song in its time as well. In fact, when I was talking to K.Swarna, she mentioned this song and said that VK took 3 days to complete the recording as the actors came at different times and spoke their lines.

Yes, I should perhaps have written more on this song, but I chose 'unnai thotta kaatRu' as the mp3 of the latter was available. Also, the song, besides its lilting appeal, is also important as it had SPB singing in VK's music for the first time. 'navagraham neenga navagrham' I have only in a cassette.

Also, I have (quite unwillingly) decided not to dwell at length on every song, as the 70s have numerous great VK songs, and the series would drag on for many weeks if we were to do that.
From: SK (@ 199.90.34.67) on: Fri Sep 10 11:13:58 EDT 2004

'Saravanan',
As usual, a great piece of writing! I want to touch upon your last line, 'kumaravijayam thodarum'. Wouldn't 'kumaarasambhavam' be a more apt title as you are admirably serializing the various 'incidents and milestones'[sambhavams] in VK's career? Just a thought!
From: Kupps (@ 192.76.80.74) on: Fri Sep 10 11:20:43 EDT 2004

"....and the series would drag on for many weeks if we were to do that."

oh! man. dont say that you are cutting it short. let it drag on forever. i am, as others here, enjoying every iota of this series.
From: Kupps (@ 192.76.80.74) on: Fri Sep 10 11:23:40 EDT 2004

SK,

looking at the trend of our forum i woudn't wonder it could even be named as Koumaaram (one of the six religions identified by Sri Adi shankara whose main deity is kumar aka murugan).
From: Surya (@ 204.60.84.2) on: Fri Sep 10 12:47:56 EDT 2004

Kupps sonnadhai ("....and the series would drag on for many weeks if we were to do that." )on naan vazhi mozhigiren..
From: GK (@ 206.132.99.2) on: Fri Sep 10 15:16:41 EDT 2004

Saravanan,
"Also, I have (quite unwillingly) decided not to dwell at length on every song, as the 70s have numerous great VK songs, and the series would drag on for many weeks if we were to do that."

--- Who is complaining?
From: SK (@ 199.90.34.67) on: Fri Sep 10 15:52:42 EDT 2004

""Also, I have (quite unwillingly)""
OK, be 'willing' from now on!!
From: sk (@ 66.125.152.53) on: Sat Sep 11 00:41:10 EDT 2004

Saravanan:

I just followed your writings of two weeks. Very enjoyable to read! More than just the facts.. the way you present makes the reading so sweet. No wonder Kupps, SK, GK and all others want you to cover everything that VK has done! Keep up the great work. Keep all the detailed stuff coming even if it is slow (once a week or even slower).

veLLai manam koNda is a song that I like so much.

It has been many many years since I last listened to the 'navagraham neenga navagraham' song.
From: somasundaram (@ 61.2.232.76) on: Sat Sep 11 19:50:53 EDT 2004

"Kangalaal naan varaindha anbenum oor kavithai,Thenmalar" from film Mangala naayagi is another good melody song from V.Kumar.The male singer is KJJ please tell me who is the female singer.
From: Saravanan (@ 195.229.241.184) on: Sun Sep 12 02:52:47 EDT 2004

Thanks, SK, Kupps, GK, Surya and sk, for your responses. Your encouragement means a lot!

somasundaram, PS is the female singer in 'kaNgaLaal naan varaindhEn'.
From: Bala (@ 68.38.80.142) on: Sun Sep 12 07:55:22 EDT 2004

Saravanan

Great write up (as always).
If possible please do not hesitate to analyze as many songs as possible. SOmetimes your write up makes my day. Though I like many songs of VKumart, I don't share the same passion like you. Having said that, your write up has made me re-consider the worth of the musician he has been. MS Swarna and his family are lucky to have some one like you.

'kaNgaLaal naan varaindhEn' isn't SPShailaja?
(the Hindi Duet 'Madhubhan Kushboo..' by KJY and Anuradha Powdwal is my all time favorite. KJY was at his best). I used to like the tamil version..

Bala
From: somasundaram (@ 61.1.215.222) on: Sun Sep 12 11:07:07 EDT 2004

Ennodu ennennavo ragasyam resembles Bhool gaya sub kuch song from Julie(Hindhi)Am i correct?
From: eden (@ 136.1.1.33) on: Sun Sep 12 14:37:56 EDT 2004

The only complaint I have about this thread is it's fast removing a lot of numbers from my "MSV-fav" list:-))))

For some reason, many of us tend to bundle the pre-IR songs in MSV's fold (especially the light ones) and never bother the seek out the actual composer...And except vividh bharathi and some of IOKS(SLBC) programs, the MD's name wasn't mentioned on radio those days either...moreover very few of us had the privilege to have all the 78/45/33.3 RPM disks...most had 30-40 of them, that's all...

Saravanan is doing a great job in getting VK the due honor! Please keep it up!
From: Saravanan (@ 213.42.2.26) on: Mon Sep 13 12:22:42 EDT 2004

Bala, thanks for the kind words. 'kangaLaal naan varaindhEn' is by KJY & PS.

eden, what you say is sadly true- so many times I have listened to many (including some people who ought to know) persons mistakenly credit some of VK's wonderful efforts to MSV, and at times even to IR!
From: Kaumudi (@ 136.142.153.250) on: Tue Sep 14 13:48:01 EDT 2004

Vengayam
"but reading a few lines further I feel the telugu number "maama chandamama " can be sung to the kunwara baaptune in which case did RR pick on VK. Only kaumudi can help here!"

- Can you (or anyone else) provide me with a link to that Kunwara baap tune. And thanks for the reminder in the VJ thread. I peep into this thread once in a while and failed to notice your pointer. I didn't realize Saravanan was planning to write about VK's telugu repertoire as well.

Saravanan, you are right in mentioning that Mama chandamama is SPB's favorite. He loves that song. Also, I think only SPB's version was the popular one. It is played regularly on the radio even now. It is also one of the popular music competition songs for upcoming singers. And for the longest time (till about a couple of years ago), I thought this was KVM's composition. Thanks for your essay, it made a good read.
From: e.hari (@ 199.67.138.76) on: Tue Sep 14 15:56:49 EDT 2004

Vengayam,
Kunwara Bapp came around 1974. I think, this will close this issue. But V.Kumar did get inspired from hindi numbers for some of his popular songs. First 2 lines for Kadoudan Naan paduven ( velli Vilzha) is inspired from mera Naam Joker's Jeena Yaha Marna Yaha. Thirutheril Thedi Radhi devi Vandahal ( mittai Mami) is inspired from the Kati patang Number - Naa Umang Hai. Another one is Madhonavsam raadhiyodudhan ( Sadurangam).

Saravanan,
This has been a great series. Please drag this as long as possible. We may have only 7-8 years left ( 1971 - 78). May be you should do one or two movies at a time.
Your comments about the changes in TFM in 70s compared to 60's is spot on. This comparision is also true for 1980s ( few Mds/singers/difficult for new comers to enter) and 1990s ( multiple MDs/Singers/). I guess, history tend to repeat itself.

One of the request, I made before on V.Kumar thread is getting his list of songs and movies. Your series is helping to warm up for lot of V.Kumar songs, which I originally thought belonged to MSV or KVM.

In the book 'Thirai Issai Sadhanaiyalargal' by Vaman, in the Chapter on 'V.Kumar', he mentioned about a 'Saravan' as a great fan of V.Kumar. Is it by chance you, he is referring to?.

Thanks
Hari
From: Saravanan (@ 213.42.2.21) on: Wed Sep 15 00:20:44 EDT 2004

Kaumudi,
Thanks for the feedback. To my knowledge, VK composed music for only a few Telegu films, and I will try to cover them too in the future chapters.

Hari,
I will try to follow your suggestion. And, yes, I was able to assist Mr.Vamanan in a small way some years back when he was writing about V.Kumar :)
From: bb for Saravanan (@ 24.6.251.57) on: Fri Sep 17 00:18:09 EDT 2004

Part X - unnai vaazhthi paadugiREn
We now peep into the 1971 diary of VK. Three Tamil films came his way this year, and VK filled them with some unforgettable songs.

* * * *

KB had 3 films released in 1971. While two of them- naangu suvargaL (KB’s first color film) and punnagai went to MSV, the lone nootRukku nooRu (Kalakendra) came to VK.

nootRukku nooRu starred Jaishankar, Lakshmi, Nagesh, YGM, Srividya, Vijayalalitha, Jayanthi, R.S.Manohar, Sukumari, V.S.Raghavan, V.Gopalakrishnan and many others. In a landmark departure from his dashing roles, Jai played a young, dedicated professor who is immensely popular with his students. The interesting story then takes a turn for the bizarre when shocking accusations of misdemeanor suddenly pour in from various girl students. How Jai is proved innocent in each complaint, and clears his sullied name forms the crux of the proceedings. Jaishankar gave a memorable, restrained performance; and KB’s masterful screenplay makes this film delightful viewing. His unique touches were evident throughout this offbeat film- the intermission, for instance, was announced by an answer paper marked 50/100! The film did fairly well, notching up a 75 days run. In an interview, years later, KB expressed his regret that the film didn’t reach the 100th day mark, thus failing to live up to the optimism of its title.

VK created several wonderful songs for the film; lyrics were by Vaali.

Jai and the students are out on an excursion; it is a joyful tour, filled with fun and frolic. Accompanied by the adoring students, Jai sings this song ungaLil oruvan naan, iru kaNgaLil bEdham yEn. VK’s tune reflects the ebullience of the sequence; TMS’ s rendition sparkles with inimitable zest. The chorus voices with the clarion call ‘nootRukku nooRu’ enhance the irrepressible effervescence of the song. Thanks to sk for capturing the songs from the VCD of this movie and making them available to us.

Join the picnic here:

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/ungalil.rm

The piece de resistance of the album is unnai vaazhthi paadugiREn by PS. To this day this alluring song is aired on Vividh Bharathi to herald the arrival of each New Year. The song is filmed on Vijayalalitha, playing Stella, one of Jai’s students. She is awaiting the clandestine arrival of her lover, the workman Robert (Gopalakrishnan). It is a party to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and Jaishankar is among those invited.

VK came up with an unforgettable composition that settled so snugly into the sequence envisaged by KB. The song begins with the dreamy ‘paNNireNdu maNi aLavil, kuLir pani vizhum nalliravil, kaNNireNdil malar thiRandhE inba kanavugaL varavENdum’, and the chorus voices singing ‘Happy New Year’ lead gently to the pallavi. Suseela comes up with a dulcet rendition; indeed her voice mirrors the surreptitious longing in Stella’s fluttering eyelashes as she whispers softly ‘aasai oonjalil..aadum vELaiyil’. The tolling church bells and the chorus voices summoned up by VK all work in tandem to grant this song a classic status in the annals of tfm.

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/naanunnai.rm

Parts of the song feature elsewhere in the proceedings when the investigations are on, and when Vijayalalitha finally confesses all to Lakshmi.

The album has another delightful TMS solo: niththam niththam oru puththam pudhiya sugam. I have a vague memory of Lakshmi, who is in love with Jai, having a nightmare of Jai flirting with other women, and wakes up with a start as the song ends. TMS enjoys this breezy song, while Vaali’s lines are imaginatively penned. I particularly like the racy charaNam beginnings, and gradual slowing down towards the end while flowing back to the pallavi.

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/nitham.rm

The other songs in the film were the short, reflective TMS solo uzhaipukku sila pER kai vilangiduvaar, when Jai gets arrested on those trumped up charges, and the longish college drama boolOgamaa idhu polladha lOgamaa (based on the Satyavan-Savitri epic) sung by Seergazhi Govindarajan, TMS and LRE, with some hilarious lines by Vaali, and a comic take-off on some popular songs.

* * * *

We’ll take up veguLippeN next. VegulippeN (Jennet Combines) was produced by actress Devika, and directed by her husband S.S.Devadoss. The story was scripted by Kalaignanam. The film starred veNNiRa aadai Nirmala playing the veguLippeN, with Gemini Ganesh, Devika and Muthuraman in pivotal roles. Balaji, Nagesh and VKR were the others in the cast.

The story revolves around Nirmala, whose mental makeup is that of a child. She is the younger sister of Devika, who is married to Gemini Ganesh. I have seen the film long back on DD; fleeting images of Nirmala playing ‘paandi’ on the streets along with some children remain in memory. The story takes an uncommon turn when Nirmala is discovered to be pregnant. The horrified Devika takes her away, and they return with the child, which Devika claims to be her own. As an unexpected outcome of childbirth, Nirmala now attains mental maturity befitting her age. Devika’s investigation as to the father of the child leads finally to a stunning revelation! I believe the film went on win some awards, though it was not a great commercial success.

VK came up with 4 songs, and all of them elicited favorable notice. Lyrics were by Kannadasan.

The first song is a rare TMS treat- engellaam vaLaiyOsai kEtkindRadhO. A simple, yet appealing tune, bedecked with rich interludes, and sung with characteristic flamboyance…

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/engellaam.rm

The next song is the melancholic lullaby by PS: kaNNaana kaN uRangu, kattazhagu poo uRangu. Devika sings it to make her sister sleep. She unconsciously turns the lullaby into a lament, as she wonders at her sister’s mental immaturity, and dependence on her for day-to-day care and protection. The night gives way to the wee hours of the morning as she still remains awake tortured by these sorrowful thoughts, whilst the subject of her grief has hours ago fallen into the peaceful slumber of a guileless child.

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/kannana.rm

The film had another popular PS solo: muLLukku rOja sondham, muthukku sippi sondham. The child is born, but they dare not publish the fact that the unwed Nirmala is the mother. Hence, Devika assumes the role of the infant’s mother. Nirmala, who has now shruged off her innocence and has matured mentally, longs instinctively to mother the child. She is heartbroken that this elaborate charade has to be played. Devika feels for her, but is unable to do anything about it. This song that Devika sings at a party has lines filled with veiled message. Kannadasan brings to play mythological illustrations of Krishna, who was Devaki’s son, but was brought up by Yasodha. VK, as usual, comes up with a great score; the second interlude is of particular appeal.

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/mullukku.rm

The album had one more song: the light-hearted nee thaan mOhiniyO, kaadhal oorvasiyO, sung by A.L.Raghavan & K.Swarna, wherein Swarna & chorus sing the refrain ‘veNNiRa adaai veNNiRa aadai chinnakka!’

Interestingly, when veguLippeN was remade in Telugu in 1974 as stree gowravam, VK was again asked to compose the songs.

* * * *

The other album of VK in 1971 was rangaraattinam (S.J. Films). Following Devika, Sowcar Janaki too entrusted VK with the music for this film that she produced. (Perhaps the initials in the banner too stand for Sowcar Janaki!).

Sowcar Janaki had, in the previous year, produced kaaviya thalaivi that was directed by KB. And enthused by its success, she followed it up with rangaraattinam, with the same winning cast of herself in a dual role, with Gemini Ganesh and Ravichandran playing the male leads. This film was directed by Krishnan-Panju.

I haven’t seen the film, but what I have gathered, this was a usual story of the confusion caused by two identical persons, and all pieces of the puzzle fall into proper place in the end. One of the Sowcars was a mentally deranged person, while the other was the suspicion-filled wife of Gemini Ganesh.

I have only 3 songs from the film; I don’t know if there are any more songs in it.

The first song is the lilting oru malligai mottu, mazhaithuLi pattu sung by SPB. It is said that in the overall composition of this song, VK was partly inspired by 'yEh jO mohabbat hai' from kati patang. Nonetheless, the song has a timeless appeal, and has a spellbinding flow, with caressing flourishes sprinkled all over. The vintage sound of early SPB..hark at him savor with delight the repetition of the pallavi after the first charaNam…

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/orumalligai.rm

The next song is the ever popular muththaaramE un oodal ennavO. Here VK pulled off a coup of sorts by getting the legendary A.M.Raja to sing this song. AMR had kept away from tfm for more than a decade. VK who was a great admirer of AMR sought him and invited him to come back to tfm. Touched at this unassuming, talented composer’s passionate plea, the rigid Raja felt his reserves crumbling, and found himself back in the studios, singing this dainty duet with LRE. And this was just the beginning; AMR would go on to sing some wonderful songs in the subsequent years for S-G and VK, and even compose music for 2 films in the 70s. Thus the credit for rediscovering AMR goes wholly to VK. Also I think this remains the only AMR/LRE duet in tfm.

Going by the lines, as part of the pandemonium caused by mistaken identity, Gemini Ganesh’ wife Sowcar seems to suspect his loyalty to her; he tries gently to dispel these unfounded suspicions. LRE too has done a splendid job in the song; the hurt and anger resulting from a nagging suspicion find pulsating life in her rendition. How VK has repeatedly celebrated the finer nuances of thus unfairly branded artiste!

AMR sounds mellifluously mellow, and VK creates a song to be cherished forever….

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/mutharame.rm

The final song is the soulful thanga thottil pattu meththai thaai veettilE, feelingly rendered by SPB. Ravichandran, perhaps, sings this poignant song, ruminating wryly in the ironies that make up life. He sings to his child, reflecting on his impoverished state, while his wife is lolling in the lap of luxury.

SPB in his ingenious elements…perhaps this song is among the earliest where he let loose to his famous laughter while singing the lines. His stifled, sardonic shrug in ‘vindhai kaNdu sirippaan’ is one subtle moment in the song. Perhaps the only minor discordant note is SPB saying ‘kaakshi’ instead of ‘kaatchi’!

http://www.newtfmpage.com/cgi-bin/stream.pl?url=http://www.dhool.com/sotd/vkumar/thanga.rm

All the 3 songs showcase VK’s creative skills, and rangaraattinam remains among VK’s finest albums.

----We’ll move on to 1972 next week---
From: Cinema Virumbi (@ 220.227.146.2) on: Fri Sep 17 02:07:33 EDT 2004

Saravanan,

Those days, there used to be a genre called ' paguthi colouril' (Black & White films with the last part in colour ( presumably, to economise on the colour film cost!)). I think it started with 'Akbar' (Mughal- e- azam, dubbed into Tamil), followed by 'naadOdi mannan' & Devarin 'thuNaivan'. Then came 'rangaraattinam' and KSG's 'swaathi natchaththiram'. In fact, KSG's 'swaathi natchaththiram' was a kalappadam, with the film switching between colour & B&W as the heroine keeps gaining & losing her eyesight, time and again!

About Sowcar in 'kaaviyath thalaivi', Kumudam had written ' kadantha nadigaiyE aanaalum kadapparO, close up mEl kaathal!'

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Part X - unnai vaazhthi paadugiREn

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