Home   Forum   Wiki   Notes   Register   FAQ   Sitemap   About Us   Contact Us  

s.janaki vs asha bhonsle

Topic started by rasikan (@ 203.197.228.11) on Thu Sep 28 01:47:31 EDT 2000.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

this is an argument that has been going on for some time. who is more versatile?
asha is a great singer. but when it comes to singing a wide range, s.janaki is the queen.
both singers sing the classical songs well, but it is only when it comes to other variety that versatileness is noticed.
asha is supposed to be the best in cabaret numbers, but i differ.
she cannot come anywhere near SJ in this area.
my proof :
the humming and moaning in ponmeni urugudhe that conveys the frustration of silk smitha.

the y kind of singing in nila kayudhu.

the sensual touch in idhu oru nila kaalam.

and last but not the least

her interaction with SPB in the middle portionof that brilliant number from kakki chattai
poo potta thavani.

where is asha?

rasikan

---

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.22.221) on: Mon Oct 2 15:27:50 EDT 2000
  
  SL,
  
  jaayiye aap kahan from Mere Sanam is my all time favourite of AB. Her rendition keeps u spellbound.
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.23.185) on: Mon Oct 2 17:32:49 EDT 2000
  
  "unless one can think, emote & react in Hindi ), it would be very difficult to appreciate Hindi songs"
  
  Not agreeable. The application of your arguement to telugu should have rendered me wondering what kinds of noises SPB makes in telugu. No, I do appreciate telugu songs though I do not understand anything other than "raa" in telugu.
  
  Language is not a barrier at all. There is something else that transcends.
  
  
• From: karthi (@ 63.15.178.85) on: Tue Oct 3 00:53:38 EDT 2000
  
  SL,
  
  I think you must first learn to interpret messages posted in the forum correctly (meaning using your senses properly) before using the terms such as "insipid". (In my opinion this particular word has found its most use only in your vocabulary!). Well, I have NOT commented on Asha's classical singing ability at all. For one thing, the songs from the film "Umra Jaan" (I may be wrong in spelling this) got Asha the national award. Do you mean to say she got them for singing insipid songs in your high judgement? ( I would rather call "Thangath Thaamarai MagaLE" by your beloved SPB, "a most insipid" one to have won a national award). If you feel so, then that's your opinion. And I still like the songs of Umra Jaan and I rate them good and that's just enough for me to scale the artist and I DON'T have to hear those other songs that you have quoted as carrying the so called "prowess" of Asha's singing. And I can't stand anybody commenting on my taste for music. Please refrain from making such impudent comments.
  
  Coming back to Asha, it may be true that she might have given better classical numbers. But then, she could not compete with Latha, in general, by the sheer magic of her voice - do you accept that? Then, about that soulful rendition: May be she's better than SJ or not better than SJ in that area. But still, she's NOT a master in that genre. For you and RajaG to say that "there is no genre of film music songs that she has not tackled masterfully" cannot be true going by the simple logic that for you to render something masterfully means you have to be the master or the best in that genre (but then you have used the word "tackle" and that makes a difference). Even though I don't know about the many genres of film singing where Asha is NOT the best, I can say for sure, "soulful" singing is not something she's mastered. (And there's no one to beat Lata in that genre if you don't know, including my beloved PS). After all, any singer while singing thinks he or she's doing the best in terms of bhavam, layam, modulation, pronunciation etc. but it's the output that matters in the end.
  
  
  
• From: SL (@ 208.49.174.40) on: Tue Oct 3 14:16:49 EDT 2000
  
  Karthi, nobody said anything derogatory about PS :))
  
  
• From: SL (@ 208.49.174.48) on: Tue Oct 3 14:22:01 EDT 2000
  
  and you forgot your favourite last minute addition to your posts, "NOM". :))
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ 208.24.179.201) on: Tue Oct 3 17:04:59 EDT 2000
  
  SL: Please pinch me! karthi saying "there's no one to beat Lata in that genre if you don't know, including my beloved PS". Will the real karthi, please stand up, please stand up!
  
  
• From: SL (@ 63.253.7.13) on: Tue Oct 3 23:43:57 EDT 2000
  
  rajaG, goes to show that his last post should not be taken seriously at all ;) When I used the word 'masterfully', the implication was her best was atleast comparable or better than the other's. My only complaint again, is that she brought in some sort of a vampish feel to some of the songs set to a 'social'/'respectable' backdrop (consider songs of a particular period only). This could be due to the overwhelming number of cabaret or 'club' numbers that ended up her way. These were typically songs that MDs wouldn't dare to call upon Lata to sing.
  
  
• From: karthi (@ 63.21.181.111) on: Wed Oct 4 01:17:06 EDT 2000
  
  SL and rajaG, that was a sudden outburst of temper and am sorry about it. But, still whatever I put in there holds still good and hence "no NOM"! SL, I think you know what I meant in that posting...hence no more deliberations from my part! ( I apologize to Asha also).
  
  
• From: SL (@ 63.253.6.130) on: Wed Oct 4 03:38:48 EDT 2000
  
  What is the meaning in apologising and 'no NOM'? My properly used senses convey that this is an attempt at getting clever and therefore prefer to ignore your 'sorries'.
  Let the discussion take the proper course now.
  
  
• From: rasikan (@ 203.197.137.8) on: Wed Oct 4 23:18:58 EDT 2000
  
  I was out of this discussion for a while, but I think there seems to be strong opinions on both sides.
  I think both SJ and AB are brilliant at classical numbers. As far as range goes, both are up there, ahead of the rest.
  Why is this mukkal munagal brigade after SJ? As far as I can remember, AB has also gone up that road in the early 70s, in Pran jaye par vachan na jaye, and that oldie ' Aao huzoor aao'.
  If SJ seemed to have done it more explicitly, put it down to the permissiveness of the 80s. But let us accept the fact that SJ seems to express that particular emotion better. And as far as film music goes, it is all about emoting for the character.:-)
  
  
• From: Arasikan (@ 212.26.19.153) on: Thu Oct 5 14:08:13 EDT 2000
  
  Both were excellent in their on style in their active days.
  But there is a saying that "one should stop singing before one's voice deteriorates".
  
  I feel it is hightime that both of them stop public singing performance to retain memory of their great songs-old age is old age and it affects voice too.
  
  
• From: rasikan (@ 203.197.137.4) on: Sat Oct 7 04:04:39 EDT 2000
  
  This is in response to KARTHI'S post of Oct 1, where he says that as far as voice quality for sensual moods goes, AB is tops.
  I don't entirely agree here, especially about SJ's moaning and sighing.
  Karthi, AB has also done such stuff, and that too in the early seventies! And with AB, one always got the feeling that she was singing the song, even when watching it.
  With SJ, she tends to modulate even the sensual stuff, varying her voice for Silk in Moonru Mugam, Sridevi in Kalyanaraman, and Madhavi in Kakki Chattai.
  IMHO, SJ is tops, especially in the sexier singing style mode.
  
  
• From: Yakkov (@ 216.140.197.178) on: Thu Oct 12 15:21:44 EDT 2000
  
  What about Indi-pop? SJ hasn't even been there but AB did make some pretty racy numbers and was even called (gasp!) the Queen of Indian Pop.
  
  
• From: edakku (@ 63.24.167.218) on: Fri Oct 13 23:58:32 EDT 2000
  
  oru "Thann-haa Thann-haa" paada mudiyumaa SJ-yaala:))
  
  
• From: STS (@ 38.28.19.119) on: Sat Oct 14 14:16:31 EDT 2000
  
  Enna comparision? Like comparing ARR with IR.
  
  
• From: rasikan (@ 202.54.14.211) on: Mon Oct 16 10:02:44 EDT 2000
  
  Edakku Saar,
  Can AB do a Poo Potta Thavani?
  I rest my case.
  
  
• From: (^!^) (@ 207.43.195.201) on: Mon Oct 16 12:23:40 EDT 2000
  
  rasikan: For a brief moment I was imagining AB in a poo pOtta thaavaNi. aiyO! bayaththula nadungi pOyittEn. In fact adhu SJ kkum porundhaadhungaradhu ennOda abipraayam!
  
  
• From: rasikan (@ 202.54.59.128) on: Tue Oct 17 13:22:55 EDT 2000
  
  UFO Saar,
  Poruthama illaya enbadalla. mudiyuma mudiyaadha enbadhudaan.
  AB imho, just cannot give the kind of feel that SJ puts into the sensual stuff (though i sometimes wonder how she could do such songs in the studio).
  AB evvalavu mukkinaalum(pun intended) mudiyaadhu!
  
  
• From: (^!^) (@ 208.24.179.201) on: Tue Oct 17 15:41:55 EDT 2000
  
  rasikan:
  
  please read my post carefully-
  
  AB in a poo pOtta thaavaNi.
  
  
• From: aaa (@ ) on: Mon Dec 31 01:20:12 EST 2001
  
  Both Sj and AB are too good ... in their own ways ...
  Only difference is AB's voice is till intact but for sure SJ has lost her vigour ...
  Sj and Ab are some one who are the great ..
  
  
• From: avr (@ 143.127.3.10) on: Mon Dec 31 03:16:40 EST 2001
  
  aaa:
  
  Is Asha's voice intact?? Really???/
  
  
• From: SJpriyan (@ 203.106.150.116) on: Mon Dec 31 06:36:52 EST 2001
  
  aaa
  
  Excuse meeeeeee!!
  I believe aaa has not been listening to new songs lately. Try to listen the new song in Alli Arjuna and u'll know how unrelevant ur posting is.
  Think few times b4 putting ur postings in this forum.
  
  
  
• From: Anjali (@ ) on: Wed Sep 15 22:14:35 EDT 2004
  
  All JanakiAmma fans are cordially invited to join JanakiAmma's (unofficial) fan-group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SJanaki
  
  Any questions about the group? I'll be glad to answer.
  
  Warm regards,
  
  Anjali.
  
  anjali@sjanaki.com
  
  

---

List all pages of this thread

---

Back to the Forum

Post comments