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SHOULD CLASSICAL MUSIC SINGERS LIKE KJY,UNNIKRISHNAN,HARIHARAN BE MORE SELECTIVE IN THEIR CHOICE OF SONGS?

Topic started by VIJAY (@ 129.252.29.214) on Sun Jan 25 01:56:04 EST 1998.
All times in EDT/EST +9:30/10:30 for IST.

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Responses:

• From: vijay (@ 129.252.29.214) on: Sun Jan 25 02:06:09 EST 1998
  
  HAI,
  i was reading one of the season's concert reviews in a tamil mag on the net.it seems some of the maamis there did'nt like the way KJY was singing his carnatic music at all.i have also had
  several people saying that KJY just because of dabbu has sung some trash songs in TFM and he is also singing carnatic music in a filmi style. i feel that of late even unnikrishnana has been singing some fairly mediocre songs.i have included hariharan because i have read somewhere that he is a hindustani classical music singer.even now i cannot imagine KJY
  singing songs like "vecha paarvai theeradhadi"
  in illamai kolam,though i shoulkd admit i liked the song very much in the dappankuthu category.
  so i welcome your comments on
  
  1.whether have u also felt the same?
  
  2.do u think they should be more selective?
  
  3.do u think because of money they are compromising on carnatic music?
  
  ** this topic is not purely about TFM i think,and i fear it might perhaps end up as a purely carnatic music thread.i want to avoid that as much as possible.so pl. keep that in mind.
  
  vijay
  
  
• From: RV (@ nat-20.avanticorp.com) on: Mon Jan 26 15:24:59 EST 1998
  
  Where do we get off telling people that they should sing in style A only or in style B only ?
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.29.214) on: Mon Jan 26 17:34:41 EST 1998
  
  i just need opinions with respect to the choice of songs that carnatic singers are making today
  in TFM.we need not tell them to sing in any style since it is none of our business.iam just wondering if people ever thought of carnatic music singers singing junk songs today just for the sake of money.i think in those days MS sang some memorable songs in meera.but nowadays people like unnikrishnan and hariharan are singing some mediocre stuff under MD's like
  deva and sirpi.so being people having considerable knowledge in music and giving clasical concerts as well ,should'nt they exercise some restraint in their choice of songs?is it a disturbing trend?
  
  or is it OKto sing any songs just because u get more money?
  vijay
  
  
• From: aruLarasan (@ psiphi.umsl.edu) on: Mon Jan 26 20:54:45 EST 1998
  
  I don't understand the topic at all. Should the singers restrict
  themselves to one style of music? Or should they be choosy
  about the lyrics? Which one of these is the intended meaning?
  
  
• From: vijay (@ ryan.ece.sc.edu) on: Mon Jan 26 22:54:38 EST 1998
  
  both with respect to the tune and the lyrics.
  
  vijay
  
  
• From: Rajaraman (@ 192.122.135.224) on: Tue Jan 27 02:59:19 EST 1998
  
  IMO KJY has been generally selective in his songs, except a very few like "vacha paarvai", "kaana karunkuyile","thannithotti".
  
  Though UnniK was selective initially, these days he doesn't seem to bother about his songs! I was really shocked when I heard his kalloori vaasal song. (some kiss-nu aarambikkum.) Surely a Suresh Peters or some other could have sung it equally well. A recent example is "sonia sonia".
  I don't know what's on his mind, but I guess the filmdom fame has lured him into this.
  
  Hariharan is a ghazal singer, so he may be excused. : ) But definitely not UnniKrishnan.
  
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.29.214) on: Thu Jan 29 13:42:51 EST 1998
  
  also in carnatic katcheris ,irrespective of whethet KJY or unni sing well,it is only their concerts that attract the crowd.i think IR who has used unnikrishnan in a few songs has done a decent job.'maharaajanou' FROM SATHI LEELAVATHI and 'allah' from chandralekha are good examples.other MD's think that by making unni or KJY sing one song in the film irrespective of whether they are neede or not they can boost the market value of the music.
  the carnatic singers should be bold enough to reject mediocre songs,though i think no one would do it.
  
  vijay
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.29.214) on: Thu Jan 29 13:43:41 EST 1998
  
  also in carnatic katcheris ,irrespective of whethet KJY or unni sing well,it is only their concerts that attract the crowd.i think IR who has used unnikrishnan in a few songs has done a decent job.'maharaajanou' FROM SATHI LEELAVATHI and 'allah' from chandralekha are good examples.other MD's think that by making unni or KJY sing one song in the film irrespective of whether they are neede or not they can boost the market value of the music.
  the carnatic singers should be bold enough to reject mediocre songs,though i think no one would do it.
  iam awaiting the comments of gopal,ramki,srikanth,sathya and all others.
  vijay
  
  
• From: pg (@ gate02.merck-medco.com) on: Thu Jan 29 16:45:35 EST 1998
  
  I think it is unfair to expect UK and Hariharan to reject 'mediocre' songs. Whether carnatic or cine songs, money is money. nAy vitRa kAsu kuraikkadhu.
  
  If you say no to one song, you may be rejected for another song. When you have reached the top, you have compromised so much that it makes no sense to be selective now.
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.29.214) on: Thu Jan 29 17:00:13 EST 1998
  
  but i do not think unnikrishnan is solely dependent on cine songs for a living.i think it comes more from a desire to become more popular that is driving these youngsters towards
  cine music.also just because KJY is an established singer already it does not mean that he should sing arbit songs for every other MD .
  now that he has become established atleast now he can choose to demand good songs.
  and i think he is doing that to a good extent since i have not heard any exceptionally mediocre song from him in the recent times.
  
  vijay
  
  
• From: Sukumar (@ atrium-pc52.inre.asu.edu) on: Thu Apr 30 23:56:57 EDT 1998
  
  It's left to them. I like all 3 of them very much
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ ) on: Fri Feb 26 17:37:15 EST 1999
  
  I think the talents required for singing playback vs. carnatic singing is different in terms of subtleties in expression. Just to use a similar example, Hariharan who has had some training (many years ago) in carnatic, said in an interview that, he had to 'forget' his training and retrain in Hindusthani to be a competent Ghazal singer. Obviously this refers to expression, and not technicalities. IMO good playback requires a combination of histrionics with singing from the singer. Traditional carnatic singers (kachchEri level) have intentionally been instructed to avoid light (film included) music in their formative years lest their classical singing gets 'corrupted'. Now, suddenly with ARR and IR, Unnikrishnan, Nithyasree, Bombay Jaysree et al have found a light music market. The 'expression' I referred to earlier has to run parallel with the lyrics, tune and the situation of the song. By actively not following 'film music' in their formative years these classical singers have built subtle deficiencies (only in relation to film music) in their singing.
  Lyrics - Most carnatic singers do not know Telugu yet fill a majority of their concerts with horribly pronounced compositions by the trinity. Add to this, the padugolais in the form of 'bhajans' during the thukkada section. However, the classical audience are looking for neravals, brigas, swarams, alaapanais, and really pronunciation is not even in ther minds. Not so with the film music audience. Chitra and Sujatha spent their chidhood and young adulthood in Kerala. Unnikrishnan is a 100% Chennai product. Yet, Chitra and Sujatha have very little Malayali accent yet Unni does. What is wrong with this picture? Chitra and Sujatha have, for a significant length of time, been performing a branch of music in which accent, diction, and experession have been important wheares UK has been focusing on other technicalities and almost 'ignoring' the impact of pronunciation. And it shows!
  
  Tune and situation - Almost all of the classical songs are set with a devotional background whereas most of Film Music is not. Just imagine Nithyasree singing "konji pEsa poNNu oNNu tharamaattaa" instead of the 'teasing' Swarnalatha. Yikes!
  
  For the moment, I am stopping at this. I will respond to genuine discussion on this topic.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 129.252.26.145) on: Fri Feb 26 20:27:38 EST 1999
  
  rajaG,
  surprised that u chose to revive this thread. first of all, i do not know whether u got the point. ths discussion is not about the 'light music singing ability' of carnatic singers. its about whether they are chossing the right songs/MD's. i have bene peeved at UK singing some mediocre songs for deva. being a classical musician he should be definitely knowledgable and selective in his choice, right? i cannot aceept the argument that these singers do this for money. i believe UK is not in a state of abject poverty. fame, yes, that might be a possibility.
  but still does not explain the whole issue.
  
  
• From: Sriram Lakshman (@ ifmxlenx.na.informix.com) on: Sat Feb 27 14:04:37 EST 1999
  
  My take on this is , if they are able to do justice to the art of playback singing why not ?
  Have HH and UK done ample justice ? The answer is no.
  The reasons could be ...
  I am inclined to agree with RajaG on his write-up on the differences. Other facets like breath-control and adaptibility also play a major role. Often, in a kutcheri, you would find the singer allowing the violin to take over thereby allowing himself a respite. This , obviously is not possible for playback singers, no, not even in a live performance. By adaptability, I mean changing one's voice culture and the delivery style according to the mood of the song. Sounds easy, doesn'it? I think it has more to do with sensitivity and posessing an intuitive feel for the art. You require greater voice modulation , which means the singer has to posess great control over his falsetto voice too. Singing in a false voice is considered an anathema in Carnatic circles. Examples of voice modulation,just to quote a few , TMS in "Maadhavi PonmayilaaL" and "Yaar antha nilavu", Rafi in "Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj" and "Din Dal Jaye", SPB in "Pallaviye saraNam" and "Seer kondu vaa". This subtle change in expression is what I find lacking in HH and UK. I like HH's brigaas, but they are often misplaced , in the sense inappropriate taking into account the situation of the song. Some could view it as mere self-indulgence.
  The conclusion is , they do not need to restrict themselves from singing the so called crappy songs as long as they posess the qualities mandatory for a playback singing. My posting , I know has digressed a little bit , but I wished to contribute in RajaG's line of thinking , which I thought could blossom into an interesting discussion.
  
  
• From: chandy (@ 209.125.83.228) on: Wed Mar 3 14:55:51 EST 1999
  
  As a carnatic musician, a singer generates certain expectations and is viewed as a torch-bearer of a certain-kind-of-music. Unnikrishnan, Nityasree and a whole crop of younger lot of classical musicians have raised tremedous hopes for the revival of classical music among masses. We should remember that in the 50s and 60s, carnatic music reigned supreme even in movies, and only later did the real light-music started pouring in.
  
  As a singer who is dedicated to classical music, certain amount of social responsibilities need to be shouldered by unnikrishnan and other such people. Their carnatic background gains them respectability and recognition, which gets translated into mass popularity and appeal when they venture into film music. But, instead of using this popularity to propagate classical music among masses, they go after sheer-populairty and start singing any-godamn-song that comes their way. This is certainly not acceptable.
  
  Unnikrishnan's Ennavale was a rage - he became a star even among the hip-pop-singing-college-crowd. Kadri Gopalnath's saxophone piece in Duet took carnatic music to the masses. Nithyasree took carnatic music to masses through her Kannodu Kaanbadhelaam.. Tea-shops in remote villages played the song non-stop.
  
  When these people have the power to reach masses through their voice and talent (which they solely owe to their carnatic music background), it is certainly DISHEARTENING to see them sing songs that could be sung by very-many-others. They loose their "class" by doing this. KJY certainly didnt have the need to do a "Vecha Paarvai".
  
  I dont agree that Unikrishnan and others dont have the choice to refuse songs. They certainly have every right to refuse songs, if only they have the mind to do it.
  
  chandy
  
  
  
  

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