Shot....clap...action

Yen iniya thamizh makkale.... This is a very famous quote which we have been listening in tamizh films for close to two and a half decades. Bharithiraaja is a very famous for bucolic creations and redefined village-oriented movies. He broke the barrier of erstwhile village-oriented movies which projected clean shaven heros with a mundaasu on their head and the location will be a bunch of trees in a long shot and would switch over to an indoor location which will have a sketch of thenamaram (coconut trees) in the background at an indoor studio at AVM studio, or vijaya-vauhini studio or elsewhere.

Bharathiraaja came up with a fantastic dark-movie sometime during 1980 or so which is Nizhalgal. This movie has a great fast-beat song Madai thirandhu. This movie is also a debut for the Kaviyarasu Vairamuthu which bagged him a National award for the song Idhu oru pon malai pozhudhu

There is a situation in the movie where one of the characters aspiring to become a music composer attempts to compose a tune for the situation explained by the director. This particular character (acted by Chandrasekhar, quite convincingly) will be fully loaded with aspirations, dreams and will discharge all his potentials through his off-the-cuff tune. This is so because the song situation itself is for a music director who is flooded with happiness in his heart having grabbed a break in film music.

This is a peculiar situation for the music composer Raaja to bring out a song for a song situation where a music director composes a song for a situation which has an aspiring music director getting a break in film music.

Huh! What a maze (reminds me of the bitty bought some butter……)

This is a typical example for cascading effect. Raaja, being in his first five years of his film embarkment made all the experimentations in this song. He also made an appearance in this song exactly when he sings pudhu raagam padaipadhale naanum iraivane.

Let’s try to slice up the song and see what he has done.

The song starts with a cluster of violins and then closes up shortly with drums. The song is totally dominated with lead guitars and bass guitars. SPB picks up the song like sachin blistering start by a boundary. Just after first two lines Raaja shifts to harmonium and balu hums along with the harmonium to give the extempore composing effect.

A vague guitar piece dominates the first interlude for which the director bharathiraaja also added an appropriate visual by showing a fast and slow motion dance matching the timing of the guitar piece. Then a group of violin takes up the charge with a bass guitar in the background. Total string domination and feast for ears. Here is where SPB proves his mettle again and starts his humming papapa pa paa

Here it’s a total experimentation. The base guitar clearly follows the humming throughout and precisely leads the interlude to a placid halt to the next stanza.

 

The lyricist Vaali has exercised all his creativity in this song splendidly and came up with the most appropriate lyrics.

kaalam kanindhadhu kadhavugal thirandhadhu
Gyanam vilaindhadhu nallisai pirandhadhu

Just observe the violins in the backgrounds and the timing. It’s amazing and difficult to perceive the timings in the first instance. These structuring indicates that there was a genius at work.

When the next line pudhu raagam padaithadhaley comes up, bharathiraaja unveils the great man clad in a simple shirt and bell-bottom trousers who is behind the music revolution which broke-up in the year 1976.

viralilum kuralilum swarangalin naatiyam…amaithen naan

Is it a tune for lyrics or lyrics for tune? A perfect lyric for the maestro.

Just after the first charanam observe the chorus when SPB sings madaithirandhu. A beautiful counter-point used by Raaja where the chorus and SPB’s voice is knitted so beautifully.

The harmonium takes up the second interlude then beautifully followed by the lead guitar.

The second verse has a line like this

netren (netru yen) arangile nizhalgalin naadagam
Indren (indru yen) yethirile nijangalin dharisanam
Varum kaalam vasantha kaalam naalum mangalam

It’s only in the third line above a flute piece appears in the whole song (which is quite unusual). An optimistic writing I should say.

Overall this song, whenever I listen to it gives me a josh kind of feeling and is so energetic and fresh for all these years.