And the Golden Spring is back!!! (springs back??!!)- Neethane En Ponvasantham’s Music
Music, Music Review, Regional Tadka, Tamil — By Anand on September 4, 2012 7:10 pm
When GVM announced that Raja will score music for Neethane En Ponvasantham (You are my golden spring), like all die hard fans around the world, I was mighty excited. The London Recording only added to the excitement. The teaser of Saiyndhu Saiyndhu released 20 days back was melodious but was a bit disappointing. More than the song being disappointing, I realised I was looking at the prospect of the album disappointing me yet again! After all I have been disappointed by Raja for close to 10 years now. After Hey Ram and Virumandi, there has not been one great complete album from Raja. His best work in the last decade included rehash of his earlier work in films like Cheeni Kum, Paa and Naan Kadavul. And I started having the same feelings that my father had with respect to the thespian actor, Sivaji Ganesan.
My father was a huge Sivaji fan. Right from Parasakthi to Thirisoolam, he has watched almost every film more than 2-3 times. But after a certain point, Sivaji started hamming and started acting in bad films – one after another. My father was dejected, he just hoped for that ONE magical film, ONE magical performance after which he could graciously retire. There was a Dhaavani Kanavugal, there was a Mudhal Mariyadhai – but these were performances that pleased the fans in the respective film directors – not the critic in my father. When my father almost lost hope came Thevar Magan. I could perfectly empathize with how my father felt after watching Thevar Magan. For I have been waiting for that ONE MAGICAL ALBUM – in between there were several good songs and a few brilliant songs – but THAT ONE MAGICAL ALBUM from Raja sir eluded me. I was seriously hoping that NEP will be Raja’s Thevar Magan!!
So when I listened to NEP, I was skeptical yet hopeful. It was sheer torture, I must add! The fight between heart and mind. My heart knew why I became a fan of Raja in the first place, and refused to accept anything else. It hoped for the best. My mind knew that Raja is not in peak form anymore and heading towards twilight as an artist(like all artists do someday). Yet…
They say miracles do happen. It had happened with my father in Thevar Magan. AND BOY, IT DID HAPPEN TO ME!! Neethane En Ponvasantham…..What an album..! It was an exhilarating experience to listen to the symphony of sound by the 100 piece orchestra from London. It was a symphony of violins, violas, cello, double bass, Western concert flutes, guitars (rhythm, lead and bass), clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, horns and harps. And what a composition!!
The string and brass portions of the Sattru Munbu song melts one and leaves one in a state beyond words. Beautifully rendered by Ramya (the thespian NS Krishnan‘s great grand daughter), this song sounds so simple while hearing, but if you listen to it a few times, you realize what a complex tune it is. In Pidikala Mamu (which is going to be a very underrated song -I predict), the guitar composition gives an electric feel to the rock genre.
Mudhal Murai by Sunidhi Chauhan is vintage Raja. It captures the dark mood of the heart broken lover in its lyrics, tune and arrangment but the soothing chorus which adds ‘Nee thane en pon vasantham’ adds that bit of hope. Sheer genius. Ennodu Vaa Vaa has that swinging rhythm (much similar to Keladi En Paavaiye from Gopura Vasalile) and the playful mmod of the song is well captured by his rendering by Karthik.
Saindhu Saindhu by Yuvan is a disappointment mainly becuase of Yuvan’s voice. Listen to the same song Yedhi Yedhi in Telugu sung by Shaan and you will realize the quality of the composition. The piano and string combination is used so well by Raja in this song! GVM, Why dont you leave the choice of singers to Raja next time around.
I am unable to decide if I like Pengal Endral by Yuvan, only because it does not sound like Raja at all. Completely dominated by guitar (I can imagine GVM telling Raja,”Guitar thrikanum saar!”), this is pure rock genre. I am quite surprised Raja did not come up with this kind of a composition even in movies like Enakul Oruvan or Kalaignan in which the protoganist was a rock star. I remember not liking Pizza the first time I had it, mainly because I was used to Idlys and Rotis for 25 years! To be fair to Raja, this song deserves at least a few more hearings before I make up my mind.
But the icing on the cake is Vaanam Mella by Raja himself and Bela! Even as I write about it, my eyes get moist. The best thing one can write about this song is not write about it at all. Please do yourself a favour, buy the album – LIKE…TODAY!
And if I come across as an unabashed fan, what do you know? It was Salvation day for me and the thousands and thousands of other die hards! I STAND VINDICATED. Bless Raja!
You can also check out Badri Parthasarathy‘s take on NEP’s music here.
Anand
Management Professional, Avid Reader, Student, Movie Enthusiast, Doting Father & Husband
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As another die hard Isaignani fan, I agree to most parts of this article but for the suggestion that IR is/was heading towards twilight as an artist…I do not recognize him merely as an artist in which case perhaps this argument holds good. I agree that the age catches up with any artist such as singer, dancer, actor or any instrument player and accordingly their voices fail or their reflexes slow down. But IR is a composer whose compositions originate from his instincts, knowledge and abundant divine grace. These faculties do not age….If not for the divinity, how would you explain someone whose does not have any classical music lineage or roots goes on to compose songs in over 150 ragas (some of them are not even sung by carnatic singers in their concerts) or come out with violin symphony pieces?
I rate IR along with Thyagaraja Swami, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and others who had divine interventions which led them to compose thousands of immortal Kritis…
Rgds…Venkat
Venkatanathan
Raja does not have classical music background? What do you mean by that? He is trained in both Carnatic and Western Classical music. He learnt Western classical while working as assistant for many composers in Tamil films. And learnt carnatic music from TVG even while composing music for Tamil films. You can notice a marked change in his compositions around the early 80s.
H said “not have any classical music lineage or roots” not knowledge or training.
In the era of audience who are constantly fed with hip-hop songs and Kuthu songs, ear tast buds that are groomed listening those songs, and subjecting Ilaiyaraja to the same fast food, mmm… I dont recommend. Nor Ilaiyaraja cares… he continues to be on the standard that was set by he himself. Master Class…
Did you ever bother listening to Pazhassi Raja, Thandavakone, Padithurai, Dhoni? My 2yr old kid gets mesmerized by ‘Kattu Vazhi Thunbam Illa…’ in Thandavakone. Raja keeps creating his magic. It is only that we fail to notice. It is unfortunate that even die hard fans of Ilayaraja fall prey to promotional illusions. There is no come back for Ilayaraja, he is always there. I would like to quote BharatiRaja “Imaya malaikki mundasu katta mudiyaathu!”
Kavi Venkatesan – Many thanks for your comment. Good to see a co-admirer of Raja fighting with me!! But let us be practical for a moment. In the last few years Raja has given Ayyan, Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai, Ponnar Sankar, Jagan Mohini, Mathiya Chennai, Nandalala, Vaalmiki, Dhanam, Kangalum Kavi Paduthey, Uliyin Osai, Ajanthaa, Inimel Naanga dhan, Maaya Kannadi,Adhu oru Kanaa Kaalam, Chidambarathil Oru Appasamy, Karagattakari, Kasthuri Maan, Mumbai Xpress and Vishwa Thulasi. As I have said in my post, there were some great songs and some good songs in these films. It is not that Raja has given atrocious songs in the last decade or so. There have been several good numbers and a few outstanding numbers in the last decade, so why is NEP so special? The reason is simple – Do you recall “Khajuraho” from Oru Naal Oru Kanavu or “Nee thoongum Nerathil” from Manasellam with the same fondness as you do wi…th “Pani Vizhum Malarvanam” or “Madai Thirandhu”? No. It is not only the quality of the song but also the fact that you experienced Pani Vizhum and Madai Thirandhu at a young and impressionable age. So a Kahjuraho/Nee thoongum can never give you the same kind of feeling as a Pani Vizhum/Madai Thirandhu.
But in NEP, the songs grow on you so much that I am sure I will recall them with the same fondness as I do with the 80′s Raja’s numbers. And thats why NEP is so special.
Thaandavakone is outstanding…I missed it. Thanks for bringing it to my notice. And just discovered another gem in Mayilu!!
Good that you like NEP. But it is not a come back for Raja. There are various reasons for me saying that. We can discuss further if you are really interested
. I still feel you haven’t listened to Pazhasi Raja,cos i dont see it in your list of movies. Go for the malayalam version which is original. And just listen to the song ‘Aadhiyusha sandhya poothathivide….’. Maestro’s magic would take you through a roller coaster ride with his astounding orchestration (Budapest Symphony Orchestra)
And coming to your comparison between ‘Khajuraho…’ and ‘Panivizhum…”, you can never compare any two master pieces of Raja. They are unique in their own respect. If you have followed Raja and took time to analyse his music across years (70s to 2010s) you would notice that his composition has taken various dimensions. And that has been done by Raja consciously. He keeps experimenting. He is a composer of different calibre. Unlike NEPV his treasures needs to be discovered. I can keep giving u leads if u wish to hunt for those treasures