Raja of the mid 90s

Thanks suresh for patiently absorbing my nags
This song somehow - even as a HCIRF - I used to fast forward. That dandakku dandAn was sort of embarassing - 24 vayasula appO irundha combEnyla adhai ellAm nInga kaNdukkapadadhu. I am sure app will have a similar problem with that dandaku, too.

ippO kEttuttu solRen

Sweet song, Sureshji!

And, excellent analysis!

Hope you get time to post more frequently

I remember listening to this a few times during road trips those days...along with 'vandhAL vandhAL'...and obviously 'daNdakku daNdAN' was / is a big turn-off

Raaga_Suresh wrote:Song No: 33
Song: Oru Maina Kunju
Film: Oru Ooril Oru Rajakumari
Singers: Mano, Janaki
Lyricist: Vaali
Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR2494′&lang=en

I would not go to the extent of stating this to be ‘rare’. I vaguely remember hearing it. I am posting it here because it is a very interesting song. Ofcourse ’vandhal vandhal’, was the song which was played often.

Raja gives this song a sort of retro feel. The starting piano notes are a throwback to an earlier era. The tune of the pallavi, with its ‘dhandakku danda’ keeps up the vintage feeling. And what a pallavi he constructs. So peaceful, so soothing. The violin and flute duet and later the synth keep up this ancient mood in the first interlude. The interaction between the instruments is very interesting with lot of asynchronous movements.

Janaki enters in the charanam to accompany Mano and the way she casually sings the pallavi is a lesson to every aspiring singer. The charanam is in typical Raja style flows smoothly. And the bass guitar in true Raja style provides lovely backing along with the violins which enter once in a while.

The piano and then the shenai once again take us back to an earlier era in the second interlude. Once again a very interesting interlude.

This song to me will fall under the ‘experimentation’ catgeory. Raja being Raja, even when people in those days were experimenting with newer technologies, he harnessed the technology to create a fresh sounding ‘old melody’. In other words, Raja was declaring ‘en vazhi thani vazhi’.

The inspiration in this scene is definitely "Missiamma" where savithri teaches thangavelu how to sing with piano and then it results in the cute "Umakku neere emakku yaame" - Here it transforms into a nice flowing - completely unhurried melody.
I say completely unhurried because the rhythm portions are tight - set in a slow pace while the flute sections are like little robins singing their spring song - all chirpy, shrill and fast. That shehnai is an out of the world tune and it simply elevates the context while giving it the much needed earthy feel. The piano piece is not very complex - as it needs to be a simple waltz (as meena shows bhagyaraj a basic piece in piano) - The surprise is how this simple piece blossoms one petal at a time in front of our ears. And when the shehnai comes - the blossoming of the song is complete. The choppy string - synth interlude is intriguing and experimentai in the first interlude - that leads to the shehnai and flute sections beginning full flow. Singing by mano and SJ are soothing and thankfully low-key - Bear in mind - when the whole world around Raaja was going bonkers for "beats, steps" - here we have Raaja keeping stuff simple and minimal, yet creative and vibrant - This requires awesome creativity as well as assurance about one's own capability irrespective of what the world perceives as "current trend".

Though I love almost all the songs from this album - I am partial to this one and "Azhagu nilaa paadum" - as both these songs reek of inexplicable sense of "innocence".

"This requires awesome creativity as well as assurance about one's own capability irrespective of what the world perceives as "current trend". "

Exactly Jai. This is something which I have been saying for a few years now, that Raja cannot be seen in the framework of trends, BO success etc but rather as a great musician evolving at his own rate and completely wedded to his art.

Welcome Sureshji



=A cheerful, "paapaa malar" story teller of a song for kids. Could be something like
"oru chittu kuruvi Aanai maelEri oorvalamaa vandhuchaam dandakku dandaam dan dan daan dandakku dandaam
adhu nellu maniyum arisiyaiyum kothi kothi thinnudhaam dandakku dandaam dan dan daan dandakku dandaam
- Bhagyaraj made a feather light fantasy story telling in "Oru Ooril oru Rajakumari" that was enjoyable even though the BO was lukewarm.
Raja chooses the D major scale Shankarabharanam to give a bright, sunny shade to this "feel good" number.
Lovely ludes, esp the chirpy parrots like violin and flute bits intertwined and a slight twist in the charanam tune all make this song very alluring, despite Mano.

BTW, should implementation factors like Mano, "danda nakka" chorus or fillers, hittu status still bother or come in the way of appreciating the musical aspects of Raja for exclusive Raja fans atleast in this forum?? This album is Raja's creativity/innovation/experimentation running in spate.

Thanks Mythila.

I am with you in saying that Raja fans should not let some 'dhanku dhana' come in way of enjoying his genius.

Song No: 35
Song: Ethanai Vagai Ethanai Vagai
Film: Sathi Leelavathi
Singers: Chorus
Lyricist: Vaali
Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR3231′&lang=en

It is very common for Raja fans to be frustrated seeing that the picturization of a lovely song. The number of Raja songs destroyed by picturization is too large to count. I am not going to talk about these songs today but about another category. This, as with many other categories, is going out of fashion. This is the song which plays in the background and tells almost the full story or indicates what the story of the film would be. Many a times this gets played when the titles roll. And this is a tragedy for the music directors because such songs never get screened on TV. ‘kaiyil veenai endhum’ from ‘Vietnam Colony’ is an excellent example. Added to it, given that the song has to tell a ‘story’, the way you can tune it is also restricted. In a way such songs, like the badly picturized ones, do not do justice to the work put in by the music director.

These thoughts went through my mind when I was listening to the song which I am going to post today. This is from the movie ‘Sathi Leelavathi’.This song plays when the titles are shown and as such this made absolutely no impact on the listeners. ‘maarugo maarugo’ and ‘maharajanodu’ were plated often, with ‘marugo’ being the bigger ‘hit’.

This song seems very simple when you hear it initially. But then with Raja nothing is really as simple and in this song too he does a lot of intricate work or ‘nagasu velai’ as they say in Tamizh. The song starts off with a veena like sound. I say veenai like sound because I am not sure if it veena or the guitar sounding like veena. (Raja has done such things in the past.) And observe here how beautifully the bass compliments the prelude. Then the chorus humming starts leading us into the song.

The drumming will remain constant throughout the song. The pallavi start is simple and catchy. At the same time listen carefully for the bass which is following the singing closely. Raja keeps the ‘fun song’ feeling constant by first introducing the ‘meow’ sound. Later the trumpet sound in the first interlude sounds like the shout of an elephant, Added to it the way the guitar plucking interacts with the trumpet adds to the fun quotient. The veena sound joins in and finally the synthesizer closes the interlude making a funny sound. The second interlude is the same as the first.

The charanam is in Hamir Kalyani or Saranga. Quite unexpected for such a song I would say but then Raja rarely does the expected. The tune per se is lovely, especially the way he ends the charanam. Added to it is the way he makes the singers stress on some of the words. All the while don’t forget to keep a part of your ear open for the bass, which plays constantly in the background.

The singers do a good job. I wanted to give them credit but unfortunately I am unable to get who the singers are. If anyone knows, let me know. I will update the credits. Vaali does a very nice job with the lyrics, giving the gist of the movie in the two charanams.

You can listen to the song here as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8arCrHKuJ8A

Happy to see you continue posting about IR's 90s songs, thanks Suresh. Very interesting post and take on the Ethanai Vagai song. Wish you would also post about the Oru Tharam song in the same movie. The one thing that struck me about that song was its totally raw feel in the voice of the singer (Pen Surendar, haven't heard about him), the barebone orchestration and the mild satire in the both the singing & lyrics about the plight of the character with two wives.

rajkumar,

Thanks. In twitter, I followed this writeup with a reco of 'oru tharam'. I was in a dilemma if I should write about 'ethanai vagai' or 'oru tharam'. Finally chose 'ethanai vagai' since it was lengthier. Maybe will also do a short writeup of 'oru tharam' soon.

Raaga_Suresh wrote:Added to it, given that the song has to tell a ‘story’, the way you can tune it is also restricted. In a way such songs, like the badly picturized ones, do not do justice to the work put in by the music director.

Sureshji,
Nicely analysed and written. Compared to title score, composing a title song coud be more difficult, as you observed. How many title songs/scores? More than 900 of them. Out of that, how many got noticed, especially when we know that many viewers arrive late to the movies and just get relieved that only title is going on without knowing what they were missing and these will not be aired anywhere again, very valid point.

Song No: 36
Song: Edhaiyum Thaangum Idhayam Vendum
Film: Thedi Vandha Rasa
Singers: Malaysia Vasudevan
Lyricist: ??
Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR3585′&lang=en

There are actors whose success is attributed a lot to the music director / singer. Rajesh Khanna / Kishore / RDB was such a combination. No one can think of Rajesh Khanna without thinking of the other two. In Tamizh films, Mohan, Ramarajan and Raj Kiran have lot of their success attributed to Raja. While the success of a particular movie may not be just due to the songs (a fact which Raja also states in an interview), it is true that Raja gave some superb songs in the movies which starred the above mentioned actors. Having said that, I must also state that Raja has given superb music for all heroes. I think people believe that Mohan, Rajkiran, Ramarajan type of heroes don’t have great talent and want to see to what they can attribute the success to. They probably find music the most easy thing to attribute their success to.

Ramarajan has many hits to his credit, in which Raja’s music has played a great part. The movie from which I have chosen the song is ‘Thedi Vandha Rasa’. I am not sure if this film was a hit. I don’t think so. Atleast I had not heard of this movie or its songs till now.

It must be accepted that it is in films of people like Ramarajan and Rajkiran that you still have ‘situational’ songs. They believe in the old school of film making where songs are not just for the album but are part of the film’s narrative. It could be a sad song about loss of a loved one, a philosophical song, a thalattu song and so on. The song we will hear today also falls into this category.

The song is an ‘inspirational’ song. The opening words make that very clear. Initially there is no accompaniment, then minimal accompaniment before the tabla kicks in. The song is sung by an elder brother trying to inspire his sibling.

The song is based on the ragam Kalyani, in which Raja has given countless melodies. And in each of these songs Raja shows us a different face of Kalyani. The orchestration of the beginning part of first interlude contrasts with the pallavi orchestration with some lovely violins playing with the keyboards and then the flute and the veena (or guitar sounding like veena) complementing each other. The melody keeps building in the charanam and the lovely face of Kalyani manifests itself at ‘varundhaadhe selvame’, The second interlude starts with the strings leading the way before the flute enters briefly and then the keyboard. A very western orchestration for a very Indian song.

I can easily understand why a song like this didn’t become a big hit in those days. This has what many youngsters criticize Raja for ‘tabla, violin and flute’. The youth of those times were moving more towards the western pop sounds and the synthesized rhythm loops. These type of songs were old hat and were going out of fashion.

I would put this song into the ‘peaceful Raja’ category. Malaysia does a great job singing this song. The overall mood is a delicate one and Raja maintains this delicate mood throughout the song by judicious orchestration and moulding Kalyani to provide the necessary ambiance.

The other song from this movie which gives us such a peaceful feeling is ‘chinnan siru’. Infact I love all the songs from this movie. You can check out the entire list here:

http://www.thiraipaadal.com/album.php?ALBID=ALBIRR00645&lang=en

Song No: 37
Song:Unna Nanchu Urgum Vannakili
Film: Rasayya
Singers: Chitra, Mano
Lyricist: Vaali

Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR3046′&lang=en

While ‘Roja’s music was a superhit and announced the arrival of a new talent, it was the next movie, ‘Gentleman’, which gave an indication that the boy was here to stay. ‘Gentleman’ also announced the arrival of a new director named Shankar, who would go on to make many successful big budget movies. One song in ‘Gentleman’ also showcased the dancing skills of a lanky young man, named Prabhu Deva.

Prabhu Deva, son of the celebrated Sundaram master, had danced earlier in songs like ‘April Mayile’. ‘Raja Raajdhi Raja’ etc but the ‘Chikku Bukku’ dance with Gautami took him to a different level. The novelty of the tune, the picturisation, Gautami in her green and orange dress and the dance moves of Prabhu Deva, everything contributed to make this song one of the oft played songs of those times. Shankar then went on to make ‘Kadhalan’ with Prabhu Deva as the hero. It turned out to be a humongous hit and Prabhu Deva was accepted as a hero by the general public. ‘Kadhalan’ came out in 1994. ‘Rasayya’ came out in 1995, for which Raja provided the music.

While Prabhu Deva had danced earlier to Raja’s tunes : ‘April Mayile’, ‘Chinna Rasave’ etc, it was only for that one particular song. Now, he was the hero and Raja fans were wondering whether Raja’s style of music would suit the ‘new-age’ style of Prabhu Deva. As usual, the fears were unfounded. Raja gave lovely tunes, mix of dance-able tunes and lovely melodies. ‘Mastana Mastana’ was a rage those days and the lovely duet, ‘Kadhal Vaanile’ was played quite often on TV. ’dindukkallu dindukkallu’ has the typical Raja energy.

The song I am putting up today, ‘unna nanaichu urgum kili’, according to a friend, did not figure in the movie. This song is ‘atypical’ for a Prabhu Deva movie I would say. I can’t say it with certainty but the song seems to be based on Varunapriya ragam (aka SumaneesaRanjani). The credits in thiraipaadal say it is by SPB and Preeti Uttam Singh. That is wrong. The song is by Chitra and Mano. I will put this song in the ‘peaceful’ Raja category.

Starting with a brief interplay between the piano and the synth sounding like a shenai, the song in the pallavi, nay, in the very first line, establishes the emotion; pangs of separation. Conveying emotions effortlessly is what Raja seeks to achieve in his songs and the effect of that approach can be heard in the pallavi. It sets up a somber mood, which he holds tight to throughout the song. Note how the bass adds depth to the emotion throughout the pallavi.

The first interlude is a typical Raja interlude, where the violins add a different dimension and flute keeps the basic emotion intact. The charanam flows superbly, suddenly dipping and then rising, conveying the emotional turmoil of the protagonists.

Chitra is someone who sings such songs with enviable precision. Observe how she pronounces ‘unna’ in the beginning and that word itself conveys the emotion of the whole song. Mano does a decent job but definitely lags behind Chitra in this song.

I am not sure how this movie fared at the box office but Raja – Prabhu Deva combination did not happen again till ‘Time’ in 1999. In the meanwhile Prabhu Deva did ‘Love Birds’, ‘Mr.Romeo’ and ‘Minsara Kanavu’ with Rahman. They together defined what was ‘cool’ for those times. The loops of Rahman inspired by hip-hop and pop combined with Prabhu Deva’s dance moves, which highlighted his flexibility, was the ‘in thing’ with everyone. While the songs of ‘Rasayya’ were a hit, they probably lacked the ‘cool quotient’ which became associated with Rahman – Prabhu Deva. To an extent we can see the philosophical difference in music making when we compare the music of ‘Rasayya’ with that of what Rahman composed for Prabhu Deva.

This also tells us that song being a ‘hit’ or ‘miss’ depends largely on the trend prevalent at that time. It is very difficult to analyze songs objectively when they arrive. This is also one reason why each song ages differently. When I hear the song of today, I wonder how such a song went unnoticed but during those times they thought it was not worth keeping in the movie. And maybe they were right.

Great analysis on the rAsaiyA song, Sureshji!

I got the cassette at the time of arrival, with some expectations but was dissatisfied (especially with Bhava doing that masthAna). At that time, my fav was 'dhindukkallu' song that had terrific energy, some choir-like harmony etc.

onna nenachchu urugum is a lovable song and KSC excels. This used to get played at home very regularly at that time.

Reg PD, I can never stand him on screen :yuck: He is just a dancer and glad he didn't last long as a hero!

app,

I can understand your feeling wrt PD I did like his dancing and didn't mind his acting, except when he tried to be cool dude and do some comedy. That is when it used to get irritating. But he had a huge female following. My wife was also his big fan.

As you say, Chechi is superb in this song.

Raaga_Suresh wrote: It is very difficult to analyze songs objectively when they arrive. This is also one reason why each song ages differently.

Well said Sureshji! Interesting analysis. These compositions clearly tells that Maestro was never in any race. All songs were composed purely on its merits, nothing else. Definitely it might have sounded to many of them why Maestro was not composing like that, but looking back now at the quality of these compositions and the way it withstood the test of the time, we can certainly tell Maestro was never wrong in his approach.

Song No: 38
Song:Vitta Moochile
Film: Saadhu
Singers:Swarnalatha, Mano
Lyricist: Vaali

Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR3170′&lang=en

I had already moved to Chennai when the movie ‘Sadhu’ was released. I was tracking Raja’s output closely, trying to see how he will respond to the success of Rahman. I must admit that I was very disappointed then when I heard the songs from ‘Sadhu’. None of them seemed to be good and I totally ignored that film. I don’t think the film was a big hit.

Raja has been using the synthesizer much before Rahman came to the scene. Rahman changed the way the synthesizers were used and almost all music directors had to adapt to the store bought rhythm loops, sound samples and the new recording techniques. While in earlier days, the orchestra was the mainstay of Raja’s music and the synthesizer provided additional support, Raja had to do music more with the synthesizer than with the manual orchestra. Raja was slowly moving towards that and this song gives us some insight in terms of the challenges he would have faced in combining a predominantly synthesized background with his style of music composing.

The song starts of with the drum machine playing the rhythm and the synthesizer playing the prelude. Then the chorus joins in and the synthesized effects join them. Then there what we can take as an interlude, again with the synth dominating.

The charanam gives us the glimpse of the older Raja, with the violins (synth?) following the lead voices closely. The charanam beginning reminds me of ‘pottu vaitha kaadhal dhittam’. The second interlude has some nice guitar, both lead and bass, played on the synthesizer. The second charanam makes the song more interesting. Suddenly, along with the drum machine, Raja introduces light taps of the tabla and suddenly the charanam takes a different color. Swarnalatha and Mano do their job efficiently.

This song gives us an opportunity to compare Raja’s style of synthesizer usage with the style of Rahman. Raja would continue using this style of synthesizer usage for more years to come. In Raja’s case, I have a feeling that he tries to replace his manual orchestra with the synthesizer. This gives mixed results. Another aspect which both Raja’s fans and his detractors talk about is the quality of recording. Many of Raja’s albums did suffer from recording quality which was a notch lower than what Rahman’s albums. This is still a mystery to many as to why the recording quality was not upto mark, especially when everyone from Deva, Vidyasagar and later Harris, Yuvan Shankar Raja could get some high quality recording done.

Having said that, I must state that slowly I have got addicted to this song. While I admire and enjoy good quality recordings, the musical content matters more. I liked the way the song moves in the charanams. The lovely counterpoint of the violins in the background, the tabla introduction in the second charanam. While the use of synthesizer, lack of great recording quality etc can explain why Raja stopped being ‘cool’ during those times, the songs will slowly break these barriers since the ideas contained in them are ageless.

Raaga_Suresh wrote:the songs will slowly break these barriers since the ideas contained in them are ageless.

Romba clear'a solliteenga Sureshji. Very true. Through your write-up, I can visualize the trend happened that time. Beautiful song to be missed.

"vitta moochchilE" - hearing for the first time

Other than the tablA part, this sounds like a composition for some earlier MR movie

(Possibly one of those songs tossed during composing session of Anjali?)

Like Sureshji mentioned, the interludes and saraNam portions are quite interesting.

In any case, above-average stuff!

(I've started to slowly embrace the PoV of Sureshji & V_Sji on less-appreciated IR songs, those still have elements that makes one wonder 'eppadi idhellAm'! That's what I expect from a composer of class - something that's impressive and not ordinary! That's where most MD's of 90's and later fail for consistency - some terrific stuff here and there but much work makes one wonder 'idhu theruvOra music troupe, illa illa, nammaLE compose paNNidalAm pOla irukkE' )

"I've started to slowly embrace the PoV of Sureshji & V_Sji on less-appreciated IR songs"

app,

Aaah. I am happy So much writing and nice to see you slowly changing the POV. As I said, the musical ideas are such that once we get out of that era, we can appreciate it better. I am sure most Raja fans will get to appreciate his late 90s work. Just that some will do it early and some later.

V_S,

That is one advantage if you were present in a particular place when the trend was changing. I mean, I could never have written the 80s series as well as app wrote, because I was not there. Luckily for 3 yrs from 1995 to 98 I was in Chennai. Unluckily, I did not understand the inherent beauty in his compositions then

Song No: 39
Song: Ketkudhadi Koo Koo Koo
Film: Kattumarakaran
Singers:Janaki, Mano
Lyricist: Vaali

Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR1627′&lang=en

Last week was a song from P.Vasu’s ‘Sadhu’. This week it is another P.Vasu movie based song. From the film ‘Kattumarakkaran’. I think ‘kathum kadal ulle’ and ‘vetri vetri’ were the song from this movie which was seen often on TV.

I have always maintained that Raja’s penchant for experimentation has never dimmed and he continues to experiment with the same zeal even today. (The songs of NEPV are outstanding examples.) The song we will see today highlights Raja’s experimentation with rhythm.

The overall tune of this song, ‘kethkudhadi’ would have been filed under ‘standard tune’ if not for the amazing rhythmic permutations that Raja brings in. Based on Mohanam, the song starts with guitar strumming, accompanied by the cymbal crash, then the tabla peeps in at first, then plays a few phrases in a different nadai before morphing into the sarvalaghu pattern accompanied by the shenai. Raja, belying our expectation of a smooth flow, provides a different rhythmic pattern after a couple of avarthanams. The tabla and the strings have a small dialog before the tabla changes the pattern and the chorus joins to start the pallavi. So many rhythm patterns in the prelude itself.

The pallavi tune and the tabla accompaniment swing between the asynchronous mode and the synchronous mode at ‘kattumarakaranukku’. The tuning gives the effect that the tabla has a mind of its own.

The first interlude seems to reflect the happenings in the movie. The strings start the interlude in the WCM mode and suddenly the mood changes with the shenai taking the lead and the mood shifts back to WCM and once again back to the standard song charnam. The charanam beginning sounds very normal with the tabla playing the standard beats in the background. But after Mano and Janaki sing a line each, Raja changes the beat pattern and changes it again after a couple of lines before the chorus leads the charanam back into the pallavi. The voice which starts the second interlude keeps the song interesting before shenai and WCM similar to first interlude take over.

Mano and Janaki do justice to this lovely melody but the song belongs to orchestration.

To those who can’t use thiraipaadal on their devices, here is a raaga.com link: http://www.raaga.com/player4/?id=204728&mode=100&rand=0.3623467308934778

Suresh,
indha thread. .ipo dhan pakkaren.. Thank u......... ennai madhiri 90s IR ai pidicha oru Fan.. Thanks a lot.. ella paatum ezhudhungo Suresh...............................

Mano and Janaki do justice to this lovely melody but the song belongs to orchestration.

Beautiful words........... Beautiful Orchestration idhu...........

Thanks Usha. Nice to see you back in action.

BTW, you can view the complete series here; http://onlyraja.wordpress.com

Beautiful pick Suresh ji and nicely brought out the essence of the song. Yes, the interludes in the song switches constantly between genres. BTW who is the singer who starts the aalaap in the second interlude, is it Mano, I sense only his voice. Beautiful mOhanam, love the tune and the female chorus. Enchanting song! I also love chinna poovE apart from the songs you mentioned.

Song No: 40
Song: Thathi Thathi Thavidum
Film: Periya Kudumbam
Singers:SPB, Chitra
Lyricist: R V Udaykumar

If there is one area where Raja is the undisputed emperor, it is erotica. No other Indian composer has composed so many songs erotic songs. It is not about the number of songs composed alone. It is about the variety that Raja provides in erotic songs that make him a truly outstanding composer. His range is mind boggling and he covers a lot of territory. From the raw rural emotion in ‘thanni karuthidichu’ to the urban sophistication of ‘pani vizhum nilavu’, from the explicit ‘nethu raathiri’ to the subdued ’oru poongavanam’ Raja traverse diverse routes in the erotic territory.

The early Indian cinema catered to the Victorian morals of that time and erotica was very restricted. Filmmakers being people who have a good idea of people innermost desires, took the cabaret dance and the vamp route to get in a bit of eroticism into the movies. I would call erotic in a very loose way since these were explicit display of the female body as well as explicit expressions of their desires. Nuanced expression of female desire was given the go by as men were the target audience. (There were exceptions like the movie ‘Dastak’, where the song, ‘mayi re’ is an excellent example of how a sensitive director handled female desire.) This was the era which gave rise to the dancers and the vamp. Helen, Bindu et al in the North; Jyotilakshmi, Jayamalini and later Silk Smitha in South. This was also the time that certain playback singers were used for songs featuring these artists. Asha Bhosle in Hindi and L R Eshwari in Tamil were used a lot for the ‘cabaret’ and erotic songs.

In Tamil film industry, in the period that Raja made his debut, was changing with film makers like Bharathiraja giving a new direction. The filming moved out of the sets in Madras onto to actual locations in villages. A certain amount of ‘naturalness’ came into the films. I haven’t researched this part, but I believe this was also the time when the heroines started to explicitly express their physical desires. In songs like ‘edho mogam edho dhagam’, ‘dhagam edukura neram, vasal varugudhu megam’ this expression is very clear. It is not about just the love for the hero, it is also about the physical aspect of love. To a great extent the transition from a ‘only vamps can express physical desire’ to ‘heroines expressing their desire is quite natural’, happened in a seamless way, mainly thanks to the music of Raja.

It is certainly difficult to say if film makers took up such songs since Raja was providing extraordinary music or if Raja came up with such songs since the directors were coming up with such situations. My feeling is that given the mega success of such songs which came from Raja stable, directors probably included situations which needed such songs. Whatever be the actual case, the undeniable fact is that Raja produced songs of amazing variety for such situations. He was helped initially by SPB and Janaki. Later Swarnalatha joined the party. Others like Vani Jayaram, Uma Ramanan, Raja himself, Malaysia Vasudevan, Mano et al have been involved in singing erotic songs but the trio I mentioned earlier was unbeatable in this regard. There was a huge discussion once in TFMpage on this aspect of Raja and here is a post which I wrote then: http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?8179-The-Raaja-of-Erotica&p=468152&viewfull=1#post468152 You can check out the whole thread to get an idea of what Raja has done in this area.

Today’s song belongs to this category. This song was requested by one reader when I had started writing about the songs of 1995. (unfortunately I forgot who asked for it. So will the person kindly post in the comment section?) The different structures that Raja uses for erotic songs is a subject matter which deserves a PhD level thesis. This song falls into the ‘melodic erotica’ bracket, if I can coin one such phrase. Unlike many erotic songs, where Raja uses a beat which gives a impression of unevenness, here the beat is free flowing. There is a mildness associated with the complete song right from the prelude, through the first interlude, where the flute adds to the ‘mood’. The charanams maintain the melodic mood. The intimacy the song cries for is completed killed by the seventeen dancers in the background. Muscially, this is a lovely song. The beat, the bass guitar, the flute, the sax: everything is brought into play to create the perfect atmosphere. SPB and Chitra do a nice job and Udaykumar’s lyrics add a lot to the song.

Here is the thiraipaadal link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer.asp?sngs=’SNGIRR2694′&lang=en

And if you insist on watching, here is the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ctn56sx2Q

Nice song (to listen) - nanRi Sureshji for the lovely article!
Unfortunately, the thiraippAdal shortcut didn't work for me today and I ended up listening to the song at youtube
K S Ravikumar - who badmouthed IR during Tenali times - has atrociously picturized a song that could've been potentially made into a killer on-screen.
Personally, I feel SJ is irreplacable for such IR songs (had LRE been available and in her prime, could have been a possible still lesser alternative).

SL ellAm much below standard IMHO (mAsi mAsam included). KSC / Mano ellAm simply comedy in this aspect
Well, may be KSC is strongly a "chEchi" in my mind and will sound funny regardless of how she tries...may be my problem...