Counting TFM hits of IR - now @1776 - year 1996 is WIP - poll for "rAman abdullA"

Also, around 1993 was the time period when there was a "paradigm shift" - of more and more stress on video (as cable TV and channels have started becoming very popular).

From that point of time, songs becoming hit simply with audio alone have started coming down drastically - i.e. for a while.

Nowadays, not many care for songs - either in audio or video form   Except some really huge budget masAlA movies (like Master) people don't care for songs in movies anymore. 

Covid has made sure that people watch Tamil movies much like how they watch English or Malayalam movies (with hardly any songs). So, hereafter, IMO, "musicals" only will have songs that become popular I think.

However, there's a separate audience / business model for songs - YT / Spotify etc - and these are not necessarily for "new film songs". Lot of interesting developments in the last couple of years!

The song "Sollivudu veLLi nilave" was a Radio-hit.  Since it is an un-picturized song, it was obviously not aired on TV.  "Enakku onna" could be Tier-3 hit; not sure.

With respect to the number of views on YouTube, until a couple of years ago, if you search for an IR song, it usually gave the one with the most number of views in the first 3 results, but nowadays, such songs are "hidden" from the users.  

The only way to bring them up and out, is to search and then sort using the "Filters" criterion "View count".  Then, magically, you will get those songs back!  You will be amazed to see how many IR songs have more than 25M+ views.  YouTube has also joined hands in eclipsing IR songs and their popularity!

Jukebox on IR-O:

Adding that one hit - for a humongous hit movie, it is a big irony that none of the songs that were picturized became hits but only a song without screen presence made it to the public

#1603 sollividu veLLi nilavE (SL-Mano duet, amaithippadai)
Very big personal favorite - what a lovely song! Of course in the wonderful voice of thangakkodi!

Moving on to the next poll - which is among the movies that had the irritating "chinna XXX" tiles - this one is jameen. I'm familiar with the IR song from this album

mAnamuLLa manushanga [ada yeththanai] [Title Song]	Mano / Chorus
nAn yAru yenakEthum theriyalaiyE	ilaiyaRaaja
oru manthArapoo vanthA manthiramA	Mano / K.S.Chithra
onappu thattu pullAkku vAngi tharrEn	Karthik [Actor] / Swarnalatha / Chorus
adi kummAng kuththu [adi vaNNaththi poo]	Mano / Swarnalatha / Chorus

Oru manthaarappoo, Naan yaaru and Onappu thattu were superhits.

Adi vannaathippoo and MaanamuLLa (Adi yethana; adore the delectable Ghatam rhythm in the prelude) are familiar numbers; not sure if they became as popular as the 3 songs mentioned above.

Overall, a good folk album.

Jukebox on IR-O:

Interesting to note that chinna jameen was a big hit in TN - though I was personally oblivious to it - as overwhelmingly confirmed by TN-ers. Especially on the rural side, it was a roaring success as per reports.

So adding 4 songs from this album

#1604 nAn yAru enakkEdhum theriyalaiyE (IR solo, chinna jameen)
Fun "flawsafy" song by IR

#1605 oru mandhArappoo vandha madhiramA (KSC-Mano duet, chnna jameen)
Sweet themmAngu duet in the typical #IR_Waltz fiormat, enjoyable!

#1606 onappu thattu bullAkku (SL with Karthik, chinna jameen)
Nice themmAngu in the golden voice of SL!

#1607 adi vaNNaththippoo pARaiyilE (SL-Mano with chorus, chinna jameen)
Another enjoyable themmAngu - especially the chorus portion - this song was reportedly a regular in rural buses!

Moving on to the next poll, for another "chinna" movie, this one for "chinnakkaNNammA" (I'm not familiar with this album at all)

kAdhal thEn kodukka koodAthA	Mano / S.Janaki
chinna chinna poongkodi	S.Janaki / Minmini
thAyillA piLLaiyondRu [chinna chinna]	Minmini
siththAdai thEnE sevvanthi poo rANi	Mano / Minmini
yenthan vAzhkkaiyin artham solla	Mano

Endhan vaazhkaiyin was a superhit number, followed by Chinna chinna poongodi and Kaadhal thaen which were moderate hits.

Jukebox on IR-O:

AhA - I myself had that "endhan vAzhkkaiyin artham solla" in one of those many CD collections handed over by somebody (from whom I cannot remember).

So, bonafide hit - also confirmed by many on twitter - let me add that to our list

#1608 endhan vAzhkkaiyin artham solla (Mano solo, chinnakkaNNammA)
Though not a big personal favorite, this song does have some charm. Panju was the pAdal Asiriyar as per Anbu sir's spreadsheet!

Moving on to the next album, another "chinna" one - this is thaLabathi suffix.

Anbu sir has sent me message on this album, in advance

For the TFM hits documentation, Chinna Thalapathy (1993) is the Thamizh dubbing of Telugu film Repati Rowdy (1993) Starring Rahman and Amni directed by K.Vasu.
Piraisoodan is the lyricist for all the songs of Chinna Thalapathy. This information was missing from my original spreadsheet.

So, TN people please confirm if any of these were popular in TN!

appappA athE vizhA S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra
yen uyirin sonthamadA kaNNA kaNNA S.P.Balasubramaniam
jum jum jum jujum oiyAri S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra
mAmanE kaNNai vai K.S.Chithra / Chorus
suthanthiram suthanthiram Mano / Chorus
uthiram uthiram [indRu yEn] K.S.Chithra / Chorus

Totally unheard in Tamilnadu because of 2 reasons: 1. A Telugu original album dubbed in Tamil 2. Absolutely no promotion at all.

Here is the Telugu audio jukebox on Mio: https://mio.to/album/Repati+Rowdy+%281993%29 

Yet another dubbed movie with no hits - pass.

The next one is also a "chinna" move - chinna thEvan. Not familiar to me :

 

chithirakiLi pakkam irukku	Swarnalatha	Vaali
ada yethirtha veettu anjugathai	Malaysia Vasudevan / Saibaba / Chorus	Piraisoodan
KuRRAla kARRukku maththALam yEthukku	Malaysia Vasudevan / Minmini	Vaali
peththu pOtta annaiyum uNdu	Malaysia Vasudevan	Vaali
koththumaNi muththumaNi thottavudan kottum maNi	Minmini	Muthulingam
oorukkoru kAval dheivamE [yenga kuladeivamE]	Malaysia Vasudevan / Minmini / Chorus	Vaali

Sithira kiLi and Kuthaala kaathukku were moderate hits.  Kothumani was a familiar number and might not be a hit.

Album Jukebox:

All songs are first time listen for me from chinna dEvan - also, many opinions from TN-ers are not very enthusiastic. Of course, the song "chithirakkiLi" sounds very nice, excellent melody and sweet singing. We need to let this album pass - with no additions to our list

The next one should have hits - "dharma seelan" - though "anbE vA anbennum veNbA" reached me only in the internet era (or thru someone's CD collection), it is such a sensational song! However, TN-ers are the true judge in the poll

kiNNAram kiNNAram kEtkuthu kEtkuthu[Title Song]	S.P.Balasubramaniam
yengumuLLa allAh pErai sollu nallA	S.P.Balasubramaniam / Nahoor Hanifa
thendRal varum munnE munnE	Arunmozhi / Minmini
iruppathai yEn maRaithu vaithAi ANdavA	Mano
anbE vA anbennum veNpA sonnEn vA	Mano / Swarnalatha
aiyA ithai meiyA namba thagumA	Sunandha / Chorus
Ada sonnAl AduvEn	K.S.Chithra

app_engine wrote:
The next one should have hits - "dharma seelan" - though "anbE vA anbennum veNbA" reached me only in the internet era (or thru someone's CD collection), it is such a sensational song! However, TN-ers are the true judge in the poll

I was frantically searching for the poll thinking my eyesight failed me!

Anyway, Anbe vaa, Yengumulla allah (oh the mighty vocals of Nagore Hanifa!) and Thendral varum were superhit numbers.  KiNNaaram and Aada chonnaal were moderate hits.

Here is the Album Jukebox on IR-O:

app_engine wrote:All songs are first time listen for me from chinna dEvan - also, many opinions from TN-ers are not very enthusiastic. Of course, the song "chithirakkiLi" sounds very nice, excellent melody and sweet singing. We need to let this album pass - with no additions to our list

Recently heard chithirakkiLi - such an emotional song, esp. the interludes and the first part of the charanams.

BC wrote:
I was frantically searching for the poll thinking my eyesight failed me!

Missed it - added now, but by this time most people responded

Adding 4 hits from dharma seelan, as voted by TN-ers :

#1609 kinnAram kinnAram (SPB solo, dharma seelan)
I wasn't familiar with this when documenting the IR-SPB hits series in tfmpage. TN-ers, however, confirm that this was a moderate hit

#1610 engumuLLa allA (Nahoor Hanifa / SPB duet, dharma seelan)
Another song that I wasn't familiar with during those times of tfmpage - however, this appears to be a huge hit - going by the responses of TN-ers (also YT views)

#1611 thenRal varum munnE munnE (Minmini - Arunmozhi duet, dharma seelan)
Sweet song, first time listen for me

#1612 anbE vA anbennum veNbA (SL-Mano duet, dharma seelan)
I got acquainted with this fantastic number only in the new millennium - but, what a song!

Moving on to the next album - that needs a poll too, though I was familiar with some songs at the time of release itself

enga mudhalALi

bhoomikkum sAmikkum [pANdiyanAr seemaiyilE] [Title Song]	Mano / K.S.Chithra / Chorus
kungumam manjaLukku indRuthAn nalla nAl	K.J.Yesudas / S.Janaki / Chorus
marumagaLE marumagaLE yenga veettu marumagaLE	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra / Chorus
kolli malai sAralilE koothal kARRu veesaiyilE	Mano / Swarnalatha
mahathAna uRavugaLai manathAra nambiyathu	S.P.Balasubramaniam

Kungumam manjaLukku and MarumagaLe are superhits; Boomikkum saamikkum is a moderate hit.

Album Jukebox on IR-O:

Adding 4 hits from that album for a Vijaykanth movie.

#1613 boomikkum sAmikkum (KSC-Mano with chorus, enga mudhalALi)
Possibly a crowd song in the movie, with a lot of enthu

#1614 kungumam manjaLukku inRu dhAn nalla nAL (SJ-KJY duet, enga mudhalALi)
Nice song but for some reason I could not listen to this in repeat (possibly SJ sounds aged)

#1615 marumagaLE marumagaLE (KSC-SPB duet, enga mudhalALi)
What a lovely song! With the typical #IR_Waltz themmAngu mettu and sounds. And some awesome vocals!

#1616 kolli malai chAralilE (SL-Mano duet, enga mudhalALi)
When some suggested in twitter, I wasn't sure - but there are multiple versions of this song with millions of views on YT - possibly reached masses then (and definitely in the internet era).

Moving on to the next album, "I love India" - that had lot of advertisement those days...

Adi varum pallAkku	S.Janaki / Chorus
yengirunthO yennai azhaithathenna	S.P.Balasubramaniam / S.Janaki / Chorus
pAsam vaiththa mullai ondRai	ilaiyaRaaja
kuRukku pAthaiyilE maRichu vazhiyil niRkkum	S.P.Balasubramaniam / Minmini / Chorus
kARRu poovai pArthu kooRAthO I love you	S.P.Balasubramaniam / Minmini / Chorus

Almost a superhit album, with the exception of Paasam vaitha.  Though the song Kaatru poovai was un-picturized, it was a popular song back then.

Album is available on Mio, Gaana and Spotify.

Per most people, 3 songs were super hits from this album (like I mentioned, this was one IR album that got advertised a lot in 90's - unlike his previous albums that needed no promotion to sell).

Also, this was the era of "picturizations with lot of expense" only could make for multiple TV promotions  

So, music was slowly taking back seat...I can go on complaining but those are now history anyways:)

#1617 Adi varum pallAkku (SJ with chorus, I love India)
Super hit song with some tribal rhythm concoction and such - despite the positives, for some reason I don't have the patience to listen the whole song (unless it was played on me as involuntary listen)...something lacking

#1618 engirundhO ennai azhaiththadhenna (SJ-SPB duet, I love India)
This song is also certified by TN-ers to be a super hit (though I've heard this only in recent times and did not cover in the IR-SPB series of tfmpage)

#1619 kuRukku pAthaiyilE (Minmini-SPB with chorus, I love India)
Another super hit as per TN-ers but never reached me before

Left out the melodious kAtru poovai song - interestingly, I've definitely heard this in 90's somewhere (may be tea stalls or buses) but never realized it was an IR song

Next poll for the dubbed album "iLam nenjE vA" (never heard any of the songs before). 

Anbu sir informed me the original - "Tholi muddu" (Telugu)

chittu kuruviyai pOl reNdu rakkaikaL kattikkuvOm	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra
vAzhvA maraNamA peNmai sAbamA	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra
muttai kOzhi hEy hEy pottai kOzhi	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra / Chorus
ini velvathu nAm ini velvathu nAm	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra / Chorus
ithu bombayi poNNu dOi	S.P.Balasubramaniam / Chorus
oru muththam oru muththam	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra

An exception here: Only the song "Sittu kuruviyai pol" was a hit, often played more on Radio than Television.  Other than that, the rest were unknown, but of course it is a superhit album in Tollywood.

Telugu Album:



The popular Tamil song:

Interesting, Sanjeevi also confirmed that dubbed song to be a hit in TN - let's add this to our list.

#1620 chiitukkuruviyaippOl reNdu rekkaigaL (KSC-SPB duet, iLam nenjE vA)
Song sounds sweet, typical #IR_Waltz themmAngu!

Next one is a dubbed movie as well, this one from the same name in Malayalam - Mammootty as hero, jackpot.

I love the AkAsham song in misra nadai. Let us ask TN-ers how this fared in TN :

AgAyam bhoolOgam yengEyum un kOlam	S.P.Balasubramaniam / K.S.Chithra
muththu muththu pOtti pOttu [dheemthanakku dheemthanakku]	S.P.Balasubramaniam / Swarnalatha / Chorus
hEy kuRumbukAra Attam suthanthira nAttam	Sunandha / Chorus
yennenna Asai nee yennai kEttukO	Sunandha / Chorus
ithu kAdhal nenjam kavithai pAdum nEram	K.S.Chithra
kaNNA kaNNA unnaithAnE nAn thEduREn	K.S.Chithra

Absolutely unheard in TN.  Hit album in Mollywood.

Tamil version is on Mio: https://mio.to/album/Jackpot+%281993%29+-+Tamil 

Malayalam Original Jukebox:

So, "pass" for jackpot. Of course, AkAsham is such a fantastic number - however, I didn't like it's TN version - though it says KSC, the female voice sounds like someone else

Next album "kAthirukka nEramillai" needs a poll - I have no idea this existed all those years until internet happened

Recently I captured lyrics for a number of songs from this album for the Pulamaipithan thread - otherwise was not familiar with most of them.

Let us see what TN-ers think :

nilavai nilavai ippO nee pudikkum nEram	Mano / Minmini / Chorus
yE machchi machchi iyaru kadai bajji	Mano / S.N.Surendar / Sundarajan / Chorus
thuLiyO thuLi muththu thuLi	K..S.Chithra
Oh... kasthuri mAnE mAnE	ilaiyaRaaja
kAttiloru kAdaikku nAn kaNNi vachchEn	Mano / S.N.Surendar / Sundarajan / Chorus
vA kAthirukka nEramillai	S.P.Balasubramaniam / S.Janaki

Vaa kaathirukka neramillai, Hey machchi machchi and Nilava nilava are superhits.  ThuLiyo thuLi is a moderate hit.

Album Jukebox:

Oh.. Kasturi Maane Maane was also a moderate hit..  A beautiful short melody with IR's haunting voice..

Thulio Thuli is such a lovely melody with a catchy rhythm thru out the song.  Mystery why this was not a hit..!