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RSSM.S.Visvanathan, Ilaiyaraja, A.R.Rahman – Tamil Film Music Trendsetters
The news that A.R.Rahman nominated for 3 Oscar awards is really a proud moment for all Tamils. While its just an International recognition, he have proved his talent right from the Roja (1992) itself. He has composed many brilliant songs all these years. This recognition actually should be given long time ago. Not only for A.R.Rahman, but also for his predecessors, M.S.Visvanathan and Ilaiyaraja.
It has always been a passion to compare musicians of different generations who have created a niche during their peak. I could easily pick as my subjects of discussion and dissection the three stalwarts of the last forty years in Tamil films. MS Viswanathan, the king of melody who believes in METER,MATTER and MELODY. Ilaiyaraja the master magician of folk and western symphonies. AR Rahman the technocrat whiz kid with a hand on the synthesizer and a heart on mellifluous music. All three were the BEST in their eras.
MS Vishwanathan is widely recognised as the pioneer in composing lilting melodies during his reign from 1960 – 1975 which were his best years giving memorable hits like Nilave ennidam nerungathe..(Film: Ramu), Engirindhalum Vazhga..(Film: Nenjil oru alayam), till Ragangal pathinaru…(Film:Thillu mullu) and so on composing music for than 700 films to date in all the south indian languages. His strength lay in simplifying the composition to bring out the inherent meaning in the lyrics which were mostly penned by his good friend and legend Kannadasan. By keeping a simple meter he scored matters with surgical ease and precision. And more than four decades hence we are still swaying from his hallucinating effect. He was also instrumental in recreating some foot tapping numbers which was a sign of the times and akin to the Beatles.
Ilaiyaraja who took the tinsel town by storm with Annaikili in 1975 brought back folk music to tamil cinema. He went on a composing spree between 1975 and 1990 scoring for more than 500 films in that period with hundreds of hits. By combining with the erstwhile SPB and S Janaki he composed mesmerising soulful music of a variety not heard before. He went on to compose a symphony with the London philharmonic orchestra which got him rave reviews. His uniqueness lay in writing the musical language for all the instruments and ensuring his team went about the task with ease. He blended folk – western – classical and produced music that pleased the fans and critics alike. He will be fore-ever remembered for songs like Annakiliye unnai theduthu …(Film:Annaikili),Ilamai ennum poongatru…(Film:Pagalil oru iravu), Nilave vaa…(Film:Mouna raagam) and so on… He has scored music for more than 700 films till date and is still going strong.
AR Rahman was a product of the times basking in the era of globalisation and the advent of satellite channels. The stakes were high,the music had to be different and Rahman cashed in BIG time. From composing jingles for ads to his first film Roja his was a tryst with destiny at the right time. He has not looked back since. His Roja had every composer in the country dreaming about making such compositions with some famous musicians in Bollywood stating they were unable to comprehend his musical sounds. So they preferred copying. From Chinna Chinna aasai…( Film:Roja) till the latest Slumdog Millionaire he has captivated the youth of this country like no one before him. He was instrumental in introducing a plethora of budding singers and also for bringing stalwarts in hindustani classical music like Hariharan to the tamil filmdom. The elite singers of today like Unnikrishnan,Sankar Mahadevan,Hariharan etc were introduced by ARR. Also ARR has brought international fame by scoring music for movies like Warriors of heaven and earth and Lord of the rings sequel and has been signed for the latest Shekar kapur film. A true international celebrity.
Asal - Full Movie
