It’s that thing we now call Balu Mahendra-esque. Many people point to ‘Valayosai’ from Sathya as the definitive song sequence that shows a couple casually being in love. Just what was I thinking when I began this foolhardy exercise?Īnyway, back to Rajapaarvai and ‘Andhi mazhai’. Speaking of which, that film had ‘Vaazha vaikkum kaadhalukku jai’ and ‘Unna nenachen’ and ‘Pudhu maapillaikku’ and ‘Raja kaiya vacha’… Another all-hit album. I don’t wish to downplay the contributions of the director, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, or any of the others - but look at ‘Andhi mazhai pozhigiradhu’, and you get the visual of a sketch/portrait transforming into a real-life scene, like we’d see some years later in the ‘Annaatha aaduraar’ song sequence in Aboorva Sagotharargal (also by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao). (That his other phases also have such a stupendous output is merely proof of why the man’s such a phenomenon.) And (2), it’s also, to my mind, the first time Kamal-ism crept into the Ilaiyaraaja-ism, which makes the film/album important in a historic sense. Why? (1) Because it’s from my favourite Ilaiyaraaja phase, the late-70s to the mid-80s. It’s about the sanctity of this relationship, which is not just “manidha kaadhal” but “adhaiyum thaandi punidhamaanadhu”.īut the film/album I finally settled on as the GREATEST of the duo is Rajapaarvai (1981). Here, it’s about the couple being sequestered in a cave, away from the world, like a modern-day Adam and Eve. When the same letter-writing idea was used in RD Burman’s beyond-exquisite ‘Gum hai kisi ke pyaar mein’ ( Rampur Ka Lakshman), it was just an innocent man asking the woman he loves to pen down his thoughts in words. Finally, we have the smash-hit ‘Kanmani anbodu’. ‘Endha Gangai aatril / indha azhukku pogum’? The lyrics set up both the “filth” Kamal imagines himself covered with, and the suggestion of salvation. Then, there’s the soul-piercing ‘Appanendrum’, which, like ‘Unnai naan ariven’, takes on a tour of a milieu: this time, it’s a mental asylum. It’s like Shiva has found his Parvati, which is actually how the song picturisation ends.
Apart from ‘Unnai naan ariven’, the film has ‘Paartha vizhi’, during which Kamal sets eyes on the “Abirami” he’s been wanting all his life - the divinity of the music is reflected in the divine ecstasy on Kamal’s face. Why, the “greatest” could be Guna itself! All the songs are based on a major conceit. (Many of their songs are more about Kamal’s genius as a dancer, which, also, is quite something when taken on its own.)Īnd that narrowed it down. That’s what I settled on as my definition of greatness, something that becomes more than a number to listen to, something that’s transformed to a whole new level when seen, something that’s equally about Ilaiyaraaja’s genius as a musician as Kamal’s genius as an actor or writer. It’s a mix of all kinds of love - romantic love, carnal love, maternal love. It starts with one set of characters (Kamal, Rekha), then takes us on a whirlwind tour of the milieu (a brothel and its surroundings), and ends with another set of characters (Kamal, S Varalakshmi). When I say cinematically, I mean something like ‘Unnai naan ariven’, from Guna, which is not just a magnificent song, but a song whose magnificence is enhanced by how it is used on screen. But on screen, they are just… duet-like numbers. Again, Sigappu Rojakkal is a great album, no doubt, with ‘Ninaivo oru paravai’ and ‘Indha minminikku’ - from what I consider Ilaiyaraaja’s greatest, most stylish period. (For a “great” beatsy, quasi- kuthu paattu combination from this actor and music director, I’d go with ‘Marugo marugo’, from Vetri Vizha.) So after several hours spent on such highly unscientific methodologies, I decided that I would have to approach this exercise cinematically as well. This is a fun song, but I wouldn’t label it “great”.
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