Just as we thought that moustache was passé in Bollywood, it is making a comeback through cops in films. Whether Salman Khan’s moustache contributed to the box office triumph of Dabang is debatable. But what cannot be denied is that it gave altogether different look to the superstar. A moustached Ajay Devgan also reaped success in Singham . Now Aamir Khan is all set to woo the audience as a cop flaunting a moustache in Talaash.
In between Abhishek Bachchan in Dum Maro Dum and John Abraham in the remake of Khaka Khaka kept moustaches to project a tough look. Either it is cop or just a ordinary man like Sharuk Khan in Rab Ne Dana Di Jodi or Saif Ali Khan in Arakshan. Shahid Kapoor sported one for his role as pilot in Mausam as well. The sudden craze for moustaches on screen is surprising. One wonders whether Salman Khan revived the moustache trend. Will we see more actors showing off their moustaches in real life? Now very few like Abhishek Bachchan has some faith in the hair on the upper lip though he often combines it with a stubble.
South Indian films, particularly Mollywood, where majority of actors still grow it, may be an exception. I think that the faces of south Indian heroes are so structured that they look better with moustaches. I’m leaving out newcomers some of whom like Surya or Prithviraj, for instance, look good with or without it.
Time was when moustache had power in films. A comedian, adventurer, romantic hero, ruthless villain – all took pride in sporting moustache in Hollywood. Imagine Charlie Chaplin without his trademark toothbrush moustache or Peter Sellers minus moustache as inspector Clouseau in Pink Panther.
Clark Gable as Rhett Butler with his dapper moustache swept Vivien Leigh off her feet in Gone With The Wind. Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and David Niven were moustached swashbucklers in many films. Yes, moustache was so cool in the golden era of Hollywood that most leading men kept it off screen too.
Till the fag end of twentieth century every decade had a popular hero in Hindi films sporting a moustache. The producer or director did not ask them to shave it off. In the fifties Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt and Pradeep Kumar courted heroines with a moustache. The trend continued in the sixties with Kishore Kumar, Raj Kumar. When the angry young man blazed the screen, moustached Shatrughan Sinha, Randhir Kapoor and Rakesh Roshan tried to be different. Moustaches were hot with Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Raj Kiran going for the hirsute appeal in the eighties. Interestingly, most villains had moustaches over the years. A few like Suresh Oberoi and Kiran Kumar did keep their moustaches when not under the arc lights
But once the nineties started, it seems, moustache lost its charm. Cute faced chocolate heroes began flooding the screens. Clean shaven looks were trendy. In this age of metrosexuals, moustache is no longer macho. Stubble is in vogue. Off screen craze for clean shaven look gets reflected in the screen as well.
In Hollywood, moustache tradition continues through black actors now. The white actors rarely go for it now unless the character demands it. In the early days, two of the greatest stars -Clark Gable and Errol Flynn- had permanent moustaches that really defined their screen appeal. Carrying on from them, Omar Sharif, Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck enhanced the macho pull of the moustaches.
Omar hails from Egypt and cannot be categorized as a white actor. Unlike in Hollywood, the films in Asia and in parts of Europe encouraged men with whiskers. Many Iranian and Mexican actors have moustaches. Italian Franco Nero with macho moustache and blue eyes acted in some popular action movies in English. Rugged Charles Bronson, hawk eyed Lee Van Cleef and action hereo Chuck Norris did not shave their moustaches for acting.
Among the present lot Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling of The Notebook fame and veteran actor Gene Hackman prefer moustached visages. Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, Samuel Jackson and Eddie Murphy, all black actors, have developed a fondness for moustaches. They sometimes grow beard too. Anyway, they keep the interest in moustaches alive.
Amid chiseled faces with firm jaw lines, a well maintained moustache brings in variety and perks up the interest of the audience. Robert Redford and Paul Newman never lost their charm when they grew moustaches for specific roles. In fact it only added to their appeal.
Here’s wishing three cheers to moustaches
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Revival of Female Solos
Are Malayalam films witnessing a rebirth of female solos through Shreyal Ghosal ? It appears so. We are getting good solo songs by female playback singers these days. And most of them are by Shreya.
For a long time one had felt that music composers had forgotten that women too can sing solos. Or may be the hero-oriented films didn’t have such situations. So it was male solos, duets or group songs and rarely ladies got a chance to croon in films in the last few years. I should say it is no different in Hindi movies
This has been most evident since the year 2000. Just jog your memory and count how many stand out female solos from last decade can you remember? The ones that easily come to mind are the couple by Chitra from the movie `Nandanam’ tuned by the late Ravindran.
It was not like this in Malyalam films. Right from the sixties, P Leela, S Janaki, P Susheela, Madhuri and Vani Jayaram had given us countless memorable solo melodies that have become classics. Curiously, only P Leela among these was a Malayali. In the eighties, the baton was passed on to K S Chitra and later to Sujata. After that there has been a drought.
Not that we don’t have good singers. The likes of Manjari, Gayathri and promising Shweta are comparable with the best in music business. Chitra and Sujata are still capable of rendering good songs. Yet, music composers are reluctant to make them sing solo numbers often. In the eighties and nineties, their singing skills were tested by the difficult songs composed by Ravindran, Johnson, Bombay Ravi, Vidyasagar etc.
In the last couple of years, the arrival of Shreya Ghosal to Malayalam films seems to have restored confidence in music directors to go for female solos. I think the song `Chanthu thottille’ from movie Benaras was the turning point. M Jayachandran has been consistently using Shreya’s voice and now other music composers too have taken a liking for her voice. May be her success in Hindi and other languages influenced the thoughts of music composers here. Her popularity has soared after her songs in Anwar. Last year she sang good solos in Rathinirvedam, Pranayam, Salt and Pepper and Veerputhran.
My earnest hope is that Shreya’s success will rub off on other singers as well. If it happens, then the golden age of female solos will once again return.
For a long time one had felt that music composers had forgotten that women too can sing solos. Or may be the hero-oriented films didn’t have such situations. So it was male solos, duets or group songs and rarely ladies got a chance to croon in films in the last few years. I should say it is no different in Hindi movies
This has been most evident since the year 2000. Just jog your memory and count how many stand out female solos from last decade can you remember? The ones that easily come to mind are the couple by Chitra from the movie `Nandanam’ tuned by the late Ravindran.
It was not like this in Malyalam films. Right from the sixties, P Leela, S Janaki, P Susheela, Madhuri and Vani Jayaram had given us countless memorable solo melodies that have become classics. Curiously, only P Leela among these was a Malayali. In the eighties, the baton was passed on to K S Chitra and later to Sujata. After that there has been a drought.
Not that we don’t have good singers. The likes of Manjari, Gayathri and promising Shweta are comparable with the best in music business. Chitra and Sujata are still capable of rendering good songs. Yet, music composers are reluctant to make them sing solo numbers often. In the eighties and nineties, their singing skills were tested by the difficult songs composed by Ravindran, Johnson, Bombay Ravi, Vidyasagar etc.
In the last couple of years, the arrival of Shreya Ghosal to Malayalam films seems to have restored confidence in music directors to go for female solos. I think the song `Chanthu thottille’ from movie Benaras was the turning point. M Jayachandran has been consistently using Shreya’s voice and now other music composers too have taken a liking for her voice. May be her success in Hindi and other languages influenced the thoughts of music composers here. Her popularity has soared after her songs in Anwar. Last year she sang good solos in Rathinirvedam, Pranayam, Salt and Pepper and Veerputhran.
My earnest hope is that Shreya’s success will rub off on other singers as well. If it happens, then the golden age of female solos will once again return.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
To Sing or Not to Sing
To stop performing is akin to death for most artistes who have enjoyed the thrill of public attention. There is no retirement age for them like other employed persons. Unmindful of their advancing age they trudge along churning out bad performances, testing the patience of the public. Instead of leaving the people cherished memories of their beautiful performances, these artistes become objects of pity for their lacklustre attempts to stretch their popularity.
This is truer in the case of actors and singers. We see older actors enacting a role that dosen’t suit them, so confident of their ability that they can pull it off. But this invites derision instead of appreciation from the discerning public. Sometimes it gets to a point that even their diehard fans find it difficult to tolerate them.
I would like to focus on some film playback singers who have had their career extended by insistent music directors despite age clearly telling on their voice. Lucky are the singers who died at the peak of their career. One can add great singers like Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Saigal etc to this list. Both Rafi and Kishore died in their late fifties at a time when their singing ability was waning.
Once a singer is past 60, it is tough to maintain a young voice even if he or she follows a disciplined life. Unlike film singers, classical music singers mellow with age. But they too are not free from the travails of old age.
When talking about singers, let me take the example of the legendary Lata Mangeshkar first. Music critics say her best songs came in the 1950s and 1960s. No argument there. But many of her songs from 1970s to early 80s are pleasurably listenable. But as 80s advanced, her protégés Lakshmikant Pyarelal made her sing for most of their films. Ok she was tolerable during that phase. Personally, I feel she should have stopped singing for young heroines once she crossed 60 years in 1989. To me her last good song perhaps would be in Rudaali in 1992.
In the 90s, her already thin voice got more delicate. She sounded jarring to me whether it was the films DDLJ, HAHK or several A R Rahman compositions. Thankfully she cut short her singing assignments in films with age catching up with her voice. It is reported that she refused to sing for Salil Chaudhary in the 90s knowing well that at her age she wouldn’t be able to do full justice to his songs. A right decision indeed. We still can feast on and enjoy the memorable melodies that she sang for Salilda earlier
What happened to Lataji is happening to K J Yesudas. By late1990s, his voice began to sound tired and strained. Yet his voice had the magic to keep the listeners in thrall. Mind you, this singer had looked after his voice well avoiding anything that would affect his singing ability. But apart from age, his busy schedule began to take a toll on his voice. After 2000, the strain in his voice has got more prominent. Now the quaver in his voice is more noticeable.
But this did not matter to the music composer Raveendran, who gave several splendid songs to Yesudas during nineties. He kept squeezing the even the last drop of Yesudas’s voice by making him sing some tough numbers. He tested the aging Yesudas’s voice to its limit. Music composers still have faith in him to carry a song though he is clearly past his best. He still wins awards justifying the confidence of music directors in him. He is helped by the fact that many emerging singers try to blindly imitate him without bothering to establish their identity. Few like M G Sreekumar, Venugopal, who have attempted to carve a niche of their own, have succeeded.
Another case of extended career of a singer is S Janaki. She was, along with P Susheela, much sought after singer in the south Indian film industry in the 1960s and 1970s. I feel the texture of her voice changed from the mid 1980s. Malayalam film industry did not have to suffer much from her older voice because of the emergence of a fresh talented singer K S Chithra. After delivering some classic songs for music directors Ravindran and Johnson in the eighties she gradually faded away.
But Ilayaraja continued to use her voice for his Tamil songs. Lot of what she sang towards late 1980s in Tamil are eminently forgettable. The songs of Janaki for Ilayaraja that linger in your mind are still the Annakili and 16 Vayathinile songs which were composed in 1970s. In Malayalam if you are asked to select her ten best songs, at least half of it will be the ones she sang for Baburaj in 1960s, when her voice was so fresh.
This is truer in the case of actors and singers. We see older actors enacting a role that dosen’t suit them, so confident of their ability that they can pull it off. But this invites derision instead of appreciation from the discerning public. Sometimes it gets to a point that even their diehard fans find it difficult to tolerate them.
I would like to focus on some film playback singers who have had their career extended by insistent music directors despite age clearly telling on their voice. Lucky are the singers who died at the peak of their career. One can add great singers like Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Saigal etc to this list. Both Rafi and Kishore died in their late fifties at a time when their singing ability was waning.
Once a singer is past 60, it is tough to maintain a young voice even if he or she follows a disciplined life. Unlike film singers, classical music singers mellow with age. But they too are not free from the travails of old age.
When talking about singers, let me take the example of the legendary Lata Mangeshkar first. Music critics say her best songs came in the 1950s and 1960s. No argument there. But many of her songs from 1970s to early 80s are pleasurably listenable. But as 80s advanced, her protégés Lakshmikant Pyarelal made her sing for most of their films. Ok she was tolerable during that phase. Personally, I feel she should have stopped singing for young heroines once she crossed 60 years in 1989. To me her last good song perhaps would be in Rudaali in 1992.
In the 90s, her already thin voice got more delicate. She sounded jarring to me whether it was the films DDLJ, HAHK or several A R Rahman compositions. Thankfully she cut short her singing assignments in films with age catching up with her voice. It is reported that she refused to sing for Salil Chaudhary in the 90s knowing well that at her age she wouldn’t be able to do full justice to his songs. A right decision indeed. We still can feast on and enjoy the memorable melodies that she sang for Salilda earlier
What happened to Lataji is happening to K J Yesudas. By late1990s, his voice began to sound tired and strained. Yet his voice had the magic to keep the listeners in thrall. Mind you, this singer had looked after his voice well avoiding anything that would affect his singing ability. But apart from age, his busy schedule began to take a toll on his voice. After 2000, the strain in his voice has got more prominent. Now the quaver in his voice is more noticeable.
But this did not matter to the music composer Raveendran, who gave several splendid songs to Yesudas during nineties. He kept squeezing the even the last drop of Yesudas’s voice by making him sing some tough numbers. He tested the aging Yesudas’s voice to its limit. Music composers still have faith in him to carry a song though he is clearly past his best. He still wins awards justifying the confidence of music directors in him. He is helped by the fact that many emerging singers try to blindly imitate him without bothering to establish their identity. Few like M G Sreekumar, Venugopal, who have attempted to carve a niche of their own, have succeeded.
Another case of extended career of a singer is S Janaki. She was, along with P Susheela, much sought after singer in the south Indian film industry in the 1960s and 1970s. I feel the texture of her voice changed from the mid 1980s. Malayalam film industry did not have to suffer much from her older voice because of the emergence of a fresh talented singer K S Chithra. After delivering some classic songs for music directors Ravindran and Johnson in the eighties she gradually faded away.
But Ilayaraja continued to use her voice for his Tamil songs. Lot of what she sang towards late 1980s in Tamil are eminently forgettable. The songs of Janaki for Ilayaraja that linger in your mind are still the Annakili and 16 Vayathinile songs which were composed in 1970s. In Malayalam if you are asked to select her ten best songs, at least half of it will be the ones she sang for Baburaj in 1960s, when her voice was so fresh.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
A Tribute to Johnson
When I heard about the death of music composer Johnson, I was reminded of Beatle George Harrison song `while my guitar gently weeps’. In the last few years before his death Johnson never appeared in TV channels without a guitar strung around his neck. Now that guitar must be mourning and strumming a dirge in memory of its master
Johnson Master as he was known, had an air of haughtiness in his speech and mannerisms, perhaps something he inherited from his guru Devarajan. He never bowed to anyone’s wishes and hated the film industry though he was a part of it. Devarajan was a stickler for perfection and never compromised on his music. Moulded by him Johnson turned out to be an ideal pupil supremely confident of his ability.
Taking a leaf out of Devarajan school of music, Johnson kept his tunes simple; enriching and embellishing the lyrics making it more beautiful. Many of his songs have a folksy, rustic and nostalgic touch evoking romance, pain, happiness or devotion jelling well with films having stories with rural backdrop. Establishing an identity was not difficult for such a talented musician. One could easily identify a Johnson song by listening to it. Late music composer Ravindran had once said that establishing an identity was a hallmark of a good composer.
His music highlighted the words often making average lyrics look brilliant. Remarkably, he did this after composing the tune first and then getting the lyrics written for it for most of the songs. Amazingly, Johnson did not have formal training in classical music. Yet, his proficiency in tuning semi-classical numbers was no less than his illustrious predecessors like Dakshinamurthy, Devarajan, M K Arjunan or his contemporary Ravindran. His fondness for raga Kalyani is well known. He has composed some excellent tracks in his favourite raga. Mohanam raga was close to the heart of his mentor Devarajan.
His ability went beyond setting tunes for songs to composing background music for films making him a total musician. That he has won national awards for scoring the background music shows the prodigious talent of this man. Before the advent of Johnson, film background music was cacophonous to the extent of spoiling the enjoyment of the whole movie. Johnson changed that ushering in a new trend where silence was given its due in films
I think no other music director has encouraged upcoming singers like Johnson did. M G Sreekumar, Venugopal , Sujatha, K G Markose, Minmini all had their bright moments in their career with Johnson. Just listen to the little gem `Eee thennalum’ from not very popular film Nee Varuvolam. It is sung by Daleema. Johnson had this knack of getting the best out of young talented singers even while churning out classics with established singers like Yesudas, Janaki or Chithra
One singer missing from his best songs list is surprisingly Jayachandran, who incidentally sang Johnson’s first song in films. At the start of his career, he made Jayachandran, arguably the best singer after Yesudas in Malayalam, sing some good numbers like `Kuru Nirayo’, `Moham Kondu Njan’ but they cannot be classified as great. Jayachandran again sang for Johnason, but the songs largely went unnoticed. Late in his career Jaychandran sang `Onnu Thodan Ullil’ in Yathrakkarude Sraddakku, which despite being a good attempt did not outlive the movie
He composed `Devi Atmaraagam’ in the film Njan Gandharvan in Miyan Ki Malhar raag, perhaps as a tribute to Devarajan under whose baton was born the classic song `Innenikku Pottukutham’ in the same raag. Just have a look at his semi-classsical repertoire:
`Nanda Suthavara’ in Sree raag from the film Parvathy
`Shivashaila Sringamam’ in Shanmugapriya from Kilukilukkam,
Arunakiranamani in Panthuvarali from Naseema,
`Mayamayooram’ in Pahadi from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram,
Devanganangal in Kalyani and Puriya Dhanasri from Njan Gandharvan,
`Neela Ravil’ in Sree and
`Parthasarathim’ in Chakravaakam from Kudumbasametham,
`Brahmakamalam’ in Malayamaarutham from Savidham,
`Sree Rama Namam’ in Naatta from Naarayam,
`Gopala Hridayam’ in Abheri and `Kalyanasaukandhikam’ in Madhyamavathi from
Kalyanasaukandhikam
`Paada Smarana Sukham’ in Lathangi from Sallapam,
`Aadyamay Kanda Naal’ in Vrindavana Saranga ,
Parvathy Manohari in Kamboji
`Sindooram Peythirangi’ in Rasikaranjani from Thooval Kottaram,
`Kaarvarnane Kando Sakhi’ in Desh from Oral Mathram
Johnson was lucky to have worked with many leading directors in their best films. He composed music for Bharathan, Padmarajan, Sathyan Anthikad, Siby Malayil and Kamal, Mohan- all directors known for making good entertainers imbibing the qualities of commercial and parallel films. He leaves behind a rich legacy of songs which are likely to enthrall generations to come.
I now proceed to the difficult task of selecting his best songs as it occurs to me. They are not in any particular order.
`Aadiva Kaatte’ from Koodevide ( I prefer this song over two other great songs `Swarnamukile’ and `Gopike’ by Janaki simply for its brilliant orchestration. No wonder it proved to be a turning point in his career)
Nanda Suthavara from Parvathy ( Somehow. I prefer this little gem sung by Vani Jayaram over the equally good `Etho Janma Kalpanayil’by the same singer)
`Devi Atmaragamo’, Devaganangal’ and `Palapoove’ all from Njan Gandharvan ( Probably, Johnson’s best effort)
Mayamayooram from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram ( This is my personal selection of M G Sreekumar’s song for Johnson. The popular choice will be `Kaneerpoovinte’ which conveys pathos so touchingly)
Melle Melle from Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam ( Tune, lyrics and Yesudas’s rendering combine to make it unforgettable)
Mynakaponmudiyil from Mazhavilkavadi ( Venugopal has sung several beautiful numbers like `Thaane Poovitta’ and `Poothalam’ for Johnson)
Shyamambaram from Artham (Another remarkable effort of orchestration lifting the song to great heights by giving it a melodious touch)
Rajahamse from Chamayam ( A classic from Chithra for Johnson in raag Hindolam)
Padasmaranasukham from Sallapam (Marvellous number in a rare raag Latangi. `Brahmakamalam’ is another contender for the spot)
These are just a few gems from hundreds of songs he has left for posterity. Truly an inspirational musician.
Johnson Master as he was known, had an air of haughtiness in his speech and mannerisms, perhaps something he inherited from his guru Devarajan. He never bowed to anyone’s wishes and hated the film industry though he was a part of it. Devarajan was a stickler for perfection and never compromised on his music. Moulded by him Johnson turned out to be an ideal pupil supremely confident of his ability.
Taking a leaf out of Devarajan school of music, Johnson kept his tunes simple; enriching and embellishing the lyrics making it more beautiful. Many of his songs have a folksy, rustic and nostalgic touch evoking romance, pain, happiness or devotion jelling well with films having stories with rural backdrop. Establishing an identity was not difficult for such a talented musician. One could easily identify a Johnson song by listening to it. Late music composer Ravindran had once said that establishing an identity was a hallmark of a good composer.
His music highlighted the words often making average lyrics look brilliant. Remarkably, he did this after composing the tune first and then getting the lyrics written for it for most of the songs. Amazingly, Johnson did not have formal training in classical music. Yet, his proficiency in tuning semi-classical numbers was no less than his illustrious predecessors like Dakshinamurthy, Devarajan, M K Arjunan or his contemporary Ravindran. His fondness for raga Kalyani is well known. He has composed some excellent tracks in his favourite raga. Mohanam raga was close to the heart of his mentor Devarajan.
His ability went beyond setting tunes for songs to composing background music for films making him a total musician. That he has won national awards for scoring the background music shows the prodigious talent of this man. Before the advent of Johnson, film background music was cacophonous to the extent of spoiling the enjoyment of the whole movie. Johnson changed that ushering in a new trend where silence was given its due in films
I think no other music director has encouraged upcoming singers like Johnson did. M G Sreekumar, Venugopal , Sujatha, K G Markose, Minmini all had their bright moments in their career with Johnson. Just listen to the little gem `Eee thennalum’ from not very popular film Nee Varuvolam. It is sung by Daleema. Johnson had this knack of getting the best out of young talented singers even while churning out classics with established singers like Yesudas, Janaki or Chithra
One singer missing from his best songs list is surprisingly Jayachandran, who incidentally sang Johnson’s first song in films. At the start of his career, he made Jayachandran, arguably the best singer after Yesudas in Malayalam, sing some good numbers like `Kuru Nirayo’, `Moham Kondu Njan’ but they cannot be classified as great. Jayachandran again sang for Johnason, but the songs largely went unnoticed. Late in his career Jaychandran sang `Onnu Thodan Ullil’ in Yathrakkarude Sraddakku, which despite being a good attempt did not outlive the movie
He composed `Devi Atmaraagam’ in the film Njan Gandharvan in Miyan Ki Malhar raag, perhaps as a tribute to Devarajan under whose baton was born the classic song `Innenikku Pottukutham’ in the same raag. Just have a look at his semi-classsical repertoire:
`Nanda Suthavara’ in Sree raag from the film Parvathy
`Shivashaila Sringamam’ in Shanmugapriya from Kilukilukkam,
Arunakiranamani in Panthuvarali from Naseema,
`Mayamayooram’ in Pahadi from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram,
Devanganangal in Kalyani and Puriya Dhanasri from Njan Gandharvan,
`Neela Ravil’ in Sree and
`Parthasarathim’ in Chakravaakam from Kudumbasametham,
`Brahmakamalam’ in Malayamaarutham from Savidham,
`Sree Rama Namam’ in Naatta from Naarayam,
`Gopala Hridayam’ in Abheri and `Kalyanasaukandhikam’ in Madhyamavathi from
Kalyanasaukandhikam
`Paada Smarana Sukham’ in Lathangi from Sallapam,
`Aadyamay Kanda Naal’ in Vrindavana Saranga ,
Parvathy Manohari in Kamboji
`Sindooram Peythirangi’ in Rasikaranjani from Thooval Kottaram,
`Kaarvarnane Kando Sakhi’ in Desh from Oral Mathram
Johnson was lucky to have worked with many leading directors in their best films. He composed music for Bharathan, Padmarajan, Sathyan Anthikad, Siby Malayil and Kamal, Mohan- all directors known for making good entertainers imbibing the qualities of commercial and parallel films. He leaves behind a rich legacy of songs which are likely to enthrall generations to come.
I now proceed to the difficult task of selecting his best songs as it occurs to me. They are not in any particular order.
`Aadiva Kaatte’ from Koodevide ( I prefer this song over two other great songs `Swarnamukile’ and `Gopike’ by Janaki simply for its brilliant orchestration. No wonder it proved to be a turning point in his career)
Nanda Suthavara from Parvathy ( Somehow. I prefer this little gem sung by Vani Jayaram over the equally good `Etho Janma Kalpanayil’by the same singer)
`Devi Atmaragamo’, Devaganangal’ and `Palapoove’ all from Njan Gandharvan ( Probably, Johnson’s best effort)
Mayamayooram from Vadakku Nokki Yanthram ( This is my personal selection of M G Sreekumar’s song for Johnson. The popular choice will be `Kaneerpoovinte’ which conveys pathos so touchingly)
Melle Melle from Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam ( Tune, lyrics and Yesudas’s rendering combine to make it unforgettable)
Mynakaponmudiyil from Mazhavilkavadi ( Venugopal has sung several beautiful numbers like `Thaane Poovitta’ and `Poothalam’ for Johnson)
Shyamambaram from Artham (Another remarkable effort of orchestration lifting the song to great heights by giving it a melodious touch)
Rajahamse from Chamayam ( A classic from Chithra for Johnson in raag Hindolam)
Padasmaranasukham from Sallapam (Marvellous number in a rare raag Latangi. `Brahmakamalam’ is another contender for the spot)
These are just a few gems from hundreds of songs he has left for posterity. Truly an inspirational musician.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Nasal Voice
Plethora of male nasal singers makes one wonder whether the era of perfect voice in playback singing is over. Earlier we had a Mukesh and later Kumar Sanu who lent variety to the music. But look at the music scene now. You have Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Kailash Kher, Atif Aslam, Kumar Ganjawala, Himesh Reshamiya, Javed Ali who all have nasal voices. Others like Sukhwinder Singh, KK and Shankar Mahadevan too have a nasal tinge in their voices.
No doubt all of them are musically talented and have several hits to their credit. People don’t seem to care as long as they get a good song to listen even though the satisfaction may be short lived. I find that too many nasal voices sort of grate on the ears. One yearns for good clean voices of Sonu Nigam or Hariharan and they don’t sing often. Udit Narayanan has a refreshingly different voice, but is now past his best. South India’s best voices K J Yesudas and S P Balasubramaniam are also past their best. But surprisingly, there aren’t many nasal singers in this part of the country perhaps indicating that South Indians are less tolerant towards nasal voices.
It wasn’t like this before nineties. Apart from Mukesh no other nasal singer managed to hit the limelight. The fact that they never had good music director or lyricist to back them probably worked against their favour. Among the male singers, legendary K L Saigal had a nasal voice. I haven’t listened to all his songs. But music directors gave him songs that matched his voice. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Over sixty years after his death people still listen to his soft and soothing sad songs.
Mukesh started as a Saigal clone as there was voice similarity. But later found a niche of his own in sad songs aided by legendary music directors Roshan, Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Chaudhary and Kalyanji Anandji. The fact that Raj Kapoor chose him as his voice helped him immensely in his career. He was at his best in songs conveying pathos. He was the different voice along with Manna Dey , Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar when Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar were the main singers. The music directors knew his voice range and gave him songs which he could render well.
After Mukesh died, his son Nitin Mukesh with a nasal voice couldn’t make the grade as an established singer. Perhaps, he couldn’t match the nasal baritone of his father. Narendra Chanchal with his high pitched nasal voice did shine briefly but did not last as his type of songs didn’t come often. Then there was a long gap till Kumar Sanu phenomenon happened. Kumar Sanu tried to imitate Kishore Kumar with a voice of Mukesh. His sad romantic songs went straight to the heart of listeners. His reign ended as Udit Narayanan took over.
I feel it is the advent of Rahman that unleashed the present nasal voice culture in the film playback music. The defining film was Dil Se in which Rahman sang with his nasal voice apart from giving Sukwinder Singh the break in his career with Chayya Chayya song. Rahman experimented with different singers and several of them crooned with a nasal flavour. It has to be mentioned that southern singers Benny Dayal and Naresh Iyer don’t belong to this category thankfully. In a way, Rahman has opened the floodgates for nasal singers that it is no longer a rarity but has become a common thing.
Today, people don’t have the patience to listen to a good melody. They want fast tracks. And music directors are only happy to give them what they want. The result is that the nasal singers are made to sing fast and high pitched songs. The listeners like it now. But the moot point is that will these songs have the staying power of the classics of Saigal and Mukesh, which are listenable even now after so many years.
No doubt all of them are musically talented and have several hits to their credit. People don’t seem to care as long as they get a good song to listen even though the satisfaction may be short lived. I find that too many nasal voices sort of grate on the ears. One yearns for good clean voices of Sonu Nigam or Hariharan and they don’t sing often. Udit Narayanan has a refreshingly different voice, but is now past his best. South India’s best voices K J Yesudas and S P Balasubramaniam are also past their best. But surprisingly, there aren’t many nasal singers in this part of the country perhaps indicating that South Indians are less tolerant towards nasal voices.
It wasn’t like this before nineties. Apart from Mukesh no other nasal singer managed to hit the limelight. The fact that they never had good music director or lyricist to back them probably worked against their favour. Among the male singers, legendary K L Saigal had a nasal voice. I haven’t listened to all his songs. But music directors gave him songs that matched his voice. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Over sixty years after his death people still listen to his soft and soothing sad songs.
Mukesh started as a Saigal clone as there was voice similarity. But later found a niche of his own in sad songs aided by legendary music directors Roshan, Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Chaudhary and Kalyanji Anandji. The fact that Raj Kapoor chose him as his voice helped him immensely in his career. He was at his best in songs conveying pathos. He was the different voice along with Manna Dey , Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar when Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar were the main singers. The music directors knew his voice range and gave him songs which he could render well.
After Mukesh died, his son Nitin Mukesh with a nasal voice couldn’t make the grade as an established singer. Perhaps, he couldn’t match the nasal baritone of his father. Narendra Chanchal with his high pitched nasal voice did shine briefly but did not last as his type of songs didn’t come often. Then there was a long gap till Kumar Sanu phenomenon happened. Kumar Sanu tried to imitate Kishore Kumar with a voice of Mukesh. His sad romantic songs went straight to the heart of listeners. His reign ended as Udit Narayanan took over.
I feel it is the advent of Rahman that unleashed the present nasal voice culture in the film playback music. The defining film was Dil Se in which Rahman sang with his nasal voice apart from giving Sukwinder Singh the break in his career with Chayya Chayya song. Rahman experimented with different singers and several of them crooned with a nasal flavour. It has to be mentioned that southern singers Benny Dayal and Naresh Iyer don’t belong to this category thankfully. In a way, Rahman has opened the floodgates for nasal singers that it is no longer a rarity but has become a common thing.
Today, people don’t have the patience to listen to a good melody. They want fast tracks. And music directors are only happy to give them what they want. The result is that the nasal singers are made to sing fast and high pitched songs. The listeners like it now. But the moot point is that will these songs have the staying power of the classics of Saigal and Mukesh, which are listenable even now after so many years.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Dream Eleven
Comparisions are odious, they say. But cricket fans were forced to compare players from different era while choosing players for a dream eleven team that was announced by ICC before the 2000th test match started between India and England.
The final eleven chosen by lakhs of fans were Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Curtley Ambrose and Glenn McGrath. It is obvious that the team was chosen by mostly youngsters. Don Bradman’s stupendous average of 99.9 must have led the fans to chose him as hardly any participant could have seen him play. He retired in 1948. His fame has grown over the years and his batting average could well be unbeatable. He is almost like God in cricket and shouldn’t be touched.
But what is surprising is that there is no Vivian Richards, Gary Sobers or anyone from fearsome fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Holding, Marshal and Garner. No Muralitharan or anyone from Sri Lanka, England or New Zealand. I would have included Gary Sobers for Lara and Marshal for Ambrose. Viv Richards would have to be 12th man. Just imagine that !
To avoid heated arguments, it is better to name two teams: One consisting of players up to nineties, and the other comprising cricketers after that. This way one can avoid heated arguments over the selection. Constructing a team of oldies is difficult because one is not familiar with the players before the sixties though their exploits in the field are well known. So I will stick to players from the sixties onwards
Here goes my list : Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards, Allan Border, Javed Miandad, Gary Sobers, Alan Knot, Ian Botham, Dennis Lillee, Malcom Marshal and Richie Benaud. There isn’t anyone from great Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi, and Chandrasekhar as they were not good fielders. But any one of them can replace Benaud if the situation demands it.
The choice from the four all rounders, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, is a difficult one to make. Since the team has two fast bowlers, Imran Khan is out. Of the other three, it is anybody’s choice. I chose Botham because he has changed the complexion of a game both with his batting and bowling. The other two had done that with their bowling mostly. Kapil’s batting shone more in ODIs. Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards from South Africa could have been in the team had their career not doomed by apartheid.
The nineties list is easier to fill. Hayden, Sehwag, Ponting, Sachin, Lara, Kallis, Gilchrist, Akram. Warne, Muralitharan and McGrath. If you think that is a fine team. Then look at the bench strength. It has the likes of Dravid, Kumble, Vettori , Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Ambrose, Walsh, Steve Waugh, Azharuddin, Inzamam etc
The final eleven chosen by lakhs of fans were Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Curtley Ambrose and Glenn McGrath. It is obvious that the team was chosen by mostly youngsters. Don Bradman’s stupendous average of 99.9 must have led the fans to chose him as hardly any participant could have seen him play. He retired in 1948. His fame has grown over the years and his batting average could well be unbeatable. He is almost like God in cricket and shouldn’t be touched.
But what is surprising is that there is no Vivian Richards, Gary Sobers or anyone from fearsome fast bowling quartet of Roberts, Holding, Marshal and Garner. No Muralitharan or anyone from Sri Lanka, England or New Zealand. I would have included Gary Sobers for Lara and Marshal for Ambrose. Viv Richards would have to be 12th man. Just imagine that !
To avoid heated arguments, it is better to name two teams: One consisting of players up to nineties, and the other comprising cricketers after that. This way one can avoid heated arguments over the selection. Constructing a team of oldies is difficult because one is not familiar with the players before the sixties though their exploits in the field are well known. So I will stick to players from the sixties onwards
Here goes my list : Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards, Allan Border, Javed Miandad, Gary Sobers, Alan Knot, Ian Botham, Dennis Lillee, Malcom Marshal and Richie Benaud. There isn’t anyone from great Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi, and Chandrasekhar as they were not good fielders. But any one of them can replace Benaud if the situation demands it.
The choice from the four all rounders, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham, is a difficult one to make. Since the team has two fast bowlers, Imran Khan is out. Of the other three, it is anybody’s choice. I chose Botham because he has changed the complexion of a game both with his batting and bowling. The other two had done that with their bowling mostly. Kapil’s batting shone more in ODIs. Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards from South Africa could have been in the team had their career not doomed by apartheid.
The nineties list is easier to fill. Hayden, Sehwag, Ponting, Sachin, Lara, Kallis, Gilchrist, Akram. Warne, Muralitharan and McGrath. If you think that is a fine team. Then look at the bench strength. It has the likes of Dravid, Kumble, Vettori , Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Ambrose, Walsh, Steve Waugh, Azharuddin, Inzamam etc
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Look-alikes 2
I keep finding more look-alikes in life. I had written about a group of people who resemble each other, culled from the familiar faces one sees mostly in cinema and TV, in this blog. I thought some readers might add a few more to the list. But that has not happened. Meanwhile, I have some more cases of close resemblances. And mind you these are based purely on my observations. You may agree or not agree with it
Keyboard prodigy Stephen Devassy has some kind of resemblance to Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni. The similarity is more when they keep straight faces. Their smiles are, however, different.
Director Hariharan and comedian Kuthiravattam Pappu had a striking resemblance when they were young. Hariharan has put on weight and his face is different now. Similarly, Pappu’s looks also changed when he grew old. But just compare their old photographs, you will know what I mean. Incidentally, both are from Kozhikode.
My other examples are from cricket. Former England fast bowler Domnic Cork and South African tearaway pace bowler Alan Donald are look-alikes. When I see either of them on TV, I get confused for a moment. When they smile confusion worsens.
Aleem Dar is a Pakistani umpire officiating in the ongoing IPL matches. Doesn’t he look like former Pakistani fast bowler Waqar Yunus when he was younger? In my previous blog I had found a similarity between England fast bowler James Anderson and actor Jim Carrey. They have company in the form of Latin pop singer Ricky Martin. The resemblance is only from certain angles.
In the current IPL tussle the ousted Deccan Chargers have look-alikes in J P Duminy and Shikar Dhawan. They have almost same facial structure and short crop of hair. When they wear sunglasses, they look like identical twins.
First part of look-alikes can be found in my archives.
Keyboard prodigy Stephen Devassy has some kind of resemblance to Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni. The similarity is more when they keep straight faces. Their smiles are, however, different.
Director Hariharan and comedian Kuthiravattam Pappu had a striking resemblance when they were young. Hariharan has put on weight and his face is different now. Similarly, Pappu’s looks also changed when he grew old. But just compare their old photographs, you will know what I mean. Incidentally, both are from Kozhikode.
My other examples are from cricket. Former England fast bowler Domnic Cork and South African tearaway pace bowler Alan Donald are look-alikes. When I see either of them on TV, I get confused for a moment. When they smile confusion worsens.
Aleem Dar is a Pakistani umpire officiating in the ongoing IPL matches. Doesn’t he look like former Pakistani fast bowler Waqar Yunus when he was younger? In my previous blog I had found a similarity between England fast bowler James Anderson and actor Jim Carrey. They have company in the form of Latin pop singer Ricky Martin. The resemblance is only from certain angles.
In the current IPL tussle the ousted Deccan Chargers have look-alikes in J P Duminy and Shikar Dhawan. They have almost same facial structure and short crop of hair. When they wear sunglasses, they look like identical twins.
First part of look-alikes can be found in my archives.
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