Many of you may be
aware that music composer Ilayaraja recently completed composing music for his
1000th film - a Tamil movie titled ‘Tharai Thappattai’. Fans like me are hoping that he will be acknowledged as the world
record holder for the largest number of compositions in popular culture someday soon.
Till then, who is
celebrating this milestone?
Unfortunately not too many
outside the Tamil film industry!! That’s tragic, as his is no mean achievement.
The reason for this
milestone not being widely acknowledged by the artists fraternity lies in
their attitude to popular music. The connoisseurs of art in our society
have traditionally considered popular music a poor cousin of classical music.
I beg to differ.
In my opinion, as a
music composer, Ilayaraja deserves to be put on equal pedestal with a classical
music composer, say a Thyagaraja or a Tansen.
Is the genius of
Ilayaraja for real?
Let me play the devil’s
advocate here first by raising two key questions.
1) Can film music
composition be an independent art form when it borrows heavily from the
cornucopia of classical music?
2) Or is it such a big
thing to walk the path laid out by the musical giants such as the Carnatic
music trinity or the
Western music trinity who have composed elaborate
musical works, works that have stood the test of time and continue to inspire today’s
generation of musicians?
Well, I think the
answer to both the questions is a big resounding ‘YES’, and here’s why.
Good music is
about touching a chord (pun unintended :))
Good music, I'm
sure you will agree, is something that appeals to our emotional brain; chords that
soothe our mind and rejuvenate our soul. It is a harmonious combination of melodious strings
and meaningful lyrics that elevate music to being a soulful experience.
Taking this as an acceptable definition of good music, let's
compare the scope of work of a classical music composer vis-à-vis that of a
popular music composer.
To start with, take the
case of the Carnatic music trinity (Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshithar and Shyama Shastrigal). The key rasa
(emotion or feel) in their compositions is Bhakthi
or devotion. They may have composed their songs under different
situations (Thyagaraja's compositions, for instance, are believed to be anchored in incidents from his real life), but their compositions remain primarily rooted in the
communication/propagation of devotional ideas. Again while composing, these composers may
have used different ragas, each imparting a different emotion, but the flavour that dominated these ragas eventually
was the Bhakthi rasa.
Secondly, the works of
the classical music composers were confined to a particular genre of
music – mostly classical, or sometimes folk as in the case of composers such as Purandhara dasa or Annamacharya.
Now, contrast this to
the demands from a film music composer.
His primary mandate is
to compose music that'll help
communicate or reinforce a specific emotion - love, pathos, anger or yearning -
as the situation in his film demands.
While this does widen his canvas, it also
calls for immense creativity and a sound knowledge of well...sounds, and their
ability to invoke a chosen emotion.
And using sounds to kindle
a desired sensation is something that Ilayaraja excels in.
Here, I've compiled a
set of navarasa (nine expressions) kritis of Ilayaraja, that
convey a specific feeling or an emotion brilliantly.
(I'd urge
you to listen to the music with your eyes closed to have a singular
musical experience. Wherever possible, I've used audio-only tracks as I found
the visuals distracting at best and utterly unbefitting at worst.)
I must add that in
several of these compositions, Raja has effectively harnessed the feel native to a raga. For eg,
Hamsanaadam, a sensuous evening raga has been used brilliantly in ‘Isaiyil
Thodunguthamma’ from the movie ‘Hey Ram’
whereas a peppy raga such as Shanmukhapriya has been used to convey joy
in the ‘Tham Thana tham thana’ number (links given below).
The Navarasa kritis of Ilayaraja
(Here, I've deviated from the accepted list of navarasas to compile a selection
more fitting in a filmy context.)
Wonder (Adbhutham) - Idu Oru pon malai pozhudu
Romance (Sringaram) - Kaadalin deepam onru
Yearning (Sringaram) – Sundari kannal Oru seithi
Sympathy (Karuna rasa) - Uchi vaguntheduthu pichi poo
Joy - Tham Thana Tham Thana Thaalam
Heroism (veeram) - Manitha manitha
Pathos– Then paandi seemaiyile
Devotion (Bhakthi) – Amma endrazhaikatha
Film music calls
for equal if not more creative prowess than classical music
(
My a
pologies to TM Krishna who has been vociferous about his disdain for the music that passes off as classical music in film songs :))
Ok, I can hear the classical
music aficionados cry themselves hoarse saying
that film music composers don't have to operate within the grammatical
framework laid down for classical music. In other words, a film musician does
not have to maintain the purity of a particular raga or tala (rhythm) in his
music.
True, technically, a
film music composer does seem to have more latitude as compared with his
classical music counterpart; but that is the whole point!!!
The less well-defined
the framework, the more difficult the job!!
Imagine you are asked
to make a nutritious Kimchi salad. If you have sliced cabbage, garlic, ginger
and oodles of soya sauce, then it's no big deal. How you slice the cabbage, how
long you marinate it, whether you roast the spices or not and the amount of
soya sauce you add decides the quality of your salad. But, you've got to take
care of only four ingredients and use them in pleasing proportions, and you are done!
That’s classical music
for you – nice and healthy for those who
have the appetite for it.
On the other hand, if
you are asked to make a tasty salad for children, seasoned with stuff they'll enjoy,
but also uses healthy stuff such as cabbage,
garlic and ginger in titrated doses to make it a nutritious meal, then that becomes a tricky
proposition!!
You have to mull over
various options before you can arrive at something tasty that children (rasikas
like us) like, at the same time ensuring that the specified ingredients are
used and the health quotient of the salad is not overly compromised.
And that precisely is
the challenge before film music composers!
Having said that,
there are several compositions of Ilayaraja that are rooted in hard
core classical music ragas. Here's a very small sample:
Classical Ilayaraja
Aadal kalaiye de an Thanthathu - Raga Charukesi
Janani Janani - Raga Kalyani
Om Nama Shivaya - Raga Hindolam
Mogam ennum theeyil - Raga Kanakangi
Click to read an interesting blog on
the use of Classical ragas by Ilayaraja in Tamil Film Music
Moreover, film music
also requires a deep understanding of a wide genre of music - from Indian
classical to western classical to folk to pop to even African American music now.
And music aficionados who
follow popular music do admit that Ilayaraja
was extremely adept at giving a native feel to western classical rhythms. Here’s a list of songs from his repertoire
which combine indigenous and western classical to create a unique musical experience.
Quintessential Ilayaraja
Pani vizhum malar vanam
Thendral vanthu theendumpothu
Yetho Mogam Yetho thagam
Oru Jeevan azhaithathu
Kodiyile malliyapoo manakkuthey
Of course, no eulogy
of Raja would be complete without mention of his folk music based songs in
Tamil films. He is one man who is credited with having given folk music its due
through his compositions. Again a very small sample from his popular hit list:
Folksy Ilayaraja
Madurai marikozhundu vaasam
Vetti veru vasam
Sandu pottu Oru sandana pottu
Kuzhal Oodum kannanukku
And that’s not all.
Orchestration is a key component of film music, and Raja excelled at
it
Yet another realm that
a film music composer has to be adept at is orchestration, which demands a deep proficiency over musical
instruments besides the judgement to use them
wisely to suit a given situation.
On this count,
Ilayaraja is considered a class apart from his peers who frequently outsource
the BGM score, interludes and the orchestration required for a movie/song. Ilayaraja
is indeed a rare music composer who is
known to handle the entire spectrum of music composing right from orchestration, arrangement of instruments to
notations.
While Raja is
known for his love affair with the violin, and has used the instrument extensively
across his works, he was himself a gold medalist in Guitar from London’s
Trinity College of Music.
Here’s a list of some
songs which stand testimony to his superb orchestration skills. This is one
area where his genius literally pours out.
Instrumental Ilayaraja
(Check the lovely preludes and interludes in these songs.)
Thuli
ezhunthathu paatu
Endha Poovilum vaasam undu
En Iniya pon nilave
Poo malaiye thol seravaa
Ilaya nila
Rakamma kaiyathattu
Ananda ragam meettum
Poonkathave thalthiravai
Paruvame pudiya padal
Aasaiya Kathula Thoodu vittu
Above all, the film music composer has to choose the
right vocalist who can carry his piece-de-resistance effectively to the audience.This calls for
high inter-personal skills to coordinate with various artists and get the
desired output.
And last but not the
least, he has to balance the artistic expectations of his director and the
commercial expectations of his producer.
To summarise: the propensity to convey a wide range of emotions musically,
proficiency in several musical genres, the artistic acumen required to use different instruments to varying effects, and above all the ability to create music within a specified commercial and artistic framework, would, in my opinion, put film
music composers on equal footing with the great classical music composers of
the yesteryears.
With that, I rest my
case.
Ilayaraja has
been the most prolific music composer ever
Of course, every film
music composer is expected to deliver on most of these parameters. What makes
Ilayaraja extra special?
Simply, the quantum of his work!
Over 5000 compositions across
1000 films, not counting independent compositions (‘How to name it’, ‘Nothing
but Wind’ and the ‘Thiruvasagam’ symphony) is no small feat!!
Even accounting for
some repetition, some more mediocrity and several inspired pieces, it is still a
whopping number of original compositions for any individual composer!!
And finally, the proof
of the pudding is in the eating. The fact that Ilayaraja has been in the reckoning over
the last four decades amidst wide ranging cultural changes in our society is
proof of the timeless of his music.
Friends, even if we
discount all the above analysis and statistics, we owe it to this man for having
given us all several great musical moments and many sweet memories of the best part
of our lives!!
