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Monday, December 6, 2010

nandalala

Saw the movie...i felt as if my soul was sent for a overhauling...what a refreshing movie ! How good a thinking director this fellow is....Music was great as always..Any other composer would have spoilt the natural flow of the movie with his sounds. Raja elevates the story telling to a new level ....

Acting - myskin has lived as the character and has not acted. Cant imagine anyone else doing this role now. It was 75% attendance at Padmam (sangam) and only the front 4-5 rows were empty. Some theatre comments were interesting, as listed below

a) Question - who is this actor?? Answer - yaaro myskin'aam !
b) music romba touching'aa irukku'la
c) ilaiyaraaja'vaala dhaan ippadi compose panna mudiyum

the guy next to me was sobbing while the song 'thaalaattu ketka naanum' played...my eyes were wet too...Another one was already humming the end card BGM as he knew it by heart.......i am confident this movie will pick up commercially too.

If you are not watching this in the theatre, you have no rights bragging about good cinema not being made.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Ilaiyaraja does not know music.

Ilayaraja recently said: “I am still in this field because I don’t know music. I still have so many things to pass on to the younger generation.”

Sounds like another philosophical rant, right? But there are many ways of looking at this statement. It will hit you depending on what category of fan you are.

category 1 fans - Fans that think Raja is past his peak - this group can probably reconcile / console themselves to the fact that raja is still learning (as admitted by him) and does not know music, while the "other MDs" (i made this plural) have already mastered the art of music making. So the friends in this group, you have to wait for your next 'virumandi' or 'sony music collaboration' to happen, to be happy with IR. Till then, its not a sin to have fun with your other MDs. Its good to drift away once in a while, just for the heck of it.

category 2 fans - Fans that think Raja has not finished yet or are mighty content with what they already have - This group does not feel hurt by market forces/realities / statistics or even comparisons with "Other MDs" on this basis - to this group of "selfish" fans, they dont want to expect anything more from their idol. They have their bags full already and it will take many "sweet" years for them to even completely figure out whatever he has given so far. To this category of fans, measuring IR on a commercial yardstick is like comparing a Kamaraj with a Chavan, a Kalmadi or a A.Raja (telecom minister). Kamarajar was not commercially successful either. But Kamarajar didnt take up politics to be commercially successful. The intent is different, the agenda is different, the purpose is different. The Game is played differently.

Raja started his musical journey, first as a professions, then a passion and then as a spiritual tool. The spiritual dimension at which he approaches music now is never going to make any sense or can never draw parallel to today;s materialistic / manupulative market environment. We just have to let him be what he is.

For me, a category 2 fan, the statement at the top of the mail sounds like IR has an agenda. Read the second part of the statement - Raja says - "I still have so many things to pass on to the younger generation." I belong to the group that knows or hope that the finish line is yet to be drawn.

We can talk of the winners once the race is over.