Saravanan writes:
Gemini Vasan saw the Telugu tearjerker Samsaram doing brisk business and lost no time in remaking it in Tamil and Hindi in 1951. Having M.K.Radha & Pushpavalli in its cast, the movie was a runaway success. Valampuri Somanathan decided to launch a fresh edition (!) of this story in 1977. SPV Films’ Thunai Irupaal Meenakshi had Sivakumar & Sujatha playing the lead roles.
A salaried middle-class householder runs away abandoning his family, unable to bear his ever-increasing financial burdens multiplied with the malevolent machinations of his step-mother. The testing travails they undergo over the years, all the while steadfastly up holding honesty and integrity in their daily life, and the contrived climax wherein the family unites in Madurai (the justification for the title!) forms the rest of the tale.
Those were the early years of Ilaiyaraja, and he was weaving magic in film after film- he was the King of Phrygia newly fortified with the power granted by Dionysus.
Thunai Iruppaal Meenakshi was no exception--It was Ilaiyaraja and his score, which added polish to the plebeian proceedings, and to this day, it is the songs,(and this song in particular) which retrieve the film from total obliteration in the relentless mists of time.
For the salaried middle-class, each month is an exacting endeavour for dignified existence. However, the immense love and perfect understanding that Ramu and Seetha share brings sweetness in midst of this struggle too, and the family is happy, even in its poverty…It is then that Seetha discovers that they are soon to have another addition to the family. When she breaks the news to Ramu, he is worried about the financial implications- this added burden to their already hand–to-mouth existence looms threateningly in his mind. She understands his fears, and puts them to rest by her song- she takes the veenai in her hands….and the enchantment starts…. music is the food of love and she plays on...
How tenderly she brings peace to his troubled mind! And even while applying a soothing balm to his mental torment, she gives a fetching lecture on how life is to be lived in its fullest sense. Like the moon that waxes and wanes in its inexorable cycle, she reminds him, life too has its ups and down. One has to have the resolve to face the trying tribulations that life, as its wont, keeps springing at every turn. And one should meet these hardships with a hardy smile. When they have each other, sharing so great a love cemented by perfect understanding, wouldn’t they together overcome all adversities with ease?
The simple, yet apposite lyrics, the gracious presence of Sujatha, the spellbinding skills of Gayatri on the veenai, the voice of Susheela-liquid of vowels, kind to consonants, dainty and dulcet in every note - the song is the treasured apotheosis of vintage Ilaiyaraja in euphonious flow...
If the pallavi, just consisting of four words, is ethereal in its execution, the almost continuous charanam gathers grandeur in its glide. And if Susheela’s caressing voice is the hearbeat of the song, Gayatri’s nimble fingering on the strings and adept actions on the frets hasten the pulsating pulse of the prelude and interludes.
This song was very popular in the late 70s. It was among the earliest film songs that I heard as a child, and ‘Sugamo aayiram’, along with ‘Thenil aadum roja’ (another wonderful Ilaiyaraja / Susheela collaboration) takes me back to ‘Then Kinnam’ at 7.45 of the 70s…However, years later, when I was trying to get this song recorded, none of the recording centers in Chennai had it. Worse, many of the staff were completely unaware of the song… ‘Enna sir, kindalaa, Thunai Irupaal meenakshi-nu oru padamaa?‘ was the derisive question one of them asked me. ‘Swami padama?’ another one added insulted to injury. It was a Srilankan friend who finally came to my rescue by getting me a CD having many songs that I had been desperately seeking for years. When I featured this song as ‘Song of the Day’ way back in 2003, there were many who responded that they were listening to this treasure after ages. Today, thanks to youtube, many of these forgotten gems are back in popular circulation..
Sharing this lovely keepsake in celebration of the Maestro’s birthday today…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1245053475526376/
No comments:
Post a Comment