Saravanan Natarajan writes:
Reproducing my post on film songs sung by Jayalalitha:
Engirundho oru kural vandhadhu: Songs Sung by Jayalalitha
Come, sing now, sing; for I know you sing well; I see you have a singing face…
-Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher (Wild Goose Chase -Act II)
This was what perhaps MGR said when he persuaded Jayalalitha to sing the song ‘amma endRaal anbu’ for his magnum opus ‘adimaippeN’. Set in a simple, lilting tune, the song fetched the actress wholesome praise. Though trained in classical music and an avid listener and discerning aficionado of music of every known genre, Jayalalitha sang only a handful of songs in the course of her tryst with the tinsel town.
As part of the Song of the Day series of dhool.com, I had once presented some of the songs sung by Jayalalitha.I am reproducing my article here:
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However, as Julie Andrews suggested, let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Jayalalitha was born as Komalavalli on February 24 1948 in Mysore. Though her ancestors hailed from Srirangam, Jayalalitha’s grandfather Rangachari had moved to Mysore many years ago. Her father Jayaram passed away when she was a toddler, and the family thereafter shifted to Basuvangudi in Bangalore. Sandhya had learnt typewriting and secured a job in the Directorate of Agriculture. Her sister Vidyavathi was then settled in Madras, acting in Telugu and Tamil movies. Sandhya went to Madras with her children to be with her sister. Producers who came to meet Vidyavathi noticed Sandhya, and asked her if she was interested in acting. Though she refused the initial offers, Sandhya soon felt her reservations crumbling in the light of an overriding desire to provide a secure future for her children. She started working in a few Kannada movies and Tamil and Telugu projects followed.
Jayalalitha had her Arangetram when she was 12 years old under the auspices of the hoary Rasika Ranjini Sabha. The Chief Guest Sivaji Ganesan was stunned by the beauty and grace of the young performer, and in a clairvoyant benediction, he declared, “thangachilaiyai pOl irukkum ivaL ethirkaalathil kalai ulagil perum pugazhudan viLanguvaaL!”
However, the stage was not new to Jayalalitha as she had appeared in a few stage plays along with her mother even earlier. In an interview, Cho recalled the brilliant performance of the six-year old Jayalalitha in an English play written by Rashmi Parthasarathi. ‘Under-Secretary’ was another stage play, this one written by Poornam Viswanathan, in which Cho acted with Jayalalitha. Jayalalitha had also acted in English plays such as ‘The Hidden Truth’ and ‘The House of the August Moon’.
With all this, could film offers be far behind? Shankar Giri, the son of V.V. Giri came to Sandhya with the first offer. Would she permit Jayalalitha to act in the English movie he was making, he asked. After getting his assurance that the shooting would be held only during the weekends, Sandhya gave her consent, and thus ‘Epistle’ (1961) marked Jayalalitha’s debut in cinema. During this time, Sandhya was acting in a Kannada movie titled ‘Sri Shaila Mahaatme’ (1961/ Shreeshaila Pictures). Rajkumar and Krishnakumari were her co-actors in the movie. When the child artiste who was acting in a crucial role failed to turn up for the shooting, the beleaguered Director Aarooru Pattabhi’s gaze fell on Jayalalitha who had accompanied Sandhya to the sets, and he sought Sandhya’s permission to make the child don the role. Sandhya looked at Jayalalitha, Jayalalitha nodded her acquiescence, and the shooting schedules again were held in such a way that her studies would not be hampered.
Jayalalitha passed her matriculation examinations in flying colours in 1964, and enrolled in Stella Maris College for her PUC. However, fate, as is its wont, had different things in store for this bubby teenager. The occasion was the 100th day celebrations of B.R. Panthulu’s ‘Karnan’. Seeing the stunning young woman dressed in a saree, Panthulu wondered if she was the child Ammu he had seen a few years earlier!
He then asked Sandhya if Jayalalitha would act in his movie. Jayalalitha realized now that it was time she made up her mind and was in a quandary. However, egged on by the encouragement of Sandhya, and knowing only too well the financial situation of the family, she took the irreversible decision of giving up her academic pursuits and donning the grease paint. ‘Chinnada Gombe’ (1964/ Padmini Pictures), the Kannada version of ‘Muradan Muthu’ was a commercial success. ‘Mane Aliyaa’ followed in the same year. Jayalalitha came into the limelight when her scintillating Bharatanatyam performance at the 1964 Filmfare Awards elicited rave reviews.
Director Sridhar was on the lookout for a newcomer to play the complex role of a mentally disturbed protagonist in his ‘Vennira Aadai’, when he chanced upon Panthulu sitting at the editing session of ‘Chinnada Gombe’. He was instantly smitten by the sprightly performance of the young woman and lost no time in sending for Sandhya and Jayalalitha. Sitting at his ‘Chitralaya’ office, Sridhar narrated the story in detail and admitted candidly that it was a very difficult role to play. He was deeply impressed by the confident assertion of Jayalalitha that she could come up with a realistic performance. And perform she did! She lived the role of the young Shobha, the 17 year old girl who was widowed within hours of her wedding, and who finds herself falling in love with the young psychiatrist Chandru, only to don the white garb of the widow in a dramatic climax to enable Chandru to marry Geetha, the girl he loves.
‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ (1965) was a stupendous success, and Jayalalitha looked gorgeous as Poonkodi, the island princess who finds the man of her dreams in the brave slave Manimaaran(MGR). MGR was drawn to this sophisticated teenager who would be immersed in a book during the break and who would come out with perfect performances during the take. Jayalalitha too found the ideal mentor in the charismatic actor, and the two went on into pair in 27 movies in the subsequent years, developing a rare personal rapport that translated into an endearing on-screen chemistry.
Besides MGR, Jayalalitha also acted with younger actors such as Jaishankar, Ravichandran, Muthuraman and AVM. Rajan. She paired with Sivaji Ganesan for the first time in the hilarious ‘Galatta Kalyaanam’ (1968), with Sivaji according Jayalalitha a warm welcome with the line ‘nalla idam nee vandha idam!’ Jayalalitha evolved into a wonderful, versatile artiste acting alongside the thespian, and in subsequent movies such as ‘Engirundho Vandhaal’, ‘Sumathi En Sundari’, ‘Avan Thaan Manithan’ and ‘Paattum Bharathamum’, she lit up the screen with heartwarming, sensitive performances.
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But then, I am digressing as usual, and let us come back to the subject at hand- the songs that Jayalalitha rendered in her movies. It was during a break in the sets of ‘Kannan En Kaadhalan’ that MGR chanced upon Jayalalitha singing an intricate Meera Bhajan with choreographer Sampath. He stood spellbound and complimented her on her singing. Not stopping with that, he declared that she would sing a song in their forthcoming magnum opus ‘Adimapippen’. Jayalalitha had the rare distinction of appearing in two roles in the movie, as the good-natured Jeeva and the imperious Pavalavalli. Conceived and executed at a hitherto unknown scale of grandeur, ‘Adimaippen’ (1969/Emgeeyaar Pictures) was a runaway success.
The faithful retainer manages to free Vengaiyan (MGR) from the clutches of Sengodan (Ashokan) and entrusts him in the care of his grand-daughter Jeeva (Jayalalitha). Jeeva has a tough time trying to educate the wild Vengaiyan in the niceties if civilized life. She attends to his needs with care, and puts up with his wild ranting and violent behavior with affection and patience. The song ‘Amma endraal anbu’ finds place in such a situation. Early one morning, Vengaiyan looks at a calf bellowing ‘amma’ and looks askance at Jeeva. Jeeva sings this caressing song…
amma endRaal anbu
appa endRaal aRivu
aasaan endRaal kalvi
avarE ulagil deivam…Teaching him how to drink from a cup, feeding him with solicitous care, training him to swim, giving him a bath, showing him how to look into the mirror, combing his wild locks, trying to straighten his bent back and teaching him the alphabet, Jeeva sings this paean to motherhood, inserting into her song lines espousing the cause of socialism, patriotism, love for one’s mother-tongue, equality of all mankind and compassion.
Amma Endraal Anbu from Adimaippen (1969)
Sung by J. Jayalalitha
Lyrics by Vaali
Music by K.V. Mahadevan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjz1NH06BOk
Though she demurred initially, Jayalalitha soon showed great enthusiasm in practicing the lines ahead of the recording. KVM and Pugazhendhi had set the lines to a simple tune. As for Jayalalitha, singing was nothing new. Even as a child of 3 years, she used to repeat in perfect shruthi the hymns that grandfather Rangachari sang as part of his early morning prayers at their house in Basuvangudi. And of course, her assiduous tutelage in classical music under Gopalakrishna Sharma and constant listening to musical forms from all over the world had enhanced multifold her keen sense of music.
KVM sang to her the tune and was delighted when Jayalalitha could repeat it in a sweet, perfectly aligned tone, albeit tinged in a nasal twang. Jayalalitha practiced diligently for the song, with Pugazhendhi coaching her on the nuances. On the day of the recording, MGR was present at AVM studios to lend moral support to his Ammu, and Jayalalitha rendered the song without much ado.Filled with happiness, Jayalalitha sought Pugazhendhi’s blessings and gave him an envelope filled with money as a token of gratitude and insisted that he accept it. It was Vaali, however, who had the last word. He said in witty aside to MGR that he had predicted that Jayalalitha would sing even earlier when he wrote a song for her in ‘ArasakkattaLai’ that went ‘Ennai paada vaithavan oruvan, en paattukku avan thaan thalaivan!’
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With KVM showing the lead, it was now the turn of MSV. Soon after the release of ‘AdimaippeN’, MGR asked MSV if he had listened to Jayalalitha’s song. But when MSV did get to recording a song with Jayalalitha, it was not for a MGR movie, but for Mukta Srinivasan’s ‘Sooriyakanthi’. Based on a story by Paasumani and scripted by A.S. Prakasam, ‘Sooroyakanthi’ narrated the story of a young woman Radha who goes to work to support the family of husband Mohan, as his income alone was insufficient to meet their needs. Mohan, who is initially supportive, finds himself smarting under a massive inferiority complex when a promotion at work results in Radha getting a salary that is higher than his. Unable to bear the ache of envy that wrecks his peace of mind, he insists that Radha should resign her job and stay at home.
However, Radha is unable to meet his demands, as only she knows a terrible secret- Mohan’s sister Suseela is in love with the rich Sundaram and is even carrying his child, and unless Radha earns enough to meet the avaricious demands of Sundaram’s father, irreparable shame would descend on the family. How Radha achieves this in the face of stiff opposition from her husband, and how she wins him over in the end fill rest of the reels.
The story was well-told, and the performances of Muthuraman and Jayalalitha subtle and perceptive. ‘Sooriyankanthi’ (1973/Vidya Movies) enjoyed a successful run of over a hundred days. Mukta Srinivasan pulled off a coup of sorts when he managed to persuade the redoubtable Periyaar, an avowed movie-hater, to preside over the 100th day celebrations. Periyaar spoke glowingly of the movie’s theme and blessed Jayalalitha with the words, “ungaLukku ellaa vidhamaana vetRiyum kidaikkum!”
Coming to the songs, the highlight was of course Jayalalitha herself rendering her songs. The first is the breezy ‘Oh…Meri Dilruba’ that finds place early in the proceedings when neighbors Mohan and Radha find themselves attracted to each other. Mohan’s sister notices this budding romance and decides to play a trick on them. She delivers letters to each of them, supposedly from the other expressing a desire to meet. The meeting takes place and they sing this song of song of buoyant romance.
Listen to ‘Oh Meri Dinruba’ from Sooriyakanthi (1973)
Sung by TMS & J. Jayalalitha
Lyrics by Vaali
Music by M.S. Viswanathan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXgU-VUHNLg
Singing with TMS was not new to Jayalalitha. A year earlier, when MGR and Jayalalitha had gone to Singapore for a star show, TMS and Jayalalitha had sung ‘raajavin paarvai raaNiyin pakkam’ to thunderous applause from the audience. And now, with MSV at the helm of the proceedings, TMS and Jayalalitha rendered the song with enjoyable gusto, and what a popular ditty it turned out to be!
The other song that Jayalalitha lent her voice to in the movie is the famous ‘Naan endraal adhu avalum naanum’. The chasm has now widened and Mohan cannot bear the very sight of his career-oriented wife. It at this juncture that Mohan and Radha are forced to enlist in a ‘Made for Each Other’ contest for married couples. They are adjudged first in each succeeding round, and are declared the winners of the event. They are asked to sing a song together and they sing a song of marital intimacy, with the lines taunting them with an irony that only they are aware of.
Sung by SPB & J. Jayalalitha
Lyrics by Vaali & Randor Guy
Music by M.S. Viswanathan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWH2aplXjG0
An unusual composition, with SPB drawling over the lines in languorous enjoyment. Jayalalitha’s stylish rejoinders in impeccable English are the gentle twists in the tails of his long-drawn lines. And with all this, she manages to convey the inner angst of the character as only she can- listen to the wry grimace in her voice as she exclaims “the better half and the bitter half!” This song too, like ‘Oh Meri Dilruba’, enjoyed repeated airtime.
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It was the turn of Shankar-Ganesh next to harness the vocals of Jayalalitha. The movie was KSG’s ‘Vandhaale Maharaasi’ (1974/Ashok Pictures) Here again, Jayalalitha appeared in two roles, one a naïve simpleton and the other an assertive go-getter. Jaishankar, Cho, Pushpalata and M. N. Rajam were her co-actors. The look-alikes switch places to bring the wicked step-mother M.N. Rajam to retribution.
Jayalalitha sang a duet, once again with TMS. ‘kaNgalil aayiram sweet dreams, kannam iraNdum ice cream’. Starting off with lines filled partly with English words, the song veers to Punjabi Bhangra midway.
While Jayalalitha’s mastery over English was well-known, she springs a surprise here with Hindi lines rendered with perfect pronunciation without any trace of alien accent. Well, on second thoughts, not such a great surprise after all, considering how well Jayalalitha had carried off the role of the tribal girl Jhumki in the Hindi movie ‘Izzat’ (1969) pairing with Dharmendra.
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The next composer Jayalalitha sang for was veteran T.R. Pappa, and the movie was T.R. Ramanna’s ‘Vairam’ (1974/ Vijaya & Soori Combines). Jayalalitha and Jaishankar were the lead actors. The movie was an adaptation of the Hindi movie ‘Victoria No. 203’ (1972). Produced and directed by Brij, ‘Victoria No. 203’ starring Navin Nischol, Saira Banu, Ashok Kumar and Pran was a racy entertainer of a daring diamond heist. Blended judiciously with thrilling ingredients like thieves falling out, murder, the diamonds being secreted in a horse-carriage, key to a certain locker falling in the hands of two small time crooks and romance between the pretty carriage driver and a handsome passenger, the movie was a huge success. Ramanna’s Tamil remake was a well-made movie as well and did good business.
Listen to ‘Iru Maangani Pol’ from Vairam (1974)
Sung by SPB & J. Jayalalitha
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by T.R. Pappa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kIzX-pvGh4
The song shines in its borrowed feathers, and Jayalalitha matches the passionate wooing of SPB with her trademark ebullience.
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Having sung for a MGR movie, would not have Jayalalitha wished for an opportunity to sing in a Sivaji starrer? Mukta Srinivasan dangled before her such a prized opportunity, and Jayalalitha accepted it with alacrity. The movie was ‘Anbai Thedi’ (1974/Mukta Films). Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalitha, ‘Major Sundararajan’, Vijayakumari, Cho, Srikanth, Baby Indira and Subha were the actors. Sivaji played an innocent youth who is given to day dreaming and hallucinations. This weakness of his lands him in a mess time and again and he is the subject of universal derision. Jayalalitha played the fruit vendor Rani who marries him and helps him overcome his strange disorder.
A song composed by MSV for the movie ranked high in the popularity charts, and is remembered fondly to this day by music enthusiasts. The song is ‘Chithira mandabathil sila muththukkaL kotti vaiththEn’ that finds place as one of the dreams of the hero. He has been given a fireworks stall to run at the time, and losing himself in a romantic fantasy where his beloved Rani is crowned as ‘Miss Madras’ (Jayalalitha appears in a shimmering red gown emblazoned with the legend ‘Miss Madras’ and is adorned with a tiara on her head), he sets the shop on fire!Listen to ‘Chithira Mandabathil’ from Anbai Thedi (1974)
Sung by TMS & J. Jayalalitha
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAf4xFxVSsU
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The next album in which we find Jayalalitha as a singer is her 100th movie- D. Rama Naidu’s ‘Thirumangalyam’ (1974/ Vijaya-Suresh Combines), produced by D. Rama Naidu ( who passed awy earlier this week) and directed by A. Vincent, the movie starred Jayalalitha, Muthuraman, Sivakumar, Lakshmi, Sridevi and others. It was a remake of the Telugu adaptation of a story by Yadhanapoodi Sulocharani, ‘Jeevana Tarangalu’ (1973) starring Vanishri, Shobhan Babu, Krishnamraju, Lakshmi and others. Merely to nip a suspected budding romance between a poor woman and his younger brother, a wealthy man ties the sacred thread forcibly around her neck. How after initial upheavals the woman accepts her fate and goes about setting right the ills in her husband’s household forms rest of the implausible proceedings.
Jayalalitha gave a superbly restrained performance as the protagonist Seetha. And to add luster to her portrayal, she sang 3 songs in the movie. The first is ‘Thirumangalyam kollum murai illaiyo’ where Jayalalitha responds in prose to the lines sung by P. Suseela.
The next song is a charming solo by Jayalalitha- ‘Ulagam oru naaL pirandhadhu’. Perhaps to console a child who is speech-impaired , she reiterates that silence is golden and goes on explain how even when bereft of the power of speech nature has its marvelous means of communicating its myriad moods.
Listen to ‘Ulagam Oru Naal’ from Thirumangalyam (1974)
Sung by J. Jayalalitha
Lyrics by Kannadasan
Music by M.S. Viswanathan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TksOyMlnIo&feature=youtu.be
‘Porkudathil pongum ezhirsuvaiyo’ is another song in the album that featured the voices of Muthuraman and Jayalalitha.
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The next song that Jayalalitha sang was for ‘Madrasu Mailu’ from G. Subbramaniya Reddiar’s ‘Unnai Sutrum Ulagam’ (1977/Sree Navaneetha Pictures). Jayalalitha played the elder sister who sacrifices her own happiness for the sake of her siblings. Savitri, Kamalhasan, AVM. Rajan, Vidhubala, Vijayakumar and Pramila were her co-actors. Shankar-Ganesh made the vivacious Jayalalitha team up with an equally exuberant L.R. Eswari to render a rollicking sadugudu number.* * * *
Jayalalitha does not seem to have sung any other movie song. However, her dialogues find place in few other songs. Like her mother Sandhya whose ‘Swami, kaiyilai naadhanai thangal gaanaathaal kavarndha raagam?’ lent the immortal ‘Veenai kodiyudaiya vendhane’ a moment of feminine graciousness, Jayalalitha’s dialogues like ‘Ellaam indha adimaigalin uzhaipaal thaane’ (Yen endra keLvi/Aayiraththil Oruvan), ‘AaramabathileyE abasagunamaa?’ (Kanne kaniye /Ragasiya Police 115), ‘Marubadiyum solren, avaLa paarkka neenga pogave koodaadhu’ (Enna Poruththam/ Ragasiya Police 115), ‘AvargaL mannargal…en adimaigal’ (MannargaL Vanangum Silaiyaanen/Anbu Thangai), ‘Ungalukku paadavum theriyuma?’ (Maanthorana veedhiyil/ Paattum Bharathamum) will always be remembered. Few more songs such duets with SPB in Sri Krishnaleela & Anbu Thangai and a 'Modern Bread' ditty were discussed subsequently, but I had not listened to them at the time.
After a short hiatus, Jayalalitha made a comeback of sorts with Lenin’s ‘Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal’ (1980), but the movie was a commercial failure. Her subsequent projects ‘Manipoor Maamiyaar’ and ‘Maatraan Thottathu Malligai’ did not see the light of the day. However, she was soon drawn into the irrevocable vortex of politics, and the rest is a history that we all know only too well.
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Besides the songs that she sang in her movies, Jayalalitha sang few songs for a non-film devotional album by Kunnakkudi Vaidhyanathan. Songs such as ‘Maariyamma…muthu maariyamma’, ‘Deeparaadhanayil undhan thirumugam vilangudhamma’, ‘Kaali mahamaayi karumaariyaanavale’ and ‘Thanga mayileri varum engaL vadivelavan’ may be forgotten today, but they did resound from temple loud-speakers in a distant past. My favorite from this album is the haunting ‘Maari varum ulaginile maaraadha maariyamma’. I must confess that I like this song even more than any of the film songs that Jayalalitha sang…
Listen to ‘maari varum ulaginile’
Listen to ‘Maari Varum Ulaginile’
Sung by J. Jayalalitha
Music by Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHYuoCx0wPI&feature=youtu.be
Jayalalitha always had a special regard for the extraordinary talents of Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan and during her tenure as chief-minister, she appointed him as the President of the ‘Iyal Isai Naadaga Mandram’ for a term. Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan was an admirer of Jayalalitha and even came up with a raga in her name. Speaking at a function to commemorate Kunnakkudi’s completing 60 years of service to music, Jayalalitha conferred on him the title ‘Carnaataka Isaignaani’.
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Appearing in an episode of ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’, Chief-minister Jayalalitha had the hostess in a spell when she broke into a spontaneous, soulful rendition of the old Hindi classic ‘Aajaa sanam madhur chaandni mein hum’!
During her tenures as chief-minister, Jayalalitha did much for the cause of the forgotten doyens of Tamil film music. She appointed T.M. Soundararajan and P.B.Srinivas as successive presidents of the ‘Iyal Isai Naadaga MandRam’. The ‘Paavendhar Bharathidasan Award’ was given to Jikki and S. Janaki in 1992 and to P. Suseela in 1993. The ‘Kalaimaamani’ Award was given to P. Leela (1991), A.L. Raghavan (1992), Jikki (1994) and A.P. Komala (2001). Jayalalitha pushed for a Padma Bhushan Award for veteran P. Leela, and was greatly saddened when Leela passed away before the awards were announced. Jamunarani was given the ‘Arignar Anna Award’ and M.S. Viswanathan the ‘Kannadasan Award’ in 2002. TMS, M.S. Rajeswari, T.K. Ramamoorthi, P. Suseela, S. Janaki, Vani Jairam, (Shankar) Ganesh and L.R. Eswari were given similar awards for Lifetime Achievements.
Hearing that Ravu Balasaraswathi and S. Varalakshmi were languishing in poverty in their old age, Jayalalitha rushed to their succor. When Jikki was diagnosed with cancer, Jayalalitha ensured that the ailing doyenne received the best possible medical care.
In August 2012, Jayalalitha presided over a magnificent felicitation function for M.S. Viswanthan & T.K Ramamoorthi and conferred upon MSV the title “Thirai Isai Chakravarthy”.The event also had a live orchestra presentation of golden melodies of the composers, selected personally by Jayalalitha.
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Discussion at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1412267898804932/
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