Tribute to Raveendran: Part 4

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

Tribute to Raveendran: Part 4

எந்தரோ மஹானுபாவுலு...

Deepavali fell on 1st November that year, and with it came two of Raveendran's films, among a host of many high-profile releases. Remember, Ilaiyaraja’s stellar album Punnagai Mannan, along with a formidable array comprising of Aruvadai Naal, Kannukku Mai Ezhuthu, Thazhuvaatha Kaigal, Vidinja Kalyaanam and Maaveeran were all released on that day. And all of them, with the exception of Maaveeran, had some lovely songs that staked claim to the airwaves straightaway. In the midst of this enchantment, it is a wonder indeed that Raveendran's two albums defiantly elicited notice.

Lakshmi vandhaachu (Aieres Cine Arts) was one of the two. "The Hindu" Rangarajan (who had earlier produced Kanmaniye Pesu) was the producer, and Rajasekar was the director again. The film was an adaptation of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1980 blockbuster Khubsurat.

The story was about an affluent household where the mother is a strict disciplinarian and expects everyone to fall in line with her dictums. The good-hearted father and the family suffer in silence. Troubles starts when a fun-loving girl whose sister is married into this family comes for a visit. The narration flows through several interesting twists and turns and all is well in the end. Ashok Kumar, Rekha, Dina Pathak & Rakesh Roshan played the leading roles with heartwarming empathy R.D. Burman had come out with some chartbusters for Khubsurat.

The Tamil remake had Sivaji Ganesan, Revathi, Padmini and Nizhalgal Ravi essaying the main roles. The movie was well-made, with Sivaji Ganesan painting a mellow and subtle veneer over his famed histrionics. Padmini and Revathi brought in riveting flourishes to the frames. Despite all this, the movie did not do as well as expected; it was most probably overshadowed by the (more) high-profile releases on the same day.

However, on Raveendran’s part, he worked on and crafted some captivating numbers for this movie. Let us listen to two of them here.

My first pick is the dance song ‘Sandhana nilavoli’ rendered with class and verve by Malaysia Vasudevan. Lakshmi discovers that the eldest daughter-in-law of the house had undergone formal training in dance during her college days and had kept it under wraps for fear of incurring the wrath of the mother. The father catches them trying out some nimble steps on the terrace. He had been an ardent Tabla player in his younger days and they all agree to have a grand session the next day when the mother would be away. ‘Piya Baawari’ was the equivalent song in the Hindi original where Asha Bhonsle was scintillating with Ashok Kumar reciting the Jathis.

Here it is a solo by Malaysia Vasudevan filmed on Sivaji Ganesan. A prolific screen presence in the 70s, Jayachitra was all but forgotten in the 80s. Though she had lost her youthful charm by then, she shows grace and poise in her dance movements. Needless to say, Revathi is usual effervescent self. Malaysia Vasudevan brings in a majestic sheen to the fast-paced notes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f2zX0QWtAA

The other is the most popular song from the album. A dreamy solo with a languorous lilt, the song acquires an allure of its own when Janaki cloaks the lines with a wispy wistfulness. Rich orchestral embellishments add flamboyance to this hallmark Raveendran composition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgfegNcnmUo

The other 1986 Deepavali release of Raveendran was AVM's Dharma Dhevadhai. Radhika played a pivotal role as a police officer in the movie that had Vijayakanth, Pallavi and Saratbabu essaying supporting roles.

The catchy Yesudas- Janaki duet 'Thodu thodu vaa mella' was the pick of the album. Opening with arresting humming notes, the song entices in its very unpredictability. Who would have thought of inserting the ethereal ‘Entharo mahanubhavulu' twist in the second interlude- aaha- the signature of the genius!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt4uWBooI9Y

1987 followed with Thaaye Neeye Thunai (Bhuvaneswari Kalamandir) releasing for Pongal. The film was directed by P.R. Somasundar, and like devotional films of yore, had a crowded cast- Karthik, Pandiyan, K.R. Vijaya, Nalini, Pallavi, Sudha Chandran, Srividya and many others.

Raveendran worked with a bevy of lyricists like Vaali, Muthulingam, Ponnaruvi, Chidambaranathan and Thirupathooran, to come with an interesting album. 'Koo kuyile kaadhal kavikkuyile' is a dainty duet by S.P.Balasubramaniam & Vani Jairam that found repeated air time for a while.
'Bhuvaneswari aruL puri aadhari' by Yesudas & Chitra is a fervent, emotional appeal to the Almighty for an ailing girl to recover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp5zfpT6RSI

It was many years before another Tamil movie was released with Raveendran’s compositions and that was also sadly the last Tamil movie for which he raised his baton. The movie was Malare Kurinji Malare (1993/ Raja Movie Productions), which was some years in the making. It was directed by A. Parthiban. An obscure Raja Venkatesh was the hero, while Seetha played his pair. Raveendran had sung in this album- the song 'Deepangale neengaL vizhi moodinaal' is a veritable aural treat. The Yesudas- Chitra duet ‘Vaa ilaiyavale’ found fleeting air time. ‘Kaadhal Payinkiliye’ is a gentle pathos number, sung by Chitra. ‘Aathorum thoppukkuruvi’ is a jaunty Mano-Chitra outing. However, to my mind the album seemed disappointingly lackluster when compared to the other albums mentioned so far.

Few songs can be found in this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKnBV5B8rLw

With that, Raveendran bid adieu to Tamil cinema. Only a handful of albums came his way. Like Hamsalekha and Devendran who enchanted us with a few albums in the 80s and bereft of continued patronage disappeared soon thereafter, Raveendran could not make any significant inroads here. Perhaps the overwhelming presence of Ilaiyaraja did not leave any space for newcomers to set their stalls and peddle their craft. Manoj-Gyan were only composers could sustain their presence for a few more years, thanks to the support of Abhavanan.

Raveendran continued to enrich Malayalam cinema with the magic of his music for many more years. His sojourn in Tamil was woefully brief, yet he has left behind some fleeting glimpses of his infinite capabilities. Even now if you happen to catch a few lines of ‘Ezhisai geethame’ or ‘Kaadhal vennila’ in some TV Channel, you cannot help your heart skip a beat in wistful salute to the genius of Raveendran. He will live on in our hearts, and his songs would continue to fascinate generations of fans.

Leaving you with a present of Raveendran's eternal presence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCmsZbarARE

-Concluded.

Discussion at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1549965725035148/

Part 1 here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1507199932645061/
Part 2 here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1508551829176538/
Part 3 here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1540981872600200/