Varalaamo - Aasai manaivi

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

S. Janaki sings for Shankar- Ganesh

Part 1

வரலாமோ...சுகம் பெறலாமோ....

I was listening to songs from 'Kanniparuvathile' last evening and was struck by this realization- this was a rare instance of a Shankar-Ganesh album that featured Janaki as the only female voice. Set me thinking on the not so frequent moments when the duo have had Janaki in their ensemble, and hence this sudden series of the chanteuse singing for the duo.

What is so exceptional about Janaki singing for Shankar-Ganesh, you may well ask. The explanation is fairly simple, Janaki was a rarity in the S-G discography, even in her prolific years in which she was Ilaiyaraja’s Prima Donna.
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At the time of ‘Maharasi’, the first movie to be released with music by S-G, Tamil film music was the absolute fiefdom of P. Susheela. Added to that, Chinnappa Thevar was the munificent patron of S-G in their early years, and Thevar would not hear of any singer other than Susheela to sing for his ventures. Thus, Susheela became the leading female voice in the S-G albums, and continued to remain so for many years to come. Can one ever forget the bumper harvest reaped repeatedly by this fecund partnership? ‘Poovinum melliya poonkodi’, ‘Naan unnai thedugiren’, ‘Kannan pirantha velaiyile’, ‘Aadiyile perukkeduthu’, ‘Unnai ethirpaarthen kanna’, ‘Karpanaiyil mithanthapadi’, ‘Maharajan vandhaan’, ‘Pallandu kaalam nee vazha vendum’, are some of the gorgeous songs that come to mind when the dulcet diva added allure to the duo’s compositions. Added to the solos were numerous duets with TMS and later SPB that remain popular to this day.

And in 1973, S-G escorted Vani Jairam into Tamil film music with ‘Veetukku Vandha Marumagal’. The talented Vani soon established a special rapport with S-G, and went on to become a mandatory feature in their albums thereafter. ‘En ullam azhagaana velli thirai’, ‘Alamarathukkili’, ‘Thaayyakki vecha en thangame’, ‘Aayiram aandugal aayiram piravigal’, ‘Thumbai poo mugathil’, ‘Megame megame’, ‘Muthu muthu therottam’, ‘Yaaradhu sollamal nenjalli povadhu’, ‘Katti karumbe kanna’- Vani continued to render one stunner after another for S-G well into the 80s.

S-G brought back the forgotten Jikki for a glorious second innings, giving her some memorable songs such as ‘Kannan varuvaan’, ‘Senthamaraiye’, ‘Thalai vaazhai ilai pottu’, ‘Edhai ketpadho’, ‘Poomaalai ondru’, ‘Naan unna nenachen’… Not content with honoring veterans, S-G gave talented newcomers some welcome opportunities as well- B.S. Sashirekha, for instance, got to sing ‘Madhyaana velai mayakkam sugam’ and ‘Pesadha mozhi ondru undu’, songs that elevated her into the reckoning, not to speak of the grand humming in ‘Malaicharalil oru poonkiyil’…
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Thus, it comes as no surprise that Janaki, who even otherwise not a regular presence in Tamil film music in the late 60s and early 70s, got to sing only 3 songs for S-G in their first 10 years (1967-1976). The songs were ‘Ondre ondru thnoorum vannam’- a lovely duet with SPB wasted in an obscure AVM. Rajan starrer ‘Deivam Pesuma’ (1971), ‘Thalai vaazhai ilia pottu’ with Jikki in ‘Naan Yen Pirandhen’ and ‘Ananandam indu arambam’ with TMS in ‘Idhaya Veenai’ (both 1972).
Following the stupendous success of the Annakkili songs in 1976, Janaki came to dazzling limelight in the second decade of the 70s, and it was inevitable that S-G would also summon her to be part of their ensemble. Let us recall few of these instances in this series.

Who remembers today a 1977 movie called ‘Aasai Manaivi? With Jaishankar & Sujata as the lead players? K. Sornam is said to have been at the helm of this forgotten project. The sound track was by Shankar- Ganesh. We would happily let the movie lie buried undisturbed in the sands of time, had it not been for 2 wonderful compositions of the unpredictable duo, with one of them being by Janaki.
Listen to how much value addition Janaki brings to this song of languorous seductive appeal.

Apparently, the lady sings this song to draw the attention of the man to her longings, and being a demure and downcast heroine of 1977, she couldn’t afford to be coarse or blatant. Hark at the beautiful lyrics in which this physical urge is couched, and how fetchingly Janaki portrays these emotions. Her dreamy lines cloak the song in a Ghazal-like ambience. Doesn't each repeat of that 'Varalaamo' couch within it a thousand plaintive pleas? And doesn't that 'Sugam peralaamo' tell a wistful tale of anguished yearnings? At every listen I await for the moment when she lingers lovingly over ‘Kannan’, and my day is made! The gentle guitar moments add to the appeal. I first saw the song in DD’s Oliyum Oliyum as a child, I was enchanted then and the song continues to have me in a trance to this day.

S-G have often been scorned at for lifting tunes and arrangements from other composers. And as for their original compositions, many of them have had disdain heaped upon them for their plebeian mediocrity. But to give S-G their due, time and again they have startled us with some breathtaking surprises like this one, giving us a fleeting glimpse of their creativity and capacity. It is a matter of bewildering regret that they did not bother to hold on consistently to this brilliance. Perhaps all along, it was indolence coupled with indifference that was their chief imperfection, and not incompetence, as is generally believed. It behooves posterity to temper its treatment of S-G with more thoughtfulness than their own times ever deigned to do, and to certainly adopt a more holistic view of their abundant contribution to Tamil film music.

So, listen on…

Varalaamo sugam peralaamo from Aasai Manaivi (1977/ Sooryalaya)
Vocals: S. Janaki
Lyrics: Vaali
Music: Shankar- Ganesh



- To be continued....

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