மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 9

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 9

கண்ணா...வா..வா....

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‘மலர்கள் நனைகின்றன’, was the artistically printed legend on the record sleeve, with the silhouette of a woman sketched below and some bright petals with the dew dripping from them covering rest of the sheath. I had never heard of such a movie, and the garish jacket put me off. (Thanks to my college friend Sathya, I was at an audio center tucked cunningly in a busy junction of a labyrinth of alleys in the 7 Wells area of North Madras.) But as I was returning the EP record so that it could resume its interrupted hibernation, a small caption on the bottom made me pull it back abruptly “இசை: இளையராஜா”.

I was truly intrigued now, for I had never heard of such an IR album, and added it excitedly to the steadily growing pile of EPs that I had already chosen. And I am, to this day, truly grateful for that last-minute observation.

For the songs of மலர்கள் நனைகின்றன (Laxmichitra Movies; Produced & Directed by S. Chidambaram) brought back so many truant glimpses of a bygone age; as I listened to the songs, I remembered listening to them on Radio Ceylon long back, and was besieged with myriad memories of another day…

‘ஆசை இதழோசை’ is a tender P.Susheela solo, with Muthulingam’s lines caressingly seductive. 'இன்று காதல் மீறுது’ is an attractive rustic duet, filled with early Vairamuthu’s inspired musings- Sung by Malaysia Vausdevan & S.P.Shailaja, the song was another was another Radio Ceylon favorite. 'ஆசை மனசு ஒண்ணு கூடட்டும்’ has Gangaiamaran penning some unconventional radical thoughts, rendered with élan by Deepan Chakravarthi & Ramesh.

‘கண்ணா வா வா’ by Jayachandran & Janaki ( Lyrics: Gangaiamaran) was the song that the fastidious listeners of Radio Ceylon fell in love with though. The song takes me back to faraway evenings, of coming back from play and sighing and sitting down to homework, while மந்த மாருதம் wafted from தமிழ்ச்சேவை இரண்டு.

Janaki’s opening humming is enticing invitation enough and we are soon drawn into the dreamy vistas of old-fashioned, leisurely romance that Raja’s baton conjures up. Each of the three interludes is singularly appealing, while Jayachandran & Janaki captivate as customary, contributing in no small measure to the charm of the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLG0ZE4GxIQ

Some time back, I was startled to come across of the video of the song. Perhaps the video cassette of movie was released? Sorry to say, the picturization is a big let-down, with director Chidambaram completely unaware of doing even a semblance of justice to the maestro’s alluring composition. Vanithasri finds the going tough with the male actor seeming distinctly uncomfortable. What a colossal waste of the maestro's munificence!

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

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