மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 36

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 36

ஏதேதோ கனவு கண்டேனோ.....

Last weekend when OISG, Narayanan, Sivakumar Sir and I met, we talked, among other things, of Ilaiyaraja reusing his tunes in other languages.

My thoughts, this week, were on many such instances, and at the irony of some of the tunes funding their way back to Tamil! Like for instance, ‘சங்கத்தில் பாடாத கவிதை’ (which itself was the Tamil version of the scintillating Malayalam number ‘Thumbi vaa’), enjoying a Telugu sojourn in ‘Aakasham enatido’ and returning to Tamil as ‘நீர்வீழ்ச்சி தீ மூட்டுதே’ when Nireekshana was dubbed into Tamil as கண்ணே கலைமானே. And each of the versions, in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu featured the vocals of Raja’s Prima Donna. The Hindi version that came much later, was a fun-filled Mano- Preeti Uttam Singh duet, though.

However, there came to memory an instance where a tune sung by Janaki returned to Tamil in the vocals of Vani…serendipity happens when we listen to the same tune in the vocals of the two talented Divas….

Janaki, as we know, was at most times an afterthought in the Tamil albums of the 60s. MSV would send for Janaki only in the rare cases when he wished for a change from his trusted Susheela or protégé Easwari. In a decade that was dominated by these two hugely talented singers, Janaki had to be content with the stray opportunities that came her way. That she gave her best to each one of her songs, few that they may be, revealed why she was celebrated in Malayalam and Kannada.

The 70s, however, was a decade of renaissance. The number of composers, lyricists and singers who found exciting avenues ensured an abundance of variety. MSV was first to acknowledge this change, and along with the young SPB, Yesudas and Jayachandran, a delighted Janaki found frequent summons from the Master coming her way. With the advent of Vani, MSV found a singer who was in perfect sync with his thoughts. Album of album came from the Master with dazzling permutations and combinations of singers.

If Vani was an inevitable presence in the ensembles of MSV, Shankar-Ganesh and Vijayabhaskar, Janaki found her moorings in the music of Ilaiyaraja. The late 70s and the early 80s were the time when the careers of both the singers peaked and most albums featured their vocals.

Janaki and Vani had only a handful of duets, though. It was MSV who brought them together for the first time in the beautifully composed ‘இந்தப் பெண்ணோடு பிறந்தது நடனம்’ (சமையல்காரன்/ 1974). The divas shared the mike four years later when Shyam composed the eternally alluring ‘பொன்னே பூமியடி’ (மனிதரில் இத்தனை நிறங்களா/1978). Ilaiyaraja gave them the jaunty ‘மச்சானை பாரடி’ (தங்கமகன்/1983), and also made them join Malaysia Vasudevan to render the haunting ‘சின்னப்பொண்ணு சின்னப்பொண்ணு’ (அறுவடை நாள்/ 1986). Chandrabose pulled a coup of sorts when he brought together Susheela, Janaki and Vani to sing ‘வந்தாளே தெற்க்குச் சீமையிலே’ ( பொண்டாட்டி சொன்னா கேட்டுக்கணும்/ 1991).

And in the 1978 movie காற்றினிலே வரும் கீதம், Raja sent for Janaki and Vani to render the two versions of the title song. If Janaki’s ‘கண்டேன் எங்கும்’ was the gentle zephyr that caresses one with its pleasant allure, Vani’s was the wild tempest that tantalizes one with eerie enticement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl1IbJwXVro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqDkmF1dLds

* * * * * * *

Jwala, a 1985 Telugu movie, was a potboiler in the standard template of the time. In a movie which

Chiranjeevi essayed a double role, Ilaiyaraja came up with some feet-tapping songs that became popular. Even overshadowing the fast-paced dance numbers, it was the soulful Janaki solo ‘Evevo Kalalu’ that topped the charts.

The tune was so appealing that Raja had to reuse it in Tamil in the following year. ‘மரகத வீணை’, a story revolving around a primary school in a southern village and the love that blossoms between the music teacher Kokila (Revathy) and the sports coach Kannan (Suresh), had a magnificent album. And ‘Evevo Kalalu’ was heard as ‘கண்ணா வா’, again in the voice of Janaki.

Two years later, a production company called ‘Vijay Gowri’ films embarked upon dubbing ‘Jawala’ in Tamil as ‘துடிக்கும் நெஞ்சம்’ and the songs were recorded in Tamil. I doubt if the movie ever made it to the halls, but Vani’s fervent ‘ஏதேதோ கனவு கண்டேனோ’ did feature in the salubrious ‘Mandha marutham’ parade of Radio Ceylon.

Here then are the two songs, the same tune in the voice of the two divas:

Kanna Vaa from Maragatha Veenai (1986)
Sung by S. Janaki
Lyrics by Vairamuthu
Music by Ilaiyaraja

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ifFkNbJt4&feature=youtu.be

Ethetho from Thudikkum Nenjam (unreleased)
Sung by Vani Jairam
Lyrics by Vaali
Music by Ilaiyaraja

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0w-ulzvJCk&feature=youtu.be

Discussion at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/2154102721288109/