This is it... (1958-2009)

Its a sad day in the history of world music as it dawned with the news of the passing away of the 'King of Pop'.

It was shocking to say the least and highly untimely.

Shocking coz this was not how hoards of his fans wanted to see him go. The wait for that one final performance and glimpse of the 'Moonwalk' was never to be...

Check this out for a record...

- 13 Grammy's
- Two time induction to the Rock n Roll 'Hall of Fame'
- 13 No.1 Singles
- 750 Million records sold worldwide

and most of all
- a US patent for the "Anti Gravity Lean" that was immortalized in the 'Smooth Criminal' video

Extremely Untimely coz the end came 18 days shy of his comeback bid with the 50 date sell-out "This is it" concert.

The concerts were scheduled from the 13th of July and only the first 10 concerts would have reportedly earned the debt-stricken Jacko 50 Mn pounds.

Its a colossal loss to the Music world, the innumerable fans and above all the promoters of this tour. Lets see why..

- More than a million people were expected to turn up for the concert series, what MJ called his 'Final Curtain Call'
- Tickets that had not been printed were on sale on eBay for over 300 pounds
- 16000 applications per Second were received on the concert website
- Over a Million people registered for pre-sale tickets enough to fill the venue 5 times over
- and in a space of about 2 hours all 190,000 tickets were gone

and the following records were either broken/meant to be broken
- Fastest ticket sale in history
- Biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city
- Most amount of people to attend a series of concert shows

Beyond this, 'This is it' was expected to provide a much needed thrust to the British economy. It was expected to generate over a billion pounds for the economy.

Imagine the plight of the promoters, who as I type this have reported that they are not insured for non-appearance.

All said and done, arguably one of the greatest entertainers of all time will be missed badly.

There's A Place In
Our Heart
And you Know That It Is Love
And This Place Would
Be Much
Void Than Yesterday!

RIP Michael (Mikaeel) Joseph Jackson!

"This is it...This really is it..The final curtain call"- Michael Jackson at the press conference announcing his final concert series at O2 arena, March 05, 2009

எனக்கு பிடித்த பாடல்கள்

I am listening(watching) to some music videos since morning and the lineup is quite interesting. For a change, these are not Ilaiyaraaja's compositions.

The list was something like this..

It started with the playful "Manjil Kulikkum Raaverayay" from Veruthe Oru Bhaarya, composed and sung by Shyam Dharman. The highlight of this track are the antics of Jayaram, where he impersonates various Malayalam actors. Amazing & Hilarious stuff..

Continuing with the list(??)
Chella Kurinji-Mullavalliyum Thenmaavum-Ousepacchan-Unni Menon & Sujatha [Song--->Movie--->Composer--->Singer(s)]. This is a 'anytime-listen' romantic song complete with nice picturization and a beautiful looking Chaya Singh.

Next in line were the 2 beautiful songs from "Karuttha Pakshigal", Mazhyil Raathri Mazhyil and Venmukiledho. Manjari & Jayachandran are just awesome in their respective songs. Mohan Sithara continues his good work from Thanmathra adding some soul to this movie with his compositions (these are the only 2 songs in the album, though there is also a female version of Venmukiledho by Sheela Mani).

Mazhayil:

Venmukil:

Mohanlal starrer Photographer may have been a dud at the box office, but the song "Ende Kannanu Karuppu Niram" is a marvellous duet between 'கந்தர்வ குரலோன்' K J Yesudas and the supremely talented Manjari.

All of us have appreciated the super hit "Ente Khalbile" sung by Vineeth Srinivasan. But my favorite in the 2006 flick Classmates is "Kaathirunna PeNNallae". Alex Paul infuses such a marvellous feel to this song with the chorus that sings some folkish melodies. Jyotsna, Devanand and Soniya render the lead vocals in this melody.

Currently, it is "Sangeetha Swarangal" from Azhagan thats on a loop. I don't think there is anyone who doesn't like this song by Maragadha Mani. SPB and Sandhya are brilliant to say the least. But the best part of the song are the lyrics, I thought.

Check this out for a conversation...

ஆண்: நெஞ்சில் என்னவோ நெனச்சேன்
பெண்: நானும் தான் நெனச்சேன்
ஆண்: ஞாபகம் வரல
பெண்:யோசிச்சா தெரியும்
ஆண்: யோசனை வரல
பெண்: தூங்குனா விளங்கும்
ஆண்: தூக்கம் தான் வரல
பெண்: பாடுறேன் மெதுவா..உறங்கு!

Hats off to Pulamai Pitthan and of course, KB for the situation and the picturization.

Its still on loop..and I am loving it.

Oomai Vizhigal!

I have always been amazed at the Maestro's compositions for movies wherein the protagonist was a musician.

Whether it is Mohan invariably with a microphone or Balachander's JKB or Bilahari Maarthaandam Pillai (& family),

Whether it is Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal or Enga Ooru Paattukkaaran, Kalaignan or Kaadhal Oviyam, Raaja has always struck the right chord, Marupadiyum, Marupadiyum! (again & again)

All of us loved his compositions for the blind violinist. But what I am gonna talk about today is the one for the blind singer.

No, its not Kaasi. It is Ramu!

When director Vinayan chose to recreate his highly appreciated 'Vaasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Nyaanum' in Tamil, he went to the Maestro to provide the soul.

The same year (2003), Sandalwood made an attempt to recreate the magic, with Darshan in the lead. I am not sure how much magic the movie managed to create, but the music left an indelible mark.

Raaja who chose Hariharan to be the voice of Kaasi included Udit Narayan as well, apart from himself, to croon for Ramu.

Namma Preethiya Ramu sang six songs in all. Of the six, Raaja let Ramu borrow a couple of enchanting tunes from Kaasi (the beautiful & quite popular title track, Naan Kaanum, sung in Kannada by Udit and En Mana Vaanil).

My pick is the song that replaced "Aathorathilae Aalamaram". All of us know the situation. The poor visually challenged singer is ecstatic on the thought that he is getting back his gift of vision.

He shares his joy with his beloved who is speech impaired. But he is unaware of the grief she is in after having been molested by the village chieftain who is facilitating his gift of vision.

His excitement is voiced in Hariharan's superb humming. You feel like jumping alongside Ramu in ecstacy.

The beginning of the first interlude provides a glimpse of the tragedy that his beloved is gone thru. But immediately she decides to bury her sorrow so that his dreams are not shattered..and the dream continues with the shehnai followed by the flute.

The guitar joins in to indicate what he has never experienced before and he is on cloud nine.

The guitar rules the second interlude before the strings and chorus take over and show the level of 'roller-coaster' excitement. But in all his excitement he doesn't realise the silent suffering of the poor mute girl, signified by the solo violin that concludes the second interlude.

The musician-lover goes on... telling her that if he had 2 voices, he would have given her one and listened to her sing all his life and they would be entwined like 'Naadha' and 'Raaga' for the ensuing 7 births.

The underlying sorrow overshadowed by ecstacy is brilliantly showcased by the Maestro in this spectacular composition.

I am unable to choose between this and "Aathorathilae Aalamaram". It is like choosing between "Poongaatru" in Moondraam Pirai and "Ae Zindagi" in Sadma. Tough isn't it?

Either ways enjoy this classy composition! Cheers!

Link to song: http://www.mediafire.com/file/mztnzzznt3m/Joly Jokkaali.mp3

Happy Listening!

கண்ணயர், கனவு காண்
சன்னல்திற, சுவாசி!

கைதொடு, கண்துடை
தோள்தொடு, தலை கோது

கைபிடி, கரையிழு
செவிகொடு, சேர்த்தணை !

படி! படி !
பயன்படு, பகிர்

முயல் முண்டியடி
முடியும். முந்து.

முந்து. முன்னேறு
முடிந்தால் முன்னேற்று.

வழிபடு, தொழு
சேவி, நம்பு!!

கேள்! கேள்!
கல், கற்றுவி

வாழ்! வாழ விடு
வாழ்வி, வாழ்த்து

காதலி, கவிபுனை
கைபிடி, கைதொடு

காதலி, கைபிடி
கைதொடு, காதலி.

(சிந்தனை தொடரும் ....)

Dasaavathaaram

Just returned home after catching Kamal Haasan's magnum opus Dasaavathaaram (Tamil). I am no expert to criticize Kamal Haasan's genius. But this is akin a cricket fan paanwala saying Sachin should not play a particular shot or opining how he should hold his bat.

So here I am with my opinions.

First, kudos to Kamal the script-screenplay writer. From start to finish this script appeals to you. The way the script travels from the 12th century chola kingdom to the tsunami hit sea shore (beach)..hats off Kamal!!! You said in a TV interview last week that you consider yourself one of the best in the country when it comes to screenplay. You have proved it again. I say again because I have had the privilege of watching his 'Virumaandi' and 'Anbae Sivam'. Any one who has seen these movies will agree to my statement above.

Its a technically brilliant movie with a good re-recording and awesome cinematography. Not for a moment did I wriggle in my seat, which is proof enough.

Coming to the Dasaavathaar's of the Ulaga Nayagan. I can understand why a staunch Kamal fan has reasons to be disappointed and severly at that. This not the first time we have seen Kamal in more than one avatar. The flick that immediately flickers to my mind is 'Michael Madana Kama Rajan' where the master actor played 4 diverse roles. I know that you are asking me to come to the point and not beat around the bush :)

For people who have been following Kamal's Discography and worshipping his versatility as an actor, it would come as a shock that majority of the 10 roles look more like a fancy dress competition in which all or almost all the participants are Kamal himself. I am not taking anything away from the efforts he has put in (packaged intelligently during the end credits). But the plaster of paris shows!!!

Kamal shows glimpses of the great actor in the body language with which he differentiates each of his characters. But the ones that stand head and shoulders above the rest (physically Kalifullah does) are the 12th century Vaishanavite and the RAW officer Balaram Naidu. The Dalit leader has some very well written lines & Fletcher is good. Dialogue delivery has always been his forte and delivers again like he has done umpteen times before. Only that this time the looks fail him big time. Whether it is the english of Fletcher or the brahmin lingo of Krishnaveni or the telugu accent or the amazing lingo as the dalit leader, I am sure ANY actor would envy it.

CG is effective and complements the movie. Devi Sri Prasad's re-recording and art direction by 'Thotta' Tharani and Samir Chanda are good. Himesh Reshammiya's compositions (though pretty well canned) pale in front of songs in any other Kamal movie of the past. But I am sure the name of the man with the cap helped sell a couple of more cd's/cassettes, which is a very, if not the most important factor, for a movie made at a whopping budget.

Bottom Line: Go watch the movie!!! Keep your expectations at home if you want to enjoy the movie. Expectations are the offsprings of media hype. Leave Kamal alone. I am sure the genial "Bahuroopi" has a lot more to offer in "Marmayogi" and many many more to come.