Indian film music: An amalgam of different tunes
K S Sivakumaran
Music is a universal language, everybody agrees. Like most music
lovers I like all types of music. As far as Indian Music is concerned I
love Hindi and Thamil film music besides Carnatic and classical
Hindustani music.
But as a teenager I liked most oriental film music based on western
tunes. More than half a century ago I used to like the fine melodies of
Naushad and Shankar-Jaikishan, Chitalkar Ramachandra, S D Burman and O P
Nayyar in Hindi and in Thamil I liked the music of C R Subbaraman, C
Rajeswara Rao, G Ramanathan, T G Lingappa and a few others.
Ilayarajah |
A R Rahman |
During the past two decades two outstanding music directors literally
conquered the lovers of Thamil film music: Ilayarajah and A R Rahman (a
Thamilian turned Muslim). But now there are a host of young and new
music directors in Thamil films, numerous to mention. One of them is
Vidyasaagar.
However, I like to talk about little within the limited space
available one or two early Thamil music directors who enthralled me. At
the same time I was enchanted by the English and Hindi music that I
heard over the airwaves of the commercial service of the then Radio
Ceylon.
The first colossal Thamil film I saw was Gemini’s Chandralekha (1948)
made in Thamil and Hindi. It was a box office hit and ran for years
continuously in theatres in Thamilnadu and Maharashtra and in Lanka too.
The Music composer was C Rajeswara Rao.
The music in the film was a cocktail of different types of tunes:
Carnatic, Hindustani, Latin American, Portuguese, operetta, Gypsy music
and Waltz with fantastic dances including Bhratha Natyam. There was
chorus circus songs based on Donkey Serenade. There was also a Waltz of
Strauss.
Rajeswara Rao composed music for another popular film of yesteryear
Mangamma Sabatham. Here too Latin American rhythms were used. Film star
and politician and Bharatha Natyam dancer Vyjayanthi Maala’ mother
Vasuntharara Devi and pilot turned actor Ranjan fascinated me with their
waltzes and western dances moving graciously and even fox trotting to
Spanish and Latin American beat.
I was’ mad’ those days listening to music composed by C R Subbaraman.
I liked all songs under his superb direction. Peanut Vendor, La Paloma
and a few familiar tunes came to be introduced in Thamil films.
Vijayakumari was a film replete with Carnatic and Latin American
rhythms.
Even earlier films like Sakuntalai and Vanamohini (Lanka born
Thavamani Devi whose dress and acting was considered daring then) had
music ‘carnaticized’ western music melodies. Such a fiesta was the early
film music entertainment and the names mentioned above were really
pioneers in popularising music to be accepted in universal terms.
Some of the Thamil film music directors like T R Paapa, Vedachalam
particularly had composed music for Lankan Sinhala films. Also, popular
playback singers in south Indian films like A M Rajah, K Rani, Jamuna
Rani, P Sushila and a few others had sung in early Sinhala films like
Sujatha
Like many things in this world nothing is exclusive and pure. Music
transcends artificial barriers.
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