It has always been a passion to compare
musicians of different generations who have created a niche during
their peak.I could easily pick as my subjects of discussion and
dissection the three stalwarts of the last forty years in Tamil
films.MS Viswanathan ,the king of melody who believes in METER,MATTER
and MELODY.Ilayaraja the master magician of folk and western
symphonies.AR Rahman the technocrat whiz kid with a hand on the
synthesizer and a heart on mellifluous music.All three were the BEST in
their eras.
MS
Vishwanathan is widely recognised as the pioneer in composing lilting
melodies during his reign from 1960 - 1975 which were his best years
giving memorable hits like Nilave ennidam nerungathe..(Film: Ramu),
Engirindhalum Vazhga..(Film: Nenjil oru alayam), till Ragangal
pathinaru...(Film:Thillu mullu) and so on composing music for than 700
films to date in all the south indian languages.His strength lay in
simplifying the composition to bring out the inherent meaning in the
lyrics which were mostly penned by his good friend and legend
Kannadasan.By keeping a simple meter he scored matters with surgical
ease and precision.And more than four decades hence we are still
swaying from his hallucinating effect.He was also instrumental in
recreating some foot tapping numbers which was a sign of the times and
akin to the Beatles.
Ilayaraja
who took the tinsel town by storm with Annaikili in 1975 brought back
folk music to tamil cinema.He went on a composing spree between 1975
and 1990 scoring for more than 500 films in that period with hundreds
of hits.By combining with the erstwhile SPB and S Janaki he composed
mesmerising soulful music of a variety not heard before.He went on to
compose a symphony with the London philharmonic orchestra which got him
rave reviews.His uniqueness lay in writing the musical language for all
the instruments and ensuring his team went about the task with ease.He
blended folk - western - classical and produced music that pleased the
fans and critics alike.He will be fore-ever remembered for songs like
Annakiliye unnai theduthu ...(Film:Annaikili),Ilamai ennum
poongatru...(Film:Pagalil oru iravu), Nilave vaa...(Film:Mouna raagam)
and so on...He has scored music for more than 700 films till date and
is still going strong.
AR
Rahman was a product of the times basking in the era of globalisation
and the advent of satellite channels.The stakes were high,the music had
to be different and Rahman cashed in BIG time.From composing jingles
for ads to his first film Roja his was a tryst with destiny at the
right time.He has not looked back since.His Roja had every composer in
the country dreaming about making such compositions with some famous
musicians in Bollywood stating they were unable to comprehend his
musical sounds.So they preferred copying.From Chinna Chinna aasai...(
Film:Roja) till the latest Sahana....(Film:Sivaji) he has captivated
the youth of this country like no one before him.He was instrumental in
introducing a plethora of budding singers and also for bringing
stalwarts in hindustani classical music like Hariharan to the tamil
filmdom.The elite singers of today like Unnikrishnan,Sankar
Mahadevan,Hariharan etc were introduced by ARR.Also ARR has brought
international fame by scoring music for movies like Warriors of heaven
and earth and Lord of the rings sequel and has been signed for the
latest Shekar kapur film.A true international celebrity.
What
remains common however is their passion for their work,the single
mindedness of purpose,their supreme dedication and their humility.If
MSV was a whiff of fresh air,Ilaiyaraja was an oasis of peace and ARR
was a soul stirrer.At some divine junction they blend to create a vast
vista of harmonius music.
http://vijayshekar.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/09/ms-viswanathan-vs-ilaiyaraja-vs-ar-rahman/comments.htm
Jafar
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