Maestro ilaiyaraaja news & titbits

[rajaramsgi]

வானத்திலிருந்த 27 நட்சத்திரங்களையும் ஒவ்வொன்றாக காட்டி இது அந்த நட்சத்திரம், அது அந்த நட்சத்திரம் என சொல்லிக்கொண்டே வந்து அடையாளம் காட்டினார்!" என ராஜா விவரிக்கையில் பேட்டி எடுப்பவர் சொல்லும் "ப்ப்பா!" - "நடுவுல கொஞ்சம் பக்கத்தைக் காணோம் !" படத்தின் கடைசி காட்சியாக திருமண மேடையில் நாயகன் நாயகியை அடிக்கடிப் பார்த்து "ப்ப்பா!" என சொல்வது சட்டென ஞாபகத்திற்கு வந்தது!)

கரெக்ட். நானும் நடுவுல கொஞ்ச பக்கத்தை காணோம் கிளைமாக்ஸ் ஞாபகம் வந்து வாய் விட்டு சிரித்தேன். அதை விட நீங்க எழுதியது மேலும் நன்றாக கோர்வையாக இருந்தது.

ராஜா சாரிடம் வேலை பார்ப்போர் நிறைய படித்த கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் மற்றும் பிராமணர்கள் என்று கேள்வி பட்டிருக்கிறேன். அதன் தாக்கமா இல்லை, ஆன்மீக சொற்பொழிவை 'அந்த' பாஷையில் பேசினால் எடுபடும் என்று நினைத்து பேசினாரா என்று தெரியவில்லை.


விஞ்ஞான ரீதியில் பார்ப்போமேயானால், 27 நட்சத்திரங்களும், 12 ராசிகளும் ஒரே இடத்திலிருந்து பார்க்கும்படியாக சஞ்சரிக்குமா என்று தெரியவில்லை. ஆனால் இது சமந்தமாக பெரியவர் இவரிடம் ஏதோ சொல்லி இருக்கிறார் என்று மட்டும் தெரிகிறது. நமக்கு கிடைக்காத பாக்கியம் அவருக்கு கிடைத்திருக்கிறது, அப்படி தான் எடுத்துக்கொள்ளவேண்டும். நிறைய பணம் சம்பாதிக்கும் நேரத்தில், நேரம் கிடைக்காத போதும் மனிதர் பேரின்பத்தை தேடி தேடி அலைந்திருக்கிறார். பெரிய விஷயம் இது.


அந்த "மிருதங்கம் சந்திரமௌலி" யார் என்று தெரியவில்லை. தெரிந்தவர்கள் இந்த செய்தியை சொல்லி, அவரை ராஜா சாரை பார்க்க வைத்தால், ராஜா சார் நிச்சயம் மிகிழ்ச்சி அடைவார்.

[Gregorysab]

When you guys are content with Raja being above films, directors why do you even want to highlight the meeting of Raja-Mani, Suhasini's denials? Why this sudden outrage on Rahman after Suhasini cleared the airs? I can't think of any other reason other than stomach burns.

And usage of Music arrangers are quite common among composers who are busy. They are nothing but the people who give the finishing touches. Tune creation and orchestration will be done by the MD and engineering, mixing, mastering will be done under the supervision of the arrangers. MDs can anytime become arrangers but not vice versa. And as I said earlier, this concept is applicable for composers who have no time. Some composers have all the time in the world and they can do everything on their own.

Firstly, I am not among those who compares composers and who spends time in praising a composer by bashing another composer. And for your information - I admire some of arr's works too. I admired a good number of 90s and 2000 works and selectively prefer some of his recent works. So i can assure you that I am not talking out of any bias or favouritism. But your post made me laugh at the absolute lack of sensible commentary here. 'stomach burns' is it!! your take is simply ROTFL.
As for arrangers! Nobody here is labeling something as 'right' or 'wrong'. Nobody is saying that using arrangers is right or the only way or wrong something like that. The most entertaining part of your post is the one i highlighted in bold. It means that there are composers like who are busy and hence approach arrangers and composers who are not busy and hence do not approach arrangers. But then, Raaja till 1996 or so - was doing over 35 films per year. In some years, he averaged even 56 films per year i guess. And all national magazines (printed in bombay) used to call him the busiest and the most expensive composer in India. Lets ignore the expensive part because thats immaterial here. He was the busiest. and yet, he used to write notes for tune, arrangements, then conduct the score. The processes that the arrangers do - were (are) done by Raaja himself, despite his busy schedule. Which means, there must be something more to his brain, than the usual right!

Let me now enlighten you with why an arranger is needed. It is not 'time constraints'. Composers today are not churning out 15-20 films per year (forget 50+) that they are so busy. An arranger is sought because an arranger brings his own skill/vision/talent to the vision of the composer. Listen to arrangements by Ranjit Barot for Anu Malik's 'Aks'. And listen to other Anu Malik albums. The difference is so damn notable. It is not that Anu Malik was too busy to let Ranjit Barot handle the arrangements. It is just that the director wanted Ranjit's sensibilities (of sound) for those tunes by Anu Malik. It is NEVER time contraints, but the vision about final product.

So, if 3 people contribute their vision-pieces to make an album (arranger, programmer, composer etc etc) - fine. We have no issues. But here is a man - whose alone is enough to handle the whole spectrum of responsibilities. Here is a man who is talented enough to handle all of that, instead of outsourcing it. And he is doing it within minutes. So obviously his talent must be a cut above the rest right! Thats the point people are trying to make. Everyone knows that outsourcing some portions is the order of the day. But when someone doesn't do that, you appreciate him a bit more obviously.

I found a 1989 interview of Raaja recently, in which he was lamenting about the quality of violins we get in India. He was particularly lamenting about the quality of timbre of the violin bow and he said he wants to import them (but its expensive). In 1989, Raaja was doing over 40+ films. He didnt have time then. But he was still bothered about the quality of sound in the violin arrangements. He didn't outsource it. He still doesn't. That's his genius dude! that he does everything by himself instead of outsourcing. The fact that he is doing things that are normally done by 3-4 people. And that too, for so many times in a year. Not just once or twice. It is NOT that he has all the time in the world. It is just that he has a unique vision on the product and is extremely talented to do all by himself. Simple. The least you can do is respect that. If you can't do that and believe that he is doing all by himself ONLY because he has all the time in the world - god bless you and your ignorance.

PS: Just this evening, a 17 year old kid, who heard probably just 10 raaja songs in her whole life - was stunned to know about the process in which he works, when i explained to her. She, of course, did not come up with child-ish justifications such as "he must be having all the time in his world". She just said "whoa he must be like a super computer" I said yes, his computer is inside his brain only, unlike others

[Gregorysab]

Reminds me of a quote by Charles Darwin - "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

Darwin still sugarcoated it I would have been more ruthless in my choice of words.

[Joannepx]

Also, one must not forget the fact, he still does bgm with live orchestra and that' why they are still soul stirring.

[Joannepx]

வானத்திலிருந்த 27 நட்சத்திரங்களையும் ஒவ்வொன்றாக காட்டி இது அந்த நட்சத்திரம், அது அந்த நட்சத்திரம் என சொல்லிக்கொண்டே வந்து அடையாளம் காட்டினார்!" என ராஜா விவரிக்கையில் பேட்டி எடுப்பவர் சொல்லும் "ப்ப்பா!" - "நடுவுல கொஞ்சம் பக்கத்தைக் காணோம் !" படத்தின் கடைசி காட்சியாக திருமண மேடையில் நாயகன் நாயகியை அடிக்கடிப் பார்த்து "ப்ப்பா!" என சொல்வது சட்டென ஞாபகத்திற்கு வந்தது!)

Please give some respect to the interviewer.. Raja sir is not approachable easily in public and he might have agreed for this interview because of the devotion he had with Mahaperiyavaa and the service the interviewer is doing. I m sure the interviewer must have taken an extra effort to get this interview and without Maha periyavaa's grace this would have not been possible. We also dont know what Mahaperiyavaa was showing to Raja Sir at that time.

[ajaybaskar]

Aakarsh,

That was once sensible post among others who quote Darwins and Shakespeares. Thanks for at least not freaking me out.

Both live orchestra and synth music have arrangers who'se job descriptions are different but in a subtle way. Raja being an 'All in all Azhaguraja' ( if I may use that nickname) is praiseworthy but its not that he doesn't use arrangers once in a while. Uttam Singh has worked with Raja as an arranger in the past. I remember him speaking to a national channel about this. He himself is an MD. But did that ever differentiate Raja's other works from this one? No. We do not even know which movie/album Uttam Singh arranged. Because the creative inputs were from Raja and the arrangements were done by another one. Same with ARR too. He himself started his career as an arranger but i do not know which albums he arranged. But i can list out all the albums he composed. And i hope you know the difference. But people here were so worried that ARR is branding someone else's creation as his. Hence my reply.

[rajsekar]

My dear friend, Ajaybaskar, cool down. There is no need to get freaked out while discussing works of artists and how the film industry works. No one was throwing potshots or mud at our beloved Rahman. You totally missed the title of the discussion thread which was basically about Collections!!!. It was quite unusual for Suhasini to come out openly and declare that Rahman is joining hands with her husband for his next project. No one expected that Ratnam would suddenly embrace Maestro after his meeting in Bombay. It is a known fact that Ratnam had approached Maestro for his now shelved project “Ponniyin Selvan”. Moreover we don’t know the compulsions of directors and movie financiers when it comes to artists selection and story. Producers borrow money at high interest to make movies and then try to offload the film to distributors for highest price. As I mentioned, Rahman certainly commands a premium when offering the film to distributors. The gripe with Ratnam’s last production was BGM. I would encourage you to watch Ratnam’s earlier projects like Bombay, Kannathil Muthamittal, Nayakan, Thalapathi, Agni Natchathiram, Mouna Raagam, Anjali, and Dil Se. Just listen to the haunting background score in these movies. Ratnam is a perfectionist and knows to extract the best performance out of all his technical artists. Those movies stand on their own merit and are timeless classics. Unfortunately Ratnam’s last two productions were mediocre.

Every generation of listeners have a special ear to their favorite artists. We all live in a society wherein we can objectively analyze the results of their efforts. We can disagree without getting really upset. In today’s Hindu, Meera Srinivasan’s tribute to late PB Srinivas was really moving. She has written “My generation of Tamil film music fans grew up on a generous dose of Ilaiyaraja. Whether it was a classical music-based song, a catchy folk tune, an intense melody or a peppy number, his compositions had them all. Despite that, there was something about the previous era of film music that repeatedly drew one to TMS, PBS and A.M. Raja. The three singers, along with P. Susheela and Jikki, defined a very crucial era in Tamil film music that was to survive the test of time, technological advancement and phenomenal talent that followed them. The robustness in TMS’ voice, the melody-rich timbre in PBS’, and the rare finesse in A.M. Raja’s, took care of the entire spectrum of music appetite of listeners.”

[Kimrep]

FYI, for folks looking to buy the new background score collection, its available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Maestros-Backg...round+Music%22

[rajaramsgi]

FYI, for folks looking to buy the new background score collection, its available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Maestros-Backg...round+Music%22

thank you. Tracks 24,25,26 are more than 4:30 mins. are these the original score from the movie? OR this was composed and added for this audio CD? anyone knows about this? If it is an added one, hope it is still from Raja sir himself.. planning to buy this one.

[kr]

No. The last few tracks are IR's compositions but played by Jay Raghavendra for the album....I havent even listened to them for that reason but the rest of the album is owrth it