The Unheard Years : Raja in the mid 90s

[Sureshs65]

Song No: 31
Song: Arumbu Thalire
Film: Chandralekha
Singers: Arunmozhi, Geetha
Lyricist: Vaali
Link: http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer...0'&lang=en

Today I want to take up a song which shows that Raja was slowly adjusting to the changing times. This film music had decent amount of synthesizer and also had 'new' singers. It has Preeti Uttam Singh and Unni Krishnan. I am not sure which was the very first movie that Unni sang for Raja but I am sure this is one of those early films he sang for Raja. As we know, Unni got his major break through Rahman and 'ennavale' and then sang more songs for Rahman. The version we will listen to first will not feature Unnikrishnan. Another version will feature him. We will listen to that as well.

The song 'Allah Un Aanipadi' used to be played on TV in those days but all of us listening felt that the synth usage in that song was not upto the standards that Rahman had set. So while the song did get some decent airing, it did not become a super hit. 'Arumbu Thalire' was initially not heard much but later became a favorite amongst Raja fans. Still many fans feel that the synth usage and the choice of voices bring down the experience of this song. While I can understand their sentiments, I personally love this song a lot.

We get some synth effects right at the beginning of the song and then we have a very nice melody being played as the prelude. The pallavi is as melodious as it gets, with the synthesizer and violins providing the backing. This will easily go into the 'peaceful' Raja genre See how softly he tunes 'poradum uyire' and the way the violins play the counter melody. The whole pallavi is a lesson in how to set the counter melodies for a song.

The first interlude has some guitar work, followed by the flute but overall it doesn't flight like the Raja interludes. It is short and the synthesizer plays a key role in this. The charanam is typical Raja. He eschews the rhythm instruments and gives the rhythm through the bass guitar (synth?) and the violins. The charanam is his usual complex melody. The second interlude is interesting. Again this is driven more by the synthesizer. Towards the end, when the pallavi is played they are some piano runs. Overall an excellent melody. As I said earlier you can see that Raja is experimenting with the synth here. (V_S left a comment in my blog saying that the female singer was Geetha. Anyone has any idea about her?)

I had heard only this version for a long time. Then as I was listening to the songs for writing this series, I had two more shorter versions of the same song. Here is the first one:

http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer...1'&lang=en

Observe how different the orchestration is here. Some lovely keyboard work to follow the song. The highlight is the tune.

Now hear the third version. I was stunned when I heard this. For the percussion is completely different here and that changes the emotional content of the song significantly. If the first and second versions make us feel happy, this one leaves you with a lump in the throat. The same song, almost the same pace and yet differing emotions. How is it possible for this man? Maybe some day he will explain to us. I am in love with this version.

http://www.thiraipaadal.com/tpplayer...3'&lang=en