Ilayaraja + SPB = Pure Magic!!!
When two great people meet each other something extraordinary bound to happen here are some instances from past Md Rafi + SD Burman, Kishore Kumar + RD Burman, Lata Mangeshkar + SD Burman, Asha Bhosle + RD Burman and some thing similar happend in south Ilayaraja + SPB .
I have been planning to write about this great duo for while, I wasn’t finding enough time or may be I’m just plain lazzy and I have relaized lately that it’s high time. Not many people here know about telugu films and I feel its my responsibility to share my experiences growing up listening to Ilayaraja and SPB (he alone deserves a big post on PFC). I have been following this team since late 80’s I’m not sure how much can be written about them, but I will try to select some of their top songs and write about them. I dont think anyone needs any introduction about these two…..
1)Aamani Paadave Haayiga (Film – Geetanjali – 1989, Dir – Mani Ratnam)
I bet this song would be in everyone’s favorite song of all time, SPB’s voice takes you to ooty hills and you feel the song, it begins with nice flute sound and bird’s chirping. Veturi Sundararamurthy’s lyrics elevate this song to another level. This is my favourite song. This is the song that will make you appreciate nature and its beauty.
Situation: Hero who recently came to know about his life ending cancer disease want’s to get away from every one and lands up in ooty and on one pleaseant morning he goes out for walking…..
Aamani Paadave Hayiga, Moogavaye pooku ee veela
(Oh spring season sing peacefully, I don’t want you to be silent at this moment)
Raaleti poola raagala tho, Pooseti poola gandhala tho
(You have falling flowers to give rhythm, you have smell of new blossoming flowers)
Manchu taaki koyila, Maunamaina veelala
(Cuckoo is also mute because of the snow)
Aamani Padave Hayiga, Aamani Padave Hayiga
(Oh spring season sing peacefully)
Vayyasu lo vasantamee, ushhasu la jwalinchaga
(the youthfullness in me is spreading out like a bright sunshine)
Manasu lo nirashale ranchinchale marichika
(All the disspointment in me is written by my image)
Padala na yada swarala sampada, tarala na kadha ksnalade kada
(My heart is full of words, and decades of my life is so small)
Gatinchu povu gadha nenu ani
(I’m a story that’s becoming History)
Aamani Paadave Hayiga, Moogavaye pooku ee veela
I really like the change in tune when SPB sings “Padala na yada swarala sampada, tarala na kadha kshanalade kada” I think that is one of the Maestro’s trade mark. I dont know much about telugu literature but when I hear songs like these I feel like I’m not missing much, these songs educate me about how beautiful the language is….
2) Hello Guru Premakosamee Jeevitham (Film – Nirnayam , Dir – Priyadarshan)
This particular song is what i say a teasing one, hero Nagarjuna teases Amala and gives her various reasons why she shouldn’t be so stubborn being a woman and she should accept his love for the qualities that he posses as a man. Amala’s stubbornness and Nag’s charm makes this song more enjoyable on screen.
Situation: An undercover Police Officer suspects a young girl to be a daughter of a crimnal and he tries to get more information from her by acting that he is in love and he wants her to love him back……
Hello guru Premakosamee roo jeevitham
(Hey man, this life is to love)
Magadi tho Adadanikela Paurusham
(A woman shouldn’t be so stubborn against men)
Preminchanu Ninne Kadantundi Nanne
(I have loved you, but you dont like me)
Maha Maha Sundarangule Pondaleni Vanni
(There are So many beautiful women who can’t get me)
This is the best part of the song for me, all the qualities that he mentions are funny…..
Ungarala Juttu vanni, Pottu Podugu kalginoni
(I am curly haired, tall and handsome guy)
Chaduvu sandhya Kalginonni Chauka bayirama
(I’m well educated too, I’m not cheap to get)
Goppa inti kurravadni, Akkineni anthatodni
(I’m from a well todo family, I’m as famous as ANR)
Kori ninnu korukunte Peddanerama
I selected you as love of my life, is it a crime?)
Nakkanna neekunna Takhidulu yenti amma
(What more qualifications do you have than me)
Naa yethu naa baruvu neekanna more amma
(My height and weight are more than yours)
Nenante kadanna ladies ee lerramma
(None of the ladies reject me If I propose them)
Na kante preminche monagadu yevadamma
(You wont find another machoman who loves you more than me?)
I love you Darling because you are charming
Yelago ala nuvvu dakkithe luckku chikkinatte
(I will be the luckiest guy, If you accept my love)
3) Jabilli Kosam Akasamalle Vechanu Ne raka kai…..(Film – Manchi Manasulu, Dir – Balu Mahendra)
I haven’t seen this film but when heard this song for the first time I was like WOW!….then I started to listen like 3 or 4 times a day for 2 or 3 weeks and I fell in love with the tune and great lyrics. The tune for the charanam (antra in hindi) part is what makes this song special for me another ilayaraja’s trademark…
Situation: I haven’t seen this film so don’t know about situation….
Jabilli Kosam Akasamalle vechanu ne raka kai
(I have been waiting for you like sky for moonlight)
Ninu kaana leka manasurukoka padanu nenu paata nai…
(Since i havent seen you, and my heart isn’t listening to me. so I’m singing this song for you)
Nuvvu akkada nenu ikkada pata ikkada paluku akkada
(both of us are seperated like song without words)
manasokkati kalisunnadi yenadaina
(but our hearts are together)
ee poolane nee navvulu ga ee chuakalune nee kannulu ga
(These flowers are your smiles, and these stars are your eyes)
nunu nigulla ee moggalu nee buggalu ga
(your cheeks are like soft and fresh flowers)
uhhalo tayli urruthalugi meghala thoti raagala lekha neekampinanu rava devi….
(I have been flying high in my thoughts, I’m sending this letter with coulds so please comeback my love)
4) Botnay Patam undi (Shiva 1989, Director -Ram Gopal Verma)
I think I must have been in 5th class when (Shiva 1989) released and it was such a smashing hit in AP i used to see college going guys who were involved in gang rivalaries used to carry cycle chain, nuckel dusters and roll up their seleves, that was the impact that Shiva had. Though Shiva would be remembered for its action and intense acting by Nagarjuna and Raghuvaran I really liked this particular song
Situation: Shiva joins a new college in a new city and makes friends with Heroine and other gang and they hang out in college canteen and then …..
Botany Patam Undi, Matinee aata undi, deniko otu cheppara
(we have botany class or matinee show, give me your choice brother)
History Lecture undi, Mystery picture undi, sodara yedi bestu ra
(we have history lecture and there is a mystery movie, what do you think is best my friend)
Botany class ante boru boru, history rustu kanna restu mailu
(Botany class is all bore, I think its better to take rest than attending history class)
patalu fightulu unna film choodu, breakulu discolu nerputharu
(watch a film with fights and songs, you will learn break and disco dance)
I’m going to miss the part that SP Sailaja sung.
March ne talchukunte, moorchale munchukoche margame cheppu guruva
(I’m getting unconscious thinking about march,
Kondala course undi , yenthaki tagganandi yendi ro vintha godava
(this course is like a huge mountain for me and its not getting any smaller)
Yenduki hairana verrinanna peltasuluvaina darillonai, undiga september march paina
(Don’t worry my brother there are lot of easy ways, there is always september after march)
The tune that follows this part of lyrics is another of maestro’s trademark tune….its a fun song and i still love it…..young Nagarjuna and Amala made this song even more enjoyable….
v
Tags: Ilayaraja, SPB, Telugu
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Can add April 1st Vidudhala, Abhinandana , Rudra Veena to that list….actually there might be lot more that we are missing…
Keladi Kanmani – Mannil Intha Kaadhal: The entire antara seems like it has been sung in one breath… amazing! Classic example of breath control where the listener is unable to make out where the singer has ‘cheated’ and taken a ‘breath break’
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c5EAlr_W2yg
And of, course Mandram Vantha and Nilave Va from Mouna Ragam. Outstanding melodies created by Ilaiyaraja and rendered faultlessly by SPB.
Nirnayam was the remake of a Mohanlal malayalam film which I guess was inspired by an English movie ‘Stakeout’.
Digressions apart…
SPB – is the gentle giant whose actions, achievments and talents match his physical size .. correction outweigh his physical size.
SPB and Raja share a very special bond that none of the singer – music director combos you have highlighted in the beginning.
SPB was a famous singer and Raja was a struggling musician. SPB gave Raja and his brothers a chance to perform in his music troupe (those days they used to sing in weddings and other functions in and around Chennai). SPB also recommended Raja to GKV (G.K.Venkatesh – a leading Kannada music director) and till date Raja releases his tight leash over singers only for SPB. This bonding and friendship that bgan during ther early days of struggle has persisted and flourished till date. Though this combo is not seen in operation these days (as SPB wanted to let everybody have a chance of singing under raja), their glorious past still scintillates and inspires scores of young singers and music directors.
Do write more on this varun!!! Thanks for the post with cool posters a well.
@ Vinneth
Agree on that…I will try to write about them in second part….
@ VPJ
In Southern film industry there are so many instances that tamil guy is involved in telugu films and viceversa which inturn causes to use tunes, films from one language into another one, I don’t feel anything wrong with that provided honest recognition is given to the original…..
SPB + Ilayaraja is perfect example of two guys struggling hard to ends meet and they some how start to find sucess with their hard work and in process helping each other and still respect creativeness of each other…
I’m sure there are many instances of same tune being used in tamil and telugu films instead of claiming that this tune is from so and so film and that is from…. but what we should appreciate is the tune, music and singing….
Long live maestro and SPB….
1. Have heard a different version of Geetanjali number probably tamil-telugu difference..In hindi the film was remade as Yaad Rakhegi Duniya and the music of anand Milind was no way near to the original..
2 Keladi Kanmani is an excellent pick for the trivial value.. another one could be the E.T. song in Anjali which caused damage to Vocal Cord of SPB and he had to got that operated in US. Was Varumiyaniram sigappu (original of Zara si zindagi) composed by IR? it has a beautiful duest of SPB (on the similar lines of kahte hain gyani… wahan kaun hai tera)
great topic! been waiting for this. one small correction though…
marichika = mirage; anTey teluguloe yenDamAvi;
“manassulo nirasaley rachincheley marichika” anTey… the heart, despite the overwhelming despair, is still invoking some hope however illusionary it may be.
it’s all about showcasing the protagonist’s positive *come what may* approach towards life.
Hats off to Veturi for penning the words, and kudos to Raja & Balu for making them immortal!
This is definitely a great combination. Ilayaraja and SPB. They have indeed produced some priceless jewels out of Maharshi stands out. Also Mounaragam (Another Mani’s master piece). Aaradhana is another movie. The list goes on Kondaveeti Donga, JVAS…
Also the lyrics in all these songs are so beautiful unlike these day songs. Great music, Great lyrics, Great Singer. Kudos to everyone !
@Pavan – Varumayin Niram Sigappu – is by MSV.
Varun, thanks a tonne dude, for this wonderful article, which took me back to my engg college days. Growing up as a teen in the late 80’s and early 90’s, for me music meant only one name Ilayaraja. Me and my friends in college, had our own unofficial fan club of IR, where we would dissect his songs step by step, note by note, lyric by lyric.
For me my personal favorite is Rana Kanavemira from Swatimuthyam. It is a combo of 4 different styles.
The first stanza is a Harikatha, the second one is a Kolatam, the 3rd one is a Chekka Bhajana and the last stanza is a normal keertana.
Mixing 4 different styles of music, so seamlessly, only IR could achieve that. The Harikatha is almost a dying art in Andhra Pradesh, but IR resurrects this beautifully in this song.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=hVWV0NYprDU
In fact IR+SPB gave their best for movies of K.Viswanath and Vamsy. Another masterpiece is this song from Swarnakamalam.
Ghallu Ghallu Mantu Meruppalee
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=HKmnczrcILU
Watch the way IR depicts the sounds of the brushstrokes the hero paints on the canvas.
And another favorite of mine from Anveshana
the song Keeravani
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=aQoXXhq-FQk
Especially the opening Alapana in the song. Just brilliant by Balu here.
The orchestration by IR in this song is just out of this world.
Also these are some posts i have on my Blog about Ilayaraja
http://scorpiusmaximusindicus.blogspot.com/search/label/Illayaraja
http://scorpiusmaximusindicus.blogspot.com/2006/06/gitanjali-poetry-on-celluloid.html
This is one on Gitanjali. I could not embed the Jallantha Kavintha song .
@ WB
thanks a lot brother, my telugu is not that great…..
@ Ratnakar
Thanks a lot for mentioning other songs…..there are so many songs that we can talk about SPB + Ilayaraja i thought i would pick different songs reflecting different situations in the film…. Keeravani from anveshana is one of my favourite too…and sirivennla is simply superb…
You should definetly write about SPB + Ilayaraja….we need more people to write about telugu films here @ PFC…
@Ratnakar – Amazing song ratnakar.
The final piece is based on carnatic raag Reethigowlai.
There has been tonnes of discussion on what ragas Raja used and where and how. To me – it is the ability to cross genres and come up with a ‘pure- fusion’. To render songs of such great quality, it required singers of great calibre and it is no wonder that whenever a toughie composition like the one you have mentioned comes up Raja invariably turns to SPB and S.Janaki.
There are somany gems by the duo like all the songs in sagara sangamam with heavy sanskrit slokas……adi emayyindi from aradhana…..jilibili palukula from sitara…..anveshana…..agni nakshatram……and i dont know how many…….
According to me there are only 2 singers in India.Mohd Rafi and SPB who both can sing any classical, humor, sad, and everything in between.
and one more article will be best as ever – vamsy+Ilayaraja+SPB
Vamsy is a great director i ever seen in any film industry..
varun,are you from IT-BHU?
hey hi.. i dont understand telugu n i dnt really follow so much of telugu songs n movies.. but it was good to read ur views on them n very nicely written about the songs n about th duo… ofcourse everyone knows about the greatness of the two maestro’s bt ur article proved to be a good introduction for me to the telugu music world n it was great to read n hear about the two legends and their telugu work n ur translation of the songs made it easier for me to understand them.. thanks.. looking forward to more of ur writtings..
Hello music lovers,
Every one who takes breath to live for long time, obviously listen to music to live with happiness all over.And your article is excellent.It will reach the guys and girls who love Ilayaraja, SPB moreover music.Ilayaraja is not only a trend setter but also a legend,His music live for ever.No body is there who dont know Ilayaraja for his best music.Even A R Rahman, the best for ever after to Ilayaraja was a great Trend setter.Being a Lover of Music is a different part, but Being a Lover of Ilayaraja’s Music is extradinory.In one sense we the South people are very very very lucky to have a music from the greatest Legends both Ilayaraja and A R Rahman.