RMIM Archive Article "15".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: A.R.Rahman - A Rising star (in four parts)
#
# Written and Posted by: Satish Subramanian (subraman@cs.umn.edu)
# Partial Source: The Hindu internation ed. (interview)
#
======================================================================
-- Part I --
A Rising Star - A.R.Rahman.
Just half a dozen films old, already has a national award to his
credit, and has millions of fans all over who are eagerly waiting
for more from this young man in his early twenties.... that is
A.R.Rahman for you, the latest sensation in the music world of
the South!
This is a short series on A.R. Rahman, in which you will
see an interview with him (which appeared in "The Hindu") and
some lyrics from the first few films for which he scored the music.
Hope you will enjoy it!
bye
satish
--
Here is the first part of the interview, which is followed by a
small review of ARR's first Tamil film "Roja" (along with some
lyrics (Tamil and Hindi).
--
A Passion for Quality Music
by
S.R. Ashok Kummar
(for `The Hindu')
With his mop of dusky curls, t-shirt and jeans, he looks like a
teenage college student, but the very first film for which he
scored music fetched him the National Award. It and his subse-
quent films were also musical hits. The young music director of
the South, A.R. Rahman, who shot into limelight with "Roja" for
blazing a new trial in film music, has grown in stature and in
undoubtedly here to stay.
Question: How did you come into films?
A.R.Rahman: My father, R.K.Shekar, was a music director in Malayalam
films. He assisted Salil Chowdhary, Devrajan and others. He
died when I was nine. At 11, I came to the field, playing on the
keyboards and later as an accompanyist. I worked under under
various music directors in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam - Ramesh
Naidu, M.S.Vishwanathan and Illayaraja. It started becoming a bit
monotonous. I thought advertising would be a good alternative.
This went on for three years. I built my studio and took to dif-
ferent forms of music - pop, rock and so on. It was then that I
met producer Tirlok Sharadha, cousin of ManiRathnam at a party.
He (Mani) came to my studio and heard some of my tunes. We agreed
to work together though we did not then decide on which movie.Only
later he told me it was to be "Roja" which he was directing for
K.Balachander.
(to continue..)
---
His first film was Roja which made everyone sit up and listen to him..
The music was very different from the usual fare that one was used to.
Esp. striking was the use of chorus and the instruments in most of the
songs.
Film: Roja
Actors: Arvind, Madhubala
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Music: A.R.Rahman
Director: Mani Rathnam
Here are the list of songs from this movie:
1.chinna chinna aasai - ****
(Minnmini)
Was rated the best song of the year 92. Received the national award -
for best lyricist (for Vairamuthu) and best music (for Rahman). Very
simple song, but has
2.rukkumaNi, rukkumaNi- **
Even though the lyrics and picturisation of this song makes some
people biased, but the use of the chorus and the beat is real good.
3.kaathal rOjaavE - ***
A nice solo from SPB (with some humming in between by Sujatha).
4.pudhu veLLai mazhai - ***
A soothing duet from Unni Menon and Sujatha.
5.thamizha thamizha - **
A patriotic song sung by Hariharan and chorus.
---
Song: chinna chinna aasai (Tamil)
Sung by: Minnmini
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
muththu muthu aasai
mudinthu vaiththa aasai
vennilavu thottu muththamida aasai
ennai indha poomi chutRi vara aasai
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
muththu muthu aasai
mudinthu vaiththa aasai
vennilavu thottu muththamida aasai
ennai indha poomi chutRi vara aasai
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
mallikaip poovaai maaRi vida aasai
thenRalai kandu maalaiYida aasai
mEkaNGaLai ellaam thottu vida aasai
sokaNGikaLai ellaam vittu vida aasai
kaarkuzhalil ulakai kattivida aasai
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
muththu muthu aasai
mudinthu vaiththa aasai
vennilavu thottu muththamida aasai
ennai indha poomi chutRi vara aasai
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
muththu muthu aasai
mudinthu vaiththa aasai
sEttRu vaYal aadi naatRRu nada aasai
meen pidiththu meeNdum aatRil vida aasai
vaanavillai koNYcham uduththi koLLa aasai
pani thuLikkuL naanum paduththu koLLa aasai
chiththiraththu mElE sElai katta aasai
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
muththu muthu aasai
mudinthu vaiththa aasai
vennilavu thottu muththamida aasai
ennai indha poomi chutRi vara aasai
chinna chinna aasai
siRakatikkum aasai
muththu muthu aasai
mudinthu vaiththa aasai
______________________________________________________
These are the hindi version lyrics:
Film: Roja (Hindi)
Singer: Minnmini
Credits:Rekha Pai (rekhi@bombay.mti.sgi.com)
Dil hai chotta sa, choti si asha
masti bhare man ki, bholi si asha
chand taron ko, choone ki asha
asmanon me udne ki asha
dil hai chotta sa, choti si asha
masti bhare man ki, bholi si asha
chand taron ko, choone ki asha
asmanon me udne ki asha
dil hai chotta sa, choti si asha
mehek jaoon main, aaj to aise
phool bagiya me, meheke hai jaise
badlon ki main odhon chunariya
jhoom jaoon main banke bawariya
apni choti me bandh loon duniya
erero ere ereyo ....
erero ere ereyo ....
swarg si dharti, khil rahe jaise
mera man bhi to, khil raha aise
koyal ki tarha, gane ko armaan
machli ki tarha, machloon ye armaan
jawani hai layi rangeen sapna
dil hai chotta sa, choti si asha
masti bhare man ki, bholi si asha
chand taron ko, choone ki asha
asmanon me udne ki asha
dil hai chotta sa, choti si asha
masti bhare man ki, bholi si asha
chand taron ko, choone ki asha
asmanon me udne ki asha
dil hai chotta sa, choti si asha
masti bhare man ki, bholi si asha
--
bye
satish
--
Thanks to Srikanth (kanth@cse.ogi.edu) for ratings and corrections.
======================================================================
-- Part II --
Hi All!
Here is the second part of the interview with A.R.R. from 'The
Hindu' and a song from his second movie "Pudhu Mugam".
Enjoy!
bye
satish
--
A Passion for Quality Music
by
S.R. Ashok Kummar
Contd...
--
Q: Despite your success, you do not seem to be working in a lot
of films.
ARR: Rather than making money, I believe in making people happy;
all other things are secondary. That is why I am not interested
in a lot of movies but only in one at a time. I like directors
whom I can vibe with. Ten years of experience in this field has
made me quite frustrated. I have evolved a technique which re-
quires a lot of time. Other music directors record a song in
seven or eight hours. But I am different. we do a basic sitting
and we record it. we record the voice and I add instrument by in-
strument to improve the quality.
Q: Will not the producers say that you are delaying their projects?
ARR: My process involves a lot of time. The delay is not inten-
tional. That is how I get my results. When people say that in
"Gentleman" and "Thiruda Thiruda" the music is good and not like
the usual beats, I feel happy. Abroad, in some places, they take
three months to make an album.
(To continue..)
---
His second release was "Pudhu Mugam", and most of the songs seem to
resemble his earlier songs in "Roja".
Film: Pudhu Mugam (Tamil)
Actors: Revathi and Suresh Menon
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Music: A.R.Rahman
1. nERRu illaatha maaRum (2 versions) - ***
2. kaNNukku mai azhagu (2 versions) - ***
3. July maatham - **
4. sambhO sambhO - *
--
Song: nERRu illaatha maaRum
nERRu illaatha maaRum ennadhu?
kaaRRu en kaadhil yEdhO sonnadhu
idhudhaan kaadhal enbadhaa
iLamai pongi vittadhaa?
idhayam sindhi vittadhaa?
sol manamE
nERRu illaatha maaRum ennadhu?
kaaRRu en kaadhil yEdhO sonnadhu
idhudhaan kaadhal enbadhaa
iLamai pongi vittadhaa?
idhayam sindhi vittadhaa?
sol manamE
kadavuL illai enREn , thaayai kaaNum varai
kanavu illai enREn , aasai thOnRum varai
kaadhal poi enRu sOnnEn unnai kaaNum varai
kavidhai variyin suvai, artham puriyum varai
gangai neerin suvai, kadalil sErum varai
kaadhal suvai onRu thaanE kaaRRu veesum varai
nERRu illaatha maaRum ennadhu?
kaaRRu en kaadhil yEdhO sonnadhu
idhudhaan kaadhal enbadhaa
iLamai pongi vittadhaa?
idhayam sindhi vittadhaa?
sol manamE
hey hey.. hey hey.. hey hey..hey hey..
vaanam illaamalE bhoomi undaagalaam
varthai illamalE baashai undaagalaam
kaadhal illaamal pOnaal vazhkai undaaguma?
vaasam illamalE vaNNa poo pook kalaam
vaasal illamalE kaRRu vandhaadalaam
nEsam illaadha vaazhvil paasam undaaguma?
nERRu illaatha maaRum ennadhu?
kaaRRu en kaadhil yEdhO sonnadhu
idhudhaan kaadhal enbadhaa
iLamai pongi vittadhaa?
idhayam sindhi vittadhaa?
sol manamE
nERRu illaatha maaRum ennadhu?
kaaRRu en kaadhil yEdhO sonnadhu
idhudhaan kaadhal enbadhaa
iLamai pongi vittadhaa?
idhayam sindhi vittadhaa?
sol manamE
--
bye
satish
--
Thanks to Srikanth (kanth@cse.ogi.edu) for the ratings and corrections.
======================================================================
-- Part III --
Hi All!
Here is part 3 of the interview with ARR from 'The Hindu',
followed by a review and a song from his third film "Gentleman".
bye
satish
--
A Passion for Quality Music
by
S.R. Ashok Kummar
Contd...
--
Q: Do you use computer in your films?
ARR: No. Not computers. The technique involved is different. In
fact, they say the music in "Roja" was computerised. As I said
earlier the recording takes time. You can hear the same flute
here in a different way. It is not computerised music. Nearly 40
persons sang `Veerapandi Kottayile' (a song from "Thiruda Thiru-
da") that does not sound like computer music. `Vellai Mazhai'
(from "Roja") is sync oriented. I do not restrict the musicians,
but ask them to play whatever they feel. Then I record what I
want. I spend a lot of time on lyrics too. It takes around four
days. We write something in the first instance and then improve.
So it takes about a week to complete a song.
Q: Then you will be working only in perhaps half a dozen films a
year?
ARR: What will I do if I work for more films and only a few
click? I do not want my energy to be wasted. I want every film to
be a musical hit. In fact, "Thiruda Thiruda" songs have created a
record for any Tamil film - 25,000 discs were sold in Malaysia.
They are going to give us platinum discs.
(To continue..)
--
His third film "Gentleman" has been his best offering yet. It had
some great mixture of songs, very different from his earlier two
films.
-
Film: Gentleman
Actors: Arjun and Madhubala
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Music: A.R.Rahman
The songs from this film were:
1. ottagaththai kattikkO - ***
A duet between SPB and S.Janaki. Great beats and nice use of chorus.
2. en veettu thOttathil - ****
The best song of the whole lot, inspired from a classical composition.
Neatly done by SPB and Sujatha.
3. chikku bukku rayilu - ***
Real crazy lyrics, leaning on the 'rap'pish side. But still an
enjoyable song. The picturization of this song is also supposed
to good too.
4. paarkkaathE paarkkaathE - **
Reminds you of a song 'kilele kilele' from the group "Osibisa"
which toured India in early 80s.
5. usilambhatti peNkutti - **
Tries a folk tune, but is not quite a pure folk number.
The lyrics spoil the song..
--
Song: en veetu thottaththil
Singers: SPB and Sujatha
Sujatha:hmmmm mmmm
aaa AAa....aaa
en veettu thOttaththil poo ellaam kEttup paar
en veettu jannal kambi ellaamE kEttup paar
en veettu thennam keeRRai ippodE kEttup paar
en nenjai sollumE..
en veettu thOttaththil poo ellaam kEttup paar
en veettu jannal kambi ellaamE kEttup paar
en veettu thennam keeRRai ippodE kEttup paar
en nenjai sollumE..
SPB: vai paattu paadum peNNe maunangaL koodadhu
vai poottuch chattam ellaam peNNukku aagaathu
Sujatha:
vaNdellaam saththam pOttaal poonjOlai thaangaathu
mOtutkkaL saththam pOttaal vaNdukkE kEtkaathu
SPB: aadik ki pinnaalE kaavEri thaangaathu
Sujatha:
aaL aana pinnaalE allippoo moodaathu
SPB: aasai thudikkinRadhO?
SPB: un veettu thOttaththil poo ellaam kEttup paar
un veettu jannal kambi ellaamE kEttup paar
un veettu thenam keeRRai ovvonRaai kEttup paar
en pErai sollumE..
un veettu thOttaththil poo ellaam kEttup paar[hmmm...]
un veettu jannal kambi ellaamE kEttup paar[hmmm...]
un veettu thenam keeRRai ovvonRaai kEttup paar[hmmm...]
en pErai sollumE..
Sujatha:
sOllukkum theriyaamal sOllaththaan vandEnE
sOllukkuL arththam pOla sOllaamal ninREnE
SPB: sOllukkum arthathukkum dhoorangaL kidayaadhu
sOllaadha kaadhal ellaam sOrgaththil sEraadhu
Sujatha:
eNNikkai theerndaalum muththangaL theeraadhu
SPB: eNNikkai paarthaalE muththangaL aagaadhu
Sujatha:
mmm mmm mm anubavamO?
SPB: heh-heh-ha!
Sujatha:
en veettu thOttaththil poo ellaam kEttup paar
en veettu jannal kambi ellaamE kEttup paar
en veettu thennam keeRRai ippodE kEttup paar
en nenjai sollumE..
SPB: un veettu thOttaththil poo ellaam kEttup paar[hmmm...]
un veettu jannal kambi ellaamE kEttup paar[hmmm...]
un veettu thenam keeRRai ovvonRaai kEttup paar[hmmm...]
en pErai
both: sollumE..
--
bye
satish
--
Thanks to Srikanth (kanth@cse.ogi.edu) for ratings and corrections.
======================================================================
-- Part IV --
Hi All!
Here is the last part of the interview with ARR from 'The Hindu'. Also
a review of "Thiruda Thiruda" and a song from it.
bye
satish
----
A Passion for Quality Music
by
S.R. Ashok Kummar
Contd...
--
Q: You say you are choosy, but you also go in for popular songs.
Why is it so?
ARR: Different people need different songs. I want to go down to
the people at various levels. When I toured Tamil Nadu, I found
that people wanted songs that would make them happy. Also noth-
ing vulgar. There is nothing vulgar in "Sikku bukku Sikku bukku
raile" (a song from "Gentleman").
Q: So you want to be with the masses?
ARR: No, rather I want my music to reach everywhere. If I play
rock, only youngsters will understand, while older people will
say "Why is he shouting like this?". Each category of music
reaches only one circle: for the class audience "Thiruda Thiruda"
and for the masses "Gentleman".
Q: Does basic knowledge of Carnatic music help?
ARR: Sure. I am learning Carnatic classical music from
Dakshinamurthy and Hindustani from Krishnan Nair. I like tradi-
tional music much.
Q: Why is it that the songs these days go out of people's mind
soon unlike the old numbers?
ARR: In those days, the lyrical value was greater in songs.
Q: You want to be called number 1 in the industry?
ARR: No. Numbers are not decided by me, but by the grace of God
and by the people. I want my job to be interesting and fun. I
just do not want to get stuck again in monotony.
--
(Done!)
--
His second successful venture with director Mani Rathnam, was
"Thiruda Thiruda". ARR almost redefines the meaning of light music
with his songs in this movie.
Film: Thiruda Thiruda
Actors: Arvind, Heera, Anu Agarwal
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Music: A.R.Rahman
Director: Mani Rathnam
The songs from this movie are:
1. kaNNum kaNNum koLLai - *** (Mano)
Again a great use of chorus. (ARR finally uses the word 'harmony' for
chorus on the cassette's inlay card.)
2. raasaaththi - ****
This is an amazing song, with no use of instruments. The song wholly
rests on the rustic voice of Sahul Ahmed and the chorus (oops.. harmony :)
providing the background 'music' with their humming.
3. konjam nilavu - **
A nice song that touches real high and low pitches. The voice
is of a new singer, Anupama.
4. veerabaandi - ** (Mano, Chitra and Unni Menon)
A mixture of different instruments and great use of chorus.
5. puththam pudhu - ***
The song in parts resemble choir singing.
6. thee thee - **
Another new singer (Carolene). The use of chorus is again
striking.
--
Song: raasaathi
Singer: Sahul Ahmed
Credits: Srikanth (kanth@cse.ogi.edu)
All words within paranthesis are sung by a low-pitched chorus and the
other words are by a high-pitched solo(Shahul Hameed).
raasaathi! en usiru ennathilla! (hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
poochchoodi, vaakkap pattu pORa puLLa! (hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
nee pOnaa en udambu maNNukkuLLa! (hmmmhmmmm mmm mmmmmmhmm mm)
raavOdu sEthi varum vaadi puLLa! (hmmmhmmmm mmm mmmmmmhmm mm)
raasaathi! en usiru ennathilla! (hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
(mmmmm aaaaa mmm aaaa )
kaara veettuth thiNNaiyila kaRikku manjaL araikkaiyilE...
(manjaLai aRaikku munnae manasai arachchavaLE!)
karisakkaattu OdaiyilE kandaangi thuvaikkaiyilE...
(thuNiyai nanaiya vittu manasaip puzhinjavaLE!)
nellu kaLaththu mEttil ennai izhuththu mudinjukittu pORavaLE!
(pORava, pORava thaan puththi kettu pOnava thaan!)
pudhu kalyaaNach chElaiyilE kaNNeerath thudachchikittu pORavaLE!
(pORava, pORava thaan ponjaathiyaap pORava thaan!)
naan thantha malligaiyai nattaaththil vittupputtu,
aRaLip poochchoodi aLuthabadi pORavaLE!
(kadalai kattuk kuLLa kaiyadichchu sonna puLLa!
kaaththula ezhuthaNum pombaLainga sonna solla!)
ooooooooo
(kadalai kattuk kuLLa kaiyadichchu sonna puLLa!
kaaththula ezhuthaNum pombaLainga sonna solla!)
ooooooooo
raasaathi! en usiru ennathilla! (hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
poochchoodi, vaakkap pattu pORa puLLa! (hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
nee pOnaa en udambu maNNukkuLLa! (hmmmhmmmm mmm mmmmmmhmm mm)
raavOdu sEthi varum vaadi puLLa! (hmmmhmmmm mmm mmmmmmhmm mm)
raasaathi! en usiru ennathilla! (hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
(OOo aaa mmmm OOo aaa mmmm OOo aaa mmmm)
thottuth thottu pottu vacha suttu viral kaayaliyE...
(marik kozhunthu vachcha kaiyil vaasam innum pOgaliyE!)
maruthaiyila vaangith thantha vaLavi udaiyaliyE...
(mallu vEtti maththiyila manjak kaRai maaRaliyE!)
andhak kazhuththu thEmalaiyum, kaathOra machchaththaiyum paarpatheppO!
(parppathu paarpatheppO, pourNamiyum vaaratheppO!)
andhak kolusu maNich chiruppum, kumari iLanchiruppum kEtpadheppO!
(kEtpathu kEtpatheppO, keerath thandu pooppatheppO!)
karuvElam kattukkuLLa karichchan kuruvi oNNu,
suthi maaRik kaththuthamma thuNaiyaththaan kaaNOminnu!
(kadalai kaattuk kuLLa kaiyadichchu sonna puLLa!
kaaththula ezhuthaNum pombaLainga sonna solla!)
(kadalai kaattuk kuLLa kaiyadichchu sonna puLLa!
kaaththula ezhuthaNum pombaLainga sonna solla!)
raasaathi! en usiru ennathilla! (oooo hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
poochchoodi, vaakkap pattu pORa puLLa! (aaa hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
nee pOnaa en udambu maNNukkuLLa! (oooo hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm mm)
raavOdu sEthi varum vaadi puLLa! (aaaa hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm mm)
raasaathi! en usiru ennathilla! (ooo ooo hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
poochchoodi, vaakkap pattu pORa puLLa! (aaa hmmmhmmmm mmmmmmhmm)
--
bye
satish
--
Thanks to Srikanth (kanth@cse.ogi.edu) for the ratings and corrections.
-- End --
======================================================================
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian