TFMPage's Pick of the week

[vicky]

Neel: What a treat!!!. 2 songs of PAP in a row.

[Neel D]

Usha, nice to hear that you and mom enjoyed the songs.

vicky, thanks.

[Neel D]

Pick #1006

Song: inRE un manam
Film: Madanakamarajan
Music: M.D.Parthasarathi & S.Rajeswara Rao
Singers: V.V.Sadagopan, K.L.V.Vasantha
Lyrics: Papanasam Sivan & Kothamangalam Subbu
Year: 1941

inRE un manam

Pick #1007

Song: prEmA prEmA
Film: Madanakamarajan
Music: M.D.Parthasarathi & S.Rajeswara Rao
Singers: V.V.Sadagopan
Lyrics: Papanasam Sivan & Kothamangalam Subbu
Year: 1941

prEmA prEmA

V.V.Sadagopan was a famous carnatic vocalist, composer and musicologist. He has done enormous amount of research in music, written many articles and given many lectures. He served as a Professor at Delhi University, as a member of several university boards, as a member of AIR audition panel and as a member of the experts committee at Music Academy, Chennai. He set many verses of Kambaramayanam, Azhvar Pasurams and Thirukkural to music and performed them. He was also a prolific writer in Tamil and English. As you can see V.V.Sadagopan's contribution to music is invaluable. Later in his life VVS decided to focus on teaching music to children. He composed simple children's songs and taught those to children himself, which surprised everyone.

The tall and goodlooking VVS starred in films such as Adhirshtam(1939), Madanakamarajan(1941), Venuganam(1941) and Navayuvan(1942). He had a bright voice with a soft tone that set him apart. Wish he had sung more in TFM than he did. But all of his films except Madanakamarajan seem to have not fared well at the box-office. VVS quit acting and went back to being a fulltime musician.

Madanakamarajan produced by Gemini starred V.V.Sadagopan in the title role. The talented and adorable K.L.V.Vasantha played his love interest Premavalli (hence the song prEma). Sundaribai, who is deranged by her love for Madanakamarajan, made her debut in this film. The rest of the cast includes K.R.Chellam(looks like Kanika), N.Krishnamoorthi, M.V.Rajamma, Kothamangalam Subbu and others. More on K.L.V.Vasantha at a later date.

Part of the information in this post was obtained off the internet. Thanks to Randor Guy & Sujatha Vijayaraghavan.

[tvsankar]

Dear Neel,
THanks for the rare nos.

Period ai unarthugiradhu - indha mahdiri padalgal....

En paati in ninaivu vandhu pogiradhu.
En ammavin chinna vayadhu kaalam.........
Ennudaiya chinna vayadhu nyabagam vandhu pogiradhu....

manadhil vandha oru ennam - Nam period padalgal
epadi irukum... afater 50 years.........

apodhu - isai endha nilaiyil irukum.....

Idea varavilai....

Thank you Neel.
_________________
Usha Sankar

[Neel D]

Usha, you are welcome.
After 50 years??? Today's songs will be considered classics???

[Neel D]

Pick #1008

Song: mAlai varugiRa nEram
Film: Chidambara Ragasiyam
Music: Shankar-Ganesh
Lyrics: One of (Muthulingam, Idhayachandran)
Singers: Vani Jairam, P.Jayachandran
Year: 1985

Nice 80s memories! Chidambara Ragasiyam directed by Visu starred S.V.Sekar, Ilavarasi, Manorama, Arunpandiyan(debut) and others.

mAlai varugiRa nEram

[Neel D]

Pick #1009

Song: pAr en magaLE
Film: Koondukkili
Music: K.V.Mahadevan
Singers: (radha)Jayalakshmi
Lyrics: One of (Thanjai Ramiahdas, Vindhan, Ka.Mu.Sheriff, A.Maruthakasi)
Year: 1954

Koondukkili starred M.G.Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, B.S.Saroja, Kuchalakumari, Angamuthu and others. The film was directed by T.R.Ramanna. The screenplay and dialogs were were by Vinthan, a popular social acivitst and reformist writer of the time. Though activist and reformist writers had existed in the literary and political world in Tamilnadu for many decades prior, they entered the film industry starting the late 1940s where they found voice for their ideas and a means to communicate to the masses easily. Annadurai, Karunanidhi, Bharatidasan, Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram, Vinthan, etc. are some of the names that come to mind. Koondukkili deals with the issues of poverty, greed, abuse of women and the poor. However, all the social activism and reformism seem to have dissipated by the end of the 1950s. The 1960s had a different trend with its sentimental family dramas, love stories and formula masalas. Social activism was mainly limited to the propaganda songs in MGR films in the 1960s.

Today's pick is one of the very few songs sung by Jayalakshmi for TFM. It was picturized on B.S.Saroja. After her husband MGR goes to jail under unfortunate circumstances Saroja is left with no money or house to live. Her husband's friend Sivaji tries to help her but he has his sinister motive, to have a relationship with Saroja. After she repeatedly refuses his attemtpts to help her, Sivaji starts to sadisticially taunt her. Saroja now homeless walks the streets of the town, carrying her sick son, to a place where the homeless live on a sidewalk. The song plays in the background.

pAr en magaLE

Part of the statistics in this post was obtained off the internet.

[vicky]

Neel: Nice Song. There is a PAP hit song "Amma Varal" in the same movie.

[Neel D]

vicky, thanks. ammA varRAL is a nice song. Another PAP song on the way.

[Neel D]

Pick #1010

Song: enakku theriyalE
Film: Koondukkili
Music: K.V.Mahadevan
Singer: P.A.Periyanayaki
Lyrics: One of (Thanjai Ramiahdas, Vindhan, Ka.Mu.Sheriff, A.Maruthakasi)
Year: 1954

Today's pick was picturized on Kuchalakumari. The young and cute Kuchalakumari has a major crush on Sivaji and constantly annoys him with her attention. When Sivaji asks her why she keeps following him and annoying him she answers his question with this song. At the end of the song an angry Sivaji slaps Kuchalakumari on the cheek. Without missing a beat she turns the other cheek and says "intha kannaththula!"... Very cute!

enakku theriyalE

[Neel D]

Pick #1011

Song: nathiyE nIrAzi
Film: Maruthanattu Ilavarasi
Music: ?
Singers: ?
Lyrics: ?
Year: 1950

Nice song! Maruthanattu Ilavarasi starred M.G.Ramachandran, V.N.Janaki and others. Please fill in the missing details.

Thanks to tanthya for the song.

nathiyE nIrAzi

[Neel D]

Pick #1012

Song: alliyin mun
Film: Sarvadhikari
Music: S.Dakshinamoorthi
Singer: P.Leela
Lyrics: ?
Year: 1951

Modern Theatres lived up to their name. When the rest of the Tamil film industry was producing films with mythological stories and sentimental family dramas T.R.Sundaram founded Modern Theatres in Salem and produced action films, mysteries, war films, etc. Modern Theatres was certainly modern in thinking and provided forty five years of entertainment (1937-1982). Through their films the company promoted many action heroes (M.N.Nambiyar, M.G.Ramachandran, Manohar, S.G.Eshwar, Jaisankar, etc.). While some of Modern Theatres' films may be recycled Hollywood stories and some of the sequences Hollywood-inspired one cannot deny that all films produced by Modern Theatres were great entertainment and served as an inspiration to many future filmmakers and that it discovered and/or promoted great many artistes and technicians.

Sarvadhikari, an action film, produced by Modern Theatres starred M.G.Ramachandran, Anjalidevi, M.N.Nambiyar, V.Nagaiah and others.

Thanks to tanthya for the song.

alliyin mun

[tvsankar]

Dear Neel,
indha paatai ipodhu dhan kaetkiren.
anyway, old is gold.

porupaga kadhal paatai padum azhagai - Nichayam rasikalam.

Period and Culture ai unarthum padalgal.... hmmm...
_________________
Usha Sankar

[Neel D]

Usha, thank you.

[Neel D]

Pick #1013

Song: nAlu pakkam Eri
Film: Nadu Iravil
Music: S.Balachandar
Lyrics: vE.Lakshmanan
Singer: L.R.Eswari
Year: 1966

Happy Valentine's Day!

Nadu Iravil is a thriller produced and directed by S.Balachandar. The film starred Pandaribai, Major Sundarrajan, Sowcar Janaki and many others. S.Balachandar composed the songs and D.B.Ramachandran did the background score (re-recording).

Major Sundarrajan and Pandaribai are a wealthy old couple living in isolation because they were rejected by their family who disapproved of their marriage. Now that the couple is old and dying the relatives come back hoping to inherit their wealth.

The song in two tempos was picturized on V.R.Thilakam and Kalpana(not Kannada Kalpana) who claim to be Major's nieces and try to get close to the old couple by entertaining them.

L.R.Eswari swings and jives for you!

nAlu pakkam Eri