The Golden Era of Dr.IR and Dr.SPB

[radiochandra]

What a thread ? @ App_engine feeling bad entering so late with the early 80s done. anyway, better late than never.


Naan Sigappu Manithan - invokes a few memories

# watched it at jayaram theatre, pondicherry (now Hotel Jayaram ). Not the usual Ananda / Balaji theatre where the RK / KH films are screened usually
# Vintage " The performer" Rajni, splendid direction
# RK's expressions when the drunkard asks him to drive the car on the footpath instead of on the road --- priceless.
# KBR entry just before the interval ( He removes the bicycle dynamo and keeps it in his Jolna bag to prevent theft ..... IIRC, thats when the director credits / Guset appearance credits appear
# KBR revealing the "color of the ink blotched on rajni's shirt" concept in the courtroom climax
# "Singaaram saloon" board kept ready and KBR inviting the judge to come for haircuts once he gets dismissed from service

[V_S]

App,
Your posts have invited many new hubbers and also veterans alike to share their valuable memories. That says it all. Definitely this thread is an asset to all IR, SPB fans and to mayyam.

Welcome al_gates and radiochandra to the hub. radiochandra, Very nice recap of Naan sigappu manithan scences. Keep them coming!

Jai, as usual good information to know about this role was initially thought for Raj Babber.

[Nerd]

Just caught up with Kakki Chattai. There is nothing wrong with namma singaari sarakku In fact that remains as the most popular number from KC till this date.

Vaanile Thenila is a great song, but I hate HATE the first two lines in the charanam. They feel sort of rushed for some reason

வானம் பாடும் பாடல் நானும் கேட்கிறேன்
வாசப்பூவை கையில் அள்ளி பார்க்கிறேன்
மாலை காற்றில் காதல் ஊஞ்சல் போடவா?
காமன் தேசம் போகும் தேரில் ஆடவா?

Ennavo meter-Oda extra speed-la pora maadhiri oru feeling. But when it gets to,

மைவிழி
பைங்கிளி
மன்னவன்
பூங்கொடி
மார்பிலே

Its sheer delight

Keep em coming app saar

[app_engine]

radiochandra,

Welcome to the hub & the IR forum! Thank you for the post!

nanRi V_S & Nerd!

[radiochandra]

On Kaaki Chattai, before the thread moves on ...

# "Vaanile Thenilaa" was my music band's ( JIPMER light music band "Breeze" , I was the KBist ) prize winning duet entry for Spanda, the all India intercollege fest 1996.

# I can remember jumping with joy when our troupe leader ( Moatoshi from Nagaland, he is a Pathologist now in Jamaica ) chose this---- Whoo ! Kamal - IR - SPB combo ....my day was made..... I was in 2nd yr MBBS and he was in final yr.

# Both male and female vocalists were from Hyderabad ( Dr Dash, a Bengali - Gult , hardcore IR fan , Dr Jyotsna, hardcore Kamal - IR - SPB fan just like me, my classmate and now a gynecologist in my hospital at Hyderabad )

# How we enjoyed doing the overlapping "Laa la laaa la la la la laaaa" in the interlude ...... Moatoshi of nagaland would swear by IR, while on the bass guitar

# About the movie itself, pucca masala with the RK group at school claiming that it ran more due to Satyaraj and less due to KH

# I remember getting smacked on my bums by my dad opposite Ananda theatre , pondicherry , crying on the road insisting for black tickets on day one ( Mr reddiyaar the owner, was known to dad but even he couldn't help due to mass booking by fans associations ). The spoilt brat of a child won the battle. Two tickets of Rs 10 were bought at Rs 50 a piece. My dad's honesty policy suffered a blackmark ..... who cared ? kamal padam 1st day.

# Those were days when the main road opposite Ananda theatre used to be closed down for traffic for big releases ( KH / RK ). Doesnt matter whether hit or flop

# Baba, Aalavandhaan timela ... athey roadla saani thelichu kolam podara madhiri iruntha kodumai ellaam 2000 appuram thaan.


# Can vividly remember the theatre going into raptures when Thengai Srinivasan describes KH to Satyaraj - "Rangoon Mocha Kottai madhiri Kannu "

# IR's BGM during the negative - sepia graph still title cards ..... and when the BGM changes to "Vanile Thenila " prelude pattern ..... ammaaaaaa ! Indha padathayellaam Hyderabadla re release panna maattaangala ?

[app_engine]

AhA, arumaiyAna malarum ninaivukaL radiochandra!

nanRi, innum ezhudhungaL!

[app_engine]

#191 பெண் மானே சங்கீதம் பாடி வா
(நான் சிகப்பு மனிதன், 1985 , ஜானகியுடன்)

The main tourist attraction of Henry Ford's birth place is the museum named after him. The place has some of the earliest cars and certain special ones (e.g. the one in which JFK was riding in Dallas when shot & killed). Though not as frequent as my Malampuzha trips when living in Palakkad (taking every visiting relative), this is possibly my max-visited tourist spot in this country.

While I get easily bored in the museum, there's another attraction which is annexed to this, called "Greenfield village". I can never get bored in this place, which is a retro village It has people dressed like old countryside, steam engine train, pErththeduththukkoNdu vandha old buildings (such as the cycle shop of Wright brothers, one workshop + lab of T A Edison, home of Webster etc). The natural setting has an old town hall , place of worship (people get married here), open audi (bands play every now and then) and one can walk around / ride in Model T (that original $500 car) when there's no snow / horse cart ride etc.

There are similar places worldwide, I think, where people try to revisit the past and imagine themselves to be living there At the minimum, there are certain festivals conducted in some places where people revisit the past for a period of time. (Holland, MI does this during its Tulip festival tracing back Holland-ish past. Frankenmuth, MI does the same with Germany-ish thingies). People enjoy "those old days" when life was slow, no rush, no noise, no jet-speed, no high-tech etc.

Whenever I listen to this song, it places me in a similar feel - taking back to a no-cable-tv / no-internet / no-rush / lazy / slow / peaceful time period. May be because the song has an air of calmness - with its slow pace, soft singing by SPB-SJ and very mild orchestration by rAsA.

Thoroughly enjoyable number!

[app_engine]

pen mAnE youtube :

[app_engine]

So, we've covered the three movies that ran simultaneously in TN with Kamal / Rajini / Ilayaraja as respective heroes

I have one more song, for Sunday, to post...will pick some loner number (i.e. only hit song in the IR/SPB combo from a 1985 movie) for that...

[app_engine]

#192 நிலவு தூங்கும் நேரம் நினைவு தூங்கிடாது
(குங்குமச்சிமிழ், 1985 , ஜானகியுடன்)

I have a doubt- what does the poet mean by 'nilavu thoongum nEram'? Does he mean pakal nEram? If so, what's the big wonder about one's "thoughts not sleeping" - as people are typically awake during daytime?

Regardless, a very sweet song in the voices of our celebrated duet pair - that obtained its well-deserved recognition in the recording centers of TN at the time of its arrival! It made its way into thousands of cassette players & buses. The "mouth-organ" (salesmen in music shops in the Detroit area don't understand that term readily, "harmonica" is their term) is not that often used in IR's songs. Actually I can't think of that many numbers at all...other hubbers may want to list some harmonica-driven numbers by rAsA. I'm not a big fan of this instrument, for whatever reason, and really love the first interlude only when the flute starts with total accompaniment. May be it's easier to learn to play this toy and that's why most Hindi heroes play this on screen in some of their country-wide hit songs Despite my not-so-much-liking for harmonica, I simply love the song - for the sweet melody and the lovely singing of SPB / SJ.

I remember seeing this movie in one of those suburban (Trichy-Tanjore road) theaters...IR-R Sundarrajan combo but boring movie. The most shocking thing for us then was the appearance of Ilavarasi. Only a couple of years back (1982?) we saw her as a pAvadai-sattai small girl on vAzhvE mAyam and were even pitying her for 'machchAna vachchukkadi' in nAn pAdum pAdal just the prior year (1984 - "pAvam, chinnappoNNa ippadiyellAm Ada vakkiRangaLE").

But now, in this movie only a year later, her appearance was like some 60's heroines - suddenly so old looking Sad what this industry does to girls

This was the only SPB song in that album where MV had max - goods vaNdiyilE, kai valikkudhu kai valikkudhu mAmA, vachchALAm neththippottu...The best song, from this album, IMO, is poongARRE !