Maestro ilaiyaraaja news & titbits

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Raagas - lot of what you say is what I think also. Infact, when Rahman made that Dholak statement, I judged him and resented the implication. But looking back, it clearly is a mission statement. To his credit, he has accomplished the mission he set out to. Again, saying this, it doesn't automatically follow that "Person A who is naturally passionate about Attribute X WILL be more succesful in X than Person B for whom X is an acquired passion". But the tilting factor is Person A here is IR, who is atleast as much a giant as Rahman in the overall scheme of things - I believe that everything else being equal, natural passion will tilt the scale in terms of output produced. I don't see this theory as belittling Rahman in any manner. Just as Rahman succeeded in changing the paradigm of succesful film music(songs) since that was his passion and mission. As even the rabidest of Rahman fan would admit, Rahman hasn't been able to change the successful paradigm of BGM in Raja's sphere of influence - even now, Raja remains the historical and contemporary benchmark for BGM in South Indian filmdom. To me, it affirms my theory w.r.t where their "natural passion" lays. Basically, these are talents that can pretty much achieve whatever artistic mission they are on as long as it fits in their natural philosophical outlook.(Gindhila illainu sollalaam - but keep in mind BGM hasn't historically been something they value and till date it remains so. Just happened to read reviews of Cheeni Kum, Delhi 6, Paa and a few other movies - which to us south indians are important primarily because of the music/bgm factor - today morning as I followed some links casually. Nary a mention of music in those reviews. Avainga apdi thaan)