Wikipedia

Payanangal Mudivathillai (soundtrack)

The soundtrack for the 1982 Tamil-language film Payanangal Mudivathillai featured seven songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja, written by Vairamuthu, Gangai Amaran and Muthulingam and performed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and S. Janaki. The film, directed by R. Sundarrajan and produced by Kovaithambi of Motherland Pictures—marking their maiden film for Sundarrajan and Kovaithambi as director and producer—stars Mohan and Poornima Jayaram. It was released on Ilaiyaraaja's label Echo Records in LP records and cassettes.[1][2]

Payanangal Mudivathillai
Soundtrack album by
Ilaiyaraaja
Released1982
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length30:58
LanguageTamil
LabelEcho
ProducerIlaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja chronology
Moondram Pirai
(1982) 		Payanangal Mudivathillai
(1982) 		Thanikattu Raja
(1982)

Production

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Kovaithambi insisted on Ilaiyaraaja's inclusion as music being an integral part of the story; After Sundarrajan narrated the film's story for two hours, Ilaiyaraaja agreed to be a part of the film and composed 30 tunes within 12 hours and told Sundarrajan told to choose the tunes he felt would fit the scenes. Sundarrajan said he would explain the scenes and let Ilaiyaraaja choose the appropriate tunes.[3] Vairamuthu penned three songs for the film, while Gangai Amaran and Muthulingam penned two songs each. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and S. Janaki were the primary singers in the album.[2]

Composition

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"Yeh Aatha" was initially intended for Murattu Kaalai (1980), when the film's director S. P. Muthuraman wanted an alternative tune for "Podhuvaga En Manasu Thangam", and Ilaiyaraaja presented this particular tune for that song, though Muthuraman preferred the earlier tune. It was then, subsequently used in the film.[4] According to Amaran, it "sounds like a folk music but it has the classical touch".[5] The song belongs to the dappankuthu genre, and follows a 6
8 time signature.[6][7]

"Ilaya Nila" was originally intended for Moodu Pani (1980), but as the director Balu Mahendra was dissatisfied with the tune, Ilaiyaraaja wrote the tune of "Yen Iniya Pon Nilaave".[8][9] "Ilaya Nila" was also eventually used in this film.[4] The instrumentation of "Ilaya Nila" includes an acoustic guitar and a flute,[10] performed respectively by guitarist R. Chandrasekhar and flautist Sudhakar.[11][12] During its recording, Ilaiyaraaja required over 20 retakes to get Chandrasekhar play its flamenco notes to his satisfaction.[13] The song was composed in C-sharp minor; according to Chandrasekhar, as Ilaiyaraaja "wanted to highlight the guitar's beauty",[14] and has a bossa nova influence.[15] The song "Vaigaraiyil" is set to the Carnatic raga known as Shubhapantuvarali,[16][17] "Mani Osai" is set to Sindhu Bhairavi,[18] and "Thogai Ilamayil" is set to Latangi.[19]

Track listing

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All of the songs in the tracklist were sung by Padmashri Dr. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, while 2 songs from the tracklists were combined with SMT. S. Janaki.

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Yeh Aatha"Gangai AmaranS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:34
2."Ilaya Nila Pozhigirathe"VairamuthuS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:40
3."Mani Osai"MuthulingamS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:38
4."Mudhal Mudhal"MuthulingamS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:25
5."Salaiyoram"VairamuthuS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:32
6."Thogai Ilamayil"VairamuthuS. P. Balasubrahmanyam3:39
7."Vaigaraiyil"Gangai AmaranS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:30
Total length:30:58

Reception and legacy

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According to K. P. Sunil of The Illustrated Weekly of India, Payanangal Mudivathillai was the first Indian film to have "larger-than-life cut-outs" of its composer.[20] In its review, Ananda Vikatan described Ilaiyaraaja's music and Balasubrahmanyam's singing as the two main pillars of the film.[21] Dinamalar described the songs are delightful and, playing on the film's title, added that Ilaiyaraaja's journey never ends.[22] The Hindu described "Ilaya Nila" as an "evergreen hit".[23]

Following Balasubrahmanyam's death in September 2020, Lakshmi Subramanian of The Week published an article regarding the best songs from Ilaiyaraaja and Balasubrahmanyam's collaboration and included "Ilaya Nila" in the list.[24] The FM radio station Radio City hosted a special show Raja Rajathan which would broadcast Ilaiyaraaja's songs for 91 days—beginning from 3 March to 2 June 2015; "Ilaya Nila" was one of the most-requested songs on the show.[25]

Other versions

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"Ilaya Nila" was later adapted by Kalyanji–Anandji as "Neele Neele Ambar Par" for the film's Hindi remake Kalaakaar (1983),[26][27] and "Yeh Aatha" was remixed by Mani Sharma for Malaikottai (2007).[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Payanangal Mudivathillai Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  3. ^ "டைரக்டராக ஆர்.சுந்தர்ராஜன் அறிமுகம்" [R. Sundarrajan's directorial debut]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b "வேண்டாம் என்று சொன்ன மெட்டுகளும் சூப்பர் ஹிட்: இளையராஜா சுவாரஸ்யம்" [Even the rejected tunes were super hits: An Ilaiyaraaja titbit]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 12 February 2019. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  5. ^ Saravanan, T. (5 November 2015). "Music for the masses". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  6. ^ Ravi, Bhama Devi (26 July 2008). "Abhishek does a Vijay". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  7. ^ Thapliyal, Adesh (10 March 2023). "A Brief History of South Indian Kuthu and Teenmaar Music in 10 Songs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  8. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (31 May 2018). "The Ilaiyaraaja interview: 'Why should filmmakers know about music creation?'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. ^ Vincent, Rohan Ashley (25 August 2012). "Magic in the Air". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  10. ^ Vandhana (20 June 2016). "Composer K Picks His Favourite Songs: Ilaya Nila Pozhigirathe". Silverscreen.in. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  11. ^ Kolappan, B. (9 March 2023). "'Ilaya Nila' fame ace guitarist Chandrasekar is no more". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  12. ^ Kolappan, B. (28 March 2023). "Flautist Sudhakar, who collaborated with Ilaiyaraaja on many memorable songs, no more". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  13. ^ Gopalakrishnan, P.V. (3 July 2017). "Filmy Ripples- Exotic Instruments in Film music – Part 1". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  14. ^ Balasubramanian, V. (11 August 2016). "Humming 'Ilaiya nila'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Indian cinema and jazz: A love story". The Times of India. 30 April 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  16. ^ Mani, Charulatha (17 February 2012). "A Raga's Journey – Sorrowful Subhapantuvarali". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  17. ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 165.
  18. ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 142.
  19. ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 162.
  20. ^ Sunil, K. P. (16 August 1987). "Sheer Genius". The Illustrated Weekly of India. Vol. 108, no. 26–49. pp. 56–57. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  21. ^ "சினிமா விமர்சனம் : பயணங்கள் முடிவதில்லை" [Movie Review: Payanangal Mudivathillai]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 21 March 1982. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  22. ^ "மறக்க முடியுமா? - பயணங்கள் முடிவதில்லை" [Forgettable? - Payanangal Mudivathillai]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  23. ^ Jeshi, K. (14 February 2011). "Screen presence". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  24. ^ Subramanian, Lakshmi (2020-09-26). "Melodic acquaintance: The SPB-Ilaiyaraaja bond that ruled Kollywood for five decades". The Week. Archived from the original on 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  25. ^ Srinivasan, Sudhir (9 May 2015). "Salute to Ilaiyaraaja, the king". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  26. ^ Mahajan, Rohit (29 September 2020). "How Balasubrahmanyam broke the language barrier". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  27. ^ Dhananjayan 2011, p. 75.
  28. ^ Jeshi, K. (2 November 2007). "Mix and match". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2013.

Further reading

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  • Dhananjayan, G. (2011). The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1977–2010. Galatta Media. OCLC 733724281.
  • Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Chennai: Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.
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