"Kundanapu Bomma" : Audio Launch Review

My review of Kundanapu Bomma Audio Launch:

http://www.telugu360.com/kundanapu-bomma-music-launch-a-different-event/

V Ramakrishna - the singer who served an important transition in Telugu film playback singing

My tribute to the legendary singer V Ramakrishna:

http://www.telugu360.com/v-ramakrishna-a-talented-singer-who-belonged-to-the-golden-era-of-music/

"Uthama Villain" - the magic of music in Kamal Hassan's films continues!

Kamal Hassan’s “Uthama Villain” raised sky-high expectations as the Telugu audio got launched last Sunday. It was entertainment to see Kamal Hassan’s spectacular entry splitting at the centre of curtains after amplifying late K Balachander’s memorable tribute to the great actor. SPB’s lyrical affections on Kamal elevated the mood to infinite nostalgia. I had followed Kamal Hassan’s films since childhood and despite the fact that he didn’t have the mass-hysterical following of Rajinikanth, he had his own indomitable footprint in South and North Cinema (the few Hindi films he starred in). But this is not the subject today. I wanted to write about  the audio of “Uthama Villain” and make a fleeting mention of Kamal’s taste for high-caliber, different sounding music.

“Uthama Villain” has music by Ghibran, the most happening music composer in Tamil and Telugu cinema today. Not the first time he scored music for Kamal - he did for “Vishwaroopam-2” and “Paapanashanam” earlier. Before that Kamal rotated many music directors  - DeviSriPrasad, Himesh Reshmiya, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Jayachandran, Ramesh Vinayakam and even his daughter Shruti Hassan for one of the films which came in Telugu (“Eenadu”). What I find intriguing is that but for the great Ilaiyaraja and the inimitable MS Vishwanathan, Kamal never really settled with any music composer throughout his career post that phase of MSV-IR. If you take out MSV and Ilaiyaraja’s overarching influence on his films, his sense of sound and music scores that provided such rich variety for the maestro to compose for almost 130 films or more, Kamal remained restless for the last decade hunting for the perfect composer after Raja. He tried AR Rahman twice (“Indian” and “Tenali”), Shankar Ehsan Loy twice, Deva twice, Vidyasagar and Harris Jayaraj once (or twice) but never repeated them afterwards. I read in some of his interviews too that he never liked the approaches of some of the gifted composers like Rahman or Vidyasagar despite getting good output from them. He was the only one who never got carried away by the Oscar-wins and the global adulations greeting Rahman; Rajinikanth on the other hand continues to enlist ARR for taking bigger bites into overseas distribution markets - having Rahman on your side as music composer is a sure-fire passport to box-office success and global appeal. The only person from Tollywood who got calls from Kamal for OST few times has been DSP - but that maybe more than just because DSP is an open admirer of Ilaiyaraja. DSP’s remixing and rerecording  stood out in most of his movies thanks to his energy and relentless handwork. Surprisingly, Mani Sharma - the best RR specialist in Tollywood never got a call from Kamal. Kamal Hassan movies, if one observes, never needed an over-melodious music director like Vidyasagar or Harris Jayaraj to imaging things that were never intended as per  the actor-director's film grammar. You just had to score one or two melody songs and some minimalistic but thoroughly realistic portrayal. But that one song is remembered forever in his films. This was the easy part that most of his music composers missed except Ilaiyaraja - thats how their chemistry endured for film-buffs because it left a rich legacy that will be studied by musicologists and music fans for many decades. 

With Ilaiyaraja, Kamal’s last film was “Mumbai Express” that was in 2005. In ten years, Kamal never worked with the Maestro and fans are waiting when the two will create magic again. Over the last decade, Ilaiyaraja has matured beyond what Kamal Hassan may have expected - Raja worked with almost all the new kids on the block who are directing Tamil films with dangerous themes and vivacious outputs - Bala, Myskin, Balki (in Hindi) ,Gautham Menon and many others who are hailed as the new trailblazers leaving the likes of ManiRatnam and old stalwarts to bite dust. Of course, Mani Ratnam himself never worked with Ilaiyaraja after parting ways bitterly before Rahman burst at the world stage. But that’s another matter. In the last ten years, there was no dearth of new music composers in Tamil and Kamal tried most of them while Ilaiyaraja exerted himself with different genre films ranging from biopics like “Bharati” to “Pandavas” to “Ajanthaa”. I sense somewhere we are about to see the coming together of the original Maestro and the actor extraordinaire in the coming years because the old wine has matured to give us richer, orchestral music and Kamal’s plots are becoming more complicated and multi-dimensional - even if they appear highly contrived. The budgets have also gone up for Ilaiyaraja, I am told, making it easy to assemble a 400 member orchestra from London or Budapest to configure a particular symphony.

With that background, I am relieved that Gibran’s latest composition for UV is spectacular and worthy of the high standards set by Kamal’s films. The original Tamil score has 17 numbers with elaborate interludes, situations and symphonies as if you are listening to a Hollywood musical OST. The Telugu version is cut down to 9 numbers and as expected the audiences on the day of the audio release lapped up the two songs  - “Kaanuke Bondu Malli” and “Lovee Lovee Single KissKe Lovaa” for the outrageous melody and the stretch in the songs. “Kaanuke..” has an extra lilt and a sensuousness that is rarely captured in today’s songs where the male singer and the female singer sing in their own time and the original purpose of duet is lost in remixing. You can hear the O-shouts and murmers of the male singer and the seducing spell of the heroine Puja Kumar in the song very well. Ghibran gave a completely different score in UV compared to the techno-thrills and fast-tempos seen in some of his latest films like “Jil” or “Run Raja Run”. Obviously, Kamal’s kitaab for Gibran both before and during the audio launch settles it that he is the right choice for the film which has a 7th Century theatrical plot intermixed with contemporary settings. I always love the background scores segued with the songs in the audio because it is such a treat for music lovers  - don’t we miss all of that for Ilaiyaraja whose BGMs float on the youtube channel with an ever-swelling following. If only music directors take note of this, they can raise the standards for audio and make the audiences stand up to rich music -of which many are capable of. The last time, a catalogue of this length - which includes songs and instrumental versions of the various scenes - came was for “Mask”(“Mugamoodi” in Tamil). Music by K  -that was from a different planet. And this album “Uthama Villain” belongs to the same class - Ghibran must take a bow. Can’t wait for the movie.

#UthamaVillain #Ghibran #KamalHassan #Ilaiyaraja #ARRahman #Vidyasagar #TamilMusic #TamilMusicComposers #TamilFilmComposers #HarrisJayaraj #Kollywood

"Midhunam" Telugu Movie

“Midhunam” (Telugu) is a much-awaited film for the art-loving Telugu crowds who love clean, good cinema. “Midhunam” means “couple” in Telugu. It is based on a story by noted Telugu SriRamana (different from Mullapudi Venkata Ramana) by the same title released in a Telugu weekly in 1998, the story went on to became an instant classic – critically acclaimed and encomiums poured in from all sides – readers and legends in literature. Bapu, himself got so overjoyed reading that story that one fine day, he re-wrote the entire story running into about 6000 words in his own handwriting. It was re-printed in that famous Bapu font and became a best-seller. Director is Tanikella Bharani, one of the most talented personalities in Tollywood (he is a poet, theatre artist, dialogue writer and himself an acclaimed film actor noted for his unique timing and voice modulation). He was so taken up with the story “Midhunam” that he directed the film investing a lot of his passion and energies into the making of this film. Earlier this year, Bharani also released his famous couplets on Lord Shiva as an audio CD in his own voice which are selling well. As a writer first and a poet later, Tanikella Bharani is a unique personality who never loses an opportunity to propagate the grandeur and beauty of Telugu language. He loves Telugu so much that for the past 25 years, he insists his signature on bank cheques is also in Telugu and not English. Against this backdrop, “Mithunam” is quite an experiment which deserves the plaudits showered on it.


The story is about an aged couple AppaDaasu (S.P.Balasubramanyam) and Bucchilakshmi (Lakshmi) who live in absolute trance of the village life with an ecosystem of natural habitat full of organically grown vegetables, co-habiting animals and lush greenery all over. The couple’s five children are all settled abroad but the couple is nonchalant about pleasures and pressures of parenthood in twilight years. SPB keeps reminding his wife about “detached attachment” and being merrily and madly in sync with each other, they tune into the radio, help each other in various chores including pressing each other’s tired legs, make the rituals and rearing the cow and its calf and cultivating a beautiful horticultural farm a feast and a happy pastime. No TV, no freakouts, no secrets from each other and no other hang-ups in life except to occasionally spar with each other on issues best known to them. Everyday it’s a breeze and time flies because the elderly couple are busy with so much of work with their hands and legs – the manual work which gives villagers so much headway in health and happiness.Then there is a twist in the film with one of them passing out. You will have to find out which one. A simple story but there’s a third character in the film - the nephew who is witness to the old couple’s foibles and fracas with each other and funtimes together – that character is omitted by Bharani as he was keen to experiment the whole film with just characters. Infact, that is an amazing part of the film. For 123 minutes, the running time of the movie, there are just two human characters SPB and Lakshmi playing the two roles and Bharani has produced quite a stunning play of a range of Nava Rasas between the two with many shades and spirited entertainment. There is uproarious laughter, giggles, laments, weeping, anger and the occasional drama created between the two characters in their well-nuanced roles.

Not many films have come with just two characters; the ones I remember are “Show” and some movie in which Sunil Dutt plays it all himself in a B&W film. Such plots have to be sustained and thankfully, in this film he picked two veterans in the craft of acting and sometimes overacting – Lakshmi and SPB. While Lakshmi is quite apt and well-controlled, SPB carries always a shade of Tamil stars like Sivaji Ganesan when he acts but his pronunciation of the toughest but most mellifluent Telugu carries the day for his detractors. He can control the flow of words as they should occur and in “Mithunam” he gives a dignified uplift to his performance except for about three scenes where he overacts. Even if SPB the actor cannot stop himself, his performance alongwith Lakshmi elevates the film to a new level. In the original discussions about this film about star cast, one actor who would have sealed it had he been alive today is Gummadi – who wanted to play it badly after he read the story and reacted in public. Prakashraj would have been too theatrical and Chandramohan is way out of touch with weightier roles of late, so SPB was indeed apt choice, in hindsight.

Music by Swara Veenapaani is reasonably well-received especially the title song sung by KJ Yesudas. There are few other songs which take a leaf out of mythological classics belting out “Padyams” and lullabies and “funny”item songs. There is one song sung by lyricist Jonnavithula on coffee. It can be the best ever song on coffee which can elevate even brands like “Starbucks” and “Café Coffee day”. It celebrates the heady feelings one gets by drinking the home-made filter coffee of the typical South Indian family. There are few other songs which showcase the grandeur of the song-banks resident in our old movie classics and also showcase the richness of Telugu culture. Kids will probably love a short cartoon film running for 4 minutes about the ills of over-eating SPB style - no insult meant here, SPB himself reduced 27 kilos before this film. In order to break the monotony, Bharani uses repeatedly the All India Radio as a backdrop for various daily chores of the couple, and reminds the new generation that it is not FM Radio but AM 700-800 MHz which still runs with sundry programs in news programs in Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi and a host of native plays, skits, songs and utility fare that resonates with those who tuned in religiously from 6am till 11pm. That routine of tuning to the radio from sunrise till an hour before midnight is the right time for keeping your biorhythms in tow with good health and good sleep. Bharani captures all these with a great sense of nostalgia. A few shots stand out giving lot of symbological messages; being a Shiva worshipper, everytime there is a bereavement in the film, it is shown as if its going back to Shiva.

On the whole, the movie is a visual treat and is watchable by family. Bharani has hunted for a 3-acre house that captures the enchantment of what SriRamana wrote in his novel about. Bharani found one finally and grew fruits and vegetables and trees for six months before commencing shooting. He has also shown a rare courage, thanks to producer Ananda M Rao, to retain the pure and richly prosaic standard of Telugu language used by Sriramana in the film. This film is sure to dot the film festivals with subtitles in English but if you belong to the Telugu fan club, this is a must-see anyways devoid of commercial drivel that vitiates our films. In October 2012, there was a world survey by the World Languages Institute in Thailand in which the jury sat down to judge more than 33 classical and modern language scripts around the world. While Korean language was judged as the best language according to various parameters including use of the language in scientific paper presentations, visual appeal when you write the language, the shape and metric beauty of the letters, the number of words and combinations that the letters can facilitate, etc. Voila! Telugu Language has beaten the likes of Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam in being judged as the second-most beautiful script language in the world. English, not my mother tongue, has come third or fourth. For anyone who wants to know more about Telugu culture, language and the lyrical beauty, “Midhunam” is a fine biopic to get introduced to, even if it has its flaws. I will give 3.75 on 5 making a fractional exception for a fascinating film to watch. I can guarantee you that if you have aged parents and grandparents, they will bless you forever for taking them to this film. It also has a message: No need to retire from life because you retired from work. And parents can have their own space even after their kids move on.

"Devasthaanam" Movie Review (Telugu)

Devasthanam" is a spiritually awakening film and soul-satisfying. It has a good starcast of actors in their twillight years - K Vishwanath (who directed "Sankarabharanam"), SPBalasubramanyam and Aamani. It is directed by Janardhan Maharshi, a writer who had his share of fame in the 80s; he even essayed a famous role as a living corpse-brother of Brahmanandam in a hit comedy film which I fail to recollect. What's good about "Devasthanam" is despite the religious name, it is not religious and not too preachy. It distils the most basic teachings of Hinduism which are secular in nature - love and live well the human life, live for others if you want to avoid the cycle of birth and death, don't chase money if you want peace and be responsible of the consequences of your actions and love everybody - rich and poor.


The story revolves around K Vishwanath who is a do-gooder and helps all in his circle of living and he bumps into SPB one day to take a promise from the latter that SPB should perform his last rites because he has no family. SPB believes in none of that stuff - he doesn't believe in taking a daily bath, doesn't go to temple wilfully, doesn't care a hoot about anything else except loving his ageing but beautiful wife. He also doesn't mind conning women customers who come to his Saree Shop with psychological tactics. SPB only believes in the theory of instant gratification, his immediate family and his business profits. Until, Vishwanath through his deeds and spiritual intelligence removes the layers of ignorance, attachment to the material things and selfishness to oneself and family. Janardhan Maharishi must be credited with working out a tough subject to explain with amazing clarity and conviction. The subject is so serious yet the treatment given is comical and light-hearted especially some scenes involving Kovai Sarala (the lady customer) and SPB and again mostly with SPB and KVishwanath. Such a story hasn't been on celluloid in recent times - of interweaving complex theories of Karma, Re-incarnation and Siginificance of Human life. Music by debutant Swara Veenapani is outstanding and divine sounding - no complex music arrangements just melodious notes involving raagas and simple percussions.

Ramanachary, the art-patron has done a cameo in the film with an effect that will haunt anybody who is having a roaring career and business without a prickly conscience. It takes guts to release this movie just before the Summer onsalught of movies like "Dammu", "Daruvu" and "Raccha". We went to Screen 5 of Prasads expecting a handful of people aside of the movie projector team - we were pleasantly surprised it was houseful. Towards the end, the movie becomes a bit sententious but thats the only way to end a movie with this character. Telugu used in the movie is quite extra-ordinary - not so simple and not so complex but enough to clear the wax in your ears. "Sasha Bhishalu" and "Nivrutti" are not words you read nowadays even in "Swati" and "Navya" - it will do your mother and mother-tongue immensely proud and happy to see this film. I wish other languages also get to see such films with sub-titles. Catch it soon with your seniors because it will be gone soon from the statistically-calculating multiplexes. Good movie to watch if you want small dosages of practical spirituality and art-of-living advice.