mazaikkAla mEgam magarAjan (Kasthuri Vijayam)
Pick #677
Song: mazaikkAla mEgam magarAjan
Film: Kasthuri Vijayam
Music: V.Kumar
Singer: Vani Jairam
Lyrics: ?
Year: 1975
Lovely song by VJ. Was very popular back in the mid-70s. All those wonderful solos by VJ during the 70s became rare along with most of the 70s songs in general. So, here is one for the 70s-music lovers...
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow07/mazaikkala_kv.rm
Mazhaikkaala Maegham Magaraajan Vaazhga!
Mazhaikkaala Maegham Thandha Magaraajan Neel D Vaazhga!
A downpour of bliss to wash away the high mercury of summer...I'm drenched in delight! I always wait for the line "Aadum Pagadai Kaaiyai Uruttum Saguni Maamanae..." in this solo. Such a portentous warning!
And, then again, what's with VJ and the Mazhai / Maegham songs? I get it now: a force of nature! :-)
Mazhaikkaalam Varugindradhu
Mazhaikkaalamum Panikkaalamum
Mazhaiyae En Meedhu
Mazhaikkaala Maegham Neer Kondu Vandhu
Mazhaikkaala Maegham Ondru
Mangala Poo Mazhai
I could go on!
Thanks for these scintillating resurrections! Made my season, for sure!
P.S. Has been a hectic few months, and haven't heard all your picks. Will do so...slowly, steadily.
AsaimugamE inggu unakkAga (En Veedu En Kanavar)
Pick #678
Song: AsaimugamE inggu unakkAga
Film: En Veedu En Kanavar
Music: S.N.Surendar
Singer: Vani Jairam
Lyrics: ?
Year: 1990
Another lovely song by VJ. This is one of my favorite VJ solos. Do not know much about the film. Wonder what other films S.N.Surendar has composed music for.
Thanks to sk for sending this beautiful song.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow07/asaimugame.rm
kARRum kai thodumO (Mangala Nayagan)
Pick #679
Song: kARRum kai thodumO
Film: Mangala Nayagan
Music: S.A.Rajkumar
Singer: K.S.Chitra
Lyrics: One of (Pulamaipithan, Piraisoodan)
Year: 1992
"Mangala Nayagan" directed by Raghunath starred newcomer Ganesh, Ilavarasi, Sandhya and others. The film starts slowly and gets very interesting in the middle but ends like any other formula movie. Ganesh and Ilavarasi are husband and wife, a very loving and happy couple. Five years into marriage they still do not have a child. They see doctors, holy men, etc. One day Y.G.Mahendra comes to see Ganesh and tells him that he has been raising Ganesh's son for the past five years, the child born out of wedlock to YGM's sister Sandhya and Ganesh. YGM had previously informed Ganesh that Sandhya had died. But this time YGM says that before Sandhya died she gave birth to his baby and that he kept that information from Ganesh. YGM gives him the child, a five year old boy Babu. In return for the child he demands a large sum of money and Ganesh gives him the money.
Ganesh does not know how to tell Ilavarasi about Babu. He decides to rent a room in a hotel, phones and tells Ilavarasi that he has to work all night and stays the night at the hotel with Babu. Next morning he asks the hotel staff to watch the child, steps out to run some errands and goes home to tell Ilavarasi about the boy. But Babu keeps crying at the hotel. Unable to calm him down the hotel staff has already brought him home to Ilavarasi. The hotel staff had Ganesh's address in their roster. Ilavarasi is angry at Ganesh and asks him to tell the truth. Ganesh tells her that he was in love with another woman, Sandhya, when he was working in Ooty, where Sandhya was working as his cook, and that he got her pregnant. He came to Chennai to see his ailing mother who as her last wish asked him to marry Ilavarasi. When he returned to Ooty, Sandhya had disappeared and the neighbors tell that she committed suicide because she got pregnant through an illicit affair, and her brother YGM, a smalltime crook, had left the town in shame, or killed himself too. Ganesh's efforts to find Sandhya led nowhere and finally he agreed to marry Ilavarasi.
Ilavarasi hates the boy and constantly curses him. Ganesh and Ilavarasi bicker all the time. One day the boy walks out the door and wanders through the streets. When Ganesh cannot find the boy at home he asks Ilavarasi. She says that she does not know where he is and that she is relieved that the saniyan is gone. Ganesh gets very angry at Ilavarasi's cruel behavior and yells at her that she is a heartless woman and there is no wonder she is barren. Ilavarasi breaks down and cries. She spends the whole day looking for the boy around the city, finds him and brings him home. She realizes that even though she is mean to the boy, the boy continues to like her and puts up with her abuse. She has a change of heart. She slowly starts loving the child.
In the meantime, Sandhya comes out of jail and goes home looking for her brother and child. When she cannot find them she comes to Chennai to look for Ganesh and the child. One day, Ilavarasi goes shopping with Babu and he starts wandering down the street. He is about to get in an accident and Sandhya, who happens to be passing by, saves him. Ilavarasi comes in search of Babu and finds him with Sandhya. Sandhya tells what happened and then tells that she has come to Chennai to find her husband and child. Ilavarasi says that she will help her find her husband and child and till then asks her to stay in her house. Sandhya agrees.
That afternoon Ganesh comes home for lunch, finds Sandhya in his house and is rendered speechless. He had thought that she had died. Next day he talks to her alone and she tells him that after he left for Chennai and did not return to Ooty for months, she could not hide her pregnancy anymore. So, she and YGM left town to go live in a friend's house in another town. That friend tries to rape her and she kills him in self-defense. But she is put in jail under the charge of homicide, that she got pregnant by that friend and when he refused to marry her she killed him in anger. She gets seven years imprisonment and begins her sentence after she gives birth to her child, leaving the child with YGM. Now after serving the sentence she has come to get her child.
Some nice "Iru Kodugal" style dialogs are in the film when the two women and Ganesh start living under the same roof. For example, once while Sandhya answers a phone call from Ganesh, he mistakes her for Ilavarasi. When Sandhya tells Ilavarasi about that Ilavarasi says, "நம்ம ரெண்டு பேருக்கும் ஒரே voice". Sandhya replies, "அது மட்டுமா? நம்ம ரெண்டு பேருக்கும் ஒரே choice". Ilavarasi innocently wonders, "என்ன சொல்றே நீ?".
At another time, Sandhya says she wants to go to a Murugan temple. Ilavarasi says, "அப்படியா? என்னுடைய இஷ்ட தெய்வமும் முருகன்தான்". Sandhya says, "நம்ம ரெண்டு பேருக்கும் அதே முருகனைத்தான் பிடிச்சிருக்கு", implying the god with two wives. Ilavarasi then says "அப்ப முருகன் கோயிலுக்கு போயிட்டு வாயேன்". Sandhya replies, "எப்ப போனாலும் அங்கே ஒரே கூட்டமா இருக்கு. ஆனால் நானோ ஏகாந்த தரிசனம் கிடைக்காதான்னு ஏங்கிகிட்டிருக்கேன்", hinting that she wants to pour her heart to Ganesh privately.
After listening to Sandhya's story, Ganesh says that Babu is actually her son and not Ilavarasi's son. But giving up Babu will be very hard for Ilavarasi on top of knowing that the child's mother is still alive. So he asks Sandhya to make a sacrifice. But Sandhya says Babu is all she has in life and needs him back and gives Ganesh time to make a decision. In the meantime Sandhya is getting along fine with Ilavarasi. Ilavarasi keeps insisting that they advertise in paper or report to police to help find her husband and child.
One day Ilavarasi and Sandhya talk about the food items that each other's husbands like. Ilavarasi is surprised that Sandhya's husband likes the same dishes as Ganesh. Then Ilavarasi says that her husband calls her Manga, short for Mangalam, her name. Sandhya says that her husband calls her Umi, short for Uma, her name. That evening Ganesh, Ilavarasi, Sandhya and Babu get together in their front yard and play tennikoit. Sandhya purposely keeps throwing the ring too high in the air. Ganesh asks her to stop doing that repeatedly but she continues to throw it high. Ganesh gets angry and shouts "Umi, stop it". Ilavarasi is stunned. She realizes who Sandhya is and goes to her room, lies in the bed and cries. Ganesh finally tells everything about Sandhya. Some more interesting dialog follows.
இளவரசி: நான் வாங்கின காருக்கு நான்தான் first owner-ன்னு நினைச்சேன். இப்படி second owner ஆக்கி ஏமாத்திட்டிங்களே.
கணேஷ்: இது accident ஆன கார். இதை விக்கிற எண்ணமே இருக்கலை. நீ வேணும்ன்னு அடம் பிடிச்சதால்தான் உனக்கு வித்தேன்.
இளவரசி: accident ஆன கார், workshop-ல இருந்திருந்தால் எனக்கு தெரிஞ்சிருக்கும். ஆன இந்த கார் பளிச்சுனு showroom-ல இருந்ததே. அதை பார்த்து நான் ஏமாந்துட்டேன். இறந்துவிட்டதா நெனச்சவள் திரும்பி வந்தால் என்ன? நிலத்தை முதலில் பார்த்தவள் வேண்டுமானால் அவளா இருக்கலாம். ஆனால் பட்டா எனக்குத்தானே போட்டிருக்கு.
Ganesh tells Ilavarasi that Sandhya wants Babu back. But Ilavarasi throws a fit and refuses to give him back to Sandhya. She says,
"எனக்கு சொந்தமான நிலத்துல அவள் பதியன் நட்டிருக்கலாம். ஆனல் நான்தானே அதற்கு தண்ணீர் ஊற்றி வளர்ப்பவள். அந்தச் செடி எனக்குத்தான் சொந்தம்".
Ganesh asks Sandhya for some time to make a decision about Babu. Babu's sixth birthday arrives. Ilavarasi throws a big party and invites a lot of people including her parents. Y.G.Mahendra also shows up at the party. He is just there to cause trouble and make some money out of it. During the party Ilavarasi and Ganesh sing a song. Sandhya also joins in and her lines indicate that she wants her fair share. Ilavarasi takes Babu and runs to her room. Her parents, Ganesh, YGM and Sandhya come after her. Ilavarasi keeps screaming that she will not give up the child. She says she would have not married Ganesh had she known that he had another woman and a child in his life already. But now it is too late and she is going to keep the child because she is married to the father of the child and she has a claim on the child. Everyone starts talking and secrets come out in the open. While Sandhya was still pregnant YGM came to see Ganesh in Chennai to ask him to marry Sandhya. The day he came to see him is the day Ganesh was getting married to Ilavarasi, after he(Ganesh) was convinced that Sandhya had died. YGM plans to stop the wedding, but Ilavarasi's father finds out who he is. The father already knew that Ganesh was in love with some woman in Ooty. He takes YGM away from the wedding crowd and begs him to not cause trouble at the wedding. YGM refuses. The father then gives him money and asks him to leave. As YGM still refuses to leave, the father throws more and more money at him. After all YGM is a crook and he finally takes the large sum of money and leaves. Ganesh then marries Ilavarasi not knowing anything about YGM's visit or the whereabouts of Sandhya or that he actually has a baby.
SPOILER ALERT! Skip the next two paragraphs if you do not want to know how the film ends.
After all the secrets come out, Ganesh asks everyone to go back to their rooms and convene in the morning to talk over the issue. The night passes. Everyone wakes up in the morning to find out that Sandhya, YGM and Babu are missing. When they think that Sandhya has taken Babu with her, they get a call from YGM. Sandhya had actually decided to leave the child for Ilavarasi and had left the house. On the phone, YGM says that he has the child and wants a ransom of five lakh rupees to release the child. In the meantime, some thugs who overhear YGM on the phone asking for a ransom decide to take over the situation. They take YGM and Babu under their custody and ask Ganesh to bring the money to a kaattu bangaLA. Ganesh agrees and takes the money to the kaattu bangaLA. In the kaattu bangaLA Ganesh tries to fight the thugs and release YGM and Babu who have been tied up. Babu is also strapped with a timebomb. Ganesh removes the bomb and throws it out the window without disarming it. He releases Babu and asks him to leave the building. Ganesh is fighting with the thugs while Ilavarasi, her parents and Sandhya arrive at the building. Babu comes out of the building. He sees the bomb on the ground and picks it up. Ilavarasi realizes that it is a bomb, runs to Babu, snatches it from his hands and runs away from him. And that is when the bomb explodes. Ilavarasi is badly injured, burned and falls to the ground. Everyone gathers around her. Keeping with Indian cinema tradition Ilavarasi joins the hands of Ganesh and Sandhya, removes her thaali and asks Ganesh to put that around Sandhya's neck, and... dies!
And that is how Mangala Nayagan became Umapathi.
END SPOILER
Today's pick is for Ilavarasi while she and Ganesh are a happily married couple trying to have a baby.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow07/karrum_kai.rm
pUvE iLampUvE (Mangala Nayagan)
Pick #680
Song: pUvE iLampUvE
Film: Mangala Nayagan
Music: S.A.Rajkumar
Singers: S.P.Balasubramanyam, Minmini
Lyrics: One of (Pulamaipithan, Piraisoodan)
Year: 1992
This week we will cover all songs from "Mangala Nayagan". They are all 80s style melodies.
Today's pick is for Sandhya and Ganesh when they were lovers, picturized on the beautiful mountain locations around Ooty.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow07/puve_ilampuve.rm
en kaNmaNi (Mangala Nayagan)
Pick #681
Song: en kaNmaNi
Film: Mangala Nayagan
Music: S.A.Rajkumar
Singers: S.P.Balasubramanyam, K.S.Chitra
Lyrics: One of (Pulamaipithan, Piraisoodan)
Year: 1992
Today's pick is for Ilavarasi and Ganesh after Ilavarasi starts liking Babu and stops fighting with Ganesh. The three go out to an amusement park to spend the day and that is where this song was filmed.
By the way, Ilavarasi looked really beautiful in this film. Unlike the awkward teenage look she had in her initial films, in "Mangala Nayagan" she had blossomed into a beautiful young adult.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow07/en_kanmani_mn.rm
mAnE mAnE (Mangala Nayagan)
Pick #682
Song: mAnE mAnE
Film: Mangala Nayagan
Music: S.A.Rajkumar
Singer: Minmini
Lyrics: One of (Pulamaipithan, Piraisoodan)
Year: 1992
After Sandhya delivers her baby the police take her away to jail leaving the baby with YGM. The baby keeps crying incessantly in YGM's arms while Sandhya is in jail suffering from the pain of lactation. Finally, YGM goes to police and begs them to take the baby to the mother. The police feel sorry for him and take the baby to Sandhya. The song plays in the background as Sandhya nurses the baby and as the events in her life flash on the screen.
Never heard of this Sandhya before. She gave a good performance. Anyone have any details about her?
Minmini's expressiveness is good in this song.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow07/mane_mane_mn.rm
thanggaththai kaNdeduththEn (Mangala Nayagan)
Pick #683
Song: thanggaththai kaNdeduththEn
Film: Mangala Nayagan
Music: S.A.Rajkumar
Singers: K.S.Chitra, Mano, Minmini
Lyrics: One of (Pulamaipithan, Piraisoodan)
Year: 1992
Today's pick is for Ganesh, Ilavarasi and Sandhya at the birthday party for their son. Nice lyrics that remind the good old days of the 60s and 70s when song situations like this were more common in Tamil films.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow...gaththai_mn.rm
muthu muthu punnagaiyE (Oru Koyil Iru Dheepangal)
Pick #684
Song: muthu muthu punnagaiyE
Film: Oru Koyil Iru Dheepangal
Music: V.Dhakshinamurthi
Singers: P.Susheela, S.P.Balasubramanyam
Lyrics: ?
Year: 1979
Cinesouth credits the music of "Oru Koyil Iru Dheepangal" to V.Dhakshinamurthi. The film apparently starred Vijay and Saroja in the lead. Never heard of them before. Directed by S.P.Muthuraman.
Thanks to Priya for sending this song.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow..._muthu_okid.rm
ambigaiyE unnai nambi (Oli Piranthathu)
Pick #685
Song: ambigaiyE unnai nambi
Film: Oli Piranthathu
Music: Shankar-Ganesh
Singer: S.P.Balasubramanyam
Lyrics: ?
Year: 1980
"Oli Piranthathu" starred Vijayan and Menaka. Though I remember the title of the film from way back when, I have not seen the film nor do I have any idea about the story or the context of the song. Please fill in if you do.
Thanks to Priya for sending this song.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow...gaiye_unnai.rm
veNNilavil kaNkavarum (?)
Pick #686
Song: veNNilavil kaNkavarum
Film: ?
Music: M.S.Viswanathan
Singers: L.R.Eswari, S.P.Balasubramanyam, Vani Jairam
Lyrics: ?
Year: ?
I have no details about this song. I am guessing the music is by MSV. Please fill in the details.
http://raretfm.mayyam.com/stream/pow...nilavil_kan.rm