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Greatness of AM Raja
Topic started by Arun Prakash (@ 2cust46.tnt2.det1.da.uu.net) on Wed Jul 1 22:25:26 EDT 1998.
As we all know AM Rajah, the man who had a melliflous voice,who won the admiration of millions of fans was a versatile composer by himself. His compositions in films like Then Nilavu,Kalyanaparisu,Aadiperukku are just great.
He gave a lot of light music programs all over India with his wife jikki and the Great Maestro Illayaraaja was a guitarist in his troupe for a period of time.
Thanks.
Arun Prakash
Chronological
http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/lyrsort.php?t=2005&opt=c
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Srinath (@ 203-*) on: Wed Jul 1 23:04:37 EDT 1998
Hi:
i have a personal affinity towards A.M.Raja, probably because I used to sing his songs in our light music troupe. He definitely was talented and proably was one of the few MDs who could sing beautifully. He definitely merits a thread in this discussion. Perhaps someday, somebody will come up with a remix of classics from MDs of the past. Atleast then let us hope that the MTV Generation will learn to appreciate our culture. Srikanth, I think, would be the ideal person to do this.
His remix of "Ilamay, idho, idho" is mind-boggling ! I'm listening to it even as I post this !
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Udhaya (@ 205.*) on: Thu Jul 2 13:27:34 EDT 1998
AM RAja will forever reign supreme as the most melodious voice in TFM history. He is the only bonafide crooner of love songs, kaadhal ennum melliya unarchiyai ovvoru aanum velipaduthuvatharku ippadi oru kural irundhaal ethanai sulabam. It took even the great SPB more than 20 years to reach that kind of kuzhaivu. One of my most treasured CD collections is the AM Raja collection put out by EMI. It's got about 22 old songs. Every TFM fan should own this CD or at least have it taped, it's a treasure. "Maasilaa Unmai Kaadhalae", "Brindhaavanamum", "Nilavum Malarum Vaaduthu" songs from Kalyaana Parisu and so many more. AM Raja is one of the best things that ever happened to Gemini Ganesan's career. Too bad AMR got usurped by the less talented and deserving PBS (andha kaalathu Mano, strictly my opinion, but I know I'm going to start a heated debate by these comments.) I usually refrain from comparisons of two different talents, but I have to break that rule here because, most of AMR's songs were for Gemini Ganesan and the other second tier heroes like Balaji, SSR at that time. With PBS, AMR was totally replaced and replaced is the correct word to use here.
Am I remembering history wrong? Can someone shed light on why AMR waned in TFM?
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RV (@ 1cus*) on: Thu Jul 2 14:53:50 EDT 1998
There is a nice article in the MD section of TFM page on AMR which answers some questions like why AMR waned etc.
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Veera Akkoor (@ 1cus*) on: Sat Jul 4 21:32:22 EDT 1998
To Mr Udaya,
Your opinion about AMraaja was good and well expressed. But as you had mentioned PBS was less deserving. That statement made me think that you have not heard of PBS's songs. He was a great singer in his own right. They were equals in all respects except AM Raaja was a little bit more softer than PBS and he was a superb composer.
I know PBS since 1970. He is good friend of our family. He has given some innumerable hits for Gemini,Balaji,SSR etc. Have you heard songs from movies like Paar magale paar,Kaathalika Neramillai. After singing in Tamil, he did go to Kaanada field and has sung for Raajkumar and others. I would consider PBS and AMR both as Melody kings on their own right.
Please do not mention comparing PBS with Mano.I hope you would appreciate my opinion.
Thanks
Veera Akkoor.
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Udhaya (@ host*) on: Sun Jul 5 13:55:21 EDT 1998
Veera,
I'm sorry to have made that comparison. I should have known better. I have many PBS tunes in my collection because they were good songs, I still wish AMR had sung those, but, let me not dwell on it. It is strictly my opinion and doesn't belong in a discussion forum. I apologize.
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muthax (@ 1cus*) on: Sat Jul 11 02:35:36 EDT 1998
ofcourse guys AMraja and PBS were very good and fantastic Melodious kings.
they were like India and WestIndidies of the 1983 team.
one leading the other in sometime or the other
AMR's maasila unmai kathalae is still evergreen and nilavae ennidam nerungathae is also evergreen.. ithu mathirii evalvo pesikondupogalam.
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Veera Akkoor (@ 1cus*) on: Sun Jul 12 09:41:45 EDT 1998
Guys ,
Anyone who has a list of AMR's Music Direction movies please let me know. I need to know them. All I know is only three or four.
Thanks
Veera Akkoor
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Mohan G.I. (@ ) on: Sat Mar 31 12:06:00 EST 2001
AM Raja is the greatest evergreen singer Tamil Movies had.It was not just his voice but the emotions that bloomed from it.When you hear
'Sirpy Sethukatha Porchilayo' in Ethirparathathu
or 'Kathalile Tholvi Yutran'in Kalyana Parisu,
sadness engulfes you.But with 'Oh Ho Enthan Baby' in Then Nilavu or 'Masila unthan Kathaley' in Ali Baba and 40 Thirudarkal, joy engulfs you.
In hundreds of his duets like 'Adatha Manamum Aduthe' in Kallathur Kannama or 'Thendral Uranguthu ' the melody strikes your heart.It even remains today.He suited MGR,Shivaji,Gemini,SSR and many others according to their character roles
when they were younger.
However in the case of PBS , there was a lot of melody and versatilty but in my opinion it lacked the emotion that could engulf your heart for generations to come.However PBS' melodious voice
certainly is to be revered.
I would some up to say both were legends in the
evergreen 50's and 60's.While MSV is to be lauded for introducing PBS it still puzzles me to date why MSV and others dumped AMRaja totally then.
Wasn't that cruel to the audience and the singers?
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Manisegaran (@ 161.*) on: Sun Apr 1 21:25:00 EDT 2001
AM Rajah is one of my favourite singers. Though he had a goodvoice and won the adminration of many fans, he brought his own downfall. I had posted sopme details on AM Rajah in one of the threads, I do not remember where.
KVM composed based on a Hindi tune. Later of course other MDS like Dachinamurthy, Sudharsanam, CN Pandurangarao, Rajeswara Rao,Chalapathi Rao, MSV-Ramamurthy and G. Ramanathan used him.
Even in the very iniitial stages, AM Rajah was a very difficult person to work with. In fact in the initial stages, after the film Samsaram, it was KVMahadevan who promoted AM Rajah. In Kumari he sang the song "Azhiyatha Kathal Vazhvil Anaiyatha Jothiyaai". But, he was not cooperative with many MDS. KVM last used him in Manamulla Marutharam where he sang "Kayile Inippathenna Kanianaal Kasappathenna" with Jikki. After that KVM decided not to use him at all. This became known to everyone in the film circle.
In 1958, AM Rajah decided to become an MD himself. He composed for Kalyana Parisu, and as it was an instant hit, he went on to compose for other films like Anbukkor Anni, Then Nilavu, Vidivellki, Aadiperukku. Around this time, ie the early 1960s, AM Rajah began to suspect that the cine industry was gossipping about him. Therfore he kept away from many people who promoted him. Sreedhar wanted AM Rajah to compoose songs for nenjil Ore Aalayam, but as AM Rajah was not cooperative he gave the chance to Visvanathan Ramamoorthy. Later, Sreedhar used him fopr Vidivelli.After composing the songs for Then Nilavu, AM Rajah refused to compose background music for the film. As a result Sreedhar could not release the movie. Sreedhar had to come to the feet of AM Rajah. Still he did not oblige. Finally the matter went to the ears of MGR, who talked to AM Rajah and finally he obliged. That was the last for the Sreedhar-AM Rajah team. After that Sreedhar went for Visvanathan- no more AM Rajah.
This attitude of AM Rajah went around in the cine circles. So AM Rajah decided to keep himself and his wife out of the cine circles. He did not regret at all, as he was getting good income from the tourist cars that he was running. By this time PB Sreenivas was already shooting into popularity. So it was a perfect switch over. AM Rajah did make a come back on his own effort when he composed for the film Veettu Mappillai. We may remember "Rasi Nalla Rasi" with Jikki in that film. The song followed old tunes, and did not really suit the modern taste.After that Shankar Genesh used him in Puguntha Veedu-"Senthamaraiye Senthen Nilave" with Jikki. Then came Rangarattinam where he sang "Muthaaramey Un Oodal Ennavo" with LR Eswary
Somehow, by the early 1970s the one time golden voice of AM Rajah was found not to be suiting the new cine environment.
In short, AM Rajah became his own enemy. But while he was actively singing, almost all his songs became super hits.
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MS (@ 129.*) on: Sun Apr 1 22:37:54 EDT 2001
MAnisegaran - Welcome back (with a bang) :-)
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SL (@ 63.2*) on: Mon Apr 2 01:01:35 EDT 2001
Mani, which movie was the song 'chinna kaNNanE nAn thanthai ena nee piLLai ena oru bantham vanthathu...' in ? It was picturised on AVM Rajan.
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eden (@ 210.*) on: Tue Apr 3 08:44:38 EDT 2001
A few weeks back Jikki was the guest in the SunTV `lalithAvin pAttukkupAttu' and sang a song too...I was feeling a little sad since she lost her hubby in that train accident...this pair is my dad's most favourite...
(She sang the song pretty well while the very next week I saw PBS struggling to sing his number in the same guest role...old age...)
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kiru (@ 192.*) on: Tue Apr 3 11:15:10 EDT 2001
I do have the CD which Udhaya is referring to. I also have a PBS CD. I like AM Raja not only for his soft voice but also for his composing skills. His composing style is typically soft, rhythmic melodies. Very rhythmic melodies. (Probably, this was his only style and so his weakness). But he should be credited for his contribution to original compositiions in TFM. Very rarely do we see original composers in TFM. I would trade originality for versatility or longevity in the business.
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rajeshkumar (@ 198.*) on: Thu Apr 5 07:04:59 EDT 2001
jikki has sung only few songs while P.Susheela has sung many duets with A.M.Rajah
Before PBS+PS Combination
A.M.Rajah+PS combination was a Great hit
Nilavum malarum,
vaadikai marandadhum,
thanimayile,
thendral urangiya podhum,
thuyiladha penn ondru kanden,
kangalin vaarthaigal puriayadho,
aadatha manamum aaduthey..
pazhagum thamizhe paarthubam magane,
These r all REal melodies..........
which r still hit,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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Kathir Gaman (@ ) on: Mon Jun 4 13:14:42 EDT 2001
I am an Indian Tamil and living in France
I too join you all to remember our greatest singer Mr.A.M. RAJAH and whenever I have some free time I always listen some popular hits to get back my pleasure. If anyone can help me to have the following songs: sirtpy sedukada potsilaiyo and Nilvum malarum
Miga wanakkam and Nanri
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mahabs (@ 203.*) on: Tue Jun 5 03:36:00 EDT 2001
A.M.Rajah is the best romantic singer. missiamma is fantastic. ultimater songs.
anbudan
mahabs
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Vishvesh (@ 63.6*) on: Mon Jun 11 13:00:42 EDT 2001
Is A.M.Raja the composer of Parthiban Kanavu ? The song sequence for Idhayavaanin is so romantic by the rich tune and the flowing voice of Raja. Some songs forever stay in your memory, and this was one of those.
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Udhaya (@ 63.8*) on: Mon Jun 11 15:34:17 EDT 2001
Vishvesh,
I learned that "Paarthiban Kanavu" is an original effort by Vedha (andha kaalathu Deva). At least 4 great songs are in it including A.M.Raja's duet, "Kannaalae naan kanda kanavu".
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A.A. (@ hse-*) on: Sat Jul 21 00:29:40 EDT 2001
Besides the great songs mentioned above, A.M.Rajah's beautiful voice has delivered many other fantastic songs which I am longing to hear.Some of them are:
Ithuvey Raththa paasam (Raththa Paasam)
Alzhiyatha Kathal Valvin (Kumari)
Onnum Puriyavillai Thambi (Anbu)
Aiya Muthalali Vaanga (Anbu)
Anathai Polavey Aaneney (Genova)
Naamey Jeevasugam (Genova with P.Leela)
Oviyanin Ullam Thannai (Aasai with T.V.Rathnam)
Chinna Chinna Veedu Katti (Marumagal with Periyanayagi)
Kanavilum Ninaivilum (Marumagal with Periyanayagi)
Singara Paingiliye Pesu (Manohara with Ratha Jeyalatchumi)
Kanniyarin Vellai Manam Pol (Thirumbipaar with Swarnalatha)
Kada Kada Loda Loda Vandi (Samsaram with Jikki)
Maanilathin Vithiyai Venra & Samsaram Sahala Tharma Saaram (Samsaram)
Oh Pattali (Nalla Pillai)
Aambillai Nee (Nalla Pillai with P.Leela)
A solo(?) with same tune as `Mere Kahaye' from the film Deedar (Ulagham)
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Sriram Lakshman (@ a060*) on: Sat Jul 21 04:20:48 EDT 2001
Interesting to read Mani's postings. Would be more interesting to analyse Sridhar's habit changing MDs. Started with AMR, T.Chalapathi Rao, MSV-TKR, MSV, IR and I recently heard that he was planning on awarding his next film to ARR. His music sense is quite well known and worthy of a separate thread.
Mani, thanks for reminding me of 'rAsi nalla rAsi',great song. What a start to the stanza, 'nee pariththa poovil nalla kaLLirunthathu...'. It pains to know that TFM never truly utilised his talents as a composer.
Some AMR songs that immediately come to mind
arugil vanthAL urugi nindrAL
Samsaram sakala tharma
kaN moodum vELayilum kalai enna kalaiyE
kalayE en vAzhkayin thisai mAtrinAi.
'malarE malarE theriyAthO' sung by PS for AMR, what a melody!!!
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Sriram Lakshman (@ a060*) on: Sat Jul 21 04:24:29 EDT 2001
Please help me compile a list of movies MD'ed by AMR.
kalyAna parisu,
vidiveLLi,
thEn nilavu,
veettu mAppiLLai.....please go on.
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A.A. (@ hse-*) on: Sun Jul 22 02:08:00 EDT 2001
Sriram Lakshman,
Movies MD'ed by AMR:
Kalyana Parisu
Anbukor Anni
Vidivelli
Aadiperukku
Then Nilavu
Veetu Mappillai
May be one or two movies after that.. That's all!
What a loss?
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Saravanan (@ ppp-*) on: Fri Aug 3 04:26:52 EDT 2001
I want to download Illayaraaja's mp3 and also normal hit songs pls tell me the site to download.
regrds
saravanan
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a.a. (@ pm32*) on: Wed Aug 8 13:07:03 EDT 2001
SARAVANAN,
I think you have come to wrong thread by mistake.This is A.M.Rajah's thread, not Ilayaraja's.
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Balaji (@ webp*) on: Wed Aug 8 18:14:55 EDT 2001
SL:
<>>>>>Mani, which movie was the song 'chinna kaNNanE nAn thanthai ena nee piLLai ena oru bantham vanthathu...' in ? It was picturised on AVM Rajan
I think the film is 'Thaikku Oru Pillai' and Music is by SG..
It's a good song picturized on AVM and Savithri!
Balaji
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Anand (@ dhcp*) on: Wed Aug 8 22:47:12 EDT 2001
AMR died in a train accident? I did not know this. Is this news true? Can anyone shed further light on the matter? And I was also wondering when he passed away (my guess is mid 80s).
Thanks.
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a.a. (@ hse-*) on: Mon Aug 13 23:36:44 EDT 2001
There are two beautiful sinhalese songs by AMR with Jamuna Rani in the following link. I think they were released in late 50's or early 60's.
The MD was Dhakhinamurthy.
http://www.infolanka.net/miyuru_gee/art/amrajah.html
You could also listen to some songs by Jamuna Rani, Lata Mankeshkar and K.Rani at
http://www.infolanka.net/miyuru_gee
then pick by Artists. All artist's names are listed alphebetically. Then pick Jamuna Rani, K.Rani etc.
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Vishvesh Obla (@ ) on: Tue Sep 4 15:35:54 EDT 2001
Udhaya,
I was doing a google search today on a different subject, and I was led to this pleasant discussion ! A few weeks back, I made a song request (without expecting that it would be responded to) for this song from Parthiban Kanavu at www.thendral.com, an internet tamil radio station run at Albany, NY, and to my surprise they had the song and were pleased to broadcast it immediately ! Seems to me that any music lover would invariably love A.M.Raja. It was so nice to hear the rich flowing voice of A.M.Raja in that song, though the recording was so bad.
Thanks for your info that the songs were composed by Veda and that they were original too ! Well, I have a kind of reverence to the music directors of that era, and even in Veda I have found traces of a fine music sensibility, in spite of him being a copy cat. The 7 / 8 time this particular song is set to, is one of the beats which is seldom used till today in tamil cine music. That adds so much of charm to the song and hats off to Veda (he was certainly imaginative in using a rare beat which adds to the romantic feeling of the song enlivened by Raja's voice). Also listen to the fine prelude of Orayiram Parvayilae by TMS. It is not there in the original hindi song. (By the bye, Ullathin Kadhavugal kankaladaa was also his original composition, if I am right). He also exhibited a taste, I must say, in choosing the songs to copy !
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vijay (@ 129.*) on: Tue Sep 4 16:10:58 EDT 2001
I guess AMR was like Hemant kumar in Hindi..always a second tier singer but with under-rated composiing abilities?? Thenilavu songs are an absolute pleasure to hear..
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KavipPiriyan (@ 192.*) on: Wed Sep 5 06:19:23 EDT 2001
I think vEda had a great vibe for melody which prompted him to flick some awesome tunes from hindi , refine the phrases much to appeal the listener and presented them well in Tamil. For example the tamil version of " dil pukAre Aare.." (nAnaththAle kaNNam miNNa miNNa..) appeals better with better BGM and rendering.
I wish he should have done music for "sivagAmiyin selvan " where he could have refined and presented the wonderful melodies like "kOrA kAgaj thA yeah man mEra.." , "guNgunA ra hai mOr .." by using SPB and PS with lyrics by kannadasan.
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a.a. (@ 64.2*) on: Sun Sep 9 13:54:18 EDT 2001
Good news for AMR fans. One of his old songs from the movie `Naam' is posted in the following link, thanks to S.K.: http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/ppp/rareppp.htm
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Sriram Lakshman (@ 63.2*) on: Sun Sep 9 16:52:46 EDT 2001
Vishwes Obla, 'uLLaththin kathavugaL...' was composed by T.R.Papa, another composer who 'tastefully' lifted from Hindi on several occassions but could come up with aces on a few. I was listening to the songs of Devadas the other day and noticed great similarities between 'uthaya vAnin ithaya nilavE' and a Ghantasala-Rani duet in the movie, with the same 7 beat pattern.
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SARAVANAN A.M. (@ ) on: Mon Mar 4 11:48:14 EST 2002
World is going somewere else, but you people wasting time like spending unnecessarily doing like this. Think for a while it is necessary? So many scientists are created many things and they have spend theri whole time for the use of ourself. So dont waste the time and try to do something for our country and to the people
WITH ALL GOOD WISHES AND WITH LOVE
A.M. SAAVANAN
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Udhaya (@ 63.8*) on: Mon Mar 4 12:28:42 EST 2002
A.M.Saravanan,
Self-righteous preaching is one of the worst sins in humans; misspelling is one of the worst sins in a public forum. You're guilty as a human and a forum contributor. Please go preach where there are people waiting to be converted and leave us the hell alone.
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satsona (@ 203.*) on: Tue Mar 5 01:22:07 EST 2002
KavipPiriyan (@ 192.128.167.68)
"I think vEda had a great vibe for melody which prompted him to flick some awesome tunes from hindi , refine the phrases much to appeal the listener and presented them well in Tamil. For example the tamil version of " dil pukAre Aare.." (nAnaththAle kaNNam miNNa miNNa..) appeals better with better BGM and rendering.
I wish he should have done music for "sivagAmiyin selvan " where he could have refined and presented the wonderful melodies like "kOrA kAgaj thA yeah man mEra.." , "guNgunA ra hai mOr .." by using SPB and PS with lyrics by kannadasan."
I AM COMPLETELY AMUSED BY YOUR STMTS ABOUT THE "GREAT" VEDA. HE MIGHT HAVE HAD A GOOD SENSE OF MUSIC, BUT HE CAN NEVER BE GLORIFIED FOR COPYING DIRECTLY AND COMPLETELY AND PRESENTING SOME OF THE SUPERB SONGS OF HINDI FILMS.
WHAT U DONT SEE HERE IS THAT THE CREDIT DUE TO THE ORIGINAL MDs OF THESE SONGS HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY.
THIS CAN BE STATED AS AN OFFENCE IN THE FIELD OF MUSIC.
PLS OBSERVE THAT GETTING AN INSPIRATION FROM A SONG IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM DIRECTLY & FULLY COPYING IT, AND MY DEAR FRIEND, VEDA IS OF THE LATTER CATEGORY.
IF THAT IS THE CASE OF PRESENTING A SONG BETTER, HE SHOULD HAVE PUT THE ORIGINAL MD's NAME IN THE FILM TITLES AND PUT HIMSELF AS AN ARRANGER. IN NO WAY CAN HE BE THE MUSIC DIRECTOR.
I HOPE U APPRECIATE THIS AND START GIVING CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL MD, INSTEAD OF THIS DIRTY COPYCAT.
satsona
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Raghu (@ 212.*) on: Tue Mar 5 08:52:28 EST 2002
A.M.Rajah is one great singer, man!
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O_IS_G (@ 193.*) on: Tue Mar 5 09:39:43 EST 2002
Naaz/Observer/Udhaya
I heard MSV saying that he composed the Jenovah songs with AM Raja.Any light on that.
Further after "Thendral Urangiya pothu" i have not come across AMR song in MSV-TKR composition.Infact there were AMR songs in MSV in 60-70s.Any idea?
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O_IS_G (@ 193.*) on: Tue Mar 5 09:40:30 EST 2002
Read"There were NO AMR songs .. .Sorry
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Mr. O (@ 64.1*) on: Tue Mar 5 17:20:26 EST 2002
O_IS_G, true there were no AMR songs for MSV in 60s and 70s. 'kaN moodum vELayilum kalai enna kalayE' from Mahadevi could be one of the last AMR songs for MSV.
All 4 songs from Jenovah featured AMR
seitha pAvaththinAlE - AMR
Asai alai mOthuthE - AMR & P. Leela
kaNNukkuL minnal - AMR & P. Leela
nAm jeevasugam - AMR & A.P. Komala
MSV once stated that his greatest dream was to invite his guru C.R. Subburaman for his first ever recording. The 'Asai..' songs had been composed, rehearsed and all the musicians were ready for the final take. Unfortunately, it was only the news that CRS had expired that reached MSV.
Gantasala was another singer that MSV probably never used when he started off on his own. However, the songs 'ulagE mAyam vAzhvE mAyam' (devadas) and 'vAn meethilE' (chandi rani) (these were the songs MSV composed when he was assisting CRS, who was bed-ridden) had Gantasala who might have been CRS's original choice.