Though I have no complaints about Sri rama Rajyam or even the choice of raagas! but in general, I feel that I am seeing more of the usual ragas than the non-cliched one. I kind of agree with Thumburu - looking at all films as such. I mean, we dont have songs Amudhe Tamizhe anymore. I rarely see Malayamarutham etc. Vel's example of Senchuruti & Saraswathi are one off cases, and there too - I think a slightly lesser knolwedgeable fan (like me) cannot comprehend the ragas used. I mean, the treatment was such. Like say, when he gave a Saara yeh aalam in Shiva-2006, I who never knew simhendramadhyamam before, atleast felt that this was something different, something unusual, some very different raaga. And my curiousity led me to Simhendramadhyamam. I usually dont experience such kind of stuff in recent songs of raaja. The sample set has kind of shrunk to: Mohanam, Sindhu Bhairavi, Suddha Dhanyasi, Bhageshree/Sriranjani, Pahadi, Keeravani, Kalyani, Hamsanandi, panthuvarali etc or if he slightly goes further, it is a Suddha Saveri (Manasoram) or Charukesi (Aavani Thumbi). again, I am not talking about Rama Rajyam here, because he did explore well in that film - given the constraints he had. He did well even in Uliyin Osai. But i am talking about other films. In short, my request to him would be to dust those 'becoming rare' ragas such as Abhogi, Bahudari, shanmukhapriya, Sree, Nalinikanthi, amritavarshini, Kalyana vasantham, tilang, Lalitha etc. He never needed classical music-based situations to wrap the classical music richness in his music. That was his (highest) strength. I wish he chooses these neglected lot. challenging... but thats what he has been taking up all along.. challenges.

Padithurai had raagas like Maand, Dhenuka and Saranga - How unusual they are! Unfortunately, the album is lying in cans. If only, he does something like that in other albums - that are getting released!