Of late, I keep hearing how Rahman (ARR) seems to have lost his touch and how he's unable to create the melodies he composed in the 90's. And that got me thinking- has he really lost his touch? Or is it just us who are unwilling to move away from the comfort zone of music that ARR has created in the 90’s?
In order to answer this question, I decided to reminisce the time I was first introduced to ARR’s world of music…Roja.
When Roja happened, I was barely 9 years old-an age where I knew nothing about music. Why, if someone were to ask me the difference between Bhairavi and Kalyani, my answer would have been very simple. Bhairavi is the bully who used to steal my lunch boxes in school and Kalyani is the elderly aunty who lived next door and has the habit of chattering with her mouth full of betel leaves; so much so that we used to call her “vettalai maami” (loosely translated as “betel aunty”). Well, the fact remains that I can’t differentiate Bhairavi or Kalyani raga even now…but that’s a different story altogether ;)...It was also the age where I failed to feel a connection with film songs, so much so that I grew up believing songs are there for the sole purpose to prove that actors can dance and sing (yes, I was gullible enough to believe that actors sing themselves in films then).
But it was only through Roja that I finally understood the impact that film music has on its listeners. The first time I saw the opening chasing scene in Roja, I could hardly understand what was going on. Everything was so blue in color and I had no clue who was chasing whom. And yet, my heart was thumping so fast...as fast as the music in the background. It was through the music that I knew how intense the whole sequence was. It was also the first time I noticed the impact that a bgm has on a scene. The subsequent scene that followed was the opening number, Chinna Chinna Aasai. And though ARR went on to compose many wonderful songs after this, Chinna Chinna Aasai remained as my favorite til date. Remember the prelude that accompanied the rising of the sun in the song? The tune was so authentic that I often believed that a sunrise would sound just like that. Even today, whenever I get the oppurtunity to watch a sunrise, the prelude would automatically play in my mind. That was just a small example of the impact that ARR's music had on me.
Over the years, I grew up to listen and fall in love with many songs, some of them I loved even without knowing that ARR composed the same. One such song was Pattampoochi Parakum from Puthiya Manargal. I first heard this song when my family and I were going on a long drive and the song was being played on the car stereo. I didn't know who was the Music Director then, but I just fell in love with the song the very moment I heard it. There was something very grand and catchy in the tune, especially the chorus, that you just wanna sing along with it. I remember asking my dad to play the song over and over again. We didn't have cd players back then so my mom who sat on the passenger seat in front, would religiously rewind the cassette to play the song. No one complained though. It seemed that everyone was in love with the song. Another song that I fell in love on the first instance was Kannalane from Bombay. We were supposed to perform a dance for a school concert and one of my friends suggested we dance for this song- she called it the "Bombay song", so naturally I thought it was a hindi or a bhangra number that we were supposed to perform to. Imagine my surprise when she played Kannalane on the cassette player. The opening chorus itself was so beautiful and magical that I just sat in front of the radio listening to the whole song. We never got to perform the dance though. The school concert had to be cancelled at the last moment for some reasons, but the song remained closed to my heart.
Thanga Thamarai from Minsara Kanavu is yet another favorite of mine....and no, me liking the song has nothing to do with the fact that Kajol was dancing in the waterfall or Arvindswamy pulling off a Zorro act. It was the final percussion beats at the postlude that did the trick. My cousin and I used to blast the song towards the end just to hear the beats. It gave us an awesome feeling!
Over the years, we see that ARR's music has gone through a steady and wonderful evolvement. Though all of us are genuinely happy to see his growth and achievement, there's always a part of us that want ARR to remain where he was earlier, the ARR we fell in love with in the 90's. We want him to invoke the same magic he gave us back then, but it's just not possible.
I remember reading a friend's mail sometime back where he said that ARR's music seem unique earlier but the uniqueness has withered over the years as we have been hearing to the style all these years. I agree with him. When Roja, Bombay of Minsara Kanavu came, the songs seem so unique to me because I've never heard them before. The magic he invoked through the tiny sounds, the multi-layered music, the grand chorus was so uniquely Rahman. That uniqueness was what drew me to his music and I began to hear all his songs knowing very well there's a surprise for me somewhere. Today, I can guess ARR's number the instant I hear them. The ARR's stamp has been embeded in my mind and heart that I can guess ARR's songs through the sounds.
Music has gone through drastic changes over the years. Kids who love Aye Bachchu might not find Rangela Re tasteful. Why, even my nephew who loves Beera Beera and now Jai Ho, fails to understand why I keep Chaiya Chaiya and Chikku Bukku Rayilu in a much higher regards than the other two. That's when I realized that ARR is still unique til' today...there is still the same magic in his music today, though I evasively dismiss the same in my effort to keep close to the "Vintage Rahman". My nephew saw the beauty in Jai Ho, why couldn't I? It's been a lesson well learned but I finally saw the beauty of Jai Ho and all his newer compositions. I understood that there are certain genres of music that I love, which becomes even more beautiful when ARR composes them. And I also realized that there are certain genres that I dislike though I don't mind listening to them when ARR composes the same. To sum it up- ARR makes beautiful music to sound amazingly beautiful and bad music to sound bearable. But most of all, I realized that songs that I regard as adequate are actually a gem of their own.
Maybe you guys would like to try it too. Just close your eyes and listen to the songs he composed today without thinking about his 90's numbers. You'll find the magic again. I know I did.
