Popular Tamil playback singers due here

The Tamil film industry music may not have the same flamboyance as Bollywood but many say that the former has originality (well, mostly) and melody, following traditional values.

Over the years, hundreds of Tamil films have become box-office hits mainly because of their lilting music, rendered by singers endowed with rich and mellifluous voice.

While most of them have either passed on or retired, a new breed of singers has emerged, with the promise of quality and ability to carry on the finesse.

Among them are Mukesh and Usha Raaj, who are beginning to capture the attention of music directors, composers and television channels, even as they captivate millions of fans around the world.

They will be in Auckland to present a concert along with our own Ravi Muthumanickam and other local artistes on July 17, 2011 at the Westlake Boys High School Auditorium, 30 Forrest Hill Road, Takapuna, North Shore City.

Ravi is organising the programme called, Andrum, Inrum, Endrum (combination of melodies of the past and present for eternity) to provide value entertainment to the Tamil speaking communities in New Zealand.

Versatile Voice

Playback singers of the yesteryear Tamil films had a sound knowledge of Carnatic music, with its intricate ragas. This worked as an advantage for lyricists and composers to create music that was meaningful and melodious. From M K Thyagaraja Bhagavadar, S G Kittappa, M S Subbulakshmi and M L Vasanthakumari to Sirgazhi Govindarajan, T M Sounderarajan, P B Srinivas, S P Balasubrahmanyam, P Susheela and L R Eswari (to mention a few), it was an uninterrupted flow of quality songs that have remained in memory.

It is to the credit of a few youngsters like Mukesh and Usha that they have ‘mastered the voice’ of the yesteryear singers in addition to establishing an identity of their own over the past few years.

We will have an exclusive preview of what is in store in our next issue, in addition to analysing what makes these two singers distinct from others. Meanwhile, you would perhaps like to listen to just one song of each – Odam Nadhiyiniley (original rendered by Sirgazhi in ‘Kathiruntha Kangal’) and Nalai Intha Neram, a riveting and challenging number (by P Susheela in ‘Uyarntha Manithan’), to appreciate the calibre of Mukesh and Usha.