Entering into the Woods of Balu Mahendra.

Last Week, I saw a few scenes and a beautiful song from a movie which I haven't seen before. Later on, when I tried to find the movie name I couldn't, since I didn't remember the song name. After that, I tried searching in Wikipedia, using a combination of Radhika, Sivakumar, and Menaka's Filmography and did find the movie name - Urangatha Ninaivugal. Two things caught my attention in the movie: One, this song and the next one, Cinematography. It was a pleasant surprise to know the man behind the Camera was Balumahendra. The first thing that comes to my mind in Balu's Cinematography is Natural Lighting and his love for nature. We see the landscape, sky, lush greenery, streams as they are not with an altered color tones so as to elevate their beauty what we generally see in other movies.

Malare Malare Ullasam,..

Poongatru Pudhithanadhu..

Sendhaazham Poovil..

Poovannam Pola Minnum..

Kannamma Kadhal Ennum Kavithai

Ila Nenje Vaa...

All the above songs bear a solid testimony to his tribute to nature. Besides, his songs are a whiff of fresh air in one aspect. I suppose only in his songs, all the heroines comes with their natural faces rather applying ample colors and touch-ups on their faces.

Nowadays, most of the songs come with innumerable cuts as we wonder whether the song has been made by the Editor or a film-maker. This is not the way a song should be picturised. Of course, if a song demands rapid-cut editing like Poovukenna Pootu - it is OK to have a fast editing of many shots. But not for all songs.The song should take its time with Long Takes, Long Shots.  Only, a good cameraman and a director can accomplish this. Else, all songs would suffer from heavy editing. These are not termed to called as songs rather Flipbooks which pass at every second.

When you look at Balu's songs they are as like his scenes they flow like a stream with minimal cuts. We get to see Long Shots, Close-Ups, Panoramic View, the Horizon, Streams, Dolly Shots. Even if he shoots in artificial lighting - Nalam Vaazha Ennaalum - the song doesn't cause an irritation to our eyes. It's simple and pure.

Coincidentally, this week, I am addicted to two numbers from the movie Vanna Vanna Pookal. Lastly, have you seen any hero, riding casually in a cycle, enjoying the woods, dancing and living alone. The Shot, when Prashanth crosses a set of people including a boy and a girl, having a load of firewood on their heads affected me a lot craving for their simplicity and their surroundings.

This simplicity we could find only in Balu Mahendra Songs.