Western Influences in Tamil Film Music - Song - 1.

8 Years before, When I listened to Pootukkal Pottaalum, I was awe-struck by the tune, brilliant orchestration and the rhythms. But, at that time, I didn't know that it was a Waltz style composition. Later, being exposed to various forms of music, made me figure out whether the song is a waltz or rock and roll or jazz. I do know this won't be right always as I don't analyse it technically but just tell it by listening experience.

Songs are an integral part of our Indian Movies. Yes, Hollywood films do have songs but they come in the musical category, not in the mainstream films. However, in India, when the cinema medium was in its baby steps trying to cement a permanent place, mythological dramas were ruling us as the sole entertainment. Gradually, films replaced these dramas but retaining songs and lengthy dialogs from the dramas.

Hence, in the early years of Tamil Films, all we saw a movie between songs. Apparently, our films were just an extended versions of our mythological dramas without a clear understanding of the visual medium. Those days, with no dubbing technology, the characters in the film have to sing the songs for themselves. As a result, professional singers like M.K.T, P.U. Chinnappa became heroes. And, being the movies were mere epics, all the songs sounded heavy Carnatic numbers. However in Bollywood, Anil Biswas, Ramchandra, Naushad started fusing our songs with Western Classical Orchestration, trying new forms of music like waltz, rock and roll. Gradually, this trend reached in South too. Saluri Rajeswara Rao was one such composer who had tried western classical nuances in our songs.

Probably, the best example is Kalyana Samayal Saadham (Mayabazaar). The whole song is rooted in Western Classical style - both the orchestration and the scale of the song. Noted Cinema Historian, Theodore Baskaran says: This is in the lines of  "Marching Theme". If you hear, John Paul Jones Score, you could probably relate to this style.