Bharathi - Ilaiyaraaja - Background Score.

Yet Another Thanks to Navin Mozart for this Precious Score. Bharathi is my most favourite Ilaiyaraaja Score in the last 20 years. Seems like Raja have enjoyed so much scoring for this movie (Of course he does for all movies though)

• After Bharathi threw away his Kingdom's job,  Chellamma(Devayani) becomes worried of her future which Raja forewarns us in 4.41 to 4.46 piece. In fact this piece indirectly tells the viewers something is going to happen with an eccentric poet.

• What a beautiful piece of music Raja has embellished(Kummiadi Penne Kummiadi Penne) in the scene when a guy comes and felicitates Bharathi with a Shawl. The Piece starts (sounds like Guitar as well as keyboard) at 10.22 then shifts to percussions with Guitar Strummings at 10.33. Again, moving to Classical with Violin joining them at 10.39 till 10.50

• When Bharathi brings loads of books in carts and the moment he starts reading... Love's Philosophy, Flute comes alive  at 6.17 with subtle orchestration in the background, recreating European Western Classical era.

• And the haunting Bharathi Theme from 7.09 Solo Violin Piece.. see the sudden variation from 7.27.

Theri - Poor Screenplay, Mediocre Direction, run-of-the-mill Music - A Waste Attempt.

Watched Theri. Prior to the release, there had been a buzz in the social media that Theri is a new version of Chatriyan. But to my surprise, Theri takes ideas from Kaakha Kaakha, Vettaiyadu Vilayadu, Baadsha too. Unfortunately, nothing spells interesting on the screen.

Atlee said that the project was confirmed 2 years before and he had had enough time for writing. But audience couldn't find a bit of sensible writing in the screenplay. The entire movie is so predictable even to a high-school student and there's nothing interesting in the 2+ hours movie.

So what is Theri ? It's a crime drama or a revenge drama ? Hope at least Atlee knows.

In one crucial moment, Vijay tries to find a man who is alleged to have abducted a working girl. The scenes which follows the investigation are so dull without a bit of suspense or riveting moment. You could find a similar scenario in Vettaiyadu Vilayadu but done with intelligent writing that keeps you glued to the screen.

Almost 90% of Tamil Movies have poor writing, the main reason, we don't rely on good screen writers. Instead, director himself does the writing part which becomes shoddy.

Until we hire good screen writers like Hindi Cinema(Jaideep Sahni) or Malayalam Cinema, we would remain as today forever.

Remembering Devika and her songs.

Madi Meedhu Thalai Vaithu...

One of my favourite songs. I remember seeing this Annai Illam, long back, in Doordarshan days. The peculiarity of the song is its short Pallavi. In fact, this is one such song where Charanams are so good than Pallavi.. the song hits the spot, the moment TMS sings Mangala Kungumam Nenjilie.... In the interludes, there is a subtle but beautiful orchestration and the singers TMS and P Suseela stealing the show completely.

Devika is one of my beloved heroines in the Black and White Era. In that melodramatic period, she was one of the very few actors who gave sensible acting in the movies like Nenjil Vor Aalayam. Interestingly, she was blessed with some greatest songs in Tamil Cinema.

Tips for a beginner photographer from an amateur photographer.

It was in June 2013, I got attracted to photography strongly. The fervor towards photography made me see all kinds of pics in Flickr, spend hours on reading photography articles, and browse different models of DSLR in Flipkart and Amazon. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford a DSLR then.  All I had a Second-Hand Samsung Point and Shoot Camera. As like every beginner in the photography, I started clicking flowers, puppy, trees randomly without knowing what is an exposure. The results were below average. I didn't care. After all, I was so excited, at least, I clicked photos on my own. Things were going like this but my passion doesn't seem to come down. Finally, I somehow bought a DSLR - Nikon D3300.

Now with 1.5 Years of little hands-on experience in clicking 1000's of pictures, I, at least, know: What is Manual Mode, What is Shutter Speed Priority, Aperture Priority, Auto Mode, ISO etc.

I am not going to write all these technical stuff since there are a hell lot of sites for these and also, still, I myself a novice in photography.

********************************

The reason to write this post is to share my opinions, experiences, problems, challenges I faced in DSLR Photography.

Probably the first roadblock in DSLR Photography is Manual Mode or getting out of Auto Mode. Till then, anyone, who has clicked some pics in a Point-and-Shoot or who hasn't clicked at all, wouldn't have cared a bit about these modes in spite of having manual modes in their P and S Cameras. All they point a subject intentionally or aim randomly and click a pic. That's it. You've had a pic ready to post it in Facebook. But with a brand-new DSLR, one can't keep going in Auto Mode either it gives a guilty-feeling or you end up learning nothing.

The Manual Mode Myth :

Clearly bear in mind, mostly, one buys a DSLR for better photos, diverse lens options and finally, very few, take it to the next level i.e becoming a professional for commercial purposes. So you no need to worry a bit about that last thing. You have a bought a DSLR; click pictures; admire its colors, clarity and your way of clicking. So, initially, not worrying about all these modes just go with Auto Mode for 1 or 2 months. Click pictures at least one or two days in a week. Between, spend 30 minutes of reading the basics on the below-mentioned topics.

What is Shutter Speed ?

What is Aperture ?

What is ISO ?

What is Exposure Triangle ?

What is Manual Mode ?

What is Shutter Priority Mode ?

What is Aperture Priority Mode ?

On having a keen interest, these topics can be learnt in a week with a DSLR.

After learning the ropes of clicking in DSLR, you can move to Semi-Manual Modes. With 1.5 years of clicking, still, I mostly shoot in Semi-Manual Mode - Shutter priority mode is my regular favorite.

Getting the Right Exposure:

Another big problem a beginner faces when going out of Auto Mode is getting the right exposure, either the photos come over-exposed with too much of brightness or dull with none of the subjects visible. But this can be solved by below methods:

• Every DSLR would have an exposure meter. So always before clicking, have a look at the exposure meter. If the indicator is tended towards left the photo more or less may come less exposed; if it's tended towards right it may come over-exposed. Center and one or two points in the left or right may get the right exposure.

• Though any time is best for clicking a photo; as an amateur photographer, I prefer mornings (6.30 -10 AM) or (4 to 7 PM in the evenings).

• During the bright day never up your ISO beyond 200 or max 400-800 in low-light cloudy evenings, high ISO makes a photo noisy and over-exposed. Apt ISO is between 100-200-400 based on the day conditions. Click a few pics and change the ISO based on the result in Semi-Manual Mode.

• Another important thing is to shoot in RAW format. Initially, I shot in JPG for 2 months, then I came to know about RAW format. Once I got used to it, I never switched back to JPG. RAW format gives various options to correct your errors from exposure to cropping, contrast, adjust colours, reducing the noise.

My advice :

You shoot in any mode but it's better you start clicking pics in RAW format as soon as possible. It's very simple. All you need a photo editor Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop or any other.

So how to get into RAW format ?

I will write in the next Post.

Song of the Day : Thol Kanden Thole Kanden.... - K.V. Mahadevan - Idhaya Kamalam.

Chanced to see this beautiful song on TV yesterday. K.V. Mahadevan who is generally known for heavy carnatic numbers has also given some great guitar-soaked western numbers like Gnayiru Enbathu Kannaga, Unnai Arindhaal.

Thol Kanden Thole Kanden is yet another Guitar gem from the late Veteran Composer. Song starts in the Western and shifts to folk in Charanams. The USP of this song is lovely Guitar chords, Orchestration in the Pallavi and nice rendition by P.B. Srinivas.

Ilaiyaraaja, Ashok Kumar, Mahendran - The Trinity of Soulful Films.

Few days before, while I was watching Pazhaya Sogangal from the movie Eera Vizhi Kaaviyangal, the Opening Shot, in which, Prathap Pothen was sitting on the seashore, beside a boat immediately caught my eyes.

When checked in Wikipedia, it showed Ashok Kumar's name. I wasn't surprised. The late cinematographer Ashok Kumar was one of the best in the industry. Though he has done a lot of movies, he created some beautiful shots in Mahendran movies, in particular, Nenjathai Killathey, Nandu. Paruvame Pudhiya Paadal Paadu - with its mist, lush greenery, and morning light looked like a canvas painted on the screen.

Another favourite is Manjal Veyil Song from the movie Nandu. The opening High-Angle Shot in which the Camera looks at the entrance of the home with guests coming in for a Birthday party or Aswini holding her baby in a garden, shots looked lovely. Maniratnam says, "The relationship between Cameraman and Director is like Husband and Wife. The better their understanding better the film". I see Mahendran and Ashok Kumar as a perfect example of his phrase.

Good Cinematography is not about high-end technical gadgets or filming in foreign locations; its mere evoking an emotion, a feel. The same Ashok Kumar did the cinematography for Jeans too. In spite of shooting in great wonders of the world, he couldn't create a feel as like he did in Nenjathai Killadhey or in Nandu. There comes the script and the director :-)

Note: A bit about Manjal Veyil Compositon. What a stunning work from Maestro. Song starts with Veena and the moment the hero comes we hear a grand violin orchestration followed by a cello, the cello sounds as though someone is knifing our hearts. See Raja's foreshadowing brilliance here: the song happens in an auspicious event, for this Veena, Flute, Classical Guitar everything fits in. But the hero suffering from a critical illness yet to tell his situation and roaming alone disheartened; soon everything is going to be changed in a happy family. For this Raja prepares us subtly before that is going to happen.

The first lnterlude is an emotional outburst score. It starts with a baroqish solo violin with a group of violins subtly playing a different melody in the background then shifts to flute/classical guitar the moment the hero sees Vanitha and his lover on a rickshaw, here too, a Jugalbandi occurs between Flute, Guitar, and Veena. (The way, the trio expressing their emotions in their faces, is too good to see in the screen.)

In the Amadeus movie, Salieri beautifully describes Mozart's music in a remarkable scene :

" Sweetened into a phrase with such delight. This was a music I've never heard. Filled with such longing such unfulfillable longing as though I am hearing the voice of God. "

The same I felt, listening to this(Manjal Veyil Maalaiyitta Poove..) piece.

Oh Unnale Naan Penaane... Mano at his very best & Nilave Nee Vara Vendum - A Moonlight Sonata in Classical Guitar.

After years, I came back to this mellifluous song. I first heard this song in one of my relative's marriage which was held in Valliyoor way back before 25 years. Then, being a school boy, I didn't pay much attention to the song. Besides this, I have a clear memory of another song too - Muthamma Muthu Muthu Muthalamma.. from the movie Thanthuvitten Ennai. Again, yesterday, when I listened to this Oh Unnale Naan Pennaane... the song had a profound impact on me which made me listen continously for few hours.

This is one of the Ilaiyaraaaja songs with a subtle orchestration and mild rhythms. However, the very melodic tune and Mano's heavenly vocal(the way, Mano starts Thedatha Neram illaye... haunts us) have put the song on the pedestal.

Yet another rare gem from En Arugil Nee Irundhal. One of the heavenly preludes ever composed by Ilaiyaraaja - lilting Classical guitar woven with another Guitar to form a Counterpoint and this magic continues in both the interludes.

Tamil Short Films need a revamp.

Watched a handful of short films in YouTube, using a keyword "Best Tamil Short Films". Nothing seems to be impressive except one or two. Of course, it is too much to expect from a novice film-maker. There can be some lapses in getting the natural performances from the actors, film-making and other technical departments. These slips can be excused and can be corrected in further attempts. But none of these amateur attempts doesn't care a bit about the relevance of a strong script. Most of these short-films don't come out of love.

• The protagonist is either an Engg. student or an IT worker.
• Coffee Shops, ECR feature almost in all the short-films.  Are there no other places in Chennai?
• The usual gadgets: Smartphones, Bikes, Beer.
• Silly jokes on consuming alcohol and in degrading women.

Why these short-film makers can't come out of these cliches ? There are scores of books, novels, short-stories being untouched. They can select a suitable script based on their needs and is that all need for a decent short-film.

Of the 10-15 Short Films, this is the one that thought beyond love and coffee shops. The story is by Suba.Veera Pandian.

Vanthaale Allipoo.... Kan Sivanthal Mann Sivakkum

After a tiresome day, This song Vanthaale Allipooo.. made my day. One of the finest little gems of Ilaiyaraaja. Song starts with a classical rhythm and shifts to Guitar strummings with Raja's voice. Poornima... an epitome of beauty in this song. Her Cotton Sarees, smile, body language - absolute pleasure to watch. What a beautiful tribute to her.

20 Years of Trainspotting.

Because, it has one of the best opening sequences in Film History.

Because, it has one of the best Voice-Overs in the lines of Taxi Driver, Goodfellas.

Because, it is unbelievably raw and profane.

Because, it has many memorable quotes.

Because, it revived British Cinema, Pop-Culture, What Pulp Fiction did to Hollywood.

Because, it is technically better than Pulp-Fiction with effective usage of colours and skilfully setting various moods of characters in the screen.

Because, it is Danny Boyle's best directed film till date.

Because, 20 years before, it ridiculed today's consumerism.

Because, Ewan Mcgregor is in his full-form.

Finally, it is exceptionally entertaining.

Madhai Yaanai Kootam - Raw and Dark.

The first scene opens with a death scene; the interval block pauses with a death and finally the movie ends again with a death. Could you imagine a Tamil Movie like this ? Well, there is. It came before two years - Madha Yaanai Kootam. This is the movie I watched last Friday. Well, I won't say Madha Yaanai Kootam is breathtaking, it lags a bit in the second-half and has an unwanted love portion. Nevertheless, a promising debut from Vikram Sugumaran for his raw portrayal of Thevar community's lifestyle in and around Theni.

Madha Yaanai Kootam is not a usual community-based Tamil Film, which, either glorify the violence or sing paeans to the heroes but show their vengeance, bloodshed, betrayal and the effect of it on their families. The entire movie is so dark; even cinematography intensifies this mood by the gloomy color tones used in the funeral sequences.

The foremost strength of the movie is its casting. Besides Viji and Oviya, all are lesser known faces. This makes us get into each characters skin easily and we get completely involved with the movie. Among the casts, one man stands out. He is Veera Thevar (Tamil author Vela Ramamoorthy). In fact, he doesn't have much dialogs but comes throughout the movie and gives us a solid performance. His body language, the way, he has worn the dhoti with rolled up sleeves, and his eyes convey all the emotions and expressions without much dialogs.

As like in Aadukalam, Vikram Sugumaran's struggle for perfection in bringing Madurai accent, Thevar community customs in the funeral sequences, petty fights during those moments has come out brilliant in the movie ably supported by the composer Ragunanthan and the Lyricist Yegadesi.

Montage songs - Mukkulathu Veerarayya, Unnai Vanangaatha Neramillai, Enga Pora Magane - nicely helps the story telling and the characters details.

In the climax, there is a scene where Viji poisons a character and comes out of her home to report this to her brother. This shot has been filmed beautifully with a single Long Take in the lines of Ganja Karuppu's betrayal in the movie Subramaniapuram.

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.

Remembering Shankar Nag, Malgudi Days.

Shivakumar has written a neat tribute to Shankar Nag in "The Hindu". Though Shankar Nag passed away 25 years before, still, he is an icon in Karnataka. In particular, if you have been to Bangalore, there's the least chance that you might have missed an autorickshaw with Shankar Nag's picture decorating the auto's front-side glass. Besides, his evergreen classic songs Jotheyali, Santhosange haadu Santhosange, Kelage nimageega.. still, being actively played on FM channels and marriage halls.

Being from Tamilnadu, my personal experience with Shankar Nag movies are nil. Apart from his classic Malgudi Days, I haven't seen any of his movies. I wish to see his movies though(in future). But, just seeing Malgudi days, I can clearly conclude that he was up above the normal film-makers in Kannada industry. Years before, during my childhood days I had seen the Swami and Friends Episodes. Again, after moving to Bangalore, one fine day, just to rekindle my Doordarshan day nostalgic memories, I bought a DVD and saw a handful of episodes. The second time viewing made me realise the Shankar Nag's brilliance in Direction.

Even most of the mainstream Indian movies weren't matched the class of Malgudi Days. I would like to quote this with an example of Swami and Friends Episode 1.

The Context:

When Swami asks an irksome question to his prejudiced teacher, he would receive a tweak in his ears as a punishment from his teacher. When he complains this to his father, he writes a letter to the principal asking to take an action on the guilty teacher.


1. The teacher intentionally mocks the Hinduism practice and praises the Jesus, thus irritating the Swami. Hence, he asks a tricky question to the teacher about Jesus.

2. The teacher not expecting such a question from a kid tweaks his ear for having insulted him among the other students.

3. Swami takes this incident to his father.

4. Father writes a letter to the principal.

5. Father reads the letter before Swami and asks him to give it to the principal.

6. Swami delivers the letter to the principal before going to the classroom.

See, how beautifully all the above scenarios are filmed in the Serial. Shankar Nag does this in just 3.19 minutes.(From 1.57 to 5.16) The Camera slowly zooms in towards the Ganesh idol, we hear the teacher's voice in the background as we are taken to a flash-back shot with teacher mocking the hinduism idol practice. Then Swami asks a question only to get his ear tweaked; as he cries in pain we see immediately the next shot with the letter fully composed and signed by Swami's father. In between, his mother asks for a pittance and finally when his father starts reading the letter, the shot has already moved to the next as Swami starts walking to the school with the letter in his hand, with audience hearing his father's voice reading the letter in the background. The timing is also beautiful as the letter completes exactly when Swami reaches the Headmaster's room.

What a film language Shankar Nag has pulled off, that too in a Television Serial. Besides, the excellent selection of artists, perfect locations to depict the pre-independence India - Agumbe - Karnataka, authentic houses, soulful Title Score(L.Vaidyanathan) has elevated a regular TV serial into a classic.


But how sad, that an artist in his prime, losing his life in a gruesome accident.

Remembering Vinod Mehta.

Exactly an year before, we lost one of India's finest editors. It took some time to digest the fact that Vinod Mehta had indeed left us when I saw the news on TV.

He was far different among the elite panel of Mainstream English Editors, who pose with costly suits and scare us with their verbose writings.

Unearthing infamous 1999 match-fixing scandal, Neera Radia Tapes were some of his important contributions to the Indian Journalism, besides influencing many young journalists like Krishna Prasad, Saba Naqvi, S.Anand and Tarun Tejpal. His commitment towards secularism, clean journalism are unquestionable even among his detractors.

Even though not a great writer, his simple writing, remarkable sense of humour, his vast experience in the journalism field makes his books - Lucknow Boy and Editor Unplugged worth reading. His monthly column Delhi Diary is an absolute delight read which I look forward every month with keen interest.

More than Outlook and his colleagues, I miss this beloved Editor.

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.

Ingeyum Angeyum - A Rare Waltz Song from Sathya.

Inadvertently, I find out this brilliant Waltz in the Navin Mozart's Soundcloud uploads where I actually landed to listen Vetri Karangal Title Score. What a shame, all these years I've been so dumb to miss this rare piece from the movie Sathya. Venkateswaran Ganesan has this song in You tube with the best Stereo Recording. Ilaiyaraaja Fans who aren't aware of this song, give it a try.

Aboorva Sagotharargal - Opening Sequence.

Last Saturday, I saw Aboorva Sagotharargal after many years. I have seen the move twice in Theatres - Coimbatore Archana and Jai Shanti - during my 3rd std annual holidays and few times on the TV too. But only, this time, I was intrigued by the opening sequence. The first shot opens with a duck swimming(but we see only the close-up of the duck's neck) and then it starts running in a narrow mud path quacking with other ducks following this one. In the next Shot, we see a man herding these ducks; a baby crying in front of a hut. A Granny comes and picks up the baby, and the baby's father asks her to give the baby for mother feeding; then he gets into the hut. The moment he gets in we see a car crashing through the hut by a sidekick with the Hero chasing him in the Bike. My question is: What's the point to show all these details which are no way related to the chasing. Straight away the director could have shown the Highway with Hero chasing the villain's man. But the director didn't. First he creates a calm atmosphere and then all of a sudden this chasing happens.

Why Do Indian Films Need Oscar ?

Oscar - One of the useless and over-rated awards on Earth will be out on this Sunday. Indian Media have already started their betting on Leonardo Di Caprio; plus their usual complaints that when are our movies going to fetch the Academy Awards, blah, blah, blah...

First of all, I couldn't understand the logic behind these over-hyped Academy Awards, which are solely for American Movies. Why the hell we have to compete for American Movie Awards? Just like throwing a peanut salary these gentlemen have a Foreign Film Category, in which a bunch of clowns who don't know anything about our culture, preferences, roots but analyse our movies like a Cardiologist. Who are these guys to decide?

By the way, I sincerely wish as an ardent admirer of Leonardo Di Caprio, he shouldn't get the award this year. The way the Media and Oscar lovers create such a hype for that wonderful actor and surprise finally, why wasn't he awarded is nothing but stupid as if Academy Awards hitherto has been given to every right person.

Leonardo Di Caprio & Ennio Morricone worth more than an Oscar.
Media - Judge an artist out of his works than from these so-called awards.

Yanni - The Master who taught me "What is Music".

The first time I encountered the name "Yanni" was from one of my distant relative who had been listening to his Optimystique Album, in a Cassette, way back 18 years ago. At that time, I had not been exposed to World Music with my listening strictly limited to Rahman. I wasn't sure whether this particular incident happened before Yanni's Taj Mahal Concert or after. But, I just saw the Cassette Cover and moved on without even bothering to listen. Later, moving to Bangalore, I, inadvertently got a chance to download a Torrent, Frostwire. I don't know whether this Torrent still exists. But, at that time, I didn't realise that Frostwire going to be a watershed moment in altering my musical taste thereafter. After successfully downloading the Torrent, I didn't have a clear idea how to use or whom to listen. Randomly, I typed some artists whoever came to my mind like Elton John, Phil Collins, Mozart, Yanni. And in a few minutes, I got the musical pieces in my Desktop. That's how I stepped into the World Music from an average Tamil Film Soundtrack listener.

For the first few days, I was completely hooked to Easy Lover. I was blown away by its terrific energy, heavy Bass Guitars and Drums. Most of the day, the song would be screaming in my office speakers. Yes, this is one of the best advantages working in a Start-Up unlike boring service MNC's environment where a middle-aged manager would be chasing the resources asking the Test Case Count. Then, one fine evening, I suppose, a Thursday, in June 2007, I had one of the best musical experience ever in my life. While I was in my boring Manual Testing, the musical piece playing in my System just took me away from the work. To be honest, I could never capture those precious moments in my writing, still, I would try. The musical piece, which amazed me was "Keys to Imagination". Until then, I had never heard such a musical piece; it was so fresh; whether the Orchestration or the new sounds or a mix of Synthesisers with live instruments, I don't know. But it lifted my spirits immensely. Immediately, I switched to find what the song was and who composed it. That moment I found my Master - Yanni. Subsequently, each and every track of Yanni I heard heightened my emotions significantly. In the next few days, I almost became a devotee to Yanni.

In between work, I started seeing a majority of his videos in the YouTube. Unfortunately, at that time, I couldn't afford an iPod or a portable musical player. So, I started visiting Browsing Centres with the sole intention of listening to Yanni. In such scenario, one evening, my friend's friend came to my room with a Discman. I couldn't resist my temptation that I went to a nearby shop at Indira Nagar Planet M Store and bought a 399Rs DVD. Needless to say, my friend's friend saw me as a nutcase. Till he went back to his room, I was deeply lost in Yanni's Songs.

Actually, Yanni helped me to expand my musical boundaries. I realised the power of Instrumental Music. Through Yanni, I explored Beethoven, Mozart, Ilaiyaraaja, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, and Vivaldi. I started paying attention to the Orchestration and the instruments part of it. He made me single out Oboe, Clarinet, Cello, Bass Guitar sounds in an Orchestration. I remember my bachelor days listening to his classic solo Album "In My Time" at midnight alone in a room. By chance, I found his memoir in the Landmark, Koramangala and grabbed it in spite of its huge price(785 INR).

It is one of best biography I've ever read. There wasn't a dull moment; it was simple, engaging, and very inspiring.

So, what draw him to Music?

Music was in their family. His mother was a good singer; during the weekends, post-lunch, she used to sing with Yanni's brother playing an instrument and Yanni supervising it without knowing the Music. Yanni remembers his childhood days; one of the main reason to learn music was to impress the girls. Strumming a Guitar, he used to sing down the girl's house only to father threw a bucket of water from the window. That day he stopped singing and started concentrating on analyzing the score. He was a self-learner. Luckily, his home was close to a theater. He could clearly hear the background scores playing in the movie. In particular, he was attracted to Ennio Morricone musical pieces. Besides, he had his portable Radio where he listened to all kinds of Music - Jazz, Middle East, European. But here his life took a sudden turn. His town Kalamata was a port town. So, most of the people were natural swimmers. Without any coaching or prior experience, he agreed to participate in Athens Swimming championship. He came first in the under 19 Championship and set a new national record in Greece.

But this didn't go for long as he felt he wasn't super-fit to become a champion in Olympics. He quits the swimming coaching and leaves to America for his higher studies. There, he stays with his elder brother in the Campus; finds an old Piano in one of the room. He practices, and slowly gets returned to music after a hiatus.He sets up a room, buys Synthesizers and starts writing down the small musical pieces. In between, he gets acquainted with Bands and tours most parts around Minnesota as a Keyboard player. Finally, he concludes and settles to compose his own set of music. Interestingly, most of the Radio Stations except few couldn't find a slot for his compositions as they were instrumentals.

Yanni doesn't like the way Media labels him as New Age (mainly used for Meditation - Birds, Water Falls, Om Chants) Composer. In fact, he prefers contemporary Instrumental. He has an Orchestra that has LIVE instruments as well as Synthesisers.

A Sample of Good Song Making - 1 - Jigarthanda.

Jigarthanda - I haven't seen the full movie except few scenes. And, the making of those few scenes were so artistic like a painting I am looking forward catching up the full movie one day. About the music: Santhosh Narayanan, as expected delivered some off-beat songs and the score. This Kannamma Kannamma prelude is typical Santhosh Narayanan stamp with the song starting off with a quirky "Aama" sounds (which comes throughout the song) and then shifting to a rustic female voice.

However, the real stunner in the song is the picturisation. As far as I remember, Madurai never looked so beautiful in any of the Tamil Song. The song has some great lightings - when Siddharth and Karunakaran are eating in a roadside eatery, market, and in temple shots too. Plus, the country-style-home interiors- The shot where both Siddharth and Lakshmi Menon play Carrom" aptly suits the song.