Released in 1979, the Tamil movie Ninaithale Inikkum directed by K. Balachander (1930 – 2014) was a true gem of its time. Starring the legendary actors Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Jaya Prada, and Geetha, the film left an indelible mark on the hearts of Tamil cinema lovers. Image source: Saregama
Read More »Nostalgic Tamil Song 101: Bharathi Kannamma – Melodious Lovely Feeling
A screengrab from the 1971 Tamil movie, Babu starring the late Nadigar Thilagam, Sivaji Ganesan and a very young Sri Devi. It was pointed out that the first of October was Sivaji Ganesan’s birthday and had he lived, he would have been 94 years old this year.
Sivaji Ganesan passed away on 21st July 2001 at an age of 72 and by then had acted in some 288 movies; a majority of it has been in Tamil movies.
Nizhal Nijamagiradhu is a 1978 Tamil movie directed by K Balachander starred by Kamal Haasan as the main character with the background score and songs composed by maestro MS Visvanathan. The movie only has 2 songs and both are classic with lyrics written by the poet Kannadasan. Image source: IMDB
Read More »Nostalgic Tamil Song 101: When Great Poets Gets Cheated Song by MSV 1978
Puthiya Paravai (meaning New Bird) was a 1964 Tamil movie that was produced and acted by the Nadigar Thilagam, Sivaji Ganesan. It was Sivaji Ganesan’s maiden movie that he produced under his own production company, Sivaji Productions. Image source: Smule
It is reported that Puthiya Paravai is a remake of an earlier Bengali film which is itself inspired by the British film Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958).
Let’s go back almost 60 years back to 1960 and this particular movie titled Mannathi Mannan which is a 1960 Tamil movie starring M. G. Ramachandran, Anjali Devi and Padmini in the lead roles and with music scored by Maestro MSV. The story for the movie was actually written by the famous poet Kannadasan. Image source: Amazon
Read More »Nostalgic Tamil Song 101: Romantic Kaniya Kaniya Mazhalai by MS Viswanathan 1960
Oru Thalai Raagam is a 1980 Tamil romance film written, music composed, lyrics written and directed by T. Rajendar. Poster source: Amazon.
Read More »Nostalgic Tamil Song 101: Vaasam Illaa Malar Idhu by T. Rajendar 1980
Continuing from Part 1 on the late Mellisai Mannar MS Viswanathan (MSV), this comedy segment by Indian stand-up comedian Alexander Babu’s Alex in Wonderland is simple amazing!
Alex truly breaks down the creativity and simplicity of MSV using the 4-beat on the bongo drums which is applicable to a number of MSV hit songs.
Note: Image source: Evam Standup Tamasha Youtube Channel
Read More »Genius of MSV Part 2: Alex in Wonderland’s Keep It Simple
(No matter where you are right now, no matter how old you are, I am sure you always have your favourite old songs by these dynamic duos that you don’t mind humming the whole day long. Image source: Silverscreen India)
Despite “starting off” with the music of Illayaraja and later discovering the new age music of A R Rahman and then Yuvan Shankar Raja, Harris and all the new music directors, I always had soft spot for the music from the 1960s and 1970s in particular songs composed by MS Viswanathan – Ramamoorthy (MSV) and penned by the great poet Kannadasan (I also liked songs composed by KV Mahadevan and AM Raja).
Read More »Genius of MSV Part 1: Why Old Songs Will Melt Cold Hearts