Mouna Ragam Trio - Pani Vizhum, Mandram Vandhu & Nilave Vaa

Mouna Ragam is an absolutely special movie and rightfully termed as a cult classic. The soundtrack is bejeweled with studs aplenty with each song showcasing some sort of brilliance or other. Also there is no describable level in which one can pay homage to the re-recording which elevates the scenes to such a meteoric manner.

On the occasion of it hitting 35 years since it's day of release on 15th Aug 1986, I just decided to try a small hand at playing bits of my 3 favorite pieces from this momentous soundtrack namely Pani Vizhum Iravu, Mandram Vandhu and Nila Ve Vaa. These just happen to be little phrases covering mostly the middle and opening portions and just randomly connecting the dots to straddle from one portion to another. It's just my humble attempt to say thank you to the movie, music and memories. Remembering 35 years of the magic that is Mouna Ragam.

A Quadrant of Theme Music Classics!

This was an impromptu shot at attempting a few well known pieces of re-recordings. I still don't know how this straddling happened from one end of the spectrum to another to play these classsics but it happened just like that. The 4 tracks played include:

1) Punnagai Mannan theme music
2) Godfather theme music
3) Mouna Ragam theme music
4) Jurassic Park theme music

I am usually a fan of theme music as they have such an uplifting appeal especially when the output leaves you with an everlasting effect that reverberates far beyond the movie. Some of the pieces produced locally at home in Kodambakkam easily stands testimony to some of the all time great pieces produced in Hollywood though many a time these kind of mind blowing pieces appear in totally obscure movies unable to comprehend the mastery of the mesmerism in the music. 

These are just some small minor phrases from 4 mega path breaking pieces of music. I don't know which among these sounds better but I hope the end result is justified to a reasonable extent.

Chinna Chinna Vannakuyil - A Mastery touch of Bass!

This was one of the earliest tracks that completely baffled me especially with respect to usage of Bass. The bazooking harmony which goes in parallel with the main tune has some sort of magical tonic and has always left me in bewilderment with the cohesion effect of how everything unifies and creates a picturesque synergy. This again is just one among a bunch of tip of the iceberg creations that involve the bass component. Many of Raaja's vintage compositions sprinkle bass in profusion and though these tones more or less play a supporting role, they elevate the content of the main melody by a significant notch. They sound so rich simply stand alone and when combined with the song reaches proportions of enormity that emanates a feeling of ecstacy when listening to the number.

This particular song apart from the employment of the trademark bass, Janaki Amma also does an astute job touching all the right chords and traversing on a merry ride along the way. The soundtrack is studded with treasure in abundance and this song surprisingly is the underplayer. However in terms of class it well and truly deserves itself to be held in high esteem.

I attempted a portion of the song beginning from the Charanam portion and connecting back to the Pallavi. There are some lovely little phrases which are a bit difficult to render but just attempted whatever I could to the wee best of my ability. This is a small labour of love to the creaters of this masterpiece who both happen to celebrate their birthdays on the same day - Director Mani Ratnam and Musical Wizard Ilaiyaraaja.

Immortal Re-recording from Mouna Ragam!

This is an immortal piece of music from an evergreen movie where the heart melts and the soul lingers with emotion every time I listen to it. The climax re-recording pierces like a spiral down your throat and the underlying theme of the music remains a perennial favourite from times gone by. This was immensely tough to play with so many shifts back and forth enabling me to go the full mickey jumping in from one octave to another continuously. I could never do justice to these mind boggling BGM's but just attempting to play them gives sheer joy. Mouna Ragam climax + underlying theme music. 
P.S : Headphones recommended

 

View this post on Instagram

This is an immortal piece of music from an evergreen movie where the heart melts and the soul lingers with emotion every time I listen to it. The climax re-recording pierces like a spiral down your throat and the underlying theme of the music remains a perennial favourite from times gone by. This was immensely tough to play with so many shifts back and forth enabling me to go the full mickey jumping in from one octave to another continuously. I could never do justice to these mind boggling BGM's but just attempting to play them gives sheer joy. Mouna Ragam climax + underlying theme music. P.S : Headphones recommended #music #mounaragam #maestro #bgm #rerecording #theme #leitmotif #evergreen #immortal #joy #mindboggling #legendary #1986

A post shared by Rajiv Shankar (@rajiv_revel) on Oct 19, 2017 at 7:54pm PDT

30 years of Mouna Ragam!

There are only some movies which you connect to very closely making them hold a special place in your heart. It's been 30 years since the theatrical release of 'Mouna Ragam' which hit the silver screen on Independence Day, 15th August 1986 and there is something resolutely magical about the film making you revisit it time and again.

In essence, it's just a simple tale of 2 diverse individuals facing difficulties having gotten together through the arranged marriage route but the direction is woven across so discreetly threading the finer needles of emotion. The poignancy and undercurrents facing the couple is handled with such measured care making you relate to the underlying story.

The turbulence of the female protagonist whose life changes 360 degrees from being a vivacious young lady whose joie de vivre comes to a standstill unfortunately due to circumstances beyond control to the housewife daunted with sobriety and having absolutely zilch interest towards her counterpart comes across so earnestly. The trials and tribulations endured by her opposite number trying to keep the troubled waters at bay is touched upon with restraint.

Adjacent to all the vexation brewing between the couple comes the brilliant flash back bit. The character of Manohar is perhaps one of the greatest cameo's in the annals of Tamizh cinema. It was one of the best lover boy characters and the infectious mojo he bought in was electrifyingly magnetic that it could sway even the most hard nosed girl to fall in love. Also, not to forget the smidgeon of comedy, whether it is the peals of laughter evoking 'Chandramouli' scene or the funny bone Sardar being taught to learn Tamizh (the thundering Poda Dei still reverberates) forming an indelible part adding to the memorabilia.

There are innumerable factors hefting up the movie but no showers of encomiums can be complete without mentioning about the music which really is the soul of the film. The Maestro takes over the baton, elevates it and places the movie at an all time high pedestal thanks to the inimitable tunes. The re-recording simply caresses and carries the movie on its shoulders. Be it happiness or sadness, comedy or romance, love or hate, every single emotional chord is expressed by the music playing in the background not to forget the transitions invoking the same musical pieces. The leitmotif running throughout the film continues to be a ringtone in many mobile phones even now and mothers still feed their kids pappu chaadham by showing the moon and humming lines from Nilave Vaa :).

The movie by itself was loosely inspired by the Mahendran directed 'Nenjathai Killathe' and many movies since then have tried to cater to the simple but powerful theme of Mouna Ragam but nothing has even come remotely close in terms of the deft and subtle handling which had the trademark unique precision of the director Mani Ratnam.

Hear close to half an hour of unadulterated unparalleled musical bliss to savor the wonderful memories this motion picture has churned over the years. Celebrating 3 decades since the magic of Mouna Ragam!