Raja’s spectrum of moods with Synthesizer

Raja has been one of the earliest to embrace synthesizers into his compositions. While the synth has almost become the mainstream of today’s film music, he is peerless when it comes to creating different moods with this great electronic musical instrument.

Let’s start with the happiness mood theme. Radha AzhaikiraaL from Therkathi KaLLan (1988) is an excellent use of the synth in this mood. The title track in Punngai Mannan (1986) is another good example. Innum Ennai Enna Seiyya Pogirai from Singaravelan (1991) is also a case in point. Maharajanodu from Sathi Leelavathi (1995) is another recent example from Tamil. My top pick for this section would be Innum Ennai Enna Seiyya Pogirai...




Let’s move to the pleasant recollection mood. Minmini Paarvaigal from Julie Ganapathy (2003) is ably supported with the synthesizer though the lead melody is in guitar. Poovile Medai Naan Podava from Pagal Nilavu (1986) works the magic along with guitar. The prelude of Appadi Paakaruthinna from Ivann (2002) creates a similar mood along with violins. My top pick for this section would be Minmini Paarvaigal...



Let’s look at the romantic mood. It’s impossible to list all, but let me attempt a few. Poongatrile Kaalai Pozhuthu from Paatu Paadava (1995) is a good example. Oru NaaL Oru Kanavu from Kannukkul Nilavu (2000) is another track in this mood. Jaane Do Na from Cheeni Kum (2007) another track in a Jazz version, ably supported by violins. Thoongatha Vizhigal Rendu from Agni Natchathiram (1989) is a great example of usage of synthesizer to create this mood in an otherwise Carnatic tune. Mandarapoo Mooli from Oru Vinodha Yatra (Malayalam - 2006) is a great example of this mood. Oru NaaL Oru Kanavu would be my top pick...



The party mood is the one that you hear mostly from other composers as most of today’s film tracks are mindless dancing. Raja has done several peppy ones with the synthesizer ably supported by flutes and violins. Here are some examples from Raja’s recent work in Malayalam with synth that bring out this mood well. Two examples here. 1) Oru Chiri Kandaal from Ponmudipuzhayorathu (Malayalam - 2005) 2) Ishtakarrikku from Sooryan (Malayalam - 2007). There are hundreds that can easily fit this category. My top pick for this section would be Ishtakarrikku...





Let’s turn to pathos mood and see how Raja brings out this with synthesizer. Maalai En Vethanai from Sethu (2000) brings out this emotion aptly with the synth. Other examples include Diana Diana supported by the sax from Kadhal Kavidhai (1999) and the top example of this category is Manjolum Raathri from Oru Yaatra Mozhi (Malayalam - 1997) – the interludes transport you to another world...



You can easily make this the special Raja category – devotion mood. Some of the interludes may not be truly devotional in the film situation – however, when you separate and hear them, it is easy to see the Raja magic as he is deeply religious with everything that he does. Examples include Arumbum Thalire from Chandralekha (2000) or Enthan Nenjil from Kalaignan (1993) or Meetatha Oru Veenai from Poonthotam (1998). It must be mentioned that Raja creates this mood with the combination of synth with veena or violins. My top pick would be Arumbum Thalire...

Raja's spectrum of moods with Guitar

Raja has a special place for guitar in his compositions. In my view, he has covered the entire spectrum of emotions with guitar more than any other Indian composer. This does not come as a surprise as he is a guitarist by training.

Let’s look at his compositions that evoke happiness. Neethaane Enthan Pon Vasantham and Pani Vizhum Malarvanam from Ninaivellam Nitya (1982) reflect this mood. Oh Maane Maane from VeLLai Roja (1983) falls into this category. The vibrant guitar play of Pattu Poove from Chembaruthi (1992) is a top contender for this category. Other contenders, Aathinkarai Orathu from Rasathanthiram (Malayalam – 2006) and Chella Kaate from Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal (Malayalam – 2001) are great examples. My top pick would be Patttu Poove.



Let’s move to the pleasant recollection mood. There are way too many examples and I will keep this one short. ABC Nee Vaasi from Oru Kaidhiyin Diary (1984) creates this mood with violin and chorus. Ellorukkum Nalla Kaalam from Marupadiyum (1993) is another contender. Minmini Paarvaigal from Julie Ganapathy (2004) creates this mood with synth, flutes. Raja Raja Chozhan Naan from Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (1987) is another great piece of guitar work in this mood. My top pick would be Raja Raja Chozhan ...



Let’s look at the romantic mood. It’s impossible to list all, but let me attempt a few. Engengo Sellum from Pattakathi Bhairavan (1979) is a top contender. Ilaiya Nila from Payanangal Mudhivathillai (1982) is another great example. En Iniya Pon Nilaave from Moodupani (1980) is another example. Ennulle Enulle from VaLLI (1993) is a great romantic tune with guitar, and violins. Pani Vizhum Iravu from Mouna Ragam (1986) is an example of a relaxed guitar usage in a romantic situation. Poonthalir Aada from Paneer PushpangaL (1981) is a celebration of guitar work. Then Poove Poove Vaa from AnbuLLa Rajinikant (1984) weaves the magic with flutes and violins and synth. ThuLLI Ezhunthathu from Geethanjali (1985) does it solo by guitar. Nilave Nee Varavendum from En Aruge Nee Irundhal (1991) also creates the mood with guitar, violins and flute. The top pick for this section is a tie between ThuLLi Ezhunthathu and Nilave Nee Varavendum. Let me pick Nilave Nee Varavendum...



Party mood obviously requires the pace to be fast. The first song that comes to mind is Eh Aatha from Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982). However, there are several others. Megam Kotattum from Enakkul Oruvan (1984) is another example. Sinoreeta from Johny (1979) is another great guitar play that evokes this mood. Thamaraikodi from Aananda Kummi (1982) is a great guitar play with sax and violins that creates this mood. Ilamai Itho Itho from Sakala Kala Vallavan (1982) is a great party tune driven by guitar. Vaan Engum Thanga from Moondram Pirai (1982) is another song that produces this mood along with sax, synth and trumpets. Vanitha Mani from Vikram is another contender in this category ably supported by sax and violins. The top pick would be a tough choice between Sinoreeta and Vaan Engum Thanga. Let me pick Vaan Engum Thanga...



Let’s see how Raja handles pathos with guitar – very unusual mood by Indian film music standards. Nallathor Veenai Seithu, Ellorum Sollum Paatu and Nalam Vaazha from Marupadiyum (1993) is Raja’s answer to the same emotions that Jagjit Singh tried to create with ghazal based tunes in the Hindi original Arth. In my view Raja succeeded beyond what Jagjit could even imagine with guitar, flute and violins. Piraiyae Piraiyae from Pithamagan (2004) uses guitar as much as flute to bring out the pathos of the situation. Malaiyoram Veeesum Kaatru from Paatu Paadava (1995) uses guitar strains to convey pathos extremely well and would be my top pick...


Devotion with guitar – that sounds very unusual. Not in Raja’s hands. Ponnil Vaanam Poothathu from Villu Paatu Karan (1992) creates this mood along with flutes, violins, cellos and synthesizers. Arumbum Thalire from Chandralekha (2000) does this magic with synth and guitar. Kodai Kaala Kaatre from Paneer Pushpangal (1981) in my view evokes this mood though the situation in this movie is romantic.My top pick would be Arumbum Thalire..



Anger or aggressiveness is usually expressed in Indian movies with loud trumpets, saxophones, wailing violins etc. Raja has successfully recast this by using guitar in several situations. Ennadi Meenachi from Ilamai Oonjalaadukirathu (1978) is an example of anger being expressed with electric guitar.

Raja's spectrum of moods with Flute

Raja’s use of flutes in his compositions has delivered all kinds of moods. Let’s look at his compositions that evoke happiness. Kuzhaloothum Kannanukku from Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu (1986) uses flute along with violins to create this mood. Mayil Aadum Thoppil from Chinna Pasanga Naanga (1992) uses flute with violins to create the same mood. Nee Oru Kadhal Sangeetham from Nayakan (1987) is another classical example – this uses veena and violins.Oru Thanga Rathathil from Dharma Yudham creates this mood along with the violins and bass guitar. Oru Kili Uruguthu from Anandha Kummi (1982) is another example. Some examples from Raja’s Malayalam work: Paadu Saki from Chaitram (1988) and Ponnavani from Rasathanthiram (2006). My top pick would be Kuzhaloothum Kannanukku…



Let’s move to the pleasant recollection mood. With flutes, these are typically folk melodies and the list is endless. Let me list some of the top of mind flute work of Raja from Tamil and Malayalam. Devan Koil Deepam Onru from Naan Padum Paadal (1984) is a non-folk example. Elangathu Veesuthe from Pithamagan (2004) is based on flute melody that conveys this mood. Koondukulla Yenna Vachu from Chinna Gounder (1991). or Oh Unnale from En arugil nee irundhal (1991) are other examples. Pachamalai Poovu from Kizhaku Vaasal (1990) or Sindhiya Venmani from Poon Thota Kavalkaran (1988) are samples from this long list. Siru Kootile from Paandi Naatu Thangam (1989) or Vana Kuyile from Priyanka (1994) are additional examples. Some more from Malayalam: Poo Kunkumapoo from Rasathanthiram (2006) or Enthu Parainjalum from Achuvinte Amma (2005). My top pick would be Enthu Parainjalum…



Let’s look at the romantic mood. Arguably Raja has used flute in romantic circumstances on too many tracks to list. Chinna Chinna from Mouna Ragam (1986) is an example where Raja creates a romantic mood with flute supported by violins and bass guitar. Enulle Etho from Rosapoo Ravikaikari (1979) is another classical example. Kalyana Thenila from Mounam Sammadham (1989), or Mounamana Neram from Salangai Oli (1983) are some awesome examples. Muthu Mani Malai from Chinna Gounder (1991) or Putham Pudhu Kaalai from Alaigal Oiyvathillai (1981) are vintage Raja in this mood. Sempoove from Siraichaalai (1997) or Singara Cheemaiyile from Ninaivu Chinnam (1989) or Thaalatum Poongatru from Gopura Vasalile (1991) or Un Paarvaiyil from Amman Kovil Kizhakkale (1986) are wonderful examples from the wide body of Raja’s work. Kathirum Kothi from Man of the match (1996 Malayalam) creates this mood beautifully. My top pick would be Putham Pudhu Kaalai…



Party mood obviously requires the pace to be fast. However, my view is that Raja uses flutes to modulate the flow of melody in his otherwise fast paced songs. This is one of the reasons for even the fast paced Raja tunes to have a smooth flow and is very soothing to the listener. Examples include: Aasai Adhigam from Marupadiyum (1993) or Aasaiyai Kaatula from Johny (1979). Aracha Sandhanam from Chiina Thambi (1990) or Chinna Rasavey from Walter Vetrivel (1993) are other examples. My top pick would be Aracha Sandhanam…



Perhaps no other composer has used flute so well to convey pathos. Let’s look at a few examples. My top pick for this mood category is Naan Padum Mouna Ragam from Idhaya Kovil (1985) – along with the guitar, the flute says it all. Malaiyoram Veesum Kaatru from Paadu Nilave (1987) is another great example.The second interlude of Nilave Mugam Kaatu from Ejamaan (1993) brings out pathos so well with flute. Om Namaha from Idhayathai Thirudhathe (1989) (Geethanjali – Telugu) is another example. Piraiyae Piraiyae from Pithamagan (2004) or Un Kuthamma from Azhagi (2002) brings out pathos very well. My top pick would be Naan Padum Mouna Ragam…



Devotion with flute – that must be easy. While Raja has done several tracks that bring out this mood, they bring out a sort of meditation type mood to be more precise. Intha Poovukoru Arasan and Rasati from Poovarasan (1996) create this mood beautifully with violins and synthesizer. As mentioned in the guitar section, Ponnil Vaanam Poothathu from Villu Paatu Karan (1992) creates this mood along with violins, cellos and synthesizers. Pallaviye Charanam and Nee Pournami from Oruvar Vazhum Alayam (1988) are fantastic tracks in this mood. Mouna Ragam and Kamalam Padha Kamalam from Moha MuLL (1995) are outstanding examples. Aaraaro from Anand (1987) does this magic with violins. Kaatril Varum Geethame from Oru Naal Oru Kanavu (2005) is a mesmerizing tune done with flute and synthesizer. Mandhiram Idu from Aavarampoo (1992) is my top pick in Tamil along with great violins in this mood. In Malayalam, the track Poovai Virijnu from Adharvam (1989) brings out this mood extremely well – my top pick.

Genius Revisited - Part 1

In all my previous posts, I have tried to substantiate my claim that we have a genius in our midst that somehow we find it hard to recognize. I am writing this in dismay as India never honored such musical geniuses well. Raja once said ‘Being in film music is like meditating on Mint Street’. He does the meditation so well that there is not even a distant second contender in the last 3 decades.

There are two types of geniuses: clever and magical. The clever one finds a solution or a technique that no one is able to think of. But once the genius explains how he/she did what he/she did, it is easy for the talented ones to follow it to the tee. Examples from science include Edison or Michael Faraday. The magical genius is one who explains what he/she did and still no one is able to do that even if they are talented. Examples from science include Albert Einstein or Richard Feynman. In my view, Raja falls under the category of a magical genius.

In the music world, Raja uses garden variety tools. All the musical instruments he has are available to all his competitors. All his competitors are trained in the musical systems that he is exposed to. And yet, nobody is able to perform his magic! Let me illustrate, with three examples, how the talented is unable to recreate what the magical genius created::

Rosapoo Chinna Rosapoo from Suryavamsam (1998) was a raving hit and was composed by another MD. The melody line had very close resemblance to Rasathi Unnai Kanatha Nenju from Vaidehi Kaathirunthaal (1984). Ten years later, which tune do we remember? Why? It is not just the melody line that matters – it is the careful orchestration that went with the 1984 melody that has made it survive the test of time. Separating the melody line can buy you some popularity but the magical genius behind the orchestration is impossible to replicate! Hear the original Raja magic...



and now hear the imitation or 'inspiration' as film musicians call it....






Ilaya Nila Pozhikirathu from Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982) is perhaps one of the most popular tracks of Raja. It had wonderful jazz guitar play and one of the finest interludes of Raja. Nile Nile Ambar in Kalakaar (1983) was redone by Kalyanji Anandji on arrangement with Raja, according to a reliable source. Though it had some good strumming guitar work and Kishore kumar singing it, when you hear the two tracks, the genius behind the original is completely missing. Hear the original Raja magic...


and now hear the jazz composition being butchered, Bollywood style...


Enade Edo from the film Prema (Telugu – 1988) was a great Raja tune with his inimitable signature. The song had great orchestration and the interludes have some great counterpoints (the second interlude where the synth and flute in counterpoint mode is mesmerizing). Anand Milind, who made a living by stealing Raja tunes not only copied this tune in the Hindi film Love (1991) – Saathiya Tuune Kya Kiya, but also used the exact same two voices – SPB and Chitra. Once you start paying attention to the interludes, you will notice that the genius of the Telugu song is completely missing. You can try to reproduce the melody line, you even get the same voices, but not he magical genius of the interludes. Let's hear the original Raja Telugu track...


Let's now hear the Anand Milind attempt, with the interludes...


Many of today's music composers at best can only aspire to be like Raja, it has proved impossible for anyone in the last 3 plus decades to get even at an arms distance from this gifted genius.

Genius Revisited - Part 2

In his interview with the BBC some years ago, Raja quoted the example of his experience at the Calcutta Music Academy. It almost reflects the secret of his success. He speaks about a well performing student who is judged by a panel of luminaries from the music world. While the student does an outstanding performance, he is asked a question that takes him by total surprise – what’s your contribution? Raja seems to approach every form of music with the same approach – he adds his unique contribution to it. The garden variety tools of jazz, pop, WCM, CCM etc. is available to everyone – the genius in this man is how he adds his signature to each one of them. Example, jazz piano – if you hear the track Nee Paartha Paarvaikoru Nanri from Hey Ram (2000) or Niram Pirithu Paarthen from Time (1999) – both employ jazz techniques with the Raja signature.

As music researcher A.S. Paneerselvan puts it: Is Ilayaraja a classical Western musician? Or is he a folk musician? Is he just a successful film music director? Or is he an experimenter in Carnatic music? Is he a proponent of popular culture against elitist culture? Or is he simply a cult figure? The honest answer to each of the above questions is a simultaneous yes and no. A prolific and versatile composer, Ilayaraja has generated an impressive corpus of work: some 900 film scores, an album of Carnatic music, three of devotional songs, an album of Vedic renderings, two of instrumental music released internationally and, an hour-long symphony

Even the most knowledgeable music researchers stumble trying to typecast and categorize him. Nor is it easy for others to define his depth and breadth of musical experiments – something even Raja accepts is hard for himself to do! Technically, is he a music composer, a music arranger, a music conductor, a voice conductor, a percussion arranger or all of the above? The answer to this question is that he has done all of this for most of his compositions.

Like most geniuses, Raja maintains that he does not fully understand music and is still a student of music. He did not invent harmony, nor did he invent counterpoints, nor did he invent any of the ragas of Carnatic music that he uses, or the jazz, rock, piano work, or folk or the symphony that he composed. Nor was he the first to compose an oratorio. However, with this wide body of musical knowledge, he ensures that his compositions are original and also leaves behind his unique signature on every form of music he touches. With about 5,000 original compositions, it is easy to recycle without getting caught, if you apply cleverly some interlude variations to the main melody. Unless he is forced by circumstances, he has stayed clear of repetition in the last 3 decades. For the most part, he is able to make his contribution to every piece of music that he composes. He continues to experiment and update his technique to change with the times.

He has continued to achieve all this dealing with the limitation of the format that he had to operate with. Raja chose to be a commercial film music composer and he had to operate within the limitations of film music format. He does not have the freedom of Mozart or any other orchestral music composers of the West. He has made several attempts outside film music and though they have been critically acclaimed, they have not been commercially successful. As a super crossover musician who could easily fuse Western and Indian classical music, his contributions are astounding both in films and outside it. Few living musicians today have this unique ability to fuse two varied systems so easily – example Thiruvasagam in Symphony.

There are several million followers of his music who appreciate and enjoy his music without knowing anything about the techniques of such a creation. The end product stuns the listener who has a good taste for music – the design and development process is unimportant for most of his listeners. Unlike a standard product, every composition has a different design and development process and most of end results are very pleasing! It is impossible to predict the next creation of Raja at any point in time (he says he cannot do it himself!) and he refuses to go with any ‘industry trends’ – example, he does not do remixes, he sticks to his WCM/CCM/folk paradigms and works thru modernization of musical arrangements. Even in 2008, he does a full blown Carnatic classical based film music score – Uliyin Osai not worrying about its consequences. None of these qualities are found in any of the Indian music composers today. Is he just many times better than most Indian composers, or is he beyond that? In my view he is beyond what most Indian music composers can even aspire to be. He is ‘perspiration’ type (no Indian composer has worked so hard in the last 30 years) and the ‘inspiration’ type genius (no Indian composer has offered so much variety/originality and raised the listener’s bar in the last 3 decades).

As they say, genius is the fire that lights itself and everyone around can best wonder at the lights or comfort themselves in the heat!

Voice therapy

Chorus singing has been part of Indian film music for decades. Choral singers have been called ‘melody singers’ traditionally. Raja has used them in many of his compositions; it is one of his music signatures. In most of these situations a swaram is given to the melody singers (mostly female) for singing together. Example, Malargale Nadaswarangal from Kizhakke Pogum Rayil (1978). Another example is Thoothu Solvathaaradi from Singara Velan (1992). Manamagale Manamagale from Thevar Magan (1992) is entirely executed as a chorus song. However, he has tried to use the western concepts such as ‘sight reading’ and singing from a sheet (notice that we never use the term ‘singing from the same sheet’ as harmony is not part of our music culture!) and promoted the use of voice conductors and professional western choir type singing.

I consider this track as the height of his innovation in this area: Vaanam Thottu Pona from Thevar Magan (1992). The song’s melody line is similar to the other song in the movie – Potri Paadadi Penne. Observe the interludes – it has nothing to do with the folk lines – Raja uses western choral singing with a group of professional male singers to deliver the message of social grief. I have never heard anything like this before in Indian film music. A fitting use of a grand western technique for a situation in a village where the headman dies and everyone grieves. That’s genius! Hear the interlude...




In a different situation, Raja has very successfully used these techniques in his score for 'Guru' (Malayalam - 1997). I think Guru deserves a separate section, as in my view, this is Raja's finest orchestration work till date - the finest in Indian cinema.

A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus. "Choir" has the secondary definition of a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices and/or instruments in a polychoral composition. Choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster. Most often choirs consist of four sections intended to sing in four part harmony, but there is no limit to the number of possible parts as long as there is a singer available to sing the part:

Choirs can be categorized by the voices they include:

• Mixed choirs (i.e., with male and female voices). This is perhaps the most common type, usually consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices, often abbreviated as SATB. Often one or more voices is divided into two, e.g., SSAATTBB, where each voice is divided into two parts, and SATBSATB, where the choir is divided into two semi-independent four-part choirs. Occasionally baritone voice is also used (e.g., SATBarB), often sung by the higher basses. In smaller choirs with fewer men, SAB, or Soprano, Alto, and Baritone arrangements allow the few men to share the role of both the tenor and bass in a single part.

• Male choirs, with the same SATB voicing as mixed choirs, but with boys singing the upper part (often called treble or boy soprano) and men singing alto (in falsetto), also known as countertenor.

• Female choirs, usually consisting of soprano and alto voices, two parts in each, often abbreviated as SSAA, or as soprano, soprano II, and alto, abbreviated SSA

• Men's choirs, usually consisting of two tenors, baritone, and bass, often abbreviated as TTBB (or ATBB if the upper part sings falsetto in alto range like barbershop music, even though this notation is not normally used in barbershop music). Occasionally, a men's choir will have Basso Profondo, the lowest of all male vocal ranges.

Courtesy: wikipedia.org

The point is, the chorus singing also needs to be written in a score sheet the same way all orchestration with instruments is written. Raja is very skilled in writing this according to his choral conductor Augustine Paul. Some outstanding choral tracks of Raja include: Ithu Oru Nila Kalam from Tik Tik Tik (1981), Devathai Ilam Devi from Aayiram Nilave Vaa (1983), Engiruntho Ilanguyilin from Brahma (1991). You will notice that all these three tracks mentioned have a male choir arrangement. All these songs use the same technique, but the choir arrangements are entirely different. Lastly, these are not the only songs with this type of arrangement.

Isai Vignani (Music scientist)

Raja, who has been the leading film musician for more than 3 decades, did a few gimmicks to get public attention – it was more aimed at demonstrating that he is different. He created a lot of hype with the Keladi Kanmani song where he got SPB to sing the entire charanam in one breath. Similarly, he used the heart beat as the rhythm for the song Om Namaha from Idhayathai Thirudathe. His Kalaivaniye song which was created as an arohanam only. These are popular examples of his experimentation. However, Raja’s music experiments are very varied and in this section, I would like to share some of the experiments that I am aware of. I plan to write more on this as I uncover more...

Why should all film songs follow the same structure?

In the ‘film music basics’ section, we saw how film music is structured for the most part. Raja, being creative and fully aware of the unwritten rules, experiments by breaking them occasionally. While Raja sticks to the Indian film music structure for the most part, he does a lot of experimentation within the structure. For example, the song Naan Onru Ketpen Tharuvaya from Ilaya Ragam (1995) uses no percussion and is fully supported by the synth and guitar throughout the first pallavi, first charanam and he introduces percussion only from the second interlude onwards.

Why should a single film song have an Indian or Western style orchestration only?

Most music composers stick to one style of orchestration as it gets easy to compose the ludes and synchronize the main melody. Raja experiments. Let me list three such experiments from a long list. 1) Siriya Paravai Siragai Virikka from Antha Oru Nimidam (1985) is a song that has three charanams. The middle charanam and the second interlude is composed in a Western style and the rest of the song is in Indian format. 2) Oh Vasantha Raaja from Neengal Kettavai (1985) – this takes the experiment up by one notch. The initial pallavi, the first interlude and the first charanam are all in Indian format – complete with mridangam, tabla and the works. The orchestration completely and seamlessly switches to Western drums and violins from the second interlude and the second charanam is also orchestrated in a western style. The transitions are perfect in both these examples and this can be done only by someone who has mastery over both these idioms – Indian and Western. 3) Another example of this technique is the song Then Mozhi from Solla Thudikuthu Manasu (1988). The first pallavi and charanam is orchestrated the western way and the second charanam is done the Indian way only to return to the final pallavi in the western fashion.

Why should WCM concepts such as counterpoint be used only with the Western orchestration?

Raja has used counterpoint techniques on several non-western type compositions. As I mentioned before, Metti Oli from Metti (1982) uses typical Carnatic swara singing between Raja and Janaki in counterpoint mode. Another example of Carnatic counterpoint is the song Aavesemantha aalapanene from the film Aalapana (Telugu), where Raja has recorded SPB singing two swaras in counterpoint - what a melody! Hear this wonderful Indian melodies in counterpoint - only a genius can think of this...



Another example of Raja using two unusual Western techniques in counterpoint mode is having a grand violin section playing a counter melody to a choir as heard in kottum kuzhal vizhi from Kalapani (1997). Hear this grand piece of orchestration...



Can CCM and WCM engage in a dialog?

Absolutely. Two examples that are worth mentioning: Nadham Ezhunthathadi from Gopura Vaasalile(1991). This is a light classical composition and if you observe the first interlude, for few seconds, the Western violins start off a dialog with the Indian style violin composition. Even in some heavy Carnatic compositions of Raja such as Poon Kadhave Thazh thiravai from Nizhalgal (1980), the interludes are composed as a dialog between CCM and WCM. In fact, this is the most common experiment that Raja does in countless compositions that he may not even view this as experimentation any more.

Can a transition between a charanam and a pallavi be done by percussion?

Raja has used percussion as a transition tool in several of his compositions – the best I have observed without any parallel is the song Radha AzhaikiraaL from Therkaththi KaLLan (1988) sang by Janaki. What I found striking was the use of the tabla for the charanam and Western orchestration for the pallavi and the interludes. What I found unique is the transition from Indian to Western at the end of the charanam to the Pallavi - that's a beautiful dialog between the Western drum and the Indian tabla in such rapid pace with the support of the bass guitar. I have not heard such a beautiful Indian to Western transition in such a short interval in any song by any MD so well executed.

Can a transition between a charanam and a pallavi be done with voices?

There are several songs that Raja has used chorus as a transition between the charanam and pallavi. However, one of the best use of voice for the transition is in the song Bhoopalam Isaikum from Thooral Ninnu Pochu (1982) where the transition is done using a humming beautifully.

Can Indian and western percussion engage in a dialog?

There are several Raja compositions that have a constant dialog between Indian and Western percussion. However, the one where the dialog itself is used as the interlude is the song Ila Nenje Vaa from Vanna Vanna PookaL (1991) - both the interludes are nothing but wonderful dialog between Indian and Western percussion. Hear the wonderful dialog...



Can folk and CCM engage in a dialog?

Another dimension to Raja’s folk is the song Aayiram Thamarai Motukkale from the film Alaigal Oiyvadhillai (1982). This song was based on a traditional kummi type folk song that Raja wanted to introduce. Raja turns this kummi into a CCM raga subhapanthuvarali and also introduces chorus and Western orchestration on top! No wonder Raja fans cannot just settle for just vannila flavor - they need a split banana ice cream with another two flavors thrown in!

Can folk and WCM engage in a dialog?

As we discussed in the folk section, a number of Raja’s folk compositions are so westernized that the entire composition is nothing but a dialog between folk and western. Let’s take an example - Samakozhi Koovuthamma from Ponnu Oorukku Pudhusu (1979) – observe the third interlude in this song – a perfect synthesizer and violin counterpoint and the song returns to the charanam that is back to its folk base.

Why can’t the string section in a charanam be replaced with a piano or chorus or other techniques?

Most Raja detractors complain about his constant use of violin string section in his charanams. There are several songs where Raja has used other techniques. Three examples that come to my mind immediately: Niram Pirithu Paarthen from Time (1999) uses keyboard to back up the entire charanam. Similarly, Intha Ulagil from Madhu (2005) is composed with entirely backed by piano (not sure if this is the electric piano – it does not sound like the synthesizer). Lastly, the song Inimael NaaLum from Iravu Pookal (1986) uses chorus instead of the string section to back the charanam.

Can a song be composed with no percussion?

Raja has tried this with the song Therke Veesum Thenral Katre from Kolangal (1995) where the entire song (exception: an initial tap on the tabla) has no use of any percussion. The entire song is supported by the synth and the base guitar.

Can chromaticism work for Indian film music?

The final pallavi of Oh Butterfly from Meera (1992) is a great example of how Raja handles chromaticism – pay attention to the violins and flutes as SPB and Asha sing the concluding pallavi.