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Puthiya Adimaigal (1981)
In this episode of songs from unreleased movies, let us listen to the lilting ‘magizhampoovE unnai paarthEn’ from pudhiya adimaigaL. Sung by K.J.Yesudas & P.Suseela. Lyrics by Gangaiamaran. Music by Ilayaraja.
I discovered this EP record among a bunch of dusty, old records that I grabbed at a throwaway price from a small shop in one of the labyrinthine lanes of North Madras. The owner was blissfully unaware of the treasures he was giving away myopically. And mistaking my stunned silence at the pittance he had quoted, he reduced his rate even further! The Gods must have smiled benignly upon me that fortuitous day, for what I acquired so easily could not be valued in mere money.
This particular record had no sleeve advertising its contents; it had to be content with reposing within a polythene sheath. But for all those long years of wanton negligence, it was remarkably free of any damaging blemishes. The year of manufacture was 1980, and the banner that funded this film was Yugasakthi Films (P) Ltd.
The EP had two songs on either side. The haunting ‘Ezhai poo unai thEduthE’ has PS painting a lingering picture of forlorn bewilderment at love coming up against a sudden, seemingly insurmountable barrier, with the obscure Thanigai Selvan’s lyrics bringing imaginative gloss to IR’s tantalizing tune. S.P.Shailaja and chorus have a great time singing GA’s taunting lines in ‘muttappaya maapaavikku murchandhiyil vaippOm silai’. The best surprise that the album stored, however, was the blithe ditty ‘mEgam thaNNi mEgam, maanam karuththadhadi’. The perspicacious Ilayaraja had summoned old-timer A.L.Raghavan to do justice to the jaunty joyride, and ALR, with chorus voices joining the merry making, seems to have greatly enjoyed his return from exile. Btw, it was in the same year that ALR produced kannil theriyum kathaigaL, and IR was one of the 5 MDs- perhaps then it was this association that brought about ALR rendering ‘mEgam thaNNi mEgam’.
‘magizhampoovE’ was the song that Radio Ceylon singled out from the album to cherish and celebrate. The song found amazing airtime in the early 80s, and was then put to rest in the inexorable sands of time. KJY and PS sound like two in intimate tango, and we are soon floating atop the fluffy wings of romance, lost amidst those wistful longings that the simple enchantment of vintage IR never fails to evoke..
http://www.dhool.com/sotd2/593.html
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