Punnagai Mannan is the soundtrack to the 1986 film of the same name directed by K. Balachander, starring Kamal Haasan and Revathi. The film's soundtrack consists of nine tracks composed by Ilaiyaraaja and written by Vairamuthu.[1][2] It was notably the first film to use music systems and sequencers for recording the music.[3]
| Punnagai Mannan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 1986 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 36:45 |
| Label | Echo |
| Producer | Ilaiyaraaja |
Development edit
Punnagai Mannan marked Ilaiyaraaja's second collaboration with Balachander after Sindhu Bhairavi (1985). It was notably the first film to introduce digital music in Tamil cinema.[a][5] During a visit to Singapore in 1985, for a course on the Yamaha CX5M system, Ilaiyaraaja eventually purchased the computer for recording the music.[6][7] This allowed him to type out notations of the specific instruments on keyboard, which records the tunes and mixes them with the vocals, instead of playing the instruments manually and mastered those tunes on computer.[6] Ilaiyaraaja further used the Yamaha DX7 and Roland Jupiter-8 synthesizers,[5] as well as E-mu drumulator and Roland R-8 drum machines, according to musician-critic Andy Votel.[8] A. R. Rahman (who was then known as Dileep) played the synthesizers, besides programming the CX5M system and sequencer.[9][5]
Kumuthan Maderya of Film Companion, described that Punnagai Mannan "capitalises on the wave of popularity of modern dance musicals", as the film was made after the success of Flashdance, Staying Alive (both 1983) and Footloose (1984).[5] The song "One Two Three" featured English lyrics written by Viji Manuel, and the theme music was played by Rahman on piano and synthesizer.[10][11] In the nine-song soundtrack, four of them were set in Carnatic ragas. "Yedhedho Ennam Valarthen" is set in Pahadi;[12] "Singalathu Chinnakuyile" is set in Bageshri;[13] "Enna Satham" is in Sindhu Bhairavi;[14] and "Kavithai Kelungal" is in Savithri.[15][16]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yedhedho Ennam Valarthen" | Vairamuthu | K. S. Chithra | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Enna Saththam Indha Neram" | Vairamuthu | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Vaan Megam Poo Poovaai" | Vairamuthu | K. S. Chithra | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Kavithai Kelungal Karuvil" | Vairamuthu | Vani Jairam, P. Jayachandran | 7:00 |
| 5. | "Kaala Kaalamaaga Vaazhum" | Vairamuthu | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Singalathu Chinnakuyile" | Vairamuthu | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra | 4:16 |
| 7. | "Maamaavukku Kudumaa Kudumaa" | Vairamuthu | Malaysia Vasudevan | 4:34 |
| 8. | "Theme Music" | — | — | 2:34 |
| 9. | "One Two Three" | Viji Manuel | Francis Lazarus | 1:27 |
| Total length: | 36:45 | |||
Reception edit
Punnagai Mannan's soundtrack—particularly "Enna Saththam Indha Neram" and the theme music—was popular post-release. During a felicitation ceremony for Balachander, Vairamuthu praised him for the song, stating he had the audacity to insert a song into a sequence in which two lovers were going to die.[17] In May 2015, the FM radio station Radio City commemorated Ilaiyaraaja's 72nd birthday by broadcasting the composer's songs in a special show titled Raja Rajathan for 91 days. "Enna Satham" was one of the most-requested songs on the show.[18] Nandini Ramnath, writing for Scroll.in, described it as a "love song, lullaby and dirge rolled into one".[19]
Notes edit
- ^ Although film composer Taj Noor, attributed that Vikram (1986) was the first film to introduce digital music.[4]
References edit
- ^ "Punnagai Mannan (1986)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Punnagai Mannan Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Happy Birthday Ilaiyaraaja: 10 soulful songs that will make you a huge fan of the composer". Indulge Express. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ Noor, Taj (22 September 2017). "தரணி ஆளும் கணினி இசை 1: முதல் முதலா ஒரு பாட்டு..." Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d Maderya, Kumuthan (7 December 2021). "Once Upon A Time in Kollywood: Ilaiyaraaja And The Electro-Synth Pop Revolution In Tamil Film Music". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Tamil film music director Illaya Raaja goes hi-tech". India Today. 15 April 1986. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ Naig, Udhav (1 November 2013). "The reign of Raja". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ Votel, Andy (29 March 2013). "Ten Electronic Extroverts from the Middle East and South Asia, Part 2". Red Bull Music Academy. Red Bull. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ Kamini 2009, pp. 53–54.
- ^ "32 years of 'Punnagai Mannan': Why the Kamal Haasan film is still in our hearts". The New Indian Express. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "AR Rahman posts throwback photo with Ilaiyaraaja and it is unmissable". India Today. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 168.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 158.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 129.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 138.
- ^ "100 இசை துளி – Padma Vibhushan". Dinamalar (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Ashok Kumar, S.R. (9 May 2008). "Encomiums well deserved". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ Srinivasan, Sudhir (9 May 2015). "Salute to Ilaiyaraaja, the king". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ Ramnath, Nandini (20 March 2017). "Picture the song: 'Yenna Satham' from 'Punnagai Mannan' is a superb Ilaiyaraaja-SPB collaboration". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
Sources edit
- Kamini, Mathai (2009). A. R. Rahman: The Musical Storm. India: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-670-08371-8.
- Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.