Agni Natchathiram (soundtrack) explained

Cover:Agni Natchathiram (soundtrack).jpg
Agni Natchathiram
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Ilaiyaraaja
Released:1988
Length:27:32
Language:Tamil
Label:Echo
Producer:Ilaiyaraaja

Agni Natchathiram is the soundtrack to the 1988 Tamil-language film of the same name directed by Mani Ratnam and produced by G. Venkateswaran, starring Prabhu, Karthik, Amala and Nirosha. The film associated Ratnam's norm collaborators—composer Ilaiyaraaja and lyricist Vaali—whose soundtrack album featured six tracks.[1] [2] It was released through the Echo label on a double LP record, with three on each sides. The soundtrack consisted of electronic and synth-pop music, where most of the Carnatic melodies in the songs were fused with modern instrumentation. For the Telugu dubbed version titled Gharsana, all the lyrics are written by Rajasri.[3]

Development

As Agni Natchathiram was filmed simultaneously with Nayakan (1987), Ilaiyaraaja too worked on both the films with the latter's score—consisted of only orchestra and string instruments—recorded in the mornings, and the former in the evening.[4] It's music predominantly consisted of electronic and synth-pop; Ratnam's influence of western media through vidéothèques interested him to make a "Hollywood-style urban action film" but failing to do so, he instead decided to use electronic music in the film's score "to push the envelope in terms of style"; Ilaiyaraaja too had an exposure with the genre, as he previously used synthesizers for composing Punnagai Mannan (1986).[5]

"Raaja Raajathi" was composed without string instruments, instead it fused synth-pop with jazz in the second interlude, and drums played by drummer R. Purushothaman. The opening stanza of the song was composed with two notes.[6] [7] Despite the dominance of electronic music, most of the songs were set in Carnatic ragas; "Vaa Vaa Anbe Anbe" is in Shivaranjani,[8] "Thoongatha Vizhigal" is in Amritavarshini,[9] "Oru Poonga Vanam" is in Sudhadhanyasi, and "Ninnukkori Varnam" is in Mohanam.[10] The song was sampled with synthesizers in the interludes.[11]

Reception

Srushtisagar Yamunan of Scroll.in called Agni Natchathiram as the "trendsetter" for introducing "the sounds of electronic funk and synthetic pop" to the Tamil music listeners. The album achieved significant popularity post-release, with the track "Ninnukori Varanam" in particular.[12] At the 9th Cinema Express Awards, Ilaiyaraaja won the Best Music Director award for his work in the film, along with Soora Samhaaram and Dharmathin Thalaivan.[13]

Legacy

Anand–Milind adapted the song "Raaja Rajadhi" as "Tap Tap Tapori" for Baaghi (1990),[14] and "Ninnukori Varnam" was sampled by musician Karthik for "Thooriga" from "Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru", an episode of Navarasa (2021).[15] "Raja Rajadhi" was remixed by D. Imman for the film Durai (2008).[16] In 2020, independent artists Malfnktion and Raka Ashok released an extended play, named as Raaja Beats, which juxtaposed Ilaiyaraaja's songs with bass and hip-hop sampled.[17] Three of the songs: "Raaja Rajadhi", "Vaa Vaa Anbe" and "Ninnukori Varnam" were sampled for the album.[18]

Popular culture

The song "Ninnu Kori Varnam" was parodied for a comedy sequence in the film Themmangu Paattukaaran (1997) featuring Goundamani, Senthil and LIC Narasimhan, where the latter comically pronounces the first line of the song.[19] "Raaja Rajadhi" was parodied in the film 7G Rainbow Colony (2004), where Ravi Krishna and his friends perform the song on stage.[20]

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Agni Natchathram (1988) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140807082606/http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/moviedetail.asp?mid=T0000022 . 7 August 2014 . 8 January 2013 . Raaga.com.
  2. Web site: Agni Natchathram Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraaja . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211021140304/https://mossymart.com/product/agni-natchathram-tamil-film-lp-vinyl-record-by-ilayaraaja/ . 21 October 2021 . 21 October 2021 . Mossymart.
  3. Web site: Gharshana (1988) (1988) . live . https://archive.today/20201103181819/https://www.raaga.com/telugu/movie/gharshana-1988-songs-A0000020 . 3 November 2020 . 3 November 2020 . Raaga.com.
  4. Web site: RS . Anand Kumar . 2 June 2019 . Ilaiyaraaja's music in Mani Ratnam films: A well-scripted harmony . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128110958/https://www.thenewsminute.com/flix/ilaiyaraaja-s-music-mani-ratnam-films-well-scripted-harmony-102870 . 28 January 2024 . 28 January 2024 . . en . ...for Nayagan and Agni Natchathiram, which were two completely different genres, the song recording was done simultaneously and even then Raaja could pull it off effortlessly..
  5. Web site: Maderya . Kumuthan . 9 February 2023 . Once Upon A Time In Kollywood: Ilaiyaraaja And The Electro-Synth Pop Revolution In Tamil Film Music . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230321004032/https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/ilaiyaraaja-tamil-songs-once-upon-a-time-in-kollywood-the-electro-synth-pop-revolution-in-tamil-film-music-vikram-agni-natchathiram . 21 March 2023 . 8 August 2023 . Film Companion.
  6. News: 2 June 2018 . Happy birthday Ilaiyaraaja and Mani Ratnam! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190510104524/https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/happy-birthday-ilaiyaraaja-and-mani-ratnam-672992.html . 10 May 2019 . 2 May 2020 . Deccan Herald.
  7. News: 2 June 2018 . Happy Birthday Ilaiyaraaja: 10 mind-blowing facts about the music maestro . live . https://archive.today/20200718151704/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/happy-birthday-ilaiyaraaja-10-mind-blowing-facts-about-the-music-maestro-1248679-2018-06-02 . 18 July 2020 . 3 November 2020 . India Today.
  8. News: Ganesh . Deepa . 8 March 2017 . Does absence heighten presence? . . live . 17 July 2020 . https://archive.today/20200717114100/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/does-absence-heighten-presence/article17425923.ece . 17 July 2020.
  9. News: Mani . Charulatha . Charulatha Mani . 30 March 2012 . A Raga's Journey – Appealing Amritavarshini . . live . 19 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190911095628/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/a-ragas-journey-appealing-amritavarshini/article3262431.ece . 11 September 2019.
  10. News: Mani . Charulatha . Charulatha Mani . 16 September 2011 . A Raga's Journey – Magical Mohanam . . live . 17 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190823084232/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-ragas-journey-magical-mohanam/article2459174.ece . 23 August 2019.
  11. Web site: Yamunan . Sruthisagar . 9 April 2017 . Audio master: The Ilaiyaraaja-Mani Ratnam combination in 'Agni Natchathiram' set the charts on fire . https://web.archive.org/web/20230212024024/https://scroll.in/reel/833664/audio-master-the-ilaiyaraaja-mani-ratnam-combination-in-agni-natchathiram-set-the-charts-on-fire . 12 February 2023 . 28 January 2024 . . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2 June 2022 . Top 10 classics of Mani Ratnam & Ilaiyaraaja that won fans' hearts . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707131433/https://www.dtnext.in/cinema/2022/06/02/top-10-classics-of-mani-ratnam-ilayaraja-that-won-fans-hearts . 7 July 2022 . 28 January 2024 . . en.
  13. News: 11 March 1989 . Cinema Express readers choose Agni Nakshathiram . https://web.archive.org/web/20231028180511/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19890311&printsec=frontpage . 28 October 2023 . 30 May 2020 . . 4 . Express News Service.
  14. Web site: 5 June 2021 . #Ilaiyaraaja78: Five Bollywood chartbusters inspired by Ilaiyaraaja hits in Tamil . live . https://archive.today/20210702055315/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/ilaiyaraaja78-five-bollywood-chartbusters-inspired-by-ilaiyaraaja-hits-in-tamil/photostory/83237656.cms . 2 July 2021 . 2 July 2021 . The Times of India.
  15. Web site: Karthik . Karthik Srinivasan . 17 July 2021 . Milliblog Weeklies, Week 154 – Jul.18, 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121104112/https://milliblog.com/2021/07/17/milliblog-weeklies-week-154-jul-18-2021/ . 21 January 2022 . 14 October 2023 . Milliblog.
  16. Web site: Karthik . Karthik Srinivasan . 10 September 2008 . Music review: Durai (Tamil – D Imaan) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240206054436/https://milliblog.com/2008/09/10/music-review-durai-tamil-d-imaan/ . 6 February 2024 . 7 July 2024 . Milliblog! . en-US.
  17. Web site: Raaja Beats . https://web.archive.org/web/20230420052011/https://raajabeats.bandcamp.com/album/raaja-beats . 20 April 2023 . 28 January 2024 . . en.
  18. Web site: 26 June 2020 . Malfnktion and Raka Ashok on their debut EP Raaja Beats, and juxtaposing Ilaiyaraaja with bass-driven hip-hop . https://web.archive.org/web/20210927164819/https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/music/2020/jun/26/malfnktion-and-raka-ashok-on-their-debut-ep-raaja-beats-and-juxtaposing-ilaiyaraaja-with-bass-drive-25998.html . 27 September 2021 . 28 January 2024 . . en.
  19. Themmangu Pattukaran Full Movie Comedy Ninnu Kori Varnam Comedy Goundamani Senthil Comedy . 29 March 2021 . en . Bicstol Cini Mini Comedy . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128113222/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxpCP-i4tj8 . 28 January 2024 . YouTube.
  20. Raja Rajadhi Song 7G rainbow colony Best Comedy Scene Ravi Krishna Sonia Agarwal SUN NXT . 23 November 2022 . en . . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230101092215/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7WTWh3V5U4 . 1 January 2023 . YouTube.

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