Punnagai Mannan (soundtrack) explained

Cover:Punnagai Mannan (soundtrack).jpg
Punnagai Mannan
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Ilaiyaraaja
Released:1986
Genre:Feature film soundtrack
Length:36:45
Label:Echo
Producer:Ilaiyaraaja

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]

Development

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. During a visit to Singapore in 1985, for a course on the Yamaha CX5M system, Ilaiyaraaja eventually purchased the computer for recording the music.[4] 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.[5] Ilaiyaraaja further used the Yamaha DX7 and Roland Jupiter-8 synthesizers,[6] as well as E-mu drumulator and Roland R-8 drum machines, according to musician-critic Andy Votel.[7] A. R. Rahman (who was then known as Dileep) played the synthesizers, besides programming the CX5M system and sequencer.

Kumuthan Maderya, writing for Film Companion, said 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). The song "One Two Three" featured English lyrics written by Viji Manuel, and the theme music was played by Rahman on piano and synthesizer.[8] [9] In the nine-song soundtrack, four of them were set in Carnatic ragas. "Yedhedho Ennam Valarthen" is set in Pahadi; "Singalathu Chinnakuyile" is set in Bageshri; "Enna Satham" is in Sindhu Bhairavi; and "Kavithai Kelungal" is in Savithri.[10]

Reception

Punnagai Mannans 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.[11] 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.[12] Nandini Ramnath, writing for Scroll.in, described it as a "love song, lullaby and dirge rolled into one".[13]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Punnagai Mannan (1986) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120304132120/http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/moviedetail.asp?mid=T0000147 . 4 March 2012 . 3 March 2012 . Raaga.com.
  2. Web site: Punnagai Mannan Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210702041350/https://mossymart.com/product/punnagai-mannan-tamil-film-lp-vinyl-record-by-ilayaraja-4/ . 2 July 2021 . 2 July 2021 . Mossymart.
  3. Web site: Happy Birthday Ilaiyaraaja: 10 soulful songs that will make you a huge fan of the composer . https://web.archive.org/web/20210929022530/https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/music/2018/jun/02/happy-birthday-ilaiyaraaja-10-soulful-songs-that-will-make-you-a-huge-fan-of-the-composer-7932.html . 2021-09-29 . 2024-01-29 . . en.
  4. News: Naig . Udhav . 1 November 2013 . The reign of Raja . . live . 16 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140830184329/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-reign-of-raja/article5302447.ece . 30 August 2014.
  5. News: 15 April 1986 . Tamil film music director Illaya Raaja goes hi-tech . en . . live . 10 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220410104715/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19860415-tamil-film-music-director-illaya-raaja-goes-hi-tech-800755-1986-04-15 . 10 April 2022.
  6. Web site: Maderya . Kumuthan . 7 December 2021 . 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 . 11 July 2023 . Film Companion.
  7. Web site: Votel . Andy . Andy Votel . 29 March 2013 . Ten Electronic Extroverts from the Middle East and South Asia, Part 2 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201028132432/https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/03/ten-electronic-extroverts-from-the-middle-east-and-south-asia-02 . 28 October 2020 . 29 January 2024 . . . en.
  8. Web site: 2018-11-01 . 32 years of 'Punnagai Mannan': Why the Kamal Haasan film is still in our hearts . https://web.archive.org/web/20190308091056/https://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/entertainment/2018/Nov/01/32-years-of-punnagai-mannan-why-the-kamal-haasan-film-is-still-in-our-hearts-101890.html . 2019-03-08 . 2024-01-29 . The New Indian Express . en.
  9. Web site: 2019-02-04 . AR Rahman posts throwback photo with Ilaiyaraaja and it is unmissable . https://web.archive.org/web/20210109165828/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/ar-rahman-posts-throwback-photo-with-ilaiyaraaja-and-it-is-unmissable-1446234-2019-02-04 . 2021-01-09 . 2024-01-29 . India Today . en.
  10. News: 100 இசை துளி – Padma Vibhushan . ta . . live . 9 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180801011145/http://cinema.dinamalar.com/padmavibhushan_ilayaraja/songs.php . 1 August 2018.
  11. News: Ashok Kumar . S.R. . 9 May 2008 . Encomiums well deserved . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180227043754/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/Encomiums-well-deserved/article15398608.ece . 27 February 2018 . 16 October 2017 . The Hindu.
  12. News: Srinivasan . Sudhir . 9 May 2015 . Salute to Ilaiyaraaja, the king . https://web.archive.org/web/20150920115654/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/salute-to-ilaiyaraaja/article7188356.ece . 20 September 2015 . 20 September 2015 . The Hindu.
  13. Web site: Ramnath . Nandini . 20 March 2017 . Picture the song: 'Yenna Satham' from 'Punnagai Mannan' is a superb Ilaiyaraaja-SPB collaboration . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180311062257/https://scroll.in/reel/832254/picture-the-song-yenna-satham-from-punnagai-mannan-is-a-superb-ilaiyaraaja-spb-collaboration . 11 March 2018 . 11 March 2018 . Scroll.in.

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