Pothi Vecha Mallige

Song: Pothi Vecha Mallige
Movie Name : Manvaasanai
Singers : SP Balasubramaniam, S Janaki
Music Director : Illayaraja

  When I used to listen to songs, I used to make the mistake of equating bad sound quality to bad song. And why not ? Given my limited time and patience for listening to new songs, I used to hurry through them, unless it came highly recommended or I did not have access to the music player's "forward" button. With Illayaraja's songs, it meant that I "knew" many songs but did not get to know/enjoy the intricacies of the song as they were meant to be. The plus side of that is that I go through an exhilarating feeling every time I re-discover a song. This weekend, I watched "Chennai 600028" which had Illayaraja devotees at the helm. (Interesting co-incidence that I saw Vaaranam Aayiram recently, which played "En Iniya Pon" a couple of times in the movie). Anyway, at one point in the movie, Yuvan (surely on the director's behest) used this song as the background for a scene. The quality of the song was awesome, and I of course immediately recognized the song. As I started singing, I once again realized how awesome Raja is. Talk about being unconventional. This song is full of great moments where the tune takes off in an unpredictable yet pleasant way. Sample the first two lines

"Pothi vechcha malliga mottu 
pooththiruchchu vetkaththa vitta"  (courtesy: TFMpage)

  Now, if you did not hear this song before, you would be completely taken aback by the high notes that follow this introduction. Sample a completely identical beginning from MM Srilekha's composition - 

"Kallakunna kaatuka choodu

Kaatukunna kallanu choodu"

  from the movie "Adirindayya Chandram". Now I dont hate Srilekha and in fact liked many of her songs and rooted for her earlier. But the way she follows up these opening lines, is exactly how a mortal composer would have chosen to go. But Illayaraja is a twisted genius who sets the bar for this song with his high notes for

"Pesippesi raasi aanathe yehehe 

maan perach cholli cholli 
aalanathe romba naalanathe" (courtesy: TFMpage)

  Then there are those brilliant interludes. Could have been straight out of a Vamsy movie, these are trademark fast-paced notes that unmistakably separate a Raja song from others. Which leaves us with the charanams. The charanams once again begin at an unexpected note, and take off leaving the listener mesmerized but also guessing how they would make their way back to the start of the pallavi. That's where Raja delivers his masterstroke. In a relatively short span, the notes descend multiple levels to meet the pallavi right where they should! 

And that's how I spent my entire Sunday - this song looped in my head!