Padma awards

The noted playback singer S.Janaki recently rejected,the Padma Bhushan awarded to her.Janaki who is 74 years old said the award has come too late in her life and is rejecting the award.I felt her rejection of the award is justifiable.She was an active playback singer for over five decades.But she also said she deserves a Bharat Ratna,the highest  civilian award .However I felt it was little odd for her to say what she deserves. Perhaps she considers herself on par with Lata Mangeshkar who was awarded Bharat Ratna in 2001.The only other singer to get Bharat Ratna is M.S.Subbulakshmi.S.Janaki also said the Padma awards are more in favour of  North Indian artists. One can not but agree with her.Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1969,Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1989,Padma Vibhushan in 1999 and Bharat Ratna in 2001.But her contemporary S.Janaki did not get any Padma award all these years. Any dispassionate Indian would agree S.Janaki is no way inferior to Lataji.

Controversies surrounding Padma Awards is nothing new.This year veteran Malayalm actor Madhu was awarded Padma shree.He is also sore about his award.The Kerala government had recommended his name for  Padma Bhushan. And Madhu's was the only name recommended for Padma Bhushan by Kerala government.But he was awarded Padma shree.Madhu contends the central government has no right to downgrade the recommendation of the state government.He feels it is equivalent  to insulting the state government and its people.Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha has also said that her recommendation for Padma award to Veteran Composer duo Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy was rejected by Central government.It is very obvious Padma awards are politicaly motivated.It is no surprise the award has lost its glory and sheen.Surely there is some political consideration in Padma awards.A.R.Rehman was awarded Padma shree in 2006 .After ARR winning the prestigious Oscar in 2009 for Slumdog Millionaire music scoring ,the governement wanted to honour ARR with a Padma Bhushan in 2010.Suddenly it occured to those who matter,that Ilayaraja,the all time great Indian film composer,much senior to ARR is not yet given any Padma award.So in 2010 ,they decided to award Padma Bhushan to ARR and Ilayaraja,simultaneously.But recommendations by an opposition ruled state government is not at  all considered favourably.Union government did not consider any of the names recommended by opposition ruled Bihar government this year.This year Padma awards were given to people not in Bihar state government's list.

There were instances of awardees refusing to accept or return the award as a protest .MGR was one of the earliest Padma Shree awardees in 1960.He refused to accept the award,as the citation was in Devanagiri script.Similarly Khushwant Sing was awarded Padma Bhushan  in 1974.But  he returned the citation   in 1984 as a protest against the Union government's siege of the Golden Temple.In 2009 Harbhajan singh and Dhoni did not attend the award ceremony and chose to stay away,though they were present in the country. It was criticised as disrespect to the nation and the President of India.It was alleged both of them were busy shooting for Ads and chose to ignore the awards ceremony at that time.Like S.Janaki Sarod mastero Buddhadeb Dasgupta rejected Padma shree awarded to him in 2011.Like Janaki he said the recogonition has come too late in his life. He also said 'people half my age recieved the award long back'.He also went on to say he doesn't want to become a laughing stock in music circles by accepting the award at this age.

There is another practice of giving posthumous Padma Awards.Recently actor and former congress MP Rajesh Khanna was given Padma Bhushan posthumously.This is indeed an irony.The Padma awardees are given State  funeral which includes a Last Post and a gun salute by the local police.A practice that genuinely honours an awardee.By giving posthumous awards,even that honour is denied to a Padma awardee.It is of no use if a person is honoured after his life time.

It is very evident there is always lobbying for Padma awards.Else how could one explain doctors who operated the Prime Minister's getting Padma awards.Surgeons who operated Manmohan Singh and Atalji were given Padma awards in the past.There were protests in the past for Padma awards given to NRI hotleir Chantwal and Saif Ali Khan who was charged for poaching.

There is discrimination and favouritism in Padma awards.It is awarded for loyalty to the party in power at the centre.There are demands from some quarters to scrap these awards.But I feel the awards should continue and must be given to deserving candidates only.It is a national recogonition. If the awards are to become meaningful it must be given to deserving candidates and recommendations must be unbiased with no political considerations whatsoever.Mr.Abdul Kalam as President had once returned the  Padma Awards list given by the government,for irregularities.It is also reported Mr.K.R.Narayanan as  Vice President also put his foot down on unfair awardees list.

An activist has already moved the Allahabad High Court  seeking formation of a national selection committee to frame guidelines for Padma awards.One fervently hopes the union government would take steps to form  a national selection committe to make Padma awards purposeful and make the awardees feel it is  worthy to be honoured by a Padma award.

Bachan on Ilayaraja

Ilayaraja has composed the music for Bachan's forthcoming film PAA scheduled to be released on December 4th.Big B has sung a song in this movie on maestero's music.After recording the song at Prasad Studios,Chennai Bachan writes in his blog about Ilayaraja.

"The great Ilaiyaraja, pristine in white and just off from Balaji at Tirupati, conducts me at Prasad Studios for the song from PAA. I did it once when he was not around. I did it today when he was around. The world seemed different........

His eyes wild and bright. His language measured and pointed. His reason behind every note definite and pure and his decision final on the output. The master, the maestro, the magician the ‘little Raja’....

I am struck with emotion. It works its way up the belly through to the chest and heart and waits to explode into the eye lids. And I return back to the Hotel and I believe that I will wait till the morrow for the senses to dissolve before I can go any further ....."

Big B plays the role of a 13 year old boy in this movie and Abishek plays the dad's role.Bavatharini has also rendered her dad's composition in this movie.

Ilayaraja -The Wizard of Music

I read in news columns that Ilayaraja is planning a concert in Delhi,Mumbai and Chennai in 2010.First concert wil be in Mumbai on January 26th.The concert is organised by Sheetal Talwar,Producer of the Pankaj Kapur starrer 'Mausam'(Hindi).The Hungarian Symphony Orchestra from Budapest will accompany the maestro in the concert.Laszlo Kovacs would conduct the orchestra.With The Philharmonic Orchestra Ilayaraja is also expected to play his 'Tiruvasakam' symphony composition in these concerts.When I read the news I travelled down the memory lane. I was fortunate to enjoy two of his concerts at Madurai way back in the late 70's.(Might have been between 1977 and 1978).One was held at Sethupathi High school grounds and the other one was held at Gandhi Museum Open air theatre.

I am an ardent fan of Ilayaraja.I don't know about the techniques and nuances of music except that I learnt playing a percusssion instrument for about 6 to 7 years during my school days and I was fortunate to hear Carnatic Classical Concerts of many greats of that time.I have always enjoyed good concerts and would call myself a music buff and nothing more than that.But somehow listening to an Ilayaraja song especially from the 80s to 90's have always fascinated me. Listening to his compositions,I have felt many times, I was under the influence of a trance like spell.Many of his songs are immortal.Incidentaly this is my second blog post on Ilayaraja(First on was in June 2008).I feel he is the greatest Film Music Composer India has ever produced.His compositions have something special in the orchestration,preludes and interludes.Harmonies and the small pause given for a split second in the orchestration in many of his compositions are simply superb.There are many die hard fans for Ilayaraja songs.One Private bus operator in the Madurai Thondi route plays only Ilayaraja hits of 80s to 90's in his bus and he has a good collection of his compositions.I have seen many youngsters in their teens and early twenties enjoying the foot tapping numbers and singing along with the song.Many of them would not have been born when these films were released.He is a great music director who can carry a film on the strength of his background score.Persons like Ramarajan and Rajkiran owe their box office success to this great composer.Experts in the film music world felt he was the first complete music director in the history of Indian Cinema who could do everything like Composing Orchestration Arranging instruuments and write notations.

The fact that many of his background scores of yester years are currently being used by the Ad media in many jingles,shows his old scores are still catchy and in great demand.I do not know if this is being done with the maestero's permission.A.R.Rehman has composed the theme music for Airtel Jingles.But idea Cellular has found it fit to use an old score of Ilayaraja for their Jingles.The theme music of idea cellular Jingles is music of a kannada song 'Naguva Nayana' composed by Ilayaraja in 1983 for the film 'Pallavi Anupallavi'.Incidentally this was Maniratnam's first film.There are some more jingles that are using Ilayaraja music like 'Little Orange'(Telugu Song 'Jallantha' from the film Geetanjali),'Kissan Jam'('Ithu oru pon malai pozhuthu' from the film Nizhalkal),Kissan fruit drink'('Putham Puthu Kalai' from the film 'Alaikal Oyvathillai')LG Plasma('Uravenum Puthu Pathai' from the film Nenjathai Killathey) and many more.
I have listed below some of the Ilayaraja songs that I liked most.It is very difficult to list his best compositions.Because it could be very lengthy.(This is apart from the one I mentioned in my last post on the masestro)

Azhagiya Kannae

Chinna Thaayaval

Kaattu Kuyilu

Rakkamma

Poove Chempoove

Innum Ennai enna

Valai Osai Kala Kala

Enna Satham intha neram

Van megam

Manram Vantha

Pani Vizhum

Kanne Kalaimane

Karpoora bommai ontru

Mannil Intha kathal

Nee Pathi Naan Pathi Kanne

Naan thedum sevanthi poovithu

Ennai Thaalatta

Kathoram Lolaakku

Oliyile therivathu

Ilam kaatru veesuthe and more recently Sivoham and Pitchai Pathiram

Ilayaraja is currently busy composing music for Pankaj Kapoors Hindi film.Understand Kamal Hassan has sung an Hindi song in Ilayaraja's music for this Hindi Film.The audio release of Hindi film 'Paa' an Amitabh Production has recieved rave reviews.Ilayaraja has also composed music recently for the Malayalam blockbuster 'Pazhassiraaja' .The mastero is back with a bang.