Shining melodies
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Ilaiyaraja's songs for the Kannada film Suryakaanti are breathtakingly beautiful
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Raja's magic Chaitanya and Chetan
It seems like just the other day that I attended the muhurath of Chaitanya's “Suryakaanti”. The film starring Chetan and Regina has been wrapped up and will be released in the middle of December. Ilaiyaraja's music is capable of soothing the most frayed of nerves. Radio Mirchi decided to reduce road rage by launching the songs of “Suryakaanti” live, while their star RJ Rachna chatted with Chaitanya and Chetan.
After the show portions of the songs were shown to the press. Chetan — whose character has shades of grey in the film — looks suave and seems to share a comfortable chemistry with Regina. “Swalpa Sound Jasthi Madi” penned by Yograj Bhat sets the tone for the album and is bound to be played frequently on popular demand. The easy, colloquial lyrics had Raja in splits even while recording. “Yedeya Bagilu” rendered sonorously by Shreya Ghoshal and Kunal Ganjawala is vintage Raja. The magic continues with “Mouni Nanu” sung soulfully by Karthik.
The exotic locations and Venu's picturisation makes he songs a visual treat. The film is about a hired cold-blooded killer who craves to reform when confronted with love.
Chaitanya has repeated the technical team along with Chetan for the ‘comfort level' not to speak of the great work in “Aa Dinagalu”. Chaitanya had the guts to sign Ilaiyaraja even though the industry feels the Kannada films for which he scores music never succeed. More than the songs it's Raja's ability to enhance any scene with his background score that draws talented directors to him. The trailer is tantalising and technically a few notches above the fare we endure every Friday. You are bound to increase the volume when you listen to this album.
***Hitesh Jhabak started by distributing Mani Ratnam's “Ayudha Yezhuthu” and went on to churn out hits like “Anjaadhey”, “Pandi” and “Nan Avan Illai” as producer. The latter incidentally was the remake of an old Gemini Ganesan starrer directed by K. Balachander. It was about a conman who marries and dumps women after duping them. Hitesh modernised and made the film with little known Jeevan and a bevy of beauties like Sneha and Namita and laughed all the way to the bank.
The film was remade in Kannada as “Buddivantha” and managed to resuscitate Upendra's tottering career. This encouraged Hitesh to plan a sequel with the same hero and a fresh line of girls. The film releasing today is shot extensively in Europe and Dubai and is called “Nan Avan Illai Part2”.
Hitesh is elated because while local distributors snapped up the film PVR films, for the first time will distribute a Tamil film in Karnataka and North India. “The terms are good and their marketing abilities are unquestionable,” says a beaming Hitesh. He's also been hired by Sun Pictures to produce a Dhanush starrer for them which again is a first for them. Incidentally, Upendra has not had a hit since “Buddivantha” and I'm sure he'll catch the first show at a multiplex. “Producers have been approaching me for the remake rights but I want Uppi to watch the film first,” says Hitesh. So will there be a “Buddivantha Part 2”?
S. SHIVA KUMAR
sshivu@yahoo.com
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