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Reason to smile
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A musical treat for a cause. That’s what the SPB-Chitra show “Paadava Un Paadalai” was all about
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MAGIC WITH MELODY SPB and Chitra
It was a weekday (Friday), yet, the hall was packed. The audience were glued to their seats as if they were listening to the singers live for the first time. On one side of the stage, there were over a 100 enthusiastic youngsters taking photographs
on their mobile phones or seeking autographs from popular playback singers S.P.Balasubramaniam and Chitra who were to share the stage for the rest of the evening. The show? “Paadavaa Un Paadalai”, a musical tribute to the maestro Ilaiyaraja.
SPB’s effortless rendition of every song made even the most difficult of them appear simple. The short tukkadas he sang with Chitra were particularly sweet. A word of praise for the selection of songs by Suresh of ‘Sruthilaya’, especially as some of them are not often heard in a live performance. ‘Raga Deepam Yaetrum Naerum’ from “Payanangal Mudivathilai” was one such challenging number rendered with facility. The other was ‘Konchi Konchi’ from the film “Veera”. What deserves special mention is that the harmonium accompaniment for the song was by Goverdhan master, a music director himself. And the instrument belonged to Ilaiyaraja who has used it for over 30 years!
Popular compositions from films such as “Punnagai Mannan” (‘Vaan Megam’, ‘Etho Ennam Valarthein’ and Singalathu Chinnakuyile’,) “Puthu Puthu Arthangal” (‘Guruvayurappa’, ‘Keladi Kanmani’), “Agni Natchathiram” (‘Ninnukkori Varnam’ and ‘Thoongatha Vizhigal Ondru’) and many more had the audience asking for more.
Chitra and SPB also sang the first song they had recorded together from the film “Punnagai Mannan” (‘Kala Kala Maga Vazhum Kadhalukku Nangal Arpanam’). Other songs were from “Gopura Vasalile”, “Idhaya Kovil”, ‘Ninaivellam Nithya’, “Vettrivizha”, “Mella Thiranthadhu Kadhavu” and “Idhayathai Thirudathe”.
The duo had the audience spellbound throughout the two-and-a-half-hour performance with their excellent rendering of 23 of the choicest Ilaiyaraja melodies. The Sruthilaya music troupe provided able support to the singers.
Besides being a musical treat, the concert, presented by Sharon Incorporation and sponsored by Meera Herbal Shampoo, was partly in aid of ‘Smile’, a home for HIV-affected children.
S. R. ASHOK KUMAR
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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