| It
was when Rahman had conquered
the King’s dominion by
the mid 90’s and Ilayaraja
had started coming to terms
with not being the ruler anymore,
this teenager hiked on a picnic
that no one expected to turn
into a new era of music. Sure,
at 16, you are too naïve
to take the bull by the horns
and have a ride on it. But this
teenager certainly had a bigger
future which Kollywood conveniently
didn’t see coming. Though
Aravindhan hardly took any notice,
Yuvan certainly seemed to get
a grip of things in just about
three movies. With the bouncy
Jyothika dancing away to the
tunes of his in the scenically
captured ‘churidhar anindhu’
or Surya crooning to his aching
love in ‘Irava Pagala’,
Poovellam Kettupar did send
noises about somebody landing
on Tamil music. After a couple
of more forgettable scores,
Yuvan seemed determined to prove
his grit when A R Muradoss trusted
him with Dheena. I can see what
you are thinking; Murugadoss
was not as huge a brand as he
is today. But the combination
proved lucky to Yuvan for it
took away the skepticism that
surmounts celebrities hailing
from affluent families. Then
came Thulluvatho Ilamai and
later, Nandha. Almost every
music lover I knew invested
in a copy of Thulluvatho Ilamai
music cassette (people were
yet to be introduced to CDs
then) which was indeed worth
the money, sabotaging all doubts
about this musician who by then
had emerged into a brand called
‘Yuvan Shankar Raja’.
From his baby-walk days to the
most recent season where his
topical Telugu blockbuster ‘Oy’
is dancing on top of the charts,
he has a journey defined more
by music than commercialism.
When I say that, I mean it’s
refreshing to see him not investing
much of his interests in films
that start and end with the
hero. I am not debating if music
in such movies (where the story
is made to make the hero |
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heroic) is inferior. It could have been
a coincidence but Yuvan’s projects
predominantly teamed him up with directors
who preferred stories to heroes which is
perhaps the reason why he did not have to
meet dead ends while letting his experiments
take over.
I wonder what his personal favorite is.
If I were to pick one, among a few others,
I would hand pick the theme-track of 7G
which am sure would definitely make a haunting
memory in the minds of music lovers. What
about Kadhal kondein or pudhupettai or the
incorrigibly haunting ‘engeyo partha
mayakkam’ from Yaaradi nee mohini?
You ask. Sure, his compositions are unique
yet carry a discernible difference from
another which is perhaps why the best tracks
by Yuvan seem to fall in completely different
genres. Engeyo Partha Mayakkam which is
a blend of soft instrumentals playing in
the backdrop of a love-struck mood is sweet
to listen to and instantly dwelling while
the husky tone of kadaloram from Kungumapoovum
Konjumpuravum sizzles with the inexplicable
desires of love. The two songs belong to
different families of tunes yet beautifully
bring about the different shades of love,
almost setting in a state of trance where
the mind wanders to the romantic phase of
one’s life.
Talking of romance, who can forget the background
score from 7G, especially that in the climax?
It’s nothing less than a master piece
and the BGM is one of the reasons why the
movie still stands apart in the chronology
of love stories in Tamil. That way, though
greatly acclaimed for his flair for background
scoring, an award exclusively in the category
of background score from his home ground
is yet to arrive, not to forget the Cyprus
International Film festival for best musical
score for Raam that couldn’t have
suited anybody better. From the immensely
youthful Chennai 28 to the rusty folk of
paruthiveeran to the humanly heroic pudhupettai,
Yuvan has hit the masses and the classes
alike and has successfully been at it, even
outside the horizons of romantic tunes.
With just about a decade to his musical
resume’, what is surprising is that
Yuvan has not yet hit the drums for the
big-heads like Rajini or Kamal or even Vijay
and yet has found his steps up the ladder
to the top notch. Is it because he did not
find an offer his way or is it a reason
left better in the dark? Intriguing, considering
how much Ilayaraja’s music had elevated
the stardom of Rajini and Kamal. Speaking
of which, to say he has followed the maestro’s
footsteps would be a gross understatement
for Yuvan has created his own path and his
own style, along the way. He makes music
that is intelligent, sensitive, humorous
and real. While, we still live in the world,
where music was redefined by A R Rahman
and memories of Ilayaraja are treasured,
Yuvan has made himself a comfortable home
- one he does not need to be insecure of
being taken over. It looks like the night
is still young for this lad to be partying
and wow, the journey so far calls for a
toast. With Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood,
the future for Yuvan Shankar Raja is absolutely
inviting and with him still hanging in there,
we music lovers have more music calling.
Thanks,
Sandhya Renu,
sandaes@gmail.com
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