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The past week gave us a jolt. When
Harris Jayaraj officially announced
that he was parting ways with Gautham
Menon, it signaled the end of one
of the most successful and popular
musical partnerships of recent years.
The levels of consistency that Gautham
and Harris have been able to maintain
over nearly 7 years and 5 movies is
something that could match the legendary
Bharathiraja-Ilaiyaraja combination,
maybe even surpass it. Whenever this
director-composer duo came together
they produced nothing less than chartbusters.
The middling hummable tunes was not
their cup of tea, they produced music
of the highest quality. While it will
only be appropriate to give the bulk
of the credit for all those beautiful
songs from Minnale to Vaaranum Aayiram
to Harris Jeyaraj, it cannot be denied
that Gautham seemd to be an active
partner in the creative process. Yes,
Harris has been able to produce hits
and superhits under other directors,
but his best always seemed to come
out in a Gautham film, just like Rahman
pulls out something special from his
hat for Shankar or Mani Ratnam.
So, it has been bluntly stated that
Harris won't be working with Gautham
again. How does that augur for Tamil
cinema music? Well, the first impression
is one of huge disappointment. But
perhaps we need to take different
perspectives. The end of the Gautham-Harris
combine does not only mean that Gautham
and Harris |
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will
not be teaming up again, it also means
that we will be seeing new teams coming
into being. For all his career Gautham
has gone to Harris for music, the
only exception being Chennaiyil Oru
Mazhaikkalam which is still a few
months away from hitting the stands.
Harris has also reserved his best
for Gautham. We never knew whether
Gautham can create the same magic
with other composers or whether Harris
can be as potent under another director.
Now, we will know.
There is an old bit of wisdom that
says, 'you can have too much of a
good thing'. Yes, when we get into
comfort zones for long period of times
there is a tendency for complacency
to take over. Maybe, the Gautham-Harris
team has been in the comfort zone
for quite some time now and this break-up
of sorts has come just at the right
time to stem the onset of any complacency
which has an uncanny knack of infecting
even the most dynamic and creative
of minds. Maybe, what happened is
in the best interests of both Harris
and Gautham who can now explore other
sides of themselves and who knows,
they might hit upon something wonderful.
Just like Kamal found an able ally
in Rahman after years of association
with Ilaiyaraja or how M.S. Vishwanathan
still produced great music even after
his association with Ramamurthy came
to an end.
Now that we have tried to look at
this unfortunate incident in the most
positive and optimistic way possible,
let us allow ourselves a bit of lamentation,
what happened is worth a bit of mourning.
Sometime in 1998-99, we had a similar
shock when Leander Paes and Mahesh
Bhupathi said that they would not
play professional tennis together
any longer. After a handful of grand
slam titles, this was a rude shock
for all sports lovers. They went their
ways, explored new possibilities,
partners and did quite well, winning
a few more grand slams in the process.
But, the thrill that came from watching
them do it together was never relived.
One wonders whether the Harris-Gautham
split will do something similar. No
doubt, Harris will continue to give
us good songs and Gautham will find
another composer who can find his
wavelength, but will the same magic
be recaptured?
One of the best things about Harris-Gautham
music was the soothing melody which
was made even more wonderful by the
lyrics. Many might have not noticed,
but songs from Minnale, Kakka Kakka,
Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu all the way
to Vaaranum Aayiram have had songs
with some of the best lines in recent
years. Majority of them were written
by Thamarai. The Gautham-Harris team
seemed particular on the use of some
literally pleasing lines. 'Ennai Konjam
Maatri', 'Uyirin Uyire', 'Vaseegara',
'Paartha Mudhal Naale', 'Veranna Vendum',
'Oru Ooril' and a few more songs have
portions that are poetic in spite
of the constraints of rhythm and tune.
One wonders whether all this can come
together for some other team. Let's
hope so. Or even better, let's hope
that this break up is just temporary
and that differences are not irreconcilable
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