Part 8

(continued from Part 7)
Playback singing is such a vital cog in music composition nowadays, that it is hard to believe that there existed a time of K.L.Saigals and Chitturu Nagayyas, when what was asked of the singers wasn't just sound knowledge of the classical music and the ability to sing along the tune, but also a little emotive ability to carry off the tune both on the screen and off the screen as well. Though the requirement brought out a lot of jack of all trades, real masters were hard to come by for the fear of the added responsibility, thereby most of the tunes that were created during that period (late 30s till late 40s and early 50s) though very melodious in nature, didn't really exploit the vocal abilities of the actor/singers or singer/actors. That most of the tunes chose a lower-medium pitch to firmly root themselves in a comfort zone, rarely venturing into the higher strata, was either because of the composer's apprehension of the singer's abilities or the maker's proclivity to err on the safe side by siding with his actor than take the side of his composer. As professionalism started to seep into every craft of film-making, replacement of the hyphenates (actor-singer, singer-music director-actor) and multi-taskers with professionals became a very natural and an evolutionary phenomenon. An actor strictly remained an actor and the singer was relieved of the acting responsibilities, allowing him to concentrate solely on his craft. In telugu, Ghantasala was credited as the first one to separate the shared responsibilities and the results were something to cheer about. For a period of a good 20-25 years, Ghantasala's voice resonated all the emotions irrespective of the actors on the screen, giving the music directors the great advantage of coming up with exhilarating compositions, even if they were a little complex at times, without unduly worrying about the singing capabilities of the actor on the screen. "Siva Sankaree Sivaanandalahari" suited perfectly for an NTR, in spite of the near-breathless, break-neck speed in the composition, in just the same way as "rasika raaja taguvaaramu kaama" fit the bill perfectly for an ANR, portraying a musical prodigy. The separation of the singer and the actor proved to be a richly rewarding move in the process of film making, providing the composer with a plethora of possibilities to fully exploit the range of the singer.

A quick examination of the early 50s through the 70s shows how singing was elevated as an art of its own, raised in tone, tenor and pitch, compared to the old sing-along karokes. During this era the singers and the music directors found themselves in a comfortable maneuverable groove, where each emotion had an established pattern - both in singing and composing - and the singers were distinguished more by the uniqueness of the voices. A romantic song delivered by Ghantasala could easily be distinguished from one rendered in the same pitch by P.B.Srinivas, a pathos song by a M.S. Rama Rao had his distinct stamp, compared to a similar one sung by Madhavapeddi (compare it to the current crop of singers, both male and female, where every voice sounds just like every others). Sames goes with the female singers - Leela, Suseela, Jikki, Jamuna Rani and the like. Just when it was time that evolution took its next step in composition to move towards higher notes and higher pitches, appeared the right talent at the opportune time, who till then was languishing in the long shadows cast by the seasoned stalwarts. Cometh the right moment, cometh the right man (or woman, in this case). The rise of Ilayaraja coincided with the resurgence of the most versatile singer on the female side - S.Janaki.

Madan Mohan had Lata Mangeshkar, O.P.Nayyar had Asha Bhosle, and Ilayaraja found S.Janaki. It is important to note that Ilayaraja didn't stick with Janaki, either for novelty purposes or on grounds of loyaltly. It is only because his style started to hit the higher octaves more times than not, that he found Janaki as a worthy representative to present his brand of music to the world. Till that point of time, Suseela, who ruled the music world, was relegated to (rather, chose for) medium range octaves that usually made up the conventional structure of "lalitha sangeetam", which most of the compositions till mid 70s fell under. The first song of Ilayaraja's career ("ramachiluka peLLikODukevarae...." - a telugu translation of his "annakkili" in Tamil) announced his inclination for going beyond what was considered traditional at that time, with the singer that took the tune to even greater heights (hear the song just before the charaNam reaches the crescendo and falls back nicely into the pallavi, in a tune that goes along the lines of the ramadasu keertana "palukae bangaaramaayenaa..."). The alliance of Ilayaraja and Janaki is a better example of the forging of the penchant and talent, than Madan-Lata or Nayyar-Asha combination, only because the former is a more natural fit and the marriage is one more of mutual interests than one of compromises and conveniences.

The instrument "sannaayi" has probably the sharpest pitch of all, able to drown in it, the murmurs of like instruments, or the heavy handed percussions, not to mention the soft crooning voices. So when the requirement when out that the singer's voice match the sharp tone of "sannaayi" at every move, turn and corner, S.Janaki was summoned to take up the challenge and render "nee leela paaDeda daevaa" from the (dubbing) movie "muripinchae muvvalu", which stands as a great exercise of the competing and complimenting tones - vocal and instrumental - involved in the play, with the wild fluctuations of the instrument, coupled with long interminable moments of uninterrupted play, matched in equally rich voice, step for step, play for play. Which is why, it should come as no surprise, when the requirement arose for a seductive number that starts with a sharp shrilling note of ecstasy, twisting and turning at every move, only to settle down into a nice rhythmic beat later, Janaki was chosen to shoulder the responsiblity, and the composition and the rendition ("oorinchae vayasidi, vaedhinchae sogasidi..." from the "vasanta kOkila") set a new standard for such numbers, rivalling the earlier benchmark set by R.D.Burman for the song "piyaa tu ab tO aaja" from "Caravan", in the process (an interesting observation is how both the songs start off on a similar platform - a sharp call, followed by heavy breaths, that ultimately settle into the rhythm, before forking off into their individual territories). On a different note, for the movie "Srutilayalu", she takes off another sharp note (this time a high high octave of a crying kid) and blends it expertly into the aarOhaNa of a traditional raaga, before finally seeing it off on the other end of emotional side - a blissful side. While high pitch comes naturally to Janaki, which is demonstrated in many many example over a career that spanned decades, it is indeed Ilayaraja's innovative use of the equally heavy bass in her voice, that fetched Janaki, the maximum dividends, viz. a national award.

"vennellO gOdaari andam" from "sitAra" shows the immense range of Janaki, in her ability to tackle the lows with the same aplomb as when she revels in the highs. The challenge for this song was compounded by the fact that the prime instruments at play - violin and the percussion - remain constantly on the lower end of the note spectrum, causing the singer to make adjustments, in the low bass in which the tune plays, to find the innumerable "gamakams" (microtones). Hear to the portion where it plays

ninnaTi Sara panjaraalu
daaTina swara panjaraana nilichi
kanneerae pongi pongi
terala chaaTu naa choopulu
chooDalalaeni manchu bommanai

to see how Janaki never goes beyond the established barriers, and still rarely remains still, plain and ordinary - the hallmark of a great vocalist at work.

Versatility doesn't entail hitting the high points and covering the low ends alone. The game is to touch every note and nerve, every beat and heart, just like another beautiful composition-rendition that does just that - "aakaSam aenaaTidO anuraagam aanaTidi" from "nireekshaNa" starts off as a casual low key affair. As time progresses so does the tempo and the variations and by the time it reaches its zenith at "paruvaalae praNayaalayi, ennennO Srungaarala leelalu, kannullO rangaeLi alarenu", the singer had already stretched her chords, testing their tensile strength to the hilt. The one obvious way that Janaki differentiates herself from the rest of the pack - predecessors or compatriots - is the way she immerses herself completely in the moment, throwing away any reservedness, reservations or predisposed feelings towards that song to the wind. The movie - "kshatriya putruDu", the song - "sannajaaji paDaka, mancha kaaDa paDaka, maaTa vinakundi endukae...", the reward - another national award. The song starts off without any help from the orchestra, relying purely on Janaki to evoke the required emotion of playful innocence by mouthing the rhythm herself, before moving on to the next plateau and settling into a nice groove. Janaki, and probably Asha Bhosle, remain the only mainstream singers to slip into any kind of garb quite easily, fully justifying their presence at each outing. And Janaki has a leg up on Bhosle, as she remains the only singer to provide playback to a male character (albeit, a teenager). For the song "paapa paeru malli, naa vooru kottha Dhilli" (movie: "mouna geetam"), Janaki modulates her voice in a way that is not one of the regular high pitch, usually associated with pre-teen kids - both male and female - (remember, "gOvulu tellana gOpayya nallana" from "Saptapadi"), but one with a flat, breaking, loud adolescent tone, making it impossible for an unwitting listener to make out her voice.

Sure, the combination of Ilayaraja and Janaki has the regular great set pieces to show for their individual talents ("mounamaela nOyi ee marapu raani raeyi", "maLLee maLLi idi raani rOju", "porapaaTidi taDabaaTidi gunjeelae teeseyyanna", "jaabilli kOsam aakaSamalle vaechaanu nee raakakai", "priyatama tama sangeetam, virise sumamulayi vasantam", and many many more), the high points of their relationship shone in the innumerable great fluctuations that transpired in between.

(continued in part 9)

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