Copy cat!!

This song from Harem is a direct lift of AR Rahman's Taal Music. The "Ishq Bina" song on stage.

http://www.sarah-brightman-online.com/lyrics/harem/#tjh

To listen to the clip

http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.3313363

I would be happy to see that the phirangs copy our stuff for once instead of it being the other way around ;)

But then probably Rahman's composition itself was copied from some older song? As in the "inspiration" for both songs is the same maybe?

Can anyone enlighten me?

Aura Ammaka Chella

In a time when all hits in Telugu were from Ilayaraja, there came a refreshing original Telugu Music composer, a change called Keeravani, so we didn't have to live with the routine beats of Raj-Koti. Here is one of my all time favourites from this guy - Its a folklore-type song about Lord Krishna and is a melodious piece. I love this song. The movie is a master-piece from K. Viswanath called "Aapathbandhavudu". It also holds a special place for me, because part of the movie was shot in Ann's.

English lo yenneno padalaloo...

As is typical when I have a lot of work to do and do not want to be disturbed, I spent yet another Friday down in the lab. I used to hate the place because of all the noise when I was new here. But now this is my escape haven when I need some quiet!!

So anyway, as is customary when I am in the lab, I was listening to stuff on my iPod accompanied with occasional bouts of loud singing;) I was at "Aadi" (Blush! Yeah I listen to Aadi songs) The songs in the movie are good, although the hero is debate-able. (Ohh, come on, you don't know who played hero in "Aadi"? Junior NTR of course;) ) There was this time in 2001 just before I left for the US to test my wings, when his first movie was released.. And I used to wonder why the people of Tollywood were hell bent on traumatizing unsuspecting Hyderabad citizens. Huh! He looked attrocious to say the least. And the posters- giant-sized always. It was nauseating! Anywhere I drove to in the city, there it was, another repulsive poster, yuck!

Well, that is that. Some trauma that was. As if that was not enough, one of my Junior-NTR-loving friends (yeah, he has fans too! Gosh!) insisted that I watch Aadi and left the DVD at my place back in Madison. I took 11 iterations watching it in 10-15 minute intervals as I could not take anymore of him than 15 minutes at a stretch.

That was when I first heard the songs. They are actually good. The music I mean. A good listen anyday. But the lyrics are downright humorous. Especially from a song that goes "Pattu Okato Sari" (Catch the first time) Yeah, NOW you can guess how the rest of it goes ;)

Here are some excerpts from this classic song (Boy! This is so funny, I can spend the rest of my blogging time simply translating some of the modern day lyrics from Tollywood and still wouldn't run out of humour)


Pattu Okato Sari (Catch the First Time)
Nasa Pettu Rendo Sari (Nag the second time)

Bla bla bla..never mind with the rest of the the things they say about third fourth and fifth times..

Gundelu GuNinchu O Sari (Add hearts once) (Me: Ok?)
Siggulu Bhaginchu O Sari (Divide shyness once) (Me: Hmm...ok..)
Lovvulu Lekhkinchu O Sari (Count love once) (Me: Huh? ...ok......)
Aa Pai Andistha Oo Pattu Saree (After that I will present you a Silk Saree (Me: What the hell?!?!)


Next come the verses:
=================


Ammayee nee andam samudrame (Girl, your beauty is the sea) (Me: :-?)
Andulo na manase aNige maNige muNige (In that my heart succumbed and drowned) (Me: More :-?:-?:-?)

Abbayee nee vegam vimaaname (Boy, your speed is the airplane) (Me: What??? Junior NTR??!?)
Anduke na sogase vaNike JhaNike beNike (Me: That is why my beauty shivered and got sprained) (What??????)

Never mind with the translation of the rest of the first CharaNam (Verse). I cannot do it, beyond me!


Here comes the second charaNam:

English lo yennenno padaalalo (In the many words in English)
Ee moode nachinavi: Riveru Floweru Loveru (Just these three pleased me: River, Flower, Lover) (My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Lokam lo yennenno bandhaalalo (In all the relations in the world)
Ee moode telisinavi: Motheru, Fatheru, Tamaru ( Just these three are known to me: Mother, Father, Respected You) (WTH!?!?!?!?!?!?)

Nenu ippudu Brahmacharini (I am now a Brahma-follower = bachelor (single guy) ) (Me: Ok, decent)
Nuvvu korinappudu ayipotha BhamaCharini (When you desire I shall become lady-follower) (Me: Whatever!)

Nenu ippudu andagathe ni (I am now a beauty)
Nuvvu takinappudu ayipotha Agarubathini (With your touch, I shall become an Agarbathi (Incense stick) ) (Me: Tearing my brains out!!)

So anyway, now you can guess it. If you know Telugu, you can listen to the song here;)

Pattu Okato Sari

I think translations it is for me ;) There is another song from "Boys" that I would love to translate, but I've already laughed too much for a day. I will do it very soon though.

A song for every mood

Growing up in India, I was primarily fed on Bollywood and Tollywood Music. At a time when all hit songs came from Ilayaraja, there used to be that special one or two massive hit movies of his during the year, whose songs everyone knew and crooned. Later on, this became Rahman's forte, but well, all the same. One or two massive musical successes during a calendar year:)

So anyway, there was one (sometimes a couple) movie a year, whose songs we relentlessly pursued till we knew every one of them by-heart and crooned them over and over again. Not to mention the abuse those cassettes (yeah, that was the time of the tape players!) suffered by repeated playing in the tape-recorder.

So much did I listen to those songs faithfully over and over again until there was the next big thing, that now when I listen to those songs, each of them reminds me of a particular age/era/time.

Like when I listen to Geetanjali's songs, I am immediately back in my Standard IV. Or when I listen to Roja, I am back in time to when I was in Standard VIII. Or when I listen to Rangeela, I am in Francis' slogging through the first year of Intermediate;)

So much so, that sometimes when I want to re-live some specific moments in my past, I just pop on my headphones and listen to a song that I used to hear day in and day out back in that specific time:) And it works!

Every time.


Also see: Jallantha Kavvintha...