Mrinal Banerjee: Harano-Prapti-Niruddesh (1975) / Illaiyaraaja: Meendum Kokila (1980)

Two non-Bollywood EPs this time. I must admit I know nothing about the Bengali (Tollywood) production 'Harano-Prapti-Niruddesh', nor its music director Mrinal Banerjee. I think it might have been the cover art that appealed to me when I came across the record... I'm happy to say then that I find it delightful through and through.

'Jar Nijer Pockete Nei Paisha' has become a particular favourite of late. A wonderfully compelling song with a unique sound; part Hawaii, part Brazil, kind of folky, deliciously poppy (imagine an Indian Jonathan Richman perhaps) with a great 60s beat; fantastic stuff. 'Chokh Mukh Hashi Taar' has much of the same chirpy vibe, and 'Halaph Kore Bolte Pari' is cool lounge-type song, oddly reminiscent of 'Teddy Bear's Picnic'. (That might be just me though.) The remaining tracks are slightly more traditional; 'O Pakhi, Pakhi O Pakhi' being especially lovely.



I've dabbled in Illaiyaraaja previously (I fear further exploration might result in an obsession), and the two scores by him posted have been Hindi dubs/remakes of Tamil films. Both are highly recommended. 'Meendum Kokila' is a Kollywood original; its songs imbued with the same wonderful sound that characterizes his Bollywood efforts. Synths, light orchestrations, quirky instrumental details and superb melodies combine on these tracks; 'Ponnana Meni' and 'Hai Ooraayiram' upbeat and poppy, 'Radha Radha' low key and beautiful.

Track listing, 'Harano-Prapti-Niruddesh':
1. Hemanta Mukherjee: Jar Nijer Pockete Nei Paisha
2. Arati Mukherjee: Janina Ki Kore Bolbo
3. Kanchi Bandyopadhyay: Ei Dhara Dhame
4. Manna Dey: Chokh Mukh Hashi Taar
5. Arati Mukherjee & Tarun Banerjee: Halaph Kore Bolte Pari
6. Sravanti Majumdar: O Pakhi, Pakhi O Pakhi

Track listing, 'Meendum Kokila'
1. K.J. Jesudoss & S. Janaki: Ponnana Meni
2. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & S. Janaki: Radha Radha
3. K.J. Jesudoss & S.P. Sailaja: Chinnanchiru
4. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam: Hai Ooraayiram

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Illaya Raja: Do Dil Deewane (1981)

Ilaya Raja, or Ilaiyaraaja as he's more commonly known, is a South Indian composer I haven't featured much on this blog due to him working predominantly in the Tamil film industry, aka Kollywood. He was however responsible for a few Hindi soundtracks, among them 'Sadma' which included the stunning 'O Babuaa Yeh Mahua'; after being posted here it was sampled by Danish DJ collective Den Sorte Skole for their 'Lektion III' project.

Like 'Sadma', 'Do Dil Deewane' was a Hindi version of an original Tamil movie. And like 'Sadma', it boasts an excellent soundtrack, consisting of some delightfully sunshiny pop gems, sounding if not totally unique, at least different to almost anything I've heard from Bollywood music directors. All sung (or co-sung) by S. Janaki who's recorded somewhere in the vicinity of 15000 songs.

There's an alluring happy-sad melodicism to them, like something out of the classic songwriting school of masters such as Burt Bacharach. You can hear it on 'Dilbar Aa' ('Germaniyin Senthen'), and perhaps mixed with a bit of Abba on 'Yeh Jahan Tum' ('Azhagu Aayiram'). They're both fantastic tracks, neither of which I tire of listening to these days. The rest aren't half bad either; 'Aaj Khoye Se Ho Kyoon Tum' ('Naan Undhan Thaayaaga') and 'Kitne Rangeen Hai' ('Azhagiya') both have a curious country & western feel (if you can imagine country & western augmented by 80s synths) and 'Hai Pyar Ka Sangam' ('Dheiveega Raagam') is enticingly driven by a quirky stop-start rhythm.

None of them seem to be available on YouTube so I've linked to the Tamil originals (parenthesized) which are. And a word on the sound quality: It's kind of horrible; wobbly like a warped cassette tape – but you could argue that that only lends to its charm.

Regardless, a highly recommended soundtrack.

Track listing:
1. S. Janaki & Chorus: Hai Pyar Ka Sangam
2. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & S. Janaki: Dilbar Aa
3. S. Janaki: Yeh Jahan Tum
4. S. Janaki: Aaj Khoye Se Ho Kyoon Tum
5. S. Janaki: Kitne Rangeen Hai

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Ilaiyaraaja: Sadma (1983)

The last of this 80s batch is by Ilaiyaraaja, whom I know very little about. I'd like to find out though, because if the two stand-out tracks on 'Sadma' are anything to go by, his stuff is something worth checking out. 'Yeh Hawa Yey Fiza' has a beautiful acoustic guitar and flute intro, followed by wordless vocals one could easily imagine Edda dell’Orso doing had this been an Italian soundtrack, before turning into a great piece of percussion-heavy orchestral funk. 'O Babuaa Yeh Mahua', one of my favourite 80s soundtrack songs, also begins Italian sounding (the harpischord I suppose), has an ingenious staccato yet smooth rhythm, sax solos, and a super cool melody. Magic! If I didn't already have this album, I'd be willing to shell out quite a bit for these two tracks alone.

BTW, the alternate spelling of Asha's last name is something I've seen on occasion, especially on movie credits - can anyone explain to me what that's about?

Track listing:
1. Suresh Wadkar: Aye Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le
2. Asha Bhonsle: O Babuaa Yeh Mahua
3. Yesudas: Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein (Happy)
4. Kamal Haasan & Sridevi: Ek Dafa Ek Jungle That
5. Asha Bhonsle, Suresh Wadkar & chorus: Yeh Hawa Yey Fiza
6. Yesudas: Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein

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