Lyrics

"uzhutha pulithiyilum

un mugame theriyuthamma..."

Not sure when I really started noticing the lyrics in a song. Must have been in the past 5 or 6 years I guess. Only music mattered until then. Actually I was very much in that category of Indian moviegoers who try to compare Indian movies with those of the West and found it abrupt and quirky - although West has a 'musical' genre to cover this - when a perfectly normal couple jump into fashionable costumes and start to do lip sync for a song. But, I guess I am going to move on assuming one can argue that heightened feelings call for a different form of expression.

"antha saalaiyil nee vandhu seramal

aaru degree yil en paarvai saayamal

vilagi poirunthaal thollai illai

ithu vendatha velai"

This article will talk about Indian movie songs, actually tamil in particular. Before that let me start with a few pointers from history.

"setha kilavan

eluthi vacha

othai sothu veeramada.."

During the pre-independence era, when the transition from theatre to movies began with the first generation of technicians trying to understand this new powerful medium that demanded a whole new way of storytelling, songs were in fact able to find an easy way in.

"puratchigal ethum seiyamal

pennuku nanmai vilaiyathu..

kannagi silai thaan ingundu..

seethaiku kallaal silayethu.."

Before that, entertainment was limited to theatre and street show, which required expressions in a dramatic musical/lyrical form in order to hold the audience engaged.

"kalaiyil nee illai..

manamum thedavum varavillai..

pirinthathum purinthathu

naan enna ilanthenendru.."

Later they were the same theatre artists who ventured into movies and when they started making non-silent pictures mostly out of theatre plays based off of epics and mythologies, the the concept of songs and lip syncing for songs too migrated along.

"Mounam onrum oonam alla

Vaarthaiyellam mulumai alla"

Afterwards even though social dramas were being made into movies, songs were still an inherent part of it and were then used to preach morality, culture and tradition.

"vellathaane veeram..

kolvatharku illai.."

Although songs and music have been adored and embraced worldwide, when we talk about tamil songs, in this article it particularly refers to tamil ‘movie’ songs since independently made non-cinematic songs were not able to find much success commercially except for a handful of carnatic, religious and folk songs.

"boomi thiranthu kidakku

manusha paya manasu pooti kidakku"

Since movies were the primary form of entertainment and song video has always proven essential to promote a song, songs in movies were in fact helping out each other.

"sari endru theriyamal

thavarendu puriyamal

ethil vandhu sernthen naan

ethir paarka villai naan.."

It is interesting to observe the path lyrical content has taken in the past few decades from raw emotions to sophisticated ideas, from rantings to inner reflection, from bird-eye view to sharp details.

"kadaisiyile azhutha kanneer..

kaiyil innum ottuthadee.."

                                                                                                                 (to be continued..)