Just the other day I was watching Alaipayuthey
after almost a decade and I was (once again) struck by how, in spite of Saathiya
being a scene by scene replica of this movie, the Tamil scores over its Hindi
remake in almost every aspect.
While it is controversial whether Shaad Ali can hold a candle to Mani Ratnam as a director (IMHO he doesn’t) and whether Rani Mukherjee and Vivek Oberoi are any match for Shalini and Madhavan as a lead couple, what surprised me the most was, that even Gulzar’s lyrics for Saathiya were no match for the magic that Vairamuthu had spun for the original. The examples are quite evident:
While it is controversial whether Shaad Ali can hold a candle to Mani Ratnam as a director (IMHO he doesn’t) and whether Rani Mukherjee and Vivek Oberoi are any match for Shalini and Madhavan as a lead couple, what surprised me the most was, that even Gulzar’s lyrics for Saathiya were no match for the magic that Vairamuthu had spun for the original. The examples are quite evident:
1. Pachai Nirame/Saathiya
This song comes at a point in the movie
(both movies) where the boy is becoming deeply infatuated with the girl – or
‘a’ girl, at this stage. This infatuation, as the movie goes on to explain much
later, is like a fragrant flower – beautiful and intoxicating, but ephemeral
nonetheless. The relationship is yet to strike ‘roots’. Sacrifices are yet to
be made. It, therefore, is nothing more or less than the first exhilarating
rush of passion – akin to a mountain river, that possesses the momentum to move
rocks but lacks depth.
Vairamuthu has expressed this phase of love
by creating a mosaic of myriad colours. “My Friend, my Love, love is so
colourful/My Friend, my Love, you too are colourful like love” – thus begins
the song. He goes on to paint a vivid picture – vibrant, passionate greens,
deep, angry reds, sparkling yellow, serene blue, mysterious black and pure
white – he finds all the colours of nature in his lady love. Poetic yet apt…so
apt to limn the ‘first fine careless rapture’ of newly awakened love.
Compare this to the watered down version of
Gulzar, where the boy is satisfied with just the wet ‘laughter’ of the
object of his affection. “Let your laughter echo in the valleys” – he warbles.
“Don’t go into the garden, the bumblebees will tease you,” he warns. “Keep
smiling throughout the year, keep smiling softly” – he requests. Where is the
full-blooded passion of youth in this song? Where is the ardour of infatuation, the ode to sanguine, iridescent love? Where is the
inconvenient, immature, impatient outburst of feelings?
Young love is concerned with appearance rather than smiles, with arrogance rather than mellow affection, with passion rather than putting on woollens and having a long heart-to-heart in a snow-clad valley.
That’s the difference between youth and age, and Gulzar (IMHO) stumbles here badly. His quest for laughter is middle-aged, at the least!
Young love is concerned with appearance rather than smiles, with arrogance rather than mellow affection, with passion rather than putting on woollens and having a long heart-to-heart in a snow-clad valley.
That’s the difference between youth and age, and Gulzar (IMHO) stumbles here badly. His quest for laughter is middle-aged, at the least!
2. Snehithanae/Chup Ke Se
If there ever were two songs with identical
tune, identical orchestra and the same singer (Sadhna Sargam) and yet sounded as different as
chalk and cheese, they were Snehithanae and Chup Ke Se. Chup Ke Se, a
mealy-mouthed, intellectualized version of its Tamil counterpart evokes none of the
little smiles and sentiments that the original does. The original has a
definite ‘character’ while the other is just another love song.
In Snehithanae, the girl is making a
request to her secret lover (Karthik and Shakthi are secretly married at this
point in the movie). She wants his tightness and embraces for as long as she lives -- note the allusion to virility. She isn't asking him coyly to hug her like (something as insubstantial as) the 'east wind'. Nor does she want to secretly hug him under the blanket of the night – that’s
her compulsion, not her dream. Nor does she want to hide behind clouds…or want
him to look at her through his fingers under the February sun.
She would, rather, monopolize him completely. And she freely admits that his transgressions cause her pleasure; she wants him to lace his fingers through hers as they sleep...again, poetic but not just for the sake of sounding poetic. She would make him serve her, give her an oil massage, she would tie him up in her handkerchief, and extract a promise of commitment in exchange of releasing him.
And he would smilingly accept all her little atrocities, because his pride has been conquered by her curls and curves.
What a way to describe the unquiet rivulets of love, of conquer and submission, possessiveness and obedience and other little games that all lovers delight in!
And just as they prefer beauty to smiles, they prefer taking a bath together to singing a lullaby to each other. At least that’s how Karthik and Shakthi were in the beginning, when this song takes place.
She would, rather, monopolize him completely. And she freely admits that his transgressions cause her pleasure; she wants him to lace his fingers through hers as they sleep...again, poetic but not just for the sake of sounding poetic. She would make him serve her, give her an oil massage, she would tie him up in her handkerchief, and extract a promise of commitment in exchange of releasing him.
And he would smilingly accept all her little atrocities, because his pride has been conquered by her curls and curves.
What a way to describe the unquiet rivulets of love, of conquer and submission, possessiveness and obedience and other little games that all lovers delight in!
And just as they prefer beauty to smiles, they prefer taking a bath together to singing a lullaby to each other. At least that’s how Karthik and Shakthi were in the beginning, when this song takes place.
3. Evano Oruvan/Mera Yaar Mila De
These two songs are the only exceptions in
these movies where the Tamil and Hindi are totally different from each other,
so it would probably not be fair to hold Gulzar alone responsible for the
inferiority of the Hindi version.
In the Tamil version, it is Shakthi who is
singing this song, as Karthik runs around looking for her. That alone has its
own impact – because it is Shakthi who is reticent from the beginning and had
called off the romance. Karthik, whose infatuation with Shakthi is already
pretty evident in the movie, doesn’t need a separate song at this point to
prove his feelings for her. On the other hand, we get to know for the first
time that Shakthi’s heart is silently breaking – which makes their reunion all
the more poignant. Add to this the sound of the thunder, the howling wind and
the crashing waves, not to mention the grey skies and bleakness of a medical
camp – and it paints the most desolate picture, truly symbolic of Shakthi’s
feelings at this point (she doesn’t know that Karthik is coming for her).
In the background plays Evano Oruvan (sung
to perfection by the late Swarnalatha) – “Somewhere, someone is playing a
tune/From the darkness I listen to it” – so evocative of the pain of Radha
sitting alone in Vrindavana waiting in vain for Krishna .
“He brings me comfort in the merciless hours of the night” – so softly plaintive,
such wistful melancholy…She doesn’t need to break open the vaunt of the sky nor
does she yearn for the glitter of stars. She neither prays to God for her
beloved, nor does she need to say in so many words that “Everything is barren”.
That thought is woven very subtly and very softly through the entire fabric of
the song. Away from dramatics, her empty eyes keep gazing at the ocean – ‘as
one in a trance’ she keeps listening to the distant music.
4. Kaadhal Sadugudugudu/Aye Udi Udi
Where do I even begin with these two? “It’s
a game of love, Come, touch me!” Karthik throws a challenge at Shakthi, who is
quick to respond. “Don’t touch me and retreat like a wave, come and engulf me,”
he demands.
Aye Udi Udi, to me, simply says “I had a great night!”. It doesn’t
really have the same edge, the shameless, brazen, outrageous daring (that the Tamil has)
that would cause me to raise an eyebrow.
Really, when Gulzar writes “When I tease
her, she gets mad/When I leave her, we have a fight/When I kiss her then, too,
we fight,” it sounds like the complaint of a little boy bewildered by the
complexities of a woman. Throughout the song he sounds lost and confused, as
though something curious and miraculous is happening to him, but he’s not sure
what.
But Kaadhal Sadugudugudu is on a whole new
level of passion…bordering on desperate, obsessive love. It is the forbidden
game between man and woman. “I’ll never get to the end of your mysteries and
you’ll never get to the end of my love,” he assures, and then goes on to add:
“But my kiss won’t fail to drive a point.” What calm assuredness, cocksure
boldness…the open challenge of someone who knows all the rules of the game, and
is moving for the kill J
The rest of the songs, too, bring out this
difference. To summarize, Vairamuthu, through his songs, weaves enchantment and
reality in equal measures, while keeping in mind the characters and content of
the movie. But Gulzar, I feel, is too busy flaunting his poetic and linguistic
prowess to care about the same.
As a result the songs of Saathiya have none of the charm or beauty of those from Alaipayuthey.
It's a pity Mani Ratnam decided to sell the rights for this movie. A dubbed Alaipayuthey would've been a dream come true.
As a result the songs of Saathiya have none of the charm or beauty of those from Alaipayuthey.
It's a pity Mani Ratnam decided to sell the rights for this movie. A dubbed Alaipayuthey would've been a dream come true.
I just saw the video of the Hindi version of the songs and I didn't like the picturization of them. For me, Tamil version is much better.
ReplyDeleteI have previously heard the audio of the Hindi version. Though I don't know Hindi, I always used to think that the lyrics of the Tamil version "sounded" better. On reading your blog, it looks like my thoughts were right :-)
Really enjoyed this blog!
Hey, thank you so much for the nice comment. I really appreciate it. Always nice to find like-minded folks!
DeleteHi, thanks for replying after such long time. The other day, I was listening to Pachai neramey song. If you listen closely towards the end of each "சகியே...", you can hear a beautiful "ahamm" tone.
ReplyDeleteMinute detail, but very good.
Just thought you might enjoy it.
:) I was too busy in between with a hectic work schedule but hopefully now I'll be able to do a bit more writing.
Delete"If you listen closely towards the end of each "சகியே...", you can hear a beautiful "ahamm" tone"
- Yes, I have noticed and I too think it adds to the beauty of this song...one of Rehman's best, IMHO.
Well, I'm sure I'm going to read your future works.
DeleteI always had loved the whole album.. My fave of all time...
ReplyDeleteEven as a native Hindi speaker, I agree with you on all counts especially the ones with lyrics. I believe the difference is actually in the language and its idioms. And let us not forget the restraints that must have been placed on the artists.
ReplyDeleteWhile Maniratnam, ARR and Vairamuthu were starting from scratch, Gulzar had to replace the words which sound good enough with the tunes and also convey the thoughts as closely as possible. And a literal translation of lyrics would not have worked at all.
This is perhaps why a large number of Tamil remakes in Hindi are not successful even when made by the same people..cases in point... Dil Se, Ravan.
Something similar has also happened in Minnale/ RHTDM.
Perhaps, the production house and the director should not have just picked up the screenplay and translated it instead of just taking the story and then going throuh similar story beats. Perhaaps then we might have gotten even better songs in Hindi albeit at different places in the movie