Maestro’s sublime act
Kudos to Illayaraja. The maestro has done again what people in film industry are seldom expected to do. The man who has mesmerized generatios with his sweet voice has shown that he can stand for his convictions when it matters.
Music director Ilayaraja and director Gnanarajasekaran shared an excellent rapport. Ilayaraja’s works in Moga Mul and Bharathy, both directed by Gnanarajasekaran, won several accolades.
Obviously Gnanarajasekaran approached Ilayaraja for his current directorial venture Periyar, a movie based on the life of the revolutionary thinker in Tamilnadu. Actor Satyaraj and Khushboo are expected to act in the film. But the news is that Ilayaraja has declined to work in the movie. Eventually the baton has been passed to Vidyasagar.
According to Ilayaraja, he has a great respect for Periyar. "Certain ideas of Periyar still holds relevant. However he was a known atheist. But my life is total contrast to the ideas and thoughts of Periyar. Hence I thought it would not be appropriate for me to work in the movie and more over I though I cannot do justice to my job," he has been quoted as saying.
Fotr the non starters, E.V. Ramasami Naicker, also known as E.V. Ramaswami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or just Periyar, was an atheist, social reformer, an activist, and the founder of Dravidar Kazhagam and the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu, India.
EVR’s given name was Ramaswami. He was from a prominent Kannada Naidu caste, a community that is descended from the Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu. Hence he is called E. V. Ramaswami Naicker. "Periyar" means ‘respected one’ or an ‘elder’ in Tamil.
EVR was an atheist. He is well known for his antitheistic statement, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian." He created a cult of hatred against Brahmins. In fact the most important legacy of EVR in Tamil Nadu is his Anti-Brahmanism and the effect it had on individual Brahmins. He never made any attempt to distinguish between good or bad Brahmins. He used Ganesha Chathurthi (a Hindu festival celebrating Ganesha, one of the popular forms of God in Hinduism), to desecrate and publicly destroy statues of the Gods. Though he was an atheist, he was criticized as a minority appeaser, since he choose to criticise only Hinduism and was soft on minority religions like Christianity and Islam.
Ilaiyaraaja, on the other hand is known for his spiritual leanings. A deeply person, he has composed for over 800 film in various languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. His Thiruvasagam - A Symphonic Oratorio has made history in sales, in Tamil Nadu. The audio distributors Well Gate say they have sold 35000 CDs and 25000 cassettes of the album.
Music director Ilayaraja and director Gnanarajasekaran shared an excellent rapport. Ilayaraja’s works in Moga Mul and Bharathy, both directed by Gnanarajasekaran, won several accolades.
Obviously Gnanarajasekaran approached Ilayaraja for his current directorial venture Periyar, a movie based on the life of the revolutionary thinker in Tamilnadu. Actor Satyaraj and Khushboo are expected to act in the film. But the news is that Ilayaraja has declined to work in the movie. Eventually the baton has been passed to Vidyasagar.
According to Ilayaraja, he has a great respect for Periyar. "Certain ideas of Periyar still holds relevant. However he was a known atheist. But my life is total contrast to the ideas and thoughts of Periyar. Hence I thought it would not be appropriate for me to work in the movie and more over I though I cannot do justice to my job," he has been quoted as saying.
Fotr the non starters, E.V. Ramasami Naicker, also known as E.V. Ramaswami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or just Periyar, was an atheist, social reformer, an activist, and the founder of Dravidar Kazhagam and the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu, India.
EVR’s given name was Ramaswami. He was from a prominent Kannada Naidu caste, a community that is descended from the Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu. Hence he is called E. V. Ramaswami Naicker. "Periyar" means ‘respected one’ or an ‘elder’ in Tamil.
EVR was an atheist. He is well known for his antitheistic statement, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian." He created a cult of hatred against Brahmins. In fact the most important legacy of EVR in Tamil Nadu is his Anti-Brahmanism and the effect it had on individual Brahmins. He never made any attempt to distinguish between good or bad Brahmins. He used Ganesha Chathurthi (a Hindu festival celebrating Ganesha, one of the popular forms of God in Hinduism), to desecrate and publicly destroy statues of the Gods. Though he was an atheist, he was criticized as a minority appeaser, since he choose to criticise only Hinduism and was soft on minority religions like Christianity and Islam.
Ilaiyaraaja, on the other hand is known for his spiritual leanings. A deeply person, he has composed for over 800 film in various languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. His Thiruvasagam - A Symphonic Oratorio has made history in sales, in Tamil Nadu. The audio distributors Well Gate say they have sold 35000 CDs and 25000 cassettes of the album.
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteThat was a fantastic post revealing details of Maestro Ilaiyaraaja to lesser know people. Thanks for understanding why He declined the offer and not trying to make a controversial issue out of it, as that is what any people here did. I am glad to see your unbiased post. Keep it up!
Yours Always Musically,
Dr J Vijay Venkatraman.
Founder & Moderator, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ilaiyaraaja
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