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Murali Chari
There are various kinds of songs. Fast and Slow, Peppy and Melodious, Old and New, Modern and Classical. I want to talk about songs that can belong any one of the genres above. These are the songs that move us. The songs that make us think. The songs that strike a deep chord within us. The songs that bring tears to our eyes.
The songs that go beyond entertainment. The top ten songs that did it for me in no particular order are the following.
1. "Bommanu chesi, praanamu posi"
Movie: Devata
Singer: Ghantasala
The grapewine tells us that Veeturi (not to be confused with Veturi), the credited writer for this song, ran into a major writer's block after penning the opening lines. It was none other than the great poet, Sri Sri, who came to the rescue and helped him complete the song. NTR emotes on the screen as a man who just discovered his beloved wife's dead body. Ghantasala, the maestro, sings this such with such passion and injects so much raw sadness into this song, it's enough to make stones break.
2. "cheppalani undi gontu vippaalani undi"
Movie: Rudra Veena
Singer: SPB
It was Chiranjeevi's finest hour. A purposeful movie that came from his home banner that won three national awards. The pain clearly shone through his eyes when he sang this song on the silver screen. Sirivennela's lyrics pierce through your soul and make you squirm uncomfortably. The song ends with a thumping climax borrowing lines from Sri Sri's Mahaa Prasthaanam. ("nenu saitham prapanchaabjapu tella rekai pallavistaanu.") Ilayraja's music interludes elevate the proceedings by a few more notches.
3. "Siri siri muvvalu aa virisina puvvulu. Chiru Chiru aasalu ee gala gala oosulu"
Movie: Ganesh
Singer: SPB
Venkatesh, the protaganist celebrates the abundance of joy little things bring us in our life with this song. There are things that money cannot buy; we hear that routinely and pay little attention to it. This song tries to shed light on a few of those. ("kalabosi chesinavi ee chiru navvulu. vela bosi ee sirulu konaleravvaru.") Excellent sentiments.
4. "O Devadaa, O Parvati"
Movie: Devadas
Singers: Ghantasala & Jikki
It's Ghantasala again. His voice was peaking then (1953), and would continue to do so well until 1960. He steps into this song with the lines, "Palleturi pillaku kuluku hechchinde! badulu palkadam pattu badinde." The voice is so sweet, the melody so revetting, it gives me goose bumps each time I listen to this song. ANR and Savitri make sure the song stays visually appealing too.
5. "Ragilindi viplavaagni ee roju"
Movie: Alluri Seeta Rama Raju
Singer: SPB
Pre-independent India is in flames and the most prominent Telugu freedom fighter, Alluri Seeta Rama Raju (played by Krishna), travels all around, picking up inspriation from various sources. If you are even a little aware of what happened at Jallianwala Bagh, your blood would boil as that shameful incident is recalled. One of the best patriotic songs ever.
6. "Nerajaanavu le, mrudu paanivi le"
Movie: Aditya 369
Singers: SPB and Jikki
A charming fictitious scene from the days of the most powerful Telugu empire that ever was - Vijaya Nagara Saamrajyam. Transported in a time machine from the present day to 1500s, our hero, Nandamuri Balakrishna, matches wits first with the Raja Nartaki, and then with his angry girl-friend. Ilayaraja does a fantastic job of giving an old sheen to this song. SPB is at his sweetest here.
7. "Nagumomu gana leni"
Movie: Alludu Gaaru
Singer: Yesudas
Yesudas is second to none when it comes to the rendition of classical songs embedded in the Telugu movies occasionally. He proves this yet again by this excellent performance, where melody, passion, erudition and devotion mix in equal proportions and flow out of his voice. Thyagaraja, the saintly composer, would have been proud.
8. "Om Jata Veda...."
Movie: Saptapadi
Singers: A multitude
Three generations from a family of priests perform Vedic chanting abetted by a horde of young Brahmin disciples, as the heroine, played by Sabitha in her one and only movie, dances away. Vedas are supposed to be the scripture from which everything else came and they have been passed down generations for thousands of years without any break. They hymns when chanted in chaste Sanskirt with so many cultured voices in unison has an electrifying effect on the listener. An amazing scene from an amazing director: K. Vishwanath.
9. "Punya bhoomi naa desham namo namaami"
Movie: Major Chandrakanth
Singer: SPB
This song scores in that it remembers a few heroes who have never been given their due in the history properly: Shivaji, Katta Bommana, Alluri and Subhash Chandra Bose. The movie, Major Chandrakant, that contains this song, also happens to be the un-official swansong of NTR. And what a tremendously powerful song this turned out to be!
10. "Adivo alladivo Sri Hari vaasamu"
Movie: Annamayya
Singer: SPB
A beautiful subtle transformation of the popular Annamayya Keetana by the best music director in Telugu we have today: Keeravani. The pious restlessness of Annamayya, portrayed by Nagarjuna, is flawlessly captured in this song, as he anxiously looks forward to reaching Tirupati's holiest shrine. SPB reached the summit of his singing prowess with this movie and the fact that this is the most sold album ever in the Telugu music industry, is a testimony to this fact.
-Murali Chari
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Other articles by Murali Chari:
• Chiranjeevi - Seeing is believing |
