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Sindhu Bhairavi
Soundtrack album by Ilaiyaraaja
Released	1985
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Language	Tamil
Label	Echo
Producer	Ilaiyaraaja

Sindhu Bhairavi is the soundtrack to the 1985 Tamil-language musical drama film of the same name directed by K. Balachander. The film featured nine songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja with lyrics written by Vairamuthu. The soundtrack consists of classical music compositions, where most of the songs are set in Carnatic ragas; it ranges from melody to folk. Sindhu Bhairavi has been regarded as one of Ilaiyaraaja's best works in his career, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.

Background

Though Ilaiyaraaja had composed for several films under Balachander's Kavithalayaa Productions beginning with Netrikkan (1981), Sindhu Bhairavi is his maiden collaboration with Balachander as director. After previous associations with M. S. Viswanathan, Balachander wanted a different composer for the film, so he approached Ilaiyaraaja after seeking permission from Viswanathan. K. J. Yesudas and K. S. Chithra lent their voice for the characters J. K. Balaganapathi (Sivakumar) and Sindhu (Suhasini), the former performed most of the songs in the film.

Many of the songs are set in Carnatic ragas; "Naan Oru Sindhu" is in Sindhu Bhairavi, "Kalaivaniye" in Kalyani, "Poomaalai" in Kanada, "Paadariyen" in Saramati, "Aanantha Nadanam" in Rathipatipriya, and the dappankuthu number "Thanni Thotti Thedi Vantha" in Kapi. "Paadariyen" was described by Balachander as a "folk song with a blend of Carnatic music". During his first meeting with Ilaiyaraaja, he started working on the tune to which he Ilaiyaraaja asked for a day's time and completed the tune within the following day. The song describes the politics of music from the perspective of a certain population. Ilaiyaraaja composed "Kalaivaniye" entirely in Arohana without Avarohana, which he considers practically impossible.

Besides his own compositions, Ilaiyaraaja further adapted works from classical musicians. "Mahaganapathim" is based on the composition of the same name by Muthuswami Dikshitar. Innovatively, there is no use of mridangam in the track. "Moham Ennum" and "Manadhil Urudhi Vendum" were taken from the verses of poet Subramania Bharati. "Mari Mari Ninne", a kirtana by the Carnatic musician Tyagaraja, was reused for this film.

Track listing

Tamil

Telugu

Reception

Suresh Kannan of Ananda Vikatan attributed that the songs in the film gives an impact to the audience where they would hear it in a Carnatic music Sabha; he further appreciated Yesudas and Chitra's vocals and Vairamuthu's lyrics. Historian G. Dhananjayan considers Sindhu Bhairavi a film where Balachander was successful in reflecting the thoughts of Ilaiyaraaja. Archana Nathan of Scroll.in described the soundtrack as a "beautiful blend of Carnatic, Tamil light and folk music."

Sindhu Bhairavi's success led Balachander collaborate with Ilaiyaraaja for Punnagai Mannan (1986), Manathil Urudhi Vendum (1987), Rudraveena and its remake Unnal Mudiyum Thambi (both 1988) and Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal (1989). The latter was the final film with this collaboration, as Balachander split with Ilaiyaraaja owing to creative differences.

Accolades

Controversy

Despite Ilaiyaraaja's music being critically acclaimed, he also met with staunch criticism from classical musicians over the song "Mari Mari Ninne", claiming that he changed the original Kambhoji raga (which the song was set in) to Saramathi for this film. In his book A Southern Music: The Karnatik Story, Carnatic singer T. M. Krishna felt the film version destroyed the essence of the original composition.

References

1. "Sindhu Bairavi". Spotify. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
2. "Sindhu Bhairavi Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraaja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
3. "Sindhu Bhairavi". Gaana. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
4. ^ Dhananjayan 2014, p. 287.
5. ^ "பாலச்சந்தர் - இளையராஜா வெற்றிக்கூட்டணி" [Balachander and Ilaiyaraaja's successful alliance]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 25 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
6. ^ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (31 January 2012). "An occasion to cherish". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
7. ^ கண்ணன், சுரேஷ் (5 January 2023). "சிந்து பைரவி: வெகுஜன படத்தில் கர்னாடக சங்கீதம்; சிவகுமார், சுஹாசினி நடித்த பாலசந்தரின் மாஸ்டர்பீஸ்!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
8. Mani, Charulatha (10 May 2013). "Light and melodious". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
9. Saravanan, T. (20 September 2013). "Ragas hit a high". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
10. Mani, Charulatha (14 October 2011). "A Raga's Journey: Kinetic Kalyani". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
11. Srinivasan, Anil (1 June 2013). "The King and I". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
12. Sundararaman 2007, p. 154.
13. Mani, Charulatha (14 February 2014). "A rare treat". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
14. Sundararaman 2007, p. 151.
15. Mani, Charulatha (3 January 2014). "The Priya principle". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
16. Sundararaman 2007, p. 161.
17. ^ Rajamani, Rajesh (7 June 2020). "To Appreciate Ilaiyaraaja's Anti-Caste Politics, You Have To Listen To His Music". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
18. Shiva Kumar, S. (29 May 1987). "Ilayaraja: Music is my fate". The Indian Express. p. 12. Retrieved 23 December 2022 – via Google News Archive.
19. "ராஜா ராஜாதான் தொடர் – சிவக்குமார் 7–03–18 | அபிநயத்துடன் கூடிய பாடல்!". Dinamalar (in Tamil). Nellai. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
20. Raman, Venkat (13 February 2020). "Young Mridangist impresses music aficionados in Chennai". Indian Newslink. New Zealand. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
21. ^ Nathan, Archana (31 January 2019). "Audio master: 'Sindhu Bhairavi' is an ode to the absence of boundaries in music". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
22. மாதேவன், சந்தோஷ் (11 December 2019). "'நேர்கொண்ட பார்வை', 'சூரரைப் போற்று', 'புதுமைப் பெண்'... தமிழ் சினிமாவும் பாரதியார் ரெஃபரென்ஸும்!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
23. ^ "Master of melody". Frontline. 10 September 1993. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
24. "33rd National Film Festival" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
25. Krishna 2017, pp. 252–254.

Further reading

• Dhananjayan, G. (2014). Pride of Tamil Cinema: 1931–2013. Blue Ocean Publishers. OCLC 898765509.
• Sundararaman (2007) . Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.
• Krishna, T. M. (2017) . A Southern Music: The Karnatik Story. HarperCollins. ISBN 978935277298-8.

• 1985 soundtrack albums
• Ilaiyaraaja soundtracks
• Tamil film soundtracks