I have written about single songs rarely, but Ayyanar’s Paniye demands that honor. This is one song in recent times that I can truly call a homage to the Ilayaraja genre! And it is not by his sons, but by a rank outsider!
To be fair, it starts a bit too mod for comfort and it progresses to that awesome Raja styled rhythms only half halfheartedly in the first interlude. That non-Raja element is still prominent here. Meanwhile, Thaman introduces a bridge that starts with violins, that seem so Yuvan-like and then another slightly corny Raja’ish sound with the Raja style rhythms almost…only almost…showing themselves during a small discordant piece.
Even when Priyadarshini is singing, ‘Veettu suvaril un peyar’, the rhythms still haven’t reached the Raja’ish finesse. It is in the 2nd interlude that things go absolutely Raja-magical – this is the goosebump inducing moment like no other song in recent times, for me personally. There is a synth, to further create the Raja ambiance and the rhythm finally, fully takes on that Raja’esque note.
Thaman teases us with no rhythm when Priyadarshini sings, ‘Kaatril asayum sediyena’ and gradually continues the rhythm as she ends that line…this is yet another magical moment! The charanam here is stuff of legends, because the ‘Maadi valaivile’ portion is another brilliant turn that invokes Raja – complete with that tune and the backgrounds.
I do not know what director SS Rajamitran’s brief to Thaman was, for this song. And I also wonder if invoking Raja with such a nuanced precision was intentional. But thanks to Thaman for this minor joy!
As I ponder over this rhythm and Raja’esque sound, I still cannot pinpoint a single Raja song that reminds me of this song. Images of Amala and Rajinikant (separately, not together!) flash in my mind, but I’m still not able to locate a single track that has this sound.
