JOIN USWhat makes Rajan-Nagendra melodies unforgettable?
Rajan, the music composer who died on Sunday, was the elder of two brothers who produced stylish Kannada film songs for close to five decades.
Rajan-Nagendra excelled at two styles: love songs with upbeat orchestral arrangements, and sentimental songs that drew on classical and sugama sangeeta traditions. Here is a selection thats show how they produced wholesome popular music.
Baanallu neene, bhuviyallu neene
Perhaps no other song showcases the sweet of Rajan-Nagendra as this solo from Bayalu Daari (1977). Sung by S Janaki and based on raga Shudh Kalyan, it has the same lilt as Rasika balma from Chori Chori and Yaava janmada maitri from Gowri. The ornamentations are evocative of thumri and bhavageete singing. You hear similar cadences in Karunaalu baa belake, a bhavageete sung by Rathnamala Prakash to a Mysore Ananthaswamy tune, also based on Shuddh Kalyan. Kanasaloo neene and Elliruve are other memorable hits from Bayalu Daari.
Naavaaduva nudiye Kannada nudi
Rajan-Nagendra reigned in the 1970s, contributing significantly to the box-office success of many films. Gandhada Gudi (1973) brought Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan together on screen for the first and last time. One song from this film, Naavaaduva nudiye Kannada nudi, has outlasted the others, becoming an anthem. No Rajyotsava is complete, to this day, without this P B Sreenivas solo being played on the radio and sung at street-corner celebrations.
Ninna mareyalaare
The toss-up for best song in the Rajkumar-Lakshmi starrer Naa Ninna Mareyalaare is between Ellelli nodali and the title song, both flamboyant melodies. Chi Udayashankar developed an easy Kannada idiom for his lyrics, and Rajan-Nagendra excelled at turning them into breezy numbers. Sample two lines from Ninna mareyalaare, beginning Nooru maatu eke olavige... (Lakshmi: Why speak a hundred words? A look is enough in love. Rajkumar: Your picture fills my eyes/I can’t even find my way.) Notice the almost total absence of the tabla in many of Rajan-Nagendra love songs after this film. They used drums and congas instead.
Notadaage nageya meeti
For Parasangada Gendethimma (1976), starring Lokesh and Reeta Anchan, Rajan-Nagendra attempted a switch in style, as seen in this song. The ‘70s was a decade of experimentation, and B V Karanth and C Aswath were making folk music-inspired background scores for films based on critically acclaimed literary works. The big names of Kannada literature, including Bhyrappa, Karnad, Ananthamurthy, Lankesh, were in one way or the other engaging with cinema as a form. For Gendethimma, based on a story by Krishna Alanahalli, Rajan-Nagendra created a score inspired by the ‘arthouse’ music of the time. Tera eri ambaradaage was the other big radio favourite, and both songs were written by Doddarange Gowda in a rustic dialect that starkly contrasted with Chi Udayashankar’s urban idiom.
Baadi hoda balliyinda
Rajan-Nagendra didn’t make too many melancholic songs, and this one, from Eradu Kanasu, is perhaps the best among the few that they did. Sung by P B Sreenivas, it is shot on Rajkumar, who plays a brooding professor. A couple of Chi Udayashankar’s lines are inspired by the Basavanna vachana ‘Ole hatti uridade’, and the lyrics again stand out for their craft. All songs in the film qualify for a ‘best of Rajan-Nagendra’ list, in fact. Indu enage Govinda is a Raghavendra Swami devaranama based on ragas Bhairavi and Ranjani, and Poojisalende would fall in the ‘semi-classical’ category. With the sensuous Tam nam tam nam, these songs showcase S Janaki’s versatility. And the duet Endenu ninnanu maretu would any day make it to the ‘greatest Kannada film songs of all time’ list.
Olida jeeva joteyaliralu
Rajan-Nagendra made music for a series of Anant Nag-Lakshmi romance dramas, directed by Dorai-Bhagavan, and this song is from Benkiya Bale (1983). The director-duo was prolific, making 50 films, and fond of this composer-duo. The songs Rajan-Nagendra created for Anant Nag-Lakshmi films hark back to the bhavageete style. Olida jeeva is based on raga Hamsanandi, popular in that season, with Ilaiyaraaja using it for Raga deepam etrum in the Tamil film Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982) and the Telugu film Vedam anuanuvulo naadam (1983). Rajan-Nagendra’s Nudisalu neenu from Gaali Maatu (1981) adapts the movements of raga Jogkauns. Bisilaadarenu maleyaadarenu, sung by S P Balasubrahmanyam, best represents the songs of this period. SPB and S Janaki, who sang these numbers, were an inseparable part of Rajan-Nagendra projects.
Neera bittu nelada mele
Among the Vishnuvardhan films Rajan-Nagendra scored music for, Hombisilu (1978), with lyrics by Geethapriya, had some of their most popular songs. Neera bittu and Jeeva veene are songs with SPB at his youthful best. This is also the film where the composers arrived at a distinctive sound that delighted in an orchestra of soaring violins and flutes, and an occasional sax passage.
Nagu nagutaa nee baruve
Rajkumar sang some of Rajan-Nagendra’s most delightful songs. Girikanye (1977) showed how Rajkumar brought his theatrical, spoken-word interjections to their cheerful tunes. Nagu nagutaa nee baruve and Thai thai thai thai bangaari are happy numbers, continuing in the upbeat mood of Kalla Kulla (1975), in which ‘Naa haadalu’ and ‘Sutta mutta yaaroo illa’ stood out.
Yaaru yaaru nee yaaru
Sung by composer Nagendra and Jamuna Rani, this is a fun song, with the focus on comedian Narasimha Raju. The brothers debuted in 1952, and this song was featured in Ratnamanjari, which came 10 years later. Their sense of spooky drama returned when they composed ‘Bidenu ninna paada,’ this time for horror film Naa Ninna Bidalaare (1979), in which the heroine is in a frenzy to fight off a malevolent spirit.
Aadu Aata Aadu
Some songs made early in their career are remembered fondly: Halliyaadarenu Shiva (Mayor Muthanna, 1969) for its stoic musing and simple melody, and Aadu aata aadu (Kulla Agent 000, 1972) for being the only Kannada song sung by Kishore Kumar. Their post-90s work sounds jaded, but their playlist all the way till the late '80s yields many gems.
375 films over five decades
Hailing from Mysuru, brothers Rajanna and Nagendrappa began working in films in 1952, taking inspiration from their father, who used to play the harmonium live to accompany silent films. They took on the screen name of Rajan-Nagendra. Rajan, who played the violin, was 87 when he died in Bengaluru on Sunday. Nagendra, who died in 2000, was a singer and jaltarang player. They composed music for 375 films, 200 of them in Kannada.