For the love of Tamil

Epdi irukkeenga? Nalla irukeengala? is how people addressed each other in Tamil, says music director M. Rajesh. “Now, it is sadly ‘hello, how are you,’” he rues. He shows his love for Tamil with his new album Tamilukku Magudam Sootuvom. “By popularising the album, I want more and more children to start conversing in Tamil . It is also to make them aware of culture and traditions.”

The title song has verses that go: Tamil mozhiyai inimael paesuvom (we shall speak in Tamil henceforth). “It is based on poet Bharathiar’s lines. Writer Priyan who has written songs for several Tamil films wrote the lyrics of the song. The song is now popular as a caller tune in mobile networks in Tamil Nadu,” he says. It is sung by Mukesh and DhanyaSri and the backing vocals are by Mahadevan Subramanian and another music director Vallavan Chandrashekaran. Music director Deva recently released the album.

Rajesh Muthupandian, who is from Coimbatore, has been a part of music industry for several years now. He has composed music for over 15 short films, telefilms and a number of ad jingles. His music in short films like Karka that dealt with parenting and Paei Seththu Pochu, a horror-comedy brought him recognition. Popular playback singers like KS Chitra, Mukesh, Pushpavanam Kuppusamy and Padmalatha have lent their voices to some of his compositions. As Rajesh awaits a big break in Tamil films, he continues to make music albums. His next album titled Amma puts the spotlight on motherhood and will release in July. And, there is Kolakaari that talks about love. “The music industry is highly competitive. Young music directors are experimenting a lot with techno music and resurrecting the gaana genre and giving it a Western touch. This is a big hit among the masses.” For this album though, Rajesh stuck to melody that is rendered in a folk style.

Rajesh is also a student of A.R Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory. “ I was in the first batch where I enrolled for a preparatory course in Hindustani Vocal. It was a great opportunity to learn from the legend. He always tells us to appreciate music from across the world, and to also understand the impact of digital recording. He would be there in the concert hall whenever we performed.”