Only a handful of them survived amidst stiff competition - it can be attributed to sheer talent, luck, being-at-right-place and many other factors. But, I honestly don't know whether this new trend is good for music or more so for the music lovers of Tamil Cinema...
I'm an ardent fan OR you can even say worshiper of the Great Maestro Ilayaraja sir and will go for hours without sleep or food hearing his compositions sung by another Great SPB...Just the first 1-2 seconds of any of those songs is enough, I can recognize (in 90% of cases) the film, actors, the specific scene, etc. Such was the uniqueness of SPB's voice...and so was KJJ and the second level players like Jeyachandran, Mano, Malaysia...
Well, I stopped the last para with the second level ONLY...there is a reason for that...and that's the reason why I'm writing this post in the first place...
I am sure many of you would have heard this song 'thendral ennai muthamittathu' from the film 'oru oodai nathiyagiruathu'. I do not recollect hearing any other song from the singer of this song Krishnachandar. I personally enjoy listening to this song again and again and again for his voice; no need to mention the default reason that this song was composed by the Great God!!
I do not know the behind-the-scene stories why Krishna Chandar or the 'third' or 'fourth' level singers did not get enough opportunity. But what I do know is there is this unwritten monopoly that only SPB gets to sing almost all the songs - super-duper hit, average hit, mediocre hit, yet-another-song-types. And, occasionally we hear the voices of Jeyachandran or Mano or Malaysia; I'm keeping KJJ out of this discussion as he's a singer of different league...
Now, don't take me wrong that I'm trying to make some allegations against the Great SPB...I should be completely out-of-my-mind if I ever do that...As much ever I worship the Maestro, my affection and respect towards SPB is no lesser.
Yet, the disturbing facts I heard is that he did not encourage nor support the idea of film makers and MDs trying out new talents during his PRIME time...be it a fact or just yet another rumor, but it makes perfect logical sense why we did not get to hear as many songs from the likes of Krishna Chandar or Jeyachandran or even Mano...
...Could there be any replacement to Jeyachandran to sing 'mayanginen solla thayanginen'??...
I am simply glued to the TV set every Saturday to not miss out even a single word from the Great SPB in his 'Ennodu Paattu Paadungal' program...those golden moments of past he shares and those interesting stories he tells about IR, I would be so thrilled to hear him speak every single time...And the suggestions he gives to the performers and the socio-conscious requests he makes towards the end of each episode, I am 200% sure, they come from his heart and he says that in the best interest of budding talents!!
Why not the same when he was at his PEAK and reached the heights that no one ever would have reached?? Is it because, as an youngster he did not have that broad-mindedness that he's now?
Once again, this writing is more from the perspective of an hard-code yet disturbed fan, rather than a critic trying to accuse or belittle the Living Legend!!
He is still deprived of the 'Bharat Ratna' he deserves for a long time!!
