Light and lively, they capture hearts

Light music troupes in the city continue to hold sway over audiences with their inventiveness. MALATHI RANGARAJAN chats with some of the well-known singers.

SPURN THEM as mere imitations, dismiss them as aural irritations or welcome them as interesting distractions — the point is, light music troupes in the city continue to grow unabated. Their burgeoning number only goes to show the popularity that these troupes and their music enjoy.

Be it regular public shows or wedding reception programmes, light music troupes are always in demand.

"Listening to a song live makes a great difference. And that is a major reason for people thronging light music shows,''say V.Lakshmanan and U.Ke.Murrali — two well-known names in the light music firmament. Also, the public like to know how close the singer's voice is to the original,'' feels Lakshmanan, whose Lakshman Sruthi has been in the fray for the past 15 years.

Light music has many takers but one has to accept the fact that it is a mere copy. ``There is no real challenge and hence, it cannot be completely satisfying to the singers", is the opinion of Durgaprasad, a yesteryear singer. ``If at all I sing cinema music again, it will be after I get a chance to sing the original,'' he categorically states, though with a smile.

And probably that is where S.N.Surendar and his ``Sugamana Ragangal,'' scores. The well-known dubbing artiste has been singing and acting on stage from childhood. He has sung for films too and some of the songs have been hits. Every show of mine has at least seven or eight numbers that I have sung in films. And since I have been the `voice' of the hero in many films I begin the song with the dialogue that precedes the sequence and this goes down very well with the audience,'' says Surendar.

This is a striking aspect of light music troupes today. Broadly speaking, all of them present cinema numbers, but each adopts ploys and innovations that sets them apart. Thus there is an element of uniqueness in their imitations.

If rendering existing compositions can be waved aside as sheer copying, every classical musician is also doing the same, say some. An interesting contention! Within the accepted parameters, a classical singer brings in his imaginative raga elaborations and swaraprastharas. Light music troupes attempt something on similar lines staying within the limitations.

"Subbudu once commented that what the original singer has done once for the recording of a song, we people have to do every time we are on stage — with the talam, sruti, expression and life (or jeevan) intact. Even he felt it is no mean feat,'' says A. V. Ramanan, a doyen on the light music stage for three decades and more.

Ramanan strongly believes that perfect audio arrangements can make or mar a troupe's performance. Acoustics has to be perfect. Regular rehearsals are absolutely essential. Ramanan's Musiano has monthly practice sessions because ``I would like to better even the original, as far as possible,'' he adds. He terms his music "popular music" and to him it is an art, not merely a means of earning money.

Musiano does not stick to Tamil numbers alone — Western, Hindi, Punjabi, the troupe renders all with the flavour of the original. "I work hard and put in sincere effort every time. In fact being too sincere has been my enemy,'' laughs Ramanan.

If popular music is what makes Ramanan stand apart, Sundar's `Ragapravaham' caters for all ages by bringing in a classical touch to cine melodies. Though the troupe has its list of new numbers, there are shows in which Sundar sticks to old, evergreen songs and presents them ragawise.

``My shows depend on the kind of audience we have to sing for on a given day,'' he says. Ragapravaham has a very rich repertoire of rare, unheard of popular numbers, from the time of P.U.Chinnappa and M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar to A.R.Rahman and Deva.``In fact, there are singers who like to join me for my shows because it gives them a chance to sing the rarest of numbers", adds Sundar.

Lakshmanan of the Lakshman Sruthi group, who began as a mimicry artiste,, made a mark by presenting shows that extended up to 36 hours at a stretch.

He is now gearing up for the 15th anniversary of Lakshman Sruti, which will incidentally be its 4,000th stage performance. He cites variety as the reason for his success.

Performing non-stop for hours on end is a speciality with him too, claims U.Ke.Murrali. But added to it are thematic or hero- based presentations that this troupe has been adopting for years now.

So we have Murrali's shows that concentrate solely on MGR, Vijay or SPB `hits'.

Murrali also has a way with the crowd. "With a cordless mike I walk down among the audience singing, and become one with them,'' says Murrali who has also turned to histrionics on the small screen with Bhagyaraj's serial on DD "Idhu Oru Kadhaiyin Kadhai".

`Abaswaram' Ramji who made people sit up and take notice with the sheer name he gave his troupe, is now a successful organiser of a unique all-kids group, ``Isai Mazhalai.''

"I have always wanted to be different. I first began with a Western music group called "Frustrations Amalgamated", guffaws this cheerful musician.

The idea of having an entire troupe exclusively of children (13 is the upper age limit of this troupe's singers) came to him when he anchored Raj TV's music-based shows. ``Finding girls is easier but with boys, it is generally the stage in life when voices break. So sruti becomes a problem,'' says Ramji who plans to go to the plane of serious music this December music season. He calls it `Bala Brahmam' wherein the kids would take up four ragas and render them in Carnatic, Western, Hindustani and folk styles.

A lot of research has gone into the project, he says. ``The point I'd like to make is, the children's studies are not affected in any way. I always ensure that,'' he says with satisfaction. "Also my informal interaction with the audience (in fact I was the one who began doing it first) is an important reason for my success,'' adds Ramji.

There is an oft-heard complaint about light music programmes these days. That manual orchestra is being replaced by sequenced tracks. ``In fact except for Indian instruments like the tabla, a keyboard today would suffice as accompaniment, and programmed music does exist", says Durgaprasad. ``Yes... that is why those of us who still strive to stick to manual orchestra, have to advertise and tell people that the orchestra is 100 per cent manual", says Ramanan.

"We have to use instruments live... otherwise just the singer would do. And then it will be more like a karaoke show or at best a solo devotional,'' argues Lakshmanan. Murrali contends that he has 30 members in his troupe and that a minimum of 10 to 15 rehearsals are done before each show.

"Basically, you can brand light music as just copying work, but when you go on stage after a thorough rehearsal and when people tell you that you were even better than the original.... the satisfaction is immeasurable''— S.N.Surendar sums it all up.

So whatever you feel about light music troupes and their popularity, you have to grant it to them, they are an innovative, thinking lot, always on the look-out for gimmicks that would keep them going.

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