Warning: This was written angrily, but as cautiously as I could, and finally, I didn’t feel like strangling a very small animal. So there are lotsa curse words there. Also, I don’t write formally to introduce who’s who, what, and all that. This is for those who know that industry. So, bear with this shit.
Today, I was incensed (nothing to do with the fact that I am staying right above a shop selling incense sticks) when I saw a TikTok clip of small and medium-sized music composer James Vasanthan berrating Ilayaraja, calling him "muttAL." That’s “idiot” for the uninitiated. Raaja fans must be aware that a shitload of attacks have occurred, especially after the sexual harasser referred to as the Emperor of Poetry has been making attacks on Ilayaraja.
Spiritualism shit.
Here’s the TikTok clip in which James Vasantham (Vasanthan? F*** I care) calls Raaja “Muttal” (idiot) for not recognising Jesus Christ because Raja believed that Ramana Maharishi went through the same die/resurrection grind that the Christian’s Lord supposedly went through. Raja didn’t believe in Christ. So were billions of others on earth, dude. And a great many percentages spend their lifetime ridiculing the Son of God, and even a bigger percentage of them are academics and scientists. James may call them idiots too.
But the point Vasanthi was making was more on spiritualism, and Raja spoke highly of the live, die, and resurrection shtick. There is a second part where he is praising Raja’s music and how much he was influenced by it, but he is angry with the religious comment Raja made in one event about the only person, according to the Maestro, who was resurrected being Ramana Maharishi. Waste-anthan felt this was insulting the Christian community.
Raja is hated for that.
Killing MSV market shit
Then, this Instagram (yes, I am all over social media), S.J. Suriya accuses Raja of crippling MSV’s market. I like S.J. Suriya as an actor only. Now, he should know that the man who introduced Raaja to the film world, Panju Arunachalam, is the right-hand man of Kannadhasan, who was like the blood brother of MSV, and Kannadhasan himself gave full backing to Raaja, who was scorned upon by the other snobbish (from high caste) composers, especially as Raaja hails from what they called the “backward community.”.
That didn’t stop the future Maestro. Raaja complemented the industry that’s filled with hate, bigotry, prejudice, sexism, and really, really poor taste with his low-key sound, mostly folksy delights from earlier years. Now, MSV, who was working on the Big Hero projects at the same time (circa mid-70s), namely Sivaji and the other guy, produced bombastic sounds, brassy, loud, and pleading for attention. Only when the budget is smaller, he'll pipe down and produce gems, especially for the likes of K. Balachander and Sridhar.
I used to have NO favourite Tamil film composer. I love most of the pre-90s dudes, and I listen to Raaja more because he had the most output out there and came with the films we were watching growing up. But I adore MSV’s composition. I am amazed with KV Mahadevan’s very carnatic-based stuff. There were earlier guys like Ramanathan and many others who produced timeless gems. And I don’t go around spewing character assasinating shit like what these guys are doing nowadays to Raaja. Who they are is their business. What they come up with is the transaction I am interested in. To reiterate, Raja never killed MSV’s market. MSV just faded out. But…Raja collaborated with MSV in 4 films: Mella Thiranthathu Kathathavu', 'Senthamizh Paatu' 'Vishwa Thulsi' and 'Senthamizh Selvan'.
Raja is hated for that.
Arrogance shit
Then comes the arrogance factor. Because he is being himself and not letting anyone walk all over him. Try being humble in real life, like really humble, and especially amongst the Indians; you never know when you either feel cold steel or leathery rod up your ass. That’s why Nadigar Thilagam held his head high, never letting those motherf**kers push him off the cliff, and Kamal Haasan knew it too well, because he has seen them all from the age of 5. They say he is arrogant too. In that case, Raaja is in great company.
His time is literally money. He keeps working, praying, meditating, eating whatever crumble he feasts on, and moving on to the next schedule. He has no time for pleasantries, sucking up, and all that crap. Say what you want, take it if it is offered, and scram.
Raja is hated for that.
Sings his own songs, one too many shit
During the day, Raaja composes up to three, four, and five. I don’t know how many films. It’s too demanding for the musicians and the singers when this man is ready with the notes to be handed. But in his studio, stuff works like clockwork; discipline is the thang there. I suppose you may even need to apply in advance, in writing, to go to the bathroom. It’s that tight a ship he was running.
He would first sing a demo track, pass it on to the singers when they arrived, and then look at the other work. But if the singer is gonna be late or not even turn up, he will sing the song himself in a proper take and move on to the next one. Why? Because fuck that shit, that’s why. He is committed to many producers, all of whom would literally be queueing outside his house, and he has to deliver or it will jeopardise the release date. Capish?
He is difficult to approach shit.
See above.
Rude shit
See arrogant shit.
The current composers shit
Each time Anirudh or GVP farts out a synth-based chewing guy, they get passed around like party marijuana till all have had their fill and are immediately forgotten. Those tunes don’t have legs to stand on, mostly wobble and hit their noses first on the floor. These synthesiser straddlers could only dream of achieving what Raaja achieved.
And we Raaja fans are only amused when the dwarfs start kicking our shins. To use the spiritual analogy, followers of big ass swamijis like Vivekananda or Ramakrishna should not be pissed when a temple priest bitches about those gurus. Just pat their backs and say, “pO, pOyee mani adi” (go and ring your bells, to paraphrase Anita Ward).
So far, Raaja has never responded to all this crap. He knows how to shut the eff up and attend to his job, which these morons don’t because they are not as busy as him anyway. But his cryptic lines on stage or during interviews reveals why he doesn’t have to respond to all that. He left the street pavement long ago and runs a corporation. He could only smile and wave emphatically at the roadside buskers from atop his suite floor.
And he’s hated for that?
Final shit
Look, he composed for thousands of films, working with thousands of musicians, technicians, artists, film crews, and hundreds of filmakers, producers, tea makers, and those who sweep and mop the studio. If he is the kind of person that some of these wonderful barrel scrapers claimed to be, he should not have had all those folks around him. They would have abandoned him at an orphanage.
Because they really would have hated him for all that.
