Hey Guys..
It was really an excellent darshan at Sabarimala this time. There was hardly any rush and we had the opportunity to gaze on the lord's idol till we could not take any more.. Thanks to Jaggu for roping me in.. This trip also was a self-realization for me as to what 4-5 additional kgs of weight can do to your stamina. This was my toughest trek to this temple, literally i was not able to climb.. Hmm i should start looking at trimming down.. Though the trip was quite hectic, it has been one of the very very satisfying trips i ever had.
One more cherish-able moment of this trip was the co-passenger on my return trip from Trivandrum to Chennai.. Guess who it was..
It was none other than the person who sang "Poongatrile Un swasathy thaniyaga"
Yes it was Unni Menon.. Though i was literally tired and just wanted to sleep, the mere presence of Unni gave me a kick and we started conversing about music.....
Here are some snippets of our conversation
Ajit: Hello, Mr. Unni Menon, what a pleasant surprise to have you as my co-passenger..
Unni: Hello.. You are returning from Sabarimala is it ? How was the darshan ? How was the crowd ?
Ajit: We had a very good darshan and thanks to my friends sitting on the other side of the aisle who performed Padi puja and took me along with them.
Ajit - What is the reason for your conspicuous absence in the recent Tamil movies ?
Unni - There are lot of youngsters and seems music directors want to experiment with them and also not have to pay a bomb. Also some of the music directors preference for north Indian singers. Though there are lot of new singers the industry is so huge that every body is very busy
Ajit : Hmm.. but we definitely miss your voice
Unni: Recently also i sang a song with Chitra for the movie 180 degrees. It was by composer Sharath and he is a genius
Ajit : Hmm. Joshua Sridhar's compositiono f Veppam is also very good, Thaman's "Kadhalalil sodaphuvathu eppadi is also very good", he has started turning great from "Eeram"
Unni: Joshua is really good but does very selectively, Thaman is also shaping up well.
Ajit: Ya 180 degree music was quite excellent.. I guess he is from Malayalam industry right..
Unni: Yes and it is very difficult to enter others territory
Ajit - But we really miss your voice...
Unni - Thatz why we are doing lot of concerts these days
Ajit - Who are your favorite Music composers
Unni - Of course Raja sir and Rahman.. Though Raja is not able to give the same magic these days. Harris has become very repetitive
Ajit : Yes, even with Dhoni Raja-sir was not able to weave his magic at least from my perspective, but in each of his albums at least one song is great. In fact his albums / movies with Bala it has couple of impressive songs.. For eg. In Pithamagan there was song "Ilangatru veesuthe", and in "Naan kadavul" the song "Om Siva om" was excellent..
Rahman with VTV had a big transformation
Unni: Did you hear Rock star ?
Ajit : Yes, i liked the "SADDA HAQ" was simply out of the world
Unni: With Rock star Rahman has given something totally different from traditional ones
Ajit: and Rahman seems to have the knack of identifying the right talent and make best use of it.. Like Mohit chauhan has been used extensively in Rock star
Unni: True, some times he makes them sing quite a lot of songs..
Ajit - What do you think about these television channel super singer programs
Unni - It is good in a way and but it is getting repetitive. With all these voice trainers etc it is getting quite complex and pressure to the children.
Ajit - What do you think about the last season of airtel super singer
Unni - It was a gross mistake that saicharan was selected when everybody know that Satyprakash was the most versatile singer.. I have made my opinion loud and clear to Vijay TV on this.
Ajit: Though Satya prakash lost it, he sang really well in the new movie 3 by aishwarya Dhanush
Unni - Is it? Has he sung a song in 3 ?
Ajit : Yes he sang the faster version of "Po nee Po" and did a good job
Unni: Hmm
Ajit: The slow version was sung by Mohit chauhan and i felt that Satya would have done a good job on the slow version rather than the faster one..
Unni : Probably
Ajit : Plz. do tell me about your recent projects
Unni: My recent malayalam movie Beautiful has done well and i have got good accolades for the same. I have also acted in the movie. I am also acting in one more movie
Ajit: Tell me something about your entry into music
Unni: I was working in HVF Avadi and one fine day i decided that to hell with this office work and i want to get into music and thatz when i started loitering around studios looking for opportunities. Luckily i made it..
Ajit : Wow thatz really great to hear that somebody was able to shun a good settled central govt job and pursue his passion and also make it big.
Unni: Probably that was the stupidest decision but it worked for me
Ajit: How did Rahman find you?
Unni: I was recording in his studio and one fine day i got a call from him and it just happened
Ajit: What are your passions /Hobbies other than music ?
Unni: Music is my passion and i seldom get any time for doing other things
Ajit : Do you also coach people?
Unni: No.. Thatz a big commitment and with my recording and schedules it is very difficult
Ajit: At what age did you start training for music ?
Unni: Actually i started learning conventional music only after i came into cinema.. Probably only after i sang 20-25 songs i started taking formal sessions..
Ajit : Wow thatz great and that really a big news.. SPB was also not a trained signer till he came into cinema
Unni: Yes the only difference is SPB always wanted to be a singer where as Singing as a profession happened to me at a very later phase
Ajit: How do you maintain your voice timbre?
Unni: Discipline.. I am total tea totler.. No partying and no drinks..
Unni: Did you hear the songs of "3"?
Ajit : Yes and probably the Kolaveri song is the most sub-standard song in it. In this album my favourite has is "Kaan azhaga, Kaal Azhla " sung by Shruthi & Dhanush himself. If you excuse Shruthi's Tamil pronunciation the song by Shruthi and Dhanush is very melodious and they have given a good life to the song.
Unni: Kolaveri was a pretty good marketing act... Shruthi was trained in Western and hence the challenge..
Finally the journey came to an end...
Unni: I did't get your name
Ajit : Ajit and he is my friend Jagadesh and his Boss Nageswaran
Ajit : Thanks Mr.Unni Menon It was really a pleasure to have conversed with you and i really should say this.. You have enthralled so many of us through you voice and wish you all the very best..Looking forward to more songs from you in Tamil.
Unni: Welcome..
We parted ways and headed to baggage collection in chennai.. While we were waiting for our baggage to arrive, a tower personality was passing by in the adjacent baggage collection area.. Jaggu spotted him and it was none other than Venkatesh.. Man he looks too smart and great for his age.. Pefect Gym body and stylish clothes that gel with his physique..
After a long wait our bags finally arrived and headed home...
Note:This is purely my version of the interaction and has not been shared with Mr.UnniMenon, Just being cautious.. :-) :-) :-)
----End-----
It was really an excellent darshan at Sabarimala this time. There was hardly any rush and we had the opportunity to gaze on the lord's idol till we could not take any more.. Thanks to Jaggu for roping me in.. This trip also was a self-realization for me as to what 4-5 additional kgs of weight can do to your stamina. This was my toughest trek to this temple, literally i was not able to climb.. Hmm i should start looking at trimming down.. Though the trip was quite hectic, it has been one of the very very satisfying trips i ever had.
One more cherish-able moment of this trip was the co-passenger on my return trip from Trivandrum to Chennai.. Guess who it was..
It was none other than the person who sang "Poongatrile Un swasathy thaniyaga"
Yes it was Unni Menon.. Though i was literally tired and just wanted to sleep, the mere presence of Unni gave me a kick and we started conversing about music.....
Here are some snippets of our conversation
Ajit: Hello, Mr. Unni Menon, what a pleasant surprise to have you as my co-passenger..
Unni: Hello.. You are returning from Sabarimala is it ? How was the darshan ? How was the crowd ?
Ajit: We had a very good darshan and thanks to my friends sitting on the other side of the aisle who performed Padi puja and took me along with them.
Ajit - What is the reason for your conspicuous absence in the recent Tamil movies ?
Unni - There are lot of youngsters and seems music directors want to experiment with them and also not have to pay a bomb. Also some of the music directors preference for north Indian singers. Though there are lot of new singers the industry is so huge that every body is very busy
Ajit : Hmm.. but we definitely miss your voice
Unni: Recently also i sang a song with Chitra for the movie 180 degrees. It was by composer Sharath and he is a genius
Ajit : Hmm. Joshua Sridhar's compositiono f Veppam is also very good, Thaman's "Kadhalalil sodaphuvathu eppadi is also very good", he has started turning great from "Eeram"
Unni: Joshua is really good but does very selectively, Thaman is also shaping up well.
Ajit: Ya 180 degree music was quite excellent.. I guess he is from Malayalam industry right..
Unni: Yes and it is very difficult to enter others territory
Ajit - But we really miss your voice...
Unni - Thatz why we are doing lot of concerts these days
Ajit - Who are your favorite Music composers
Unni - Of course Raja sir and Rahman.. Though Raja is not able to give the same magic these days. Harris has become very repetitive
Ajit : Yes, even with Dhoni Raja-sir was not able to weave his magic at least from my perspective, but in each of his albums at least one song is great. In fact his albums / movies with Bala it has couple of impressive songs.. For eg. In Pithamagan there was song "Ilangatru veesuthe", and in "Naan kadavul" the song "Om Siva om" was excellent..
Rahman with VTV had a big transformation
Unni: Did you hear Rock star ?
Ajit : Yes, i liked the "SADDA HAQ" was simply out of the world
Unni: With Rock star Rahman has given something totally different from traditional ones
Ajit: and Rahman seems to have the knack of identifying the right talent and make best use of it.. Like Mohit chauhan has been used extensively in Rock star
Unni: True, some times he makes them sing quite a lot of songs..
Ajit - What do you think about these television channel super singer programs
Unni - It is good in a way and but it is getting repetitive. With all these voice trainers etc it is getting quite complex and pressure to the children.
Ajit - What do you think about the last season of airtel super singer
Unni - It was a gross mistake that saicharan was selected when everybody know that Satyprakash was the most versatile singer.. I have made my opinion loud and clear to Vijay TV on this.
Ajit: Though Satya prakash lost it, he sang really well in the new movie 3 by aishwarya Dhanush
Unni - Is it? Has he sung a song in 3 ?
Ajit : Yes he sang the faster version of "Po nee Po" and did a good job
Unni: Hmm
Ajit: The slow version was sung by Mohit chauhan and i felt that Satya would have done a good job on the slow version rather than the faster one..
Unni : Probably
Ajit : Plz. do tell me about your recent projects
Unni: My recent malayalam movie Beautiful has done well and i have got good accolades for the same. I have also acted in the movie. I am also acting in one more movie
Ajit: Tell me something about your entry into music
Unni: I was working in HVF Avadi and one fine day i decided that to hell with this office work and i want to get into music and thatz when i started loitering around studios looking for opportunities. Luckily i made it..
Ajit : Wow thatz really great to hear that somebody was able to shun a good settled central govt job and pursue his passion and also make it big.
Unni: Probably that was the stupidest decision but it worked for me
Ajit: How did Rahman find you?
Unni: I was recording in his studio and one fine day i got a call from him and it just happened
Ajit: What are your passions /Hobbies other than music ?
Unni: Music is my passion and i seldom get any time for doing other things
Ajit : Do you also coach people?
Unni: No.. Thatz a big commitment and with my recording and schedules it is very difficult
Ajit: At what age did you start training for music ?
Unni: Actually i started learning conventional music only after i came into cinema.. Probably only after i sang 20-25 songs i started taking formal sessions..
Ajit : Wow thatz great and that really a big news.. SPB was also not a trained signer till he came into cinema
Unni: Yes the only difference is SPB always wanted to be a singer where as Singing as a profession happened to me at a very later phase
Ajit: How do you maintain your voice timbre?
Unni: Discipline.. I am total tea totler.. No partying and no drinks..
Unni: Did you hear the songs of "3"?
Ajit : Yes and probably the Kolaveri song is the most sub-standard song in it. In this album my favourite has is "Kaan azhaga, Kaal Azhla " sung by Shruthi & Dhanush himself. If you excuse Shruthi's Tamil pronunciation the song by Shruthi and Dhanush is very melodious and they have given a good life to the song.
Unni: Kolaveri was a pretty good marketing act... Shruthi was trained in Western and hence the challenge..
Finally the journey came to an end...
Unni: I did't get your name
Ajit : Ajit and he is my friend Jagadesh and his Boss Nageswaran
Ajit : Thanks Mr.Unni Menon It was really a pleasure to have conversed with you and i really should say this.. You have enthralled so many of us through you voice and wish you all the very best..Looking forward to more songs from you in Tamil.
Unni: Welcome..
We parted ways and headed to baggage collection in chennai.. While we were waiting for our baggage to arrive, a tower personality was passing by in the adjacent baggage collection area.. Jaggu spotted him and it was none other than Venkatesh.. Man he looks too smart and great for his age.. Pefect Gym body and stylish clothes that gel with his physique..
After a long wait our bags finally arrived and headed home...
Note:This is purely my version of the interaction and has not been shared with Mr.UnniMenon, Just being cautious.. :-) :-) :-)
----End-----
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