While the time at which the song was played was ironical, the lines are captivating. These are the pick of the lyrics.
“நல்ல பொழுதையெல்லாம் தூங்கிக் கெடுத்தவர்கள்
நாட்டைக் கெடுத்ததுடன் தானும் கெட்டார்.
சிலர், அல்லும் பகலும் வெறும் கல்லாய் இருந்துவிட்டு
‘அதிர்ஷ்டம் இல்லை’ என்று அலட்டிக்கொண்டார்.
விழித்துக்கொண்டோரெல்லாம் பிழைத்துக்கொண்டார்;
உன் போல் குரட்டை விட்டோரெல்லாம் கோட்டைவிட்டார்!”
Roughly translates to “Those who wasted the time at their disposal harmed not just themselves, but society. And while they were just lazy and inactive, they had the gall to critize Lady Luck for turning her back on them. The industrious reaped the benefits deservedly, while the laggards were just left behind.”
And while Kannadasan is unparalleled as a lyricist, Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram is not too far behind, what say?
P.S.: The song is from the 1958 movie, Naadodi Mannan, which also marked MGR’s directorial debut. Incidentally, the movie was re-released in Tamil Nadu last year and ran to packed houses for 2 months. (It is one of the few MGR movies that I have missed!)
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Tags: Kannadasan, lyrics, MGR, Naadodi Mannan, Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram
Not sure if all the songs in naadodi mannan were penned by PK. But, the song “Maanai Thedi Macchan Vara Porandi”, is a real real classic.
Other trivia about Naadodi Mannan:
Sakkarapani, MGR’s brother acted as one of the villaians in this movie.
Film is partly in eastman colour. (starting with Saroja devi’s introduction song “maanai thedi” in the second half)
MGR acted in two roles for which Banumathi was the other pair. She was pregnant when the movie was being made and her character gets killed in the middle of the movie (inspiration for TV serials today??)
As per MGR formula, if his pair gets killed in the movie, he will not pair with her again. So, BR and MGR never paired together (in films..he he) after this.
Naadodi Mannan is a eminently watchable MGR movie unlike films that came later like “Idhayakani” types which were made to glorify MGR to attract voters and is irritating when we see now.
One tid-bit about the song that I know:
Kannadaasan was the “Aasthana” kavignar for MGR those days and MGR was getting annoyed with Kavignar’s schedule due to W & W. One day Kavignar was late as usual for the session and MGR decided to drop him for the project.
So, he called Pattukottai and asked to write such a song that Kannadasan would repent..And apparently, Kannadasan appreciated the song and moved on as usual
:)
Thanks, Prasad and Mohan for your informative comments.
Prasad, I’m racking my brains to find if there is an exception to the rule that MGR won’t cast a heroine again whose character dies in a movie.
Mohan, to add to your point… MGR, I think, was active in the Congress Party in the early days, before joining the DMK. Kannadasan however stayed on with the Congress, and the ideological / political differences meant that MGR sidelined Kannadasan totally; thus Vaali became MGR’s aasthana kavignar.
Some suggest that the one bad characteristic in MGR was that he would (strive to) vanquish those he did not like. The comedian Chandrababu is cited as an example.
OK, Wikipedia to the rescue.MGR’s filmography shows that Banumathi did star against MGR in a movie after Nadodi Mannan (1958). The movie is Kalai Arasi (1962), which I haven’t heard of.
Another exception is that Saroja Devi acted opposite MGR in Thaaikku Thalaimagan, which is listed after Arasa Kattalai; but in Arasa Kattalai, Saroja Devi plays some ilavarasi who dies in the climax. Incidentally, Thaaikku Thalaimagan is the last MGR-SarojaDevi pairing.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.....ilmography
Excellent , the current generation reviving the old songs ,which were precious, also listen this
Chinnappayale Chinnappayale [ Lyrics ]
Movie Name : Arasilang Kumari (1961)
Singer : Sounderarajan T M
Music Director : Ramanathan G
Lyrics : Kalyanasundaram P
Year : 1961
Actors : MGR
http://www.musicindiaonline.co.....As1NMvHdW/
vow..VK…thanks for this new info…i was told about this formula stuff by an ardent MGR fan..
now i will fight him with facts
Nice trivia.
Hello ,
My name is Pradeep Balu Grandson Of thiru MGR
Good Arugument