Recording of Title Music of Soorakkottai Singakutty - Part-3

The afternoon session continued with the re-recordings of the same film.

Before new screening started, clips of the re-recordings of morning session was screened just to have re-look what the final product is!

At this time, I had the pinch!

Because, I could sense, what appeared and remained a terrific stand-alone music in the morning, now got merged with the dialogues also, and I felt that, music is taking slightly a back seat! The majestic mind-and-ear-blowing sound of brass and percussions looked somewhat throttled now!

As a hard-core musical fan of IR, that was not acceptable to me! Just now, I heard the best part of it, and now itself, even in the primary Source theatre itself, it looks/hears somewhat subdued !

If so, what will happen when the another tracks of special effects (like dishyum–dishyum, ah- ooh , aah etc) are added, and again further distortion during Master print to Copies and finally when it lands in our theatre, what we are hearing will not even be 60% !

Really, a crushing depression set inside me at that moment!

Anyway, that’s part of the game! I wondered, even as a layman, I could feel like this, what would be the thinking of IR-like creator- experts!

For how many years he is sustaining all these non-senses and still keeping his spirit of creativity at its highest !

After that, a few more small clippings were screened and re-recordings completed in fast paced manner.

Then came the screening of titles of the film.

Again as a collage of some scenes, some title cards, some blank-fill-ups (which is to adjust the timing or some other titles to be written later etc), the basic canvas was ready and screened.

It was really lifeless to see such visuals without any sound and music, as we witnessed there!

But the Master had other things running inside his mind.

Within few minutes after the screen went blank and lights were on, he went on his writing mode! All the people started copying in their notebook.
This time the rehearsal and screening went side by side!

When the music joined the title being projected, I was simply awe-struck !

What I saw few minutes ago as just mere titles or some visuals, now with music, it conveyed some meaning, some emotions, some pre-determined sections etc within those titles also!

The parts, he made now me to feel were:

• Initially, a few introductory slides like the Name of Productions, Presenters etc first in English and then in Tamil, form the first section of the title cards.
  Secondly, the impact of the Name of the Hero, heroines and then other main actors are indicated. Here naturally, it needed the punch in the form of music also!
• Then came all the other titles of actors, assistants etc.
• Then next level of title cards show the Main technicians like, Cinematographer, Editor, Music Director etc etc.
• Then finally came the climax titles of Producer and the Director!

Kindly believe me, the music he created in minutes, just like that, had all these sections and punches and rhythm changes etc etc all were exactly fitting the in and out of these title cards!

Many of these, were directly or indirectly related to the various re-recordings he was doing in the fore noon session as well as some of the songs that were part of that film!

Particularly, all of a sudden, for a specific portion of the titles, he changed the previously composed music and told the key board player and the drummer “Viji & Puru play that Tempo”. (I have to write a separate posting on all these wonderful people there !)

I didn’t know what these code languages were, but they immediately switched over to a fantastic speedy mode of music, which would have made anybody to dance automatically anything.

The sound and clarity in a recording hall, you will never never ever get it anywhere outside at any time, whatever sound system you may have !

Later, I realized that this piece of tempo was part of the song “Onnum Theriyaadha Paappa” from the same film !

It was an instant decision and change but fit the titles like anything!

Then started the rigorous process of takes and re-takes. The whole title music process started around 4-30 PM or so in the evening and went on till 7 PM in the night !

Thus, it took around more than 2 to 3 hours to finish a 5 to 7 minutes piece of film titles!

There were other things were also rolling in that hall in between which made me also to roll and jolt!

Being the final stage of any film making, by the time of title music re-recording started, many VIPs started coming and occupying the recording theatre in the console room!

Actor Prabhu was one main VIP whom I remember now. Then another gentleman, who started moving here and there in the recording hall itself was Shri Gangai Amaran.

In fact he took up a guitar and started playing along with the rhythm guitar section also for some time!

The GA , known to me are through the journals, and also the jovial comperer of any IR live orchestra, who was famous for his “kadi-jokes” etc.

So when he saw a stranger like me inside the hall with a surprised look, I just smiled and kept quite. But after some time, during the break, I saw him talking to some security/ assistant type of people and enquiring about me in sign language.

Now I got trembled ! So, the ultimate has come!

It was a pity, that if I could be allowed for a few more minutes, I could see that title music recording also full.

That inevitable thing anyway happened !

When, after the break, the next level rehearsal/take started, and IR was inside the hall, I saw somebody was just approaching me. In a quite hushing tone he asked me to vacate the hall.

From where I got the strength I didn’t know ! Since I had to lose nothing further, I just told him that I was admitted by IR, and on his permission only I am continuing there !

Now that fellow got into some dilemma and went back. Again I saw him approaching IR itself this time !

My blood started flowing in such pressure and I could hear my heart’s beat myself ! Not only that the fear of humiliation of getting evacuated, but the guilty feeling that I have became another distraction in IR’s concentrated working, both haunted me!

When the security assistant whispered something in IR’s ears, even without seeing me, IR waved his head and said something to that fellow!

So, now I have to know the IR’s reaction through the action of this fellow! But God’s grace, or its IR’s grace, that fellow just disappeared from the scene.

In the next moment of break, he just approached and asked to take some chair provided there in another corner, and be seated there rather standing there which may distract others !

So after nearly 10 hours of inside the studio I got regularised and watched the remaining title recordings peacefully!

Finally, IR asked the team to play Sa-Pa-Sa and thus came the ending! IR as usual vanished !

And I am slowly picking my bags and other things and started walking out of hall !

The hungry stomach started pinching me, but I was just humming the title tempo music and started walking out of the studio on the Vada Palani road!

The Day ended ! Not those Memories !