Jewels of Triplicane ~ Music Director DB Ramachandran

விநாயகனே  வினை தீர்ப்பவனே….

வேழ முகத்தோனே - ஞால முதல்வனே

விநாயகனே, வினை தீர்ப்பவனே

 

குணா நிதியே குருவே சரணம் 

குறைகள் களைய  இதுவே தருணம்

விநாயகனே    வினை தீர்ப்பவனே 

 

Chinnamani  a village youth is good in music and performs in all village temple festivals. Kanmani is a wealthy girl, and the only daughter of the village panchayat board president, is arrogant. Kanmani, who boasts of her wealth clashes often with Chinnamani  !! 

The movie ‘Amman Kovil Kizhakkale’ catapulted Vijayakanth to fame.  The songs of Illayaraja were a big hit – the movie pairing Radha was directed by R Sundarajan, was released in 1986, was a commercial success and its hero vijaykanth won the filmfare award too. 

In the movie hero plays Harmonium and the song ‘chinnamaani kuyile’ reverberated everywhere.  Not on cinema but on a harmonium player whom I know.  Harmonium,   is a keyboard instrument that is a lot like an organ. It makes sound by blowing air through reeds, which are tuned to different pitches to make musical notes.  In olden days, there would be pictures of legendary music director MS Viswanathan sitting in front of his harmonium.

 

Back in mid 1970s, I used to go to 108 TP Koil Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600005 almost daily  (we lived in opposite side house – No. 11) – in the ground floor PT Vijayaraghavan (Raghu swami) family resided and in the first floor was my schoolmate BR Balaji.  Remember, me, Balaji and Ramesh from Thavana uthsava bungalow going to Hindu High School together. 

 

BR’s father – Mr DB Ramachandran was a pleasing nice gentleman, tall, soft-spoken, very friendly and would sit with harmonium tuning in and singing some melodies.  At that age, I never knew or realized his genius is my misfortune.  Their family treated me (in fact everybody else) very friendly – he sometimes played carom board with me.  Theirs was a nice friendly family, DBR, his wife Shakunthala, daughters Rajathi & Usha and son Balaji.  They were good in music.  

Life of that era was very simple – people were mostly unassuming and the greatness of DBR was not felt that much by the neighbours !!  in between another tenant Singan along with Veeramani Raju and many others organized some amateur dramas (Swami Aiyappan, Mahabaratham and the like).  These were put up at Saraswati gana nilayam with audience of 100+; DBR volunteered to play harmonium setting the music.  Remember going with him to NKT Kala mandapam for couple of RS Manohar dramas.  Right in front of the stage would be the private enclosure strictly for musician and technicians – knowing DBR gave me some opportunity to go, sit inside and watch dramas from the closest quarter !!! 

Years later, when we moved out of TP koil street, and by that time Mr DBR too had passed away, I realized his greatness and how I had the opportunity to be with a man of such high stature, yet so unassuming friendly. 

DB Ramachandran was a genius of sorts – a great musician, a Harmonium player, was the Music director for more than a handful movies, had sung too and had been involved in many famous devotional albums of legend Sirkazhi Govindarajan – yet not many recognized him as he walked around the mada veethis of Triplicane.  

S Balachandar’s 1964 movie Bommai was a much acclaimed one.  The film was based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 British film Sabotage (an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent).  Hitchcock has been a source of inspiration to many filmmakers in several parts of the world, including India. Influenced by his style of filmmaking and onscreen narration, S. Balachandar, the multifaceted Tamil filmmaker, adapted Sabotage in Tamil, suitably changing the storyline for the local market. His movie was titled Bommai, the reason being that, as in the original British movie, the central character is a baby doll which a terrorist uses to plant a bomb and sends it through a boy.  For the Tamil audiences, Balachandar had a walking baby doll in which the bomb was concealed. It was taken in a car and exploded, killing all the villains and saving the hero (Balachandar), for whom the bomb was intended. 

Balachandar wrote the story and screenplay, while the dialogue and lyrics were written by his close associate Vidwan Ve. Lakshmanan. Of course, the music was composed by Balachandar.  The background music for this movie was by DB Ramachandran.    The song ‘Neeyum bommai naanum bommai', which was filmed on an old roadside beggar was sung by K Jesudoss.   Bommai was  a box office hit, scoring the much-coveted hundred-day run in many cinemas, winning critical appreciation. Today it is treated as a classic in the rare genre of suspense movies in Tamil. 

Recently while posting a pic-post of a monkey, was searching on ‘Manam oru kurangu’ and read that DB Ramachandran was the music director for this movie.   The movie had five songs – possibly you would have heard and seen ‘Beautiful Marvelous Excellent’  song sung by Dr Seerkazhi Govindarajan and LR Easwari.    

DB Ramachandran was born in 1928 at Madurai Bodinaickenur to Sri Balasubramani Iyer and Venkatalakshmi Ammal.  His elder brother Bairavan was a successful Tabela player.  DBR   was G.Ramanathan's assistant till GR's untimely death. He was among the  brilliant mainstay of GR's orchestra. Later he assisted the great S.Balachandar – and worked as Assistant to Subbiah Naidu, Saleel Choudhury.  

 

He had a great voice and a singer too.  He sang the   the lovely duet 'Naan yen varavendum' (Poonkothai- 1953), alongwith Jikki. He composed  music for a few films independently--Karpooram- 1967, Manam Oru Kurangu- 1967 & Magizhampoo- 1969. DBR composed several devotional albums, mostly with seergazhi Govindarajan. You must have definitely heard his 'Vinayagane vinai theerpavane' and ' Nee allal deivam illai'  

Read from an interesting article in Apr 2000 in Cinema Express by Vamanan (most details excerpted from that article) that he gave voice for Rama character in ‘Rama rajyam’ movie and also sang – ‘ Baratha desamathin narimani kathaiyai soluvome’ with Jikki.    

Understand that his marriage with Ms Shakunthala was conducted grandly at Triplicane Vasantha Uthsava Bunglow and Dr Sirkazhi Govindarajan sang at the reception. His sister in law Ms Ranganayaki was involved in running Saraswati Gana nilayam that taught classical dance and music to hundreds of children.  Shakunthala mami sang for Hemamalini dance programs and in 1980s travelled to Singapore and places accompanying her. DBR passed away in 1986.   His son BR Balaji is a mridungam player, who later became a Finance / Insurance consultant.

 

Remember with happiness my association with BR Balaji, (DBR, Shakunthala mami, Rajathi / Usha akka) though his genius and his accomplishments did not sink in to mind those days.  He was more of a friendly affectionate neighbour rather than a music genius, which he was. 

DB Ramachandran was a great jewel of Triplicane, not so much heralded and did not get the due recognition  for the talent that he possessed.  He would ever be remembered as a genial friendly jovial person who lived in the same Street  where Mahakavi Subrahmaya Barathiyar lived.

 

With regards – S Sampathkumar

15.11.2024.