Lesson 6

Pentatonic Scales in Film Music -1 

               

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[Audio Samples Courtesy:  RaajaNGAHM.com ]
 

This is  the first in the series of articles that discusses the Maestro's use of Pentatonic ragas in film music.

Pentatonic scales are characterized by a simplicity in their structure. Maestro Ilayaraja has proved the power of these scales in bringing out a variety of moods that are demanded by film music. The Maestro has wonderfully handled a wide range of situations with simple ragas like Hamsadhwani, Mohanam, Sivaranjani, Hamsanadham, Sudha Dhanyasi, Hindolam and Amruthavarshini (to name a few).

This article discusses the Maestro's usage of Hamsadhwani and Mohana ragas.

The Hamsadhwani raga  that is immensely common in carnatic music concerts is known to symbolize devotion and happiness. A noteworthy use of this raga in film music is the song "Tarali Rada Tanae Vasantham…" from the film Rudraveena (telugu).

Listen to this song.

According to the situation in the film, the character in the film that renders this song, tries to present a carnatic raga in simple terms, to entertain a group of workers who do not understand classical music. This song is a masterpiece in Hamsadhwani and is a perfect lesson on how a carnatic raga should be molded for film music. While the tunes in this song are melodious and pleasing to the listeners on one hand, the wonderful phrases in Hamsadhwani explain the complete structure of the raga, on the other. The charanam of this song includes wonderful slides and interesting phrases that portray the image of the raga. The composer has brought out the entertaining mood that is demanded by the song situation without losing the acoustic beauty of the raga.

Mohana raga is known to symbolize happiness, romance and devotion. It is yet another raga that is extremely common in both classical as well as film music worlds. Maestro Ilayaraja has explored this raga to a great extent in film music. 

The raga has been used mostly in joyful situations as in "Ninnu Kori…" from Agni Natchatram and  "Vandhae Kumkumam…" from Kizakku Vasal.The song "Ninnu Kori…" remains a classic in Mohana raga.

Listen to this song.

It sounds to be based on the "Ninnu Kori..." varnam, an important piece of music in the carnatic world. The composer has explained the essence of Mohana raga in this song. At the same time, the composer has maintained a western backdrop in orchestrating this song, thus taking the song closer to the underlying situation in the film.

An example of a song where in the composer has explained the use of Mohana in duet song situation, is "Vae Vaela…." from Sagara Sangamam (Telugu) , Salangai Oli (Tamil). This song explains the simplicity of Mohana raga. It does not contain complicated slides and note combinations. The composer steps out of the raga and uses the smaller dha in the charanam of this song.

The pathos song "Ade Neevu…." from Abhinandhana (telugu) has been interestingly set in Mohana raga. The composer brings out the inner pain of the character in the film, through this song. By using this raga for a pathos song, the composer proves that it is the right usage of the notes in a scale that bring out different moods.Once again, in this song,  the composer steps out of  the raga and uses the smaller ga towards the end of the charnam.

Though in many of his compositions in Mohana, the composer has used notes that do not fall within the sound scope of the raga,  there have been songs that are based strictly within the limits of the scale. In addition to "Ninnu Kori….", the song "Goro Goru…." from Boomi Geetha (kannada) is another example of such a song.

Listen to this song.

The song is yet another melody in Mohana that has very simple tunes with controlled usage of note slides (gamakas).

The Maestro explains the devotional power of Hamsadhwani and Mohana ragas in the song "Sriranga Ranga Nadhanin...." from the film Mahanadhi. The pallavi of this song is based on Mohana and the charanam is based on Hamsadhwani.While the pallavi is made uncomplicated with "straight"  tunes, the charanam presents interesting gamakas in Hamsadhwani.

 Thanks to Maestro Ilayaraja for teaching us these interesting ragas.
 

Author: R.S.Balaji

 
[Sorry for transliteration errors] 

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