Both musicians were banned by rival ecosystems for expressing political views.
Both musicians were banned by rival ecosystems for expressing political views.
There is hardly any nook and corner in Tamil Nadu where music ilayaraja And AR RahmaniThe magicians of two different generations have not touched the hearts and souls of the people even in the contemporary world. It is unlikely that this will change in the years to come, as such is the magic of his creations. In the span of a fortnight, two award-winning musicians were banned by the rival ecosystem for expressing views of a political nature, despite being part of the lives of people in Tamil Nadu and beyond.
Ilaiyaraaja was attacked after writing the foreword of the book Ambedkar and Modi: Reformer’s Idea, Artist’s Implementation, Comparing and comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BR Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution. Isaignani (saint of music), who has remained largely politically isolated, saw similarities between the two leaders and said that he closely observed poverty and social structures and worked to eliminate them. He realized, “Both dreamed big for India, but both are also practical individuals who believe in action rather than mere thought practice.”
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Respectful responses were received from a section, including politicians, who argued that the comparison between the two leaders was “irrational” and “unfair”, placing Mr. Ambedkar and Mr. Modi in different positions and their widely differing political views. nature of the contribution. ,
However, another section was uninformed and took the criticism beyond the political counter. Critics felt dismayed by the man whose career began on communist platforms co-travelling with his older half-brother Pavalar Varadarajan. Later, a comrade, EMS Namboodiripad, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, is said to have been hailed in the late 1950s for staging campaign songs with a Kishore Ilaiyaraaja, to help the CPI win the Devikulam by-election in Kerala. had gone. Departing from the issue, he blamed the musician for following in the footsteps of ‘Brahminist’ spiritual gurus, while trying to distance himself from his Scheduled Caste roots. Ilaiyaraaja’s Modi-praising preamble coincides with the recent summons issued to him from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, giving him more fodder for skepticism.
Top BJP leaders, including party president JP Nadda, missed no opportunity to jump to the maestro’s defence. State BJP President K. Annamalai demanded that the musician be awarded the Bharat Ratna. It always alleged that the party was seeking to use the music director to further its political cause in Tamil Nadu, like it did in an unsuccessful attempt with superstar Rajinikanth.
A fortnight ago, Mr. Rahman was embraced by Dravidian and leftist thinkers. background of home minister Amit Shah supports Hindi as ‘link language’ between states, he had a subtle tweet with a modern image of the goddess Tamil highlighting the glory of Tamil and later quipped “Tamil is the link language”. Some right-wing ideologues within and outside Tamil Nadu tried to attack Mr. Rahman, as had happened earlier when his daughter defended the burqa. He was accused of portraying the Tamil goddess as ‘dark’ and ‘demonic’, but attempts to organize public opinion against it failed. The composer later stressed the need to cast people of “colour” in important roles in films to break stereotypes.
Ilaiyaraaja has not shied away from praising Mr Modi and has not given any explanation. Instead, he used music to express himself by tweeting one of his many hit compositions starring Rajinikanth, whose verses translated: “I won’t leave you; I can’t sleep because you’re gone. I’ll sing for you…”
, Sureshkumar.d@thehindu.co.in,