Tere Naam Vs Sethu

I was shocked by the number of likes and positive comments in this YouTube video. All these days, I was thinking that Salman khan's Tere Naam (remake of Bala's ground breaking debut film in Tamil Sethu) was a colossal flop. I saw Tere Naam in a bus, while on a journey from Bangalore to Mysore. I felt like puking when I saw Salman khan as college student with that ridiculous hair style and lethargic performance. It was intolerable for me, and it would be for anybody who has seen Vikram’s performance in the original. But, from the YouTube, I understand the ones for whom the film was made for immensely liked the film and Salman's performance. I even saw that Tere Naam 2 was also planned, so it was popular enough to have a sequel.

The YouTube video of the Climax of the film kindled few thoughts about the score in my mind

Tere Naam - Climax. Salman walks into Bhoomika’s House. The floor of the empty hall is scattered with flowers and remnants of religious rituals that seemed to have been completed minutes before. The fresh smoke coming out of Yagna Kunda suggests the blazing fire that was put off just minutes before. Everything in sight clearly tells us that some festivities have just happened there and that it could be Bhoomika’s marriage, and this thought troubles Salman, who took so much pain to meet his lady love and prove that he is cured. There is no music played in the background in this scene, not until the suspense is revealed.

Sethu – Climax. The moment Sethu looks at the Yagna Kunda in the middle of the house, the thought is triggered in his mind and Ilaiyaraaja plays a piece on Veena that is stuck between two notes like how Sethu’s mind is stuck oscillating between two thoughts – is she or is she not married. He begins to run inside the house, passes corridors. He hits a door. In the music that plays in the moment when Sethu begins to walk even while recouping from the shock of hitting the door, every single note, every single layer of instrument seem to imply every single thought that crisscross Sethu’s mind at that point. It also intensifies the tension, suspense and gradually leads us to the final bang that hits hard to add to the shock of Sethu and us the audience. There is no music after that.

But, in Tere Naam, though there is no music for the scene that leads to the point of revelation, there is a sentimental, somber alaap played to intensify the pain and squeeze tears out of every one in the audience when Salman cries.

I was just wondering, what would I have thought and written, if the reverse was the case. That if there was background music in Tere Naam and no background music in Sethu for that long tracking shot that precedes the shocking revelation. I am sure I would have said, “See how Ilaiyaraaja brilliantly uses Silence and intensifies the tension in the scene, whereas in the Hindi version, they have spoiled the mood by playing loud music”. Wouldn’t I? What would you have thought?

Speaking of Sethu, here is another amazing Ilaiyaraaja moment from the film

Maestro Blaster

Sethu is in love with Abhitha. Abhitha is a soft spoken, innocent girl from an orthodox, middle class Brahmin family. Sethu is rough outside and he remains so even in his ways to woo her. To impress Abhitha, Sethu’s friend advices him to be softer and not to get involved in any fights and clashes. Unfortunately, Sethu has to beat a baddie who beat his friend and when he is totally in action, Abhitha crosses the corridor in which he is busy chasing and beating the guy. Sethu, immediately after Abhitha enters the scene, stops beating, though a volcano of anger is still erupting in his face. Vikram’s performance in this scene shook me when I first saw the movie.

But as always, it is our Maestro Ilaiyaraaja who enhances the impact created by Vikram’s nuanced performance. Raaja plays a pedestrian action cue for the fight sequence. He then suddenly stops and brings in a cascade of strings that builds up to imply peaking intensity of Sethu’s anger and within a flip of a second the piece liberates into an exquisitely romantic soft piano melody that aptly captures the way Sethu’s intense anger takes a sudden relief at the sight of Abhitha. The highlight is the way Raaja achieves the impact with his acute transition in music. I am not sure I have articulated the beauty of the scene and the score well enough. No amount of articulation can explain the magic of Raaja’s music in this scene. So, watch it and feel it for yourself