CULTURE
Music For The Eyes
LALITHA SRIDHAR
15 Jan 2009
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Superhit: The film features T.M. Krishna and
Bombay Jayashri |
It is not exactly India’s Gimme Shelter — a documentary on the 1969 US tour of the Rolling Stones. Marghazi Raagam, a 110-minute film on a concert — the first in the country — is pure, no-frills, Carnatic music. Sathyam Cinemas, which launched the film at its multiplex, says there were house-full shows for two weeks.
The timing of the film — the auspicious Tamil month of Margazhi (mid-December to mid-January) — featuring star vocalists Bombay Jayashri and T.M. Krishna could not have been more fortuitous.
Produced by C. Srikanth’s Aghal Films, Marghazi Raagam is a dream come true for Jayendra Panchapakesan of Real Image, who conceived and directed it. “For over four years, I have been living with the idea of giving Carnatic music an evocative appeal in terms of presentation. Finally, the technology became available.”
Ace cinematographer P.C. Sreeram, who has often collaborated with director Mani Rathnam, shot the film with seven high resolution RED cameras in the first THX-certified studio in the country. However, the lighting, with its distracting interplay of strobe-and-shadows, is an irritant.
Where the film really scores is late H. Sridhar’s six-track surround sound. The film is also expected in the DVD format, and on blu-ray.
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