Shankara-The Shankarabharanam Classic!
Some Films and Music never die. They etch an everlasting image in your mind which lingers on for the whole life. Such was the film Shankarabharanam directed by K.Vishwanath which came out in 1979. I still remember the day when I saw the film in "Sapna" Theatre at Trichur. The hall was totally packed. In fact the film was such a blockbuster that it ran for more than 4 or five months in a row with a packed audience! The film saw the return of classical music to films in South India. The film was a trend setter in every aspect of film making and music. The songs in the film set to tune by the musical doyen K.V Mahadevan were a treat for the ears and the mind alike. It was said that the first choice of the singer for the film was K.J Yesudas. But due to some reasons it did not work out and the onus went on to S.P.B to learn carnatic music for almost a month, learn and rehearse the songs and then deliver. It changed the career of S.P.B for ever and the rest is history! The amount of devotion and hard work put up by S.P.B fetched him his first National Award. All the songs in the film were gems! There may be differences in opinion on whether the songs in Sankarabharanam were purely in the classical mould or not, but the fact remains that this film brought an awakening amongst the younger generation towards classical music.
The song Shankara from the film has so much of energy about it. I have been fascinated by this song since the time I saw the movie and have been singing this as my opening song in many of my live shows. Today I try to re-create this immortal song in the best way that I can.
Song: Shankara
Film: Shankarabharanam (1979)
Original Singer: Dr. S.P Balasubrahmaniyam
Music Director: K.V Mahadevan
Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
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posted by Pradip Somasundaran at 7:38 AM
31 Comments:
Great precision and control Pradip. Enjoyed this great song several times.
Whoa-- this song was a treat after such a long time...
You have so beautifully brought out the emotions of this song. Excellently rendered although I did notice one thing:
You seem to have cut the words quite sharply (esp the 1st charanam), was wondering if that was intentional. Being a tad softer would have been better on the ears IMHO.
Amazing song choice, shows your classical base very strongly.
Meera...Pls hear the original. There is no time to extend the ends..It's intentional..:-)
That was a superlative and powerful rendition full of devotion..My eyes got wet pradeepji. Just in one word.Out of this world!
Exceptional singing Pradip. Heard it many times and still want to hear more...that is the power of the music and you have captured it really well. Thank you for singing it...
:) Beautiful rendition. Very nice bhavams through out the song.
Pradeepetta, no words to describe.You are the most versatile singer in Kerala and even India who can sing any song of any singer with such precision. I salute u.
Remarkable expression and free flowing sangathis throughout. I think this is more better than original in terms of technical fineness as your sangathis are trained and crisp. S.P Bala had to do it with one month of training. Even in the start of the original song, he used a swara which was not of madhyamavathi but which u have sung correctly.
Hi,
Its excellent..Hearing after so long time.. Still its refresh our soule....
Keep posting such good and g8 songs
Keep it up
Rgds
Krishnakumar.K
Bahrain
Chala bhavundandi! mee telugu super! How are you singing with so much excellent command in telugu? You know the language? You have got an great voice! Why dont u sing for Telugu films?
Everyone has said what needs to be said... Simply outstanding..
very well done pradip bhai, but can't leave with out pointing a mispelled word. It is in the first stanza
mounavichakshaNa GAANAvilakshaNa not Yanavilakshana
I dont know it is me or the way you sang it, it sounds Yana to me instead of Gana
Dear Pradeepettanz,
Again a good attempt.. Keep it up.. Great song in Madhyamavathi Raagam..
I think Pukazhenthi is also included while composing this song..
with love
Adarsh K R, Triprayar/DUbai
Dhiraj, Thanks so much....Dhiraj....you better hear the song again. I have been singing this song since my college days and each word is within me. Also had it corrected by a Telugu friend of mine in Vizag. The word is "DHYAANAVILAKSHANA" and not "GAANAVILAKSHANA" and I have sung the same....:-)Please hear it again and you will realise that...:-)
Pradip, Great song and Superb rendition:)
Telugu diction is great too. Great work.
Stumbled on your blog when I was searching for some songs from sankarabharanam. I never heard anything so close to the original! Excellent command, diction and full of emotion.You have a very good voice too.Please sing more of such songs. Have you attempted Ghantasala's songs?
Excellent singing Pradipji..got to hear this only today...I havent heard classical in a long time..and it was such a treat after a long time..incidentally the first varnam that I learnt in my music class years before was shankarabaranam :)...Excellent work as always..Keep singing :)
Excellent singing Pradipji..got to hear this only today...I havent heard classical in a long time..and it was such a treat after a long time..incidentally the first varnam that I learnt in my music class years before was shankarabaranam :)...Excellent work as always..Keep singing :)
pradeepji the command in any language u sing is simply astonishing! Have not heard any other singer in India who can sing in so many languages with the correct accent and style in whatever language they sing.And regarding your singing capabilities I need not say anything more.keep shining.
Excellent singing..........really enjoyed it.
excellent singing pradip..loved this one very much. actually all the keerthanas in this movie r real gud and everlasting ones..thanks for posting this.
Pradipettaa.. kalakki! :)
a competent rendition
Outstanding singing!!!! :-)
Wowww fabulous singing !!!!
And No complaints with the diction !!!!
Keep up the good work !!!!
Regards,
Deepak
hai praeep
I am seing your site for the first time and really enjoyed it and for sure I will visit again.
the music also really superb!!!
keep updated
thanks
Pradeep,I happened to chance upon your site this evening while searching for the sankarabharam songs which I was planning to learn and sing myself...Your rendition is simply brilliant! And I must say you have managed to hook me on to your site:) Being a passionate singer (mostly Hindi)myself, an aquarian of a similar age, and a fellow keralite (although settled in Bangalore) I could identify with a lot of you .My compliments to you to have chosen to record all your songs and are able to entertain music lovers through this site. Keep it going! Do hope to meet you in person some time
Sankarabharanam pride will go to K Vishwanath, with out K Vishwanath nothing will happen......
Hi Pradeep,
I heard Shankarabharanam.Though i am not having any thorough knowledge of classical music..i enjoy & love music...it was fantastic...i loved it...and thanks for allowing us to download it...it was fabulous...we are proud of you..
Pradeepetta....
Heard sankarabharanam....you sung it very beautifully...from your heart...download it....so that i can hear it always....
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