CHENNAI: When Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Neethane En Pon Vasantham happened, the movie generated a lot of interest over its music. Touted as Ilaiyaraja’s comeback movie, NEPV had Muthukumar handle all the lyrics. I first heard Ennodu Vaa Vaa and called Muthukumar to congratulate him for its refreshing originality. Muthukumar would only say I should wait till I hear two more songs - female solos. “You will like them better” he said.
Both Satru Munbu and Muthal Murai Paartha Gnyabagam turned out to be an intense roller-coaster ride of a woman’s emotions. There was neither a fake coyness about them, nor any holding back.
The desperation of a woman’s voice after she has had a love failure found its full, no-holds-barred expression in the songs - something that has hardly happened in Tamil cinema.
Along with now legendary Aanandha Yaazhai Meetugiraai that soothes me into sleep on restless nights like this, these are the songs that Muthukumar would perhaps like him to be remembered for.
I would always remember him as someone who rewrote the idiom of Tamil film lyric to accommodate voices that hardly found space.
Muthukumar was as gentle as some of the songs that he wrote for films - as pure and breezy in his earnestness to relate to those around him. He is gone like the breeze. But the soulful fragrance of his songs shall remain - like the Veyyil etched forever in our lands.