Today we examine the half-comedic and half-serious semi-classical song “Suga Raagame” from Kanni Raasi. The comedy elements of the song (that is, Janagaraj’s character and MV’s imitation singing for him) are amusing when you know the context of the film, but oh, how I wish that there existed a version of this song done properly. Really, it seems almost wasteful, just like throwing away a diamond, to create such a beautiful melody and song but then have it sung in a mocking comedic manner half of the time.
You see? When Vani J. begins to sing, you hear how beautiful that underlying melody was, with her delicate voice and variations on repeated lines. And when MV sings for Prabhu and not Janagaraj, allowing his voice to be normal, we get a hint of what a true duet done seriously could have sounded like. But because there is that silly element always present, it prevents the song from truly being a gem. Don’t get me wrong. I like a good comedic song as much as anyone else. But why, out of all the possible melodies floating in Ilaiyaraja’s head, did he have to pick this one to use for a half-comedy song? A straight rendition of Suga Raagame would have probably ended up being one of my favourite compositions, period.
