Director-composer Gangai Amaran has reacted strongly to Vairamuthu‘s recent comment about the ongoing music vs lyrics debate, which many took as an indirect dig at composer Ilaiyaaraja. The lyricist claimed that even though both music and lyrics are equally important for a song, only the language (lyrics) can give name to a track. He added, “People who understand this are nyaani (wise). Those who don’t are agyaani (ignorant).” This was a directed at Ilaiyaaraja, who is called a Isai Nyaani (music genius) by his fans. Now, Ilaiyaaraja‘s younger brother has lashed out at Vairamuthu for his statements and called him ungrateful.
Vairamuthu, at the audio launch of a Tamil film, opened up the ongoing debate and said, “What is there to debate in this? Music is as important as lyrics for a song. Only when the two come together it is called a song. There are times when music becomes greater than lyrics and vice versa in a song. A person who understands this is a Nyaani (wise). The one who doesn’t is Agyaani (ignorant).” However, the lyricist added that though both are important a song gets a name because of the language and not music. He claimed one cannot refer to a song without the lyrics of the track, and thereby he added that lyrics are the identity of songs.
The statement didn’t go down well with Gangai Amaran, who lashed out at the lyricist. “Everyone should at least have an iota of gratefulness. Vairamuthu, a person, who was uplifted by us, who came up in a lift for the first time to write songs for us, is now acting without gratitude. Conflicts, notwithstanding, he should realize that without Bharathiraja and Ilaiyaaraja, he wouldn’t have come up in life. Had Ilaiyaraaja refused to compose for Idhu Oru Pon Maalai Pozhudhu (Vairamuthu’s first song), the lyricist would have been zero.”
He added, “However, Ilaiyaraaja agreed that he is a good lyricist. He is indeed talented but due to the fame and recognition, he has become egoistic and has let it get to his head. We used to admire the friendship between Ilaiyaraaja and him. But now he has brought shame to it by participating in this debate.”
For the uninitiated, there has been a long-standing feud between Ilaiyaraaja and Vairamuthu. The reason behind the fallout is unknown. The two have stopped collaborating after Adi Aathaadi song from the 1986 film Kadalora Kavithaigal.
Gangai Amaran also claimed that Vairamuthu should hang Ilaiyaraaja’s photo in his house and pray daily. “One can agree that Vairamuthu is a good lyricist. That’s about it. However, he is not a good person and doesn’t have a good mindset,” he said.
Gangai Amaran opined that music is like fertile land and lyrics are like a building that can be built on it. He thereby claimed building can’t exist without a base. “Vairamuthu shouldn’t talk about Ilaiyaraaja after this. If he does, things will get ugly. He doesn’t have to reply to this,” he said.
The ongoing debate began with a legal case between Ilaiyaraaja and Echo Recordings in the Chennai High Court. The parties are fighting for the rights of about 4500 songs. While Ilaiyaraaja has argued that the music rights lie with the person who came up with the lyrics, the opposition has claimed that the rights belong to the producer who employed artistes for the song. The court has said that the song cannot solely belong to the composer as the work of lyricist, singer, and many others have gone into it.
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