Audio Sales of A.R. Rahman Releases

I have always wondered what were the audio sales figures of the soundtracks released by A.R. Rahman. The site below previously had published audio sales figures for Hindi movie soundtracks from 1990 onwards but the site never mentioned from where it had obtained the figures.

http://www.boxofficeindia.com

I have extracted the audio sales figures for movies with music by A.R. Rahman. The biggest selling soundtrack for each year is also included to compare with the sales performance of releases from A.R. Rahman. 

1993

Dilwale - 5,500,000

Roja - 2,800,000

1994

Hum Aapke Hain Kaun - 10,000,000

The Gentleman - 3,000,000

1995 

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge - 9,000,000

Rangeela - 3,200,000

Bombay - 3,000,000

Hum Se Hai Muqabla - 2,500,000

1996

Raja Hindustani - 11,000,000

Hindustani - 1,800,000

1997

Dil To Pagal Hai - 12,500,000

Sapnay - 2,500,000

Daud - 2,000,000

1998

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - 8,000,000

Dil Se - 4,500,000

Jeans - 1,800,000

1999

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai - 9,000,000

Taal - 4,000,000

2000

Mohabbatein - 5,000,000

Fiza - 2,500,000

2001

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham - 3,500,000

Lagaan - 2,800,000

Nayak - 1,400,000

2002

Humraaz - 2,200,000

Saathiya - 2,000,000

2004

Veer Zaara - 3,000,000

Swades - 1,300,000

Kisna - 1,200,000

2005 

Aashiq Banaye Aapne - 2,000,000

Rang De Basanti - 1,900,000

The biggest selling soundtrack from A.R. Rahman in Hindi is "Dil Se" released in 1998 with estimated sales of 4.5 million units. The overall sales began to plummet from the high of 12.5 million units for "Dil To Pagal Hai" in 1997 to a low of 3.5 million units in 2001 for "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham". I still remember when I was studying in university in 2000, I was already downloading songs from the Internet. From LPs to cassettes to CDs to digital downloads - how we listen to music has evolved with downloads dominating the music industry in recent years.

In the article Audio tape producers ride crest of Bollywood's music boom, composers become stars published on 30 November 1993:

Perhaps the slickest and most innovative marketing strategy belongs to Ghanshyam Hemdev of Pyramid Audio in Madras. Convinced that consumer products should be marketed with a Unique Selling Strategy (USS), Hemdev decided to push the tape of Gentleman, the Tamil industry's latest talking point. They set targets for dealers and those who met them were given free tickets to Singapore; newspapers were swamped with advertisements; and free tapes were distributed to tea shops and at marriage halls.

The result: at the first show of the movie, the audience were humming the tunes as if they'd heard them for ages, and Gentleman, became the highest selling tape in recent times, with a sale of three lakh copies.

In the article A.R. Rahman makes history with record breaking audio cassette sales of his debut film 'Roja' published on 15 January 1994:

After all, the youngest music director to hit the Tamil screen has made history recently with the record breaking audio cassette sales of his debut film, Roja, with over two lakh tapes sold in Tamil alone.

Though he has only five films to his name, two of which are still unreleased, Rahman's name sells. He was paid Rs.7 lakh for his last film, while Ilayaraja, the brilliant composer for 500 films, gets only Rs.3 lakh more. 

Today, any Rahman composition is expected to sell one and a half lakh tapes. Ghanshyam Hemdev, the head of Pyramid Audios, calls him "the phenomenon that changed the face of the industry". 

In the article King Rehman's USP diminishes with a new, synth-savvy bunch published on 15 September 1997, it's highlighted that Pyramid's Ghanshyam Hemdev bought the audio rights for "Iruvar" for Rs 60 lakh, and spent Rs 4.97 lakh promoting it.

In the article Last of big music deals: Devdas sells for Rs 11 cr published on 4 July 2002:

Gone are the days of yore when Yaadein was sold to Tips Industries for Rs 9.15 crore; or when Sony Music snapped up K3G and Lagaan rights for Rs 10 crore and Rs 8 crore, respectively.

In the article A R Rahman: Composing a winning score published on 21 September 2002:

And, last year, when there were only very few hits on the Indian scene, Rahman's score for Lagaan topped the charts, selling over 3.5 million copies.

That outdid the year's other big hits like Gadar, which sold 2 million copies and it equalled Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

The music maestro also notched up a record of sorts when the music for Bombay - a bilingual film in Hindi and Tamil - sold a massive 12 million copies in both languages.

In India too, the Bombay Dreams score has turned into a chart-topper, hitting the number one spot for five continuous weeks on MTV India World Chart Express - the list includes top albums from the US and Australia. 

And Sony Music, which has the rights to the music, says it has a hit on its hands and has already sold 150,000 copies - despite the fact that it is priced at a premium like other international numbers and is in English. 

His parade of hits has turned him into the country's most expensive music director. Industry sources say Rahman demands around Rs 1.5-2 crore (Rs 12-20 million) - and gets it.

In the article Film producers float their own music firms published on 15 April 2003:

So, while 2000's superhit Kaho Na Pyar Hai sold close to one crore copies, a comparatively less successful film like Saathiya sold only around two million copies. According to Taurani, music companies are exercising extreme caution while acquiring music rights since they have burnt their fingers several times.

In the article Singing a different tune published on 3 July 2003:

Some years back, Rahman-Shankar's "Indian" cassette sold six lakh units in cassette and CD. Today, Star Music, the audio rights owners of "Boys", has orders for only 60,000 cassettes and CDs! The audio rights of "Boys" had no takers and was finally sold to Star Music at almost one third the price which was given to the combo's previous hit "Muthalvan". Said Poonam Choudhary of Star Music: "In the good old days we would have sold a lakh of cassettes on the first day of a Rahman-Shanker audio release. Today I will consider myself lucky if I can sell the initial 60,000 in a month's time. A few hours after the "Boys" audio (Rs. 45) hit the market, pirated audios of the film were available for Rs. 15!"

In the article Tuning in to better times? tune published on 9 July 2003:

"Yes, there has been a steep fall in the sales graph now compared to what it was two years ago," admits Jaishankar Subramanium of Landmark. Sentiments echoed by S.K. Chowdhury of Music World. "Whenever an A.R. Rahman album ("Jeans", for example) was released in the past, we would sell above 400 cassettes a week. But "Boys", the hottest selling album today, has sold just over 200 pieces in the same time span," says Chowdhury.

In the article Sivaji audio – first week report – with statistics published on 11 April 2007:

AVM CEO Mr. S.C.Babu while talking to Behindwoods correspondent in the US, revealed that the audio of Sivaji which opened up on April 2nd is seeing one of biggest sales of recent times. There was a pre-order of about 105,000 CDs and 90,000 cassettes, before the release. Repeat orders were received even by the close of the first day and many retail outlets reported stock outs. As on date, the total CD sales has notched up to about 140,000 and cassettes have touched 108,000. Orders are continuing to come in from all parts of Tamilnadu. On the overseas front, the sales of CDs in Malaysia and Singapore are reportedly setting new records.

In the article Digital music sales up, but labels continue making CDs to publicise films published on 11 November 2011:

At the time of the audio launch of Mudhalvan, boasting the potent combo of Shankar and A R Rahman, Five Star Audio, the label that bagged the rights, had a confirmed order for three lakh cassettes on day one. The year was 1999. Cut to a decade later, to the time of the audio launch of Endhiran, featuring the same director-composer combo and also Superstar Rajinikanth, in 2010. The number of CDs produced was 25,000.

Audio labels are seeing decreased physical sales but continue to release film music on CDs. The ratio of digital to physical sales for film music, industry insiders say, is 70:30 and veering towards 80:20.

Tamil Audio Sales
Roja - 200,000 units
Gentleman - 300,000 units
Indian - 600,000 units
Mudhalvan - 300,000 units
Boys - 60,000 units
Sivaji - 248,000 units
Endhiran - 25,000 units

Hindi Audio Sales
Lagaan - 3,500,00 units
Saathiya - 2,000,000 units

Tamil/Hindi Audio Sales
Bombay - 12,000,000 units

Telugu Audio Sales
Komaram Puli - 300,000 units to 760,000 units

International Audio Sales (India)
Bombay Dreams - 150,000 units

Audio Rights
Iruvar - INR 6 million (marketing/promotion INR 497,000) - Pyramid Audio
Lagaan - INR 80 million - Sony Music
Komaram Puli - INR 20 million - Sony Music

Hindustani

I had recently purchased a "Canon CanoScan LiDE 210" scanner in December 2013. I wanted to archive all the CD covers of my collection. I did not realize that scanning CD covers will be one of the most tiresome, and complex chores I had ever gotten myself into. The following terms will come back to haunt me:

descreen
moire patterns
gaussian blur
despeckle

fourier transform

unsharp mask

The first time I scanned the CD cover of the 1996 TIPS release of "Hindustani" - the scan was horrible filled with fine dots viewed at resolution of 1200 dpi. Only later after going the Internet, I realized the "moire patterns" that will appear when we scan CD covers due to they way they are printed (i.e. half-tone prints). It was frustrating experimenting with the various methods available online to minimize the "moire patterns" from the scans of the CD covers. I actually downloaded the trial version of "Adobe Photoshop Elements 12" to try out the recommended methods.

As a rule of thumb, scan CD covers at a resolution of 300 dpi with the "descreen", and "unsharp mask" settings on the scanner enabled to reduce the effects of the "moire patterns", and save the image in "TIFF" format. 

The cover of "Hindustandi" CD above was scanned at a resolution of 150 dpi for image display on the web with the "descreen" setting on the scanner enabled, and saved in "JPEG" format. It's not perfect but I will accept the scan quality for the moment.

Tharangini Musik

I went to the audio shop in Lebuh Ampang in November after Deepavali, and saw a few cassettes from Tharangini Musik. A.R. Rahman's "Yodha" was released by Tharangini Musik in 1992. His first soundtrack in Malayalam. I bought 2 cassettes for RM2 each in order for me to able to scan the logo of Tharangini Musik. It seems that K.J. Yesudas established Tharangini Musik.

Duniya Dilwalon Ki

"Duniya Dilwalon Ki" is the Hindi dubbed version of the Tamil original "Kadhal Desam" which was released in 1996. I love the still shot from the movie for the back sleeve of the Venus CD release.

Tabu in Florescent

Azhagiya Tamilmagan

Uzhavan

My memories of "Uzhavan" comes from the Mani Osai cassette that my brother borrowed from one of his friends. I never did buy the cassette on my own. I remember the 1993 Mani Osai compilation of A.R. Rahman's hit songs for the year, and it included 2 songs from "Uzhavan".

Finally, in 2013, I managed to find a copy of the Pyramid CD of "Uzhavan". I also have the Aditya Music CD release. In India, the cassette was released by Swastik Audio.

Credits from the "Uzhavan" Movie
The title of the movie in English is "Ulaavan" in the credits of the movie.

The date of issue of the Indian film certification for "Uzhavan" was on 11 November 1993. 

The recording, and re-recording at Panchathan Record Inn by S. Sivakumar.

Lyrics by Vaali.

The singers on the soundtrack are K.J. Yesudas, S.P. Balasubramaniam, Shahul Hameed, Chitra, Swarnalatha, Sujatha, and G.V. Prakash Kumar.

Roja

In Malaysia, "Roja" was released in cassette, and CD by Alai Osai in 1992. My brother bought the "Roja' cassette, and I remember my father bought the pirated CD of "Roja" combo with "Annamalai".

In the late 1980s, and early 1990s, Ilaiyaraaja was the composer that most captured my imagination. In 1991, "Thalapathi" directed by Mani Ratnam, and starring Rajnikanth with music by Illaiyaraaja was ruling the radio airwaves. I remember the it was thrilling to listen to the violins intro of "Adi Rakkamma". It was very surprising that Mani Ratnam would attempt to change the musical partnership that he had with Ilaiyaraaja after the success of "Thalapathi".

My father used to visit India in the middle of 1980s, I remember the photo he took with Ilaiyaraaja. He mentioned about  Ilaiyaraaja's famous keyboards player - Viji Manuel. Until today, I have the highest respect for the musical contributions of Ilaiyaraaja - he's truly a living legend, and a source of inspiration for many musical talents worldwide. 

I was going through the New Straits Times's archives from 1992, and I read the movie review for "Roja" by K. Vijiyan that was published on 26 September 1992. The headline for the movie review was "Superb, uncensored songs make Roja a splendid movie". Below are some highlights from the movie review:

SONGS are the lifeline of many Indian movies; some have run well on the strength of the songs alone.

Roja is one movie which was "sold" to Tamil moviegoers even before it hit the local circuit - through its songs.

A.R. Rahman single handedly revolutionized the Indian music industry with "Roja". All the other music directors stood up, and took notice of this young prodigy. Eventually, they all had to adapt their musical style to adapt with the sounds introduced by A.R. Rahman. I liked the reggae infusion in "Chinna Chinna Asai", the percussion in "Rukkumani Rukkumani", the Star Wars/Star Trek orchestral of "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai", the haunting melody of "Kadhal Rojave", and the patriotic "Thamizha Thamizha". It is truly a blockbuster soundtrack that all Indians can be proud of.

Credits from the "Roja" Movie
Lyrics by Vairamuthu.

The audiography by V.S. Murthy, A.S. Lakshmi Narayanan, and R. Ravichandran.

The playback singers are S.P. Balasubramaniam, Unni Menon, Hariharan, Chitra, Minmini, and Sujatha.

The songs audiography by Emi, H. Sridhar, and Vincent at Panchathan Record-Inn.

Tracks Order in the "Roja" Movie
Chinna Chinna Asai
Rukkumani Rukkumani
Chinna Chinna Asai (Bit)
Pudhu Vellai Mazhai
Kadhal Rojave
Thamizha Thamizha

May Maadham

"May Maadham" was another musical blockbuster from A.R. Rahman released in 1994. The cassette was released by Mani Osai in Malaysia, and I remember it was a battle of sales between "Kaadhalan" cassette released by Alai Osai, and this audio release. The melody of the "Muppadhu Nimidam" song from the "Parasuram" movie released in 2003 appeared as a background score in this movie during the scene where the hero left the heroine without paying the bill in a restaurant. The hero's sidekick name in the movie is "Calcutta" which is mentioned in the lyrics of the song "Aadipaaru Mangaatha" as the person who asked the heroine to play the card game "Mangaatha". 

Sadly, I don't yet have the Pyramid CD of the soundtrack. I bought the Aditya Music CD release of the soundtrack but I believe the sound quality of the Pyramid CDs are much more superior. The "Holy Grail' CD will be the Pyramid CD "May Maadham & Musical Extravaganza" (CD PYR 8218) that contains the instrumental versions of the tracks with the exception of "Aadipaaru Mangaatha".

May Madham - Mani Osai - M 9040 - Cassette - Malaysia
For the Malaysian cassette release of "May Maadham", Mani Osai included 4 of the 5 instrumental tracks available. I believe Pyramid never released "Aadipaaru Mangaatha" as an instrumental track. I lost the sleeve of the Mani Osai cassette but I had the cassette with me until I converted the cassette into MP3 format.

Side A
Aadipaaru Mangaatha
Maargazhi Poove
Yenmel Vizhunda
Madrasa Suthiparka
Palakaati Machankku

Side B
Madrasa Suthiparka (Instrumental)
Yenmel Vizhunda (Instrumental)
Minnalae (Instrumental)
Palakaati Machankku (Instrumental)
Minnalae

Credits from the "May Maadham" Movie
The singers on the soundtrack were S.P. Balasubramaniam, Jayachandran, Chitra, Swarnalatha, T.K. Kala, Shahul Hameed, Shobha Shankar, Suneeta Rao, Noell James, G.V. Prakash Kumar, and Manorama.

The recording, and re-recording at Panchathan Record Inn by H. Sridhar, and S. Sivakumar with assistance from Noell James, and Samidurai.

Lyrics by Vairamuthu.

Tracks Order in the "May Maadham" Movie
Maargazhi Poove
Palakaati Machankku
Aadipaaru Mangaatha
Madrasa Suthiparka
Yenmel Vizhunda
Minnalae

Duet

I was browsing through the videos in YouTube when I came across this video of S.P. Balasubramaniam answering a question from a fan (Rakesh Misra) about special memories of recording the song "Anjali Anjali" from Duet released in 1994.

A Conversation with SPB: The Story of Anjali Anjali

My memories of "Duet" began when my brother bought the Mani Osai cassette of "Duet" in Malaysia in 1994. The front sleeve had Prabhu posing with a saxophone. The year 1994 was the year of my SPM (the Malaysian secondary school examinations before we either pursued further tertiary education or started our working life), and I was focusing on my studies but every time my brother played "Duet" on the Aiwa sound system, I could not help but listen to the songs. I enjoyed all the songs from the "Duet" soundtrack - from the thumping bass of "Mettuppodu Mettuppodu", the rhythm of the saxophone in "Naan Paadum Sandham", and the way the vocals of S.P. Balasubramaniam sounded in "Kulicha Kuthaalam" - the soundtrack was another winner from A.R. Rahman back in the early days of his movie career but the song that captured my imagination the most is the melodic, and soothing sounds of "Anjali Anjali". The flute by Naveen that adorns the song is soulful - touches the heart.

My father borrowed the Pyramid CD of "Duet" from my cousin brother, and I remember going though the sleeve - it showed the upcoming audio releases on Pyramid from A.R. Rahman - excellent marketing strategy.

I did not know what happened to my brother's cassette copy of "Duet" but I bought another copy for myself from one of the textile shops in Jalan Masjid India after I went to university. By the time I started my collection of A.R. Rahman CDs, the Pyramid CD of "Duet" became very rare. I finally managed to find a copy from Joe's Mac (a shop selling second hand items) located in AmCorp Mall about 2-3 years back. I guess someone must have sold their Tamil CDs collection to the shop as I saw a few Pyramid, and Alai Osai CDs but I could not believe my luck when I saw the Pyramid "Duet" CD. I think I bought the CD for less than RM10.

The confusing thing about "Duet" is that the soundtrack releases from the various audio companies in cassettes, and CDs had different tracks. Noell James received a credit as one of the singers featured in the soundtrack but I believe "LOVE IS TORTURE" never appeared in the movie itself. The Chitra short rendition of "En Kadhalae" also never appeared in the movie.

Duet - Pyramid - 018 - Cassette - India (March 1994)
The Pyramid cassette release of "Duet" in India had 13 tracks which was unbelievable for me as the Pyramid CD only had 8 tracks. Below is the list of tracks from the Indian Pyramid cassette release obtained from the scans that have appeared on the Internet:
Side A
Anjali Anjali
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
Kavithaikku Porul Thandha - Prabhu & Sreeja
Saththathinaal Vantha - Prabhu
Kathirikka Kathirikka

Side B
Vennilavin Theril Yeri
Naan Paadum Sandham
LOVE IS TORTURE - Written & Sung by Noell James
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam
TITLE MELODY - Kadri Gopalnath
En Kadhalae - Chitra
SAX LULLABY - Kadri Gopalnath
Kulicha Kuthaalam

Duet/Maindan - Pyramid - CD PYR 8176 - CD - Singapore (1994)
For the Pyramid CD release of "Duet", the "LOVE IS TORTURE" track was merged together at the beginning of "En Kadhalae" by S.P. Balasubramaniam. The 2 poem recital tracks - "Kavithaikku Porul Thandha", and "Saththathinaal Vantha", Chitra's short rendition of "En Kadhalae", and "SAX LULLABY" were not included on the CD version from Pyramid.

Vennilavin Theril Yeri
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
Anjali Anjali
Kathirikka Kathirikka
Naan Paadum Sandham
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam & Noell James
Kulicha Kuthaalam
TITLE MELODY

Duet - Mani Osai - M 8092 - Cassette - Malaysia
For the Malaysian cassette release of "Duet", on the sleeve, the tracks were listed as below - the same as tracks from the Pyramid CD version but the cassette contained additional tracks. On Side A, after "Kathirikka Kathirikka", the "SAX LULLABY" track was included. On Side B, Chitra's short rendition of "En Kadhalae" was included after the "TITLE MELODY" track. For me this is best release of "Duet" in terms of tracks placement, the album needs to start off with a bang with "Mettuppodu Mettuppodu" on Side A, and "Naan Paadum Sandham" on Side B to truly appreciate the powerhouses of "Anjali Anjali", and "En Kadhalae" immediately after them.

Side A
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
Anjali Anjali
Kathirikka Kathirikka
SAX LULLABY (Kadri Gopalnath) - Hidden Track

Side B
Naan Paadum Sandham
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam & Noell James
Kulicha Kuthaalam
TITLE MELODY - Kadri Gopalnath
En Kadhalae (Chitra) - Hidden Track
Vennilavin Theril Yeri

Duet/Maindan - Ramy Records - ACD 1238 - CD - Switzerland
The Ramy Records CD of "Duet" is somewhat of a "Holy Grail" among the CD collectors of A.R. Rahman as it is reportedly the only CD release that contains all the 13 tracks of the soundtrack including the poem recitals. I've seen only the sleeve scans of this CD. As usual, the "LOVE IS TORTURE" track was merged together at the beginning of "En Kadhalae" by S.P. Balasubramaniam. The credit mentioned Chitra's name as well for "En Kadhalae". I believe her short rendition of the song was merged together at the end of the track. The "Instrument" track probably refers to "SAX LULLABY" by Kadri Gopalnath, and the 2 poem recitals have been included at the end of the CD.

Mettu podu... Mettu podu...
Vannilavin Theril Eari...
Kulicha Kuttalam...
Kathirikka... Kathirikka...
En Kaathale... - S.P. Balasubramaniam & Chitra
Anjali... Anjali...
Naan Paadum Sandham...
Title Melody - Kadri Gopalnath
Instrument - A.R. Rahman
Kavithaikku & Sithathinal - Prabhu & Sreeja

Bombay/Duet - Aditya Music - AMIL 17008 - CD - India (June 2009)
Aditya Music released their version of "Duet" on CD after they had acquired the copyright to Pyramid's music catalog. It was released as a combo CD together with "Bombay". 

Vennilavin Theril Yeri
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
Anjali Anjali
Kathirikka Kathirikka
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam & Noell James
Kulicha Kuthaalam
Naan Paadum Sandham
Dialogues with Saxophone

The "Dialogues with Saxophone" is a combination of 3 tracks starting with the 2 poem recitals of "Kavithaikku Porul Thandha" by Prabhu/Sreeja, and followed with "Saththathinaal Vantha" by Prabhu, and ending with the saxophone rendition by Kadri Gopalnath of the song "Naan Paarthathilae" from the 1966 movie "Anbe Vaa" starring M.G.R. with music by M.S. Viswanathan. Was this rendition included in the original cassette released from Pyramid in 1994?

Veera/Duet - Sangeeth - SGH 007 - CD - U.S.A.
The "LOVE IS TORTURE" track is included as a separate track in this release of the CD.

Vennilavin Theril Yeri
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
Anjali Anjali
Kathirikka Kathirikka
Naan Paadum Sandham
LOVE IS TORTURE - Noell James
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam
TITLE MELODY - Kadri Gopalnath

Honest Raj/Duet/Kuyile Thoppu - Blockbuster - BB 3003 - CD
Vennilavin Theril Yeri
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
Anjali Anjali
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam & Noell James
Kulicha Kuthaalam

Credits from the "Duet" Movie
The date of issue of the Indian film certification for "Duet" was on 17 May 1994. 

Lyrics by Vairamuthu.

Classical Sax by Kadri Gopalnath.

Western Sax by Raju.

The songs audiography by H. Sridhar, and S. Sivakumar with assistance from Samidurai, J. Ramesh, and Noell James, and recorded at Panchathan Record Inn.

The singers on the soundtrack were S.P. Balasubramaniam, K.J. Yesudas, Chitra, Sujatha, T.K. Kala, and Noell James.

Tracks Order in the "Duet" Movie
TITLE MELODY - Kadri Gopalnath
Naan Paadum Sandham
Mettuppodu Mettuppodu
SAX LULLABY - Kadri Gopalnath
Kulicha Kuthaalam
Anjali Anjali
Naan Paarthathilae - Kadri Gopalnath
Kathirikka Kathirikka
Kavithaikku Porul Thandha - Prabhu & Sreeja
Saththathinaal Vantha - Prabhu
Vennilavin Theril Yer
En Kadhalae - S.P. Balasubramaniam

Deepavali with A.R. Rahman

I still remember seeing the movie poster of "Muthu" in the Broadway cinema in Johor Bahru, Malaysia during Deepavali of 1995. Ever since "Thiruda Thiruda" was released during Deepavali of 1993, I always look forward to a movie with music by A.R. Rahman being released for that special occasion of the year. I was going through the New Straits Times's archives from 1993, and I read the movie review for "Thiruda Thiruda" by K. Vijiyan that was published on 13 December 1993 (Deepavali fell on 13 November in 1993). The headline for the movie review was "Rahman's songs the main draw in this tale of thieves". Below are some highlights from the movie review:

The hordes of people making their way to see the movie since its opening three weeks ago will testify to this.

So why are Malaysians flocking to see it? There can be no doubt about it; it is Rahman's songs.

When the songs were released (in the same package with Rahman's other songs from his other hit movie Puthiya Mugam) in July, it was reported that 200,000 cassettes and CDs were sold on the launching date itself.

Every Deepavali programme over TV3 and RTM had songs from Thiruda Thiruda and Gentleman (another movie that made its producer rich with Rahman's songs). 

See this one to find out what your friends are raving about.

I still remember the Deepavali special that was aired on TV2 that had almost all the songs from "Thiruda Thiruda" recreated with local artistes. It was one of the best Deepavali specials that I've seen until today. I was so captured by "Thiruda Thiruda" that I was not aware that there was 2 additional movies from A.R. Rahman that were also released during Deepavali of 1993 - Kizhakku Cheemaielea, and Uzhavan. Below is the list of Tamil movies with music by A.R. Rahman that were released during Deepavali (as far as I can recall) - I've seen all the movies from "Ratchagan" onwards in theaters during Deepavali. 

Deepavali Releases
13/11/1993 - Thiruda Thiruda, Kizhakku Cheemaielea, Uzhavan

03/11/1994 - Karuthamma, Pavithra
23/10/1995 - Muthu

10/10/1996 - Mr. Romeo

30/10/1997 - Ratchagan

07/11/1999 - Mudhalvan, Taj Mahal

26/10/2000 - Thenali

14/11/2001 - Paarthale Paravasam
21/10/2006 - Godfather (Varalaru)
09/11/2007 - Azhagiya Tamil Magan
17/10/2009 - Blue

13/11/2012 - Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Tamil New Year Releases
14/04/1994 - Vandi Solai Chinraasu
24/04/1998 - Jeans
14/04/1999 - Padaiyappa
13/04/2000 - Alai Payuthey
14/04/2002 - Alli Arjuna
17/04/2015 - O Kadhal Kanmani 

Pongal Releases
14/01/1996 - Love Birds (The audio was released in December 1995)
14/01/1997 - Iruvar, Minsara Kanavu (The audios were released in December 1996)
14/01/2015 - I (The audio was released in September 2014)

Sooriya

1995

Melody Audio & Video Centre

Lebuh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

I remember going to the audio shop in Lebuh Ampang on one of my regular visits. I believe it was in 1995 as "Manitha Manitha" was released around that time by Alai Osai in Malaysia. I could only afford to buy a cassette in those days as I just had entered university in June of 1995. A cassette from Alai Osai or Mani Osai was selling for a recommended retail price of RM6.50. I remember Alai Osai placing advertisements in Tamil newspapers to promote the release of "Manitha Manitha". I vaguely remember the words "Thunderstorm music from A.R. Rahman" in the advertisement. I called the Hema Enterprise shop in SS5, Kelana Jaya every hour asking whether they already have received the shipment of the cassettes. The lady who answered my numerous calls must have regretted that day.  

From the cassette display cabinet in the audio shop, I remember seeing the "Beauty Palace" (released in Malaysia by Alai Osai), and "Sooriya" cassettes. The reason why I was attracted to these 2 cassettes was because of A.R. Rahman’s picture in a circle prominently displayed on the front sleeve of the cassettes telling everybody that the music is by A.R. Rahman.

I was already an A.R. Rahman fanatic back then, I bought the cassettes of "Fantasy" (released in Malaysia by Mani Osai), and "Set Me Free" (released in Malaysia by Warner Music). I did buy the "Beauty Palace" cassette but "Sooriya" was a missed opportunity.

I hope my memory serves me correctly but I believe that "Sooriya" was released in Malaysia by Mani Osai. Mani Osai was the exclusive distributor of Pyramid titles in cassette format in Malaysia. This means that "Sooriya" was a Pyramid release, and Pyramid must have released "Sooriya" in cassette or CD formats themselves for other territories. From the now defunct "www.pyramidaudio.com" site, the following Chapleton CD title was listed available for sale in the entire world including India:
C-017, 1994, Padagan/Suriya

I remember seeing the same photo of A.R. Rahman that Mani Osai used for the front sleeve of the "Indian" cassette for the "Sooriya" cassette. Vijayashanti was on the front sleeve of the cassette in an action pose.

I asked the shopkeeper to test the "Sooriya" cassette. He took out the cassette from the display cabinet, and unwrapped the plastic wrapping cover. I remember very clearly seeing a track by the name of “Kula Paikaa Pali” on the track list on Side B. He played the cassette, and I don’t remember how the songs sounded like but I was clearly not impressed. I told the shopkeeper I was not interested.

In 1995, the Internet was still in its infancy, and Netscape Navigator was the “King of the Browser”. After many years later, I found out from the Internet that A.R. Rahman did not compose the songs in the movie but only scored the background music for "Nippurava". The music for the songs was by Bappi Lahri, and Raj Koti (only for the song "Randi Kadali Randi"). The "Sooriya" Chapleton CD contains still shots from the "Timentha" song with dance choreography by Prabhu Deva. Of course, Bappi Lahri flatters to deceive but I really can't blame him for trying. Fans of A.R. Rahman will crucify me for saying this but A.R. Rahman adhered to the same formula for the songs in "Super Police" in terms of arrangement to suit the taste of the Telegu audience but of course his production is far superior.

Till this day, I regret not buying the "Sooriya" cassette from the audio shop that day.  It’s a wonderful marketing example of how audio companies took advantage of “A.R. Rahman’s Imperial Phase” back in the 1990s. Back in the 1990s after the success of "Roja", any cassette or CD with A.R. Rahman’s picture will sell, and make a profit for the audio companies – "Set Me Free" re-released by Magnasound in 1996 being a prime example.

Iruvar or Vandicholai Chinnarasu?

Around 1997-1998

Melody Audio & Video Centre
Lebuh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

In my visits to the Lebuh Ampang audio shop in the 1990s, I never once went to the first floor of the shop – that’s the floor where they sell the audio CDs. All my visits were restricted to the ground floor where the cassettes were sold due to my student budget but on this particular visit, when I was on my way out, I saw they had a bargain bin table setup, and the CDs were selling for an unbelievable price of only RM10 each. The recommended retail price of a Pyramid CD was RM35 at that time.

I quickly browsed through the selection of titles in the bargain bin, and I managed to find to my surprise – the Pyramid CDs of "Iruvar", and "Vandicholai Chinnarasu". I already had bought the Mani Osai cassettes of "Iruvar", and "Vandicholai Chinnarasu". In my home in 1992, my father had bought an Aiwa sound system that plays CDs but I could not afford to buy CDs. This was an excellent chance for me to start building my CD collection of A.R. Rahman soundtracks but I had one big dilemma – I only had RM10 plus just enough coins for me to take the bus back home to Kelana Jaya from Lebuh Ampang.

I had to make a choice of which CD I was going to buy – "Iruvar" or "Vandicholai Chinnarasu"? At that time, I never realized how rare the Pyramid CDs of A.R. Rahman will become in the future. The "Iruvar" movie was released in 1997, and I saw the movie in Johor Bahru when I was studying in my university. I vaguely remember seeing "Vandicholai Chinnarasu" in VHS tape in my home. Of course I had warm feelings towards the "Iruvar" soundtrack – it was after all a Mani Rathnam movie, and the fourth consecutive movie with the director by A.R. Rahman after the success of "Roja", "Thiruda Thiruda", and "Bombay".

I decided to buy the "Iruvar" Pyramid CD. I must have reasoned that I could always buy the "Vandicholai Chinnarasu" CD later when I could afford to buy CDs but little did I realize how rare it will be to even find a second hand copy of the "Vandicholai Chinnarasu" Pyramid CD later.

The irony in all of this now is that it’s so much easier to obtain a new old stock of the "Iruvar" Pyramid CD in the year 2013 from various online websites compared to "Vandicholai Chinnarasu" Pyramid CD.

Was It Just A Fantasy?

Around 1997

Coliseum Theatre, Kuala Lumpur

In the 1990s, I loved to go to Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur to buy A.R. Rahman CDs especially from Haniffa Textiles. 

I remember going to the Coliseum Theatre in Kuala Lumpur to watch a movie (sadly I don’t remember what movie it was). Within the Coliseum Theatre, there was a small booth selling audio cassettes, and CDs. I was waiting for the movie to be opened with other moviegoers. I was casually browsing through the selection of titles that the audio booth had displayed, and to my surprise I saw the "Fantasy" Pyramid CD on display. I instantly recognized the same front sleeve that was used on the "Fantasy" Mani Osai cassette.

Of course, during those days, I could not afford to buy CDs, and since I already had the "Fantasy" cassette, I did not have an urge to buy the CD but it was surprising to see the CD being displayed along with other titles.

I overhead 2 young Indian boys talking about A.R. Rahman after they themselves saw the "Fantasy" CD front sleeve which had A.R. Rahman posing with his keyboard. The Indian boys said that A.R. Rahman was a keyboard wizard after witnessing him live in concert in Malaysia in 1996.

The "Fantasy" Pyramid CD now is extremely rare to be found even as a second hand copy – what a missed opportunity.

Thiruda Thiruda… Finally…

Sunday, 24 November 2013

AmCorp Mall, Malaysia

I frequently go to AmCorp Mall every Sundays because of the flea market. As I made my way through the crowds, I heard strains of "Kannum Kannum" blasting from the speakers. Immediately, I thought to myself one of the Indian sellers must be playing a copy of the "Thiruda Thiruda" CD on the CD player but was it an original CD or was it a pirated CD or from a MP3 collection?

I tracked down the CD player that was playing the song. I can see it was track 1 – 2:27 minutes have elapsed. Then I saw the original Magnasound "Thiruda Thiruda/Puthiya Mugam" CD jewel case next to the CD player on top of other CDs arranged inside a box. I was surprised at first. I was overjoyed but I kept my cool.

But the owner of the booth was not an Indian man… it was an old Chinese man. What was he doing playing "Thiruda Thiruda" CD? I asked him how much was he selling the CD for? His reply was harsh, and cruel. The Chinese man said the CD was not for sale. Is he for REAL? Oh my God…

He told me a lot of people wanted to buy the CD but he refused to sell the CD – saying that the CD was for his personal use only. I was heart broken. He was really playing hard to sell. He told he would have sold the CD a long time ago if he wanted to but he did not.

I tried to establish a rapport with him. I asked if he sold any other Indian CDs. He said he only had the "Thiruda Thiruda" CD. Now he was getting a little bit annoyed with me. He slowly pushed the "Thiruda/Puthiya Mugam" CD jewel away from me – as if asking me to leave – that I will not be able to buy the CD from him.

Desperate to get the CD – I turned around, and stood next to him – side by side – and offered him RM100 to buy the CD. Immediately, once he heard my offer, I can see that his heart gave way, and he accepted my offer. He did not try to negotiate or ask more – he just accepted my first offer.

He offered to shake my hands, and I shook his hands. He stopped the CD player, and took out the CD, and showed me the back of CD indicating that it had no scratches. He put the CD inside the jewel case, and gave it to me. He told me before I left his booth – “You are well aware of the CD’s worth and value…”. He was very happy, and I saw him talking to a young Indian seller next to his booth about his good fortune. It’s actually my good fortune to buy the CD on that day.

I just wanted to go back home. I could not believe my luck. The CD was worth the RM100 that I paid to the old Chinese man, and even more!!!  I remember the first time I saw the Magnasound "Thiruda/Puthiya Mugam" CD was in November 1993 in my cousin brother's house during Deepavali. He played the CD, and people were very impressed with "Putham Pudhu Boomi" - saying the song was very refreshing to listen to. Later, my father borrowed the CD from my cousin brother but later the CD was given back. I got my first copy of the CD from Haniffa Textiles shop in Jalan Masjid India around 1998. I remember the CD being displayed in the audio cabinet section of Haniffa Textiles. Everytime I went to the shop late in 1990s, it was always there - waiting for me to buy it. In 1998, I was accepted into Shell Malaysia as an industrial trainee, and I received a monthly allowance of RM500. This allowed me to finally buy the CD. I still remember when I wanted to purchase the CD - one of the staff working at the audio section of Haniffa Textiles asked me whether "Koncham Nilavu" can be played for a while. I lost my copy of the CD in 2006. I have never seen another copy of the CD for sale anywhere since – not even on the Internet sites.

It feels great to be finally among the privileged few to have an original copy of the Magnasound "Thiruda/Puthiya Mugam" CD. Thiruda Thiruda is one of A.R. Rahman’s best soundtracks of all time. It’s my personal favourite. Thank you to the Old Chinese Man…

On the jewel case of the CD, there was a price tag sticker pasted upside down with Chinese characters hand written on it. The price tag had "Golden Rainbow" printed underneath it. There is also the following name written on the jewel case using a black marker pen but it appears to be slowly fading away: 
Fauziah Zakariah (R2)

My first thought was that R2 stood for Radio 2 - which is a defunct national radio station in Malaysia - maybe Fauziah Zakariah was a former DJ working for the Radio 2 station. A quick search from Google highlighted there was indeed a Fauziah Zakaria (Zakariah without the "h" but close enough) who previously was a DJ with Radio 2. Was she the original owner of the CD? Wow... this is so amazing!!!

http://fauziahzakaria.blogspot.com/

Later on Tuesday, when I was back in office, I asked my Chinese colleagues what was written on the price tag pasted on the jewel case of the CD. They said it was written in Mandarin, and literally meant "self use" or "personal use". The Old Chinese Man really meant it when he told the CD was not for sale, and was for his personal use.