Saturday, April 04, 2009

The Hijackers - Magic Bitch-45 Single-1978




Listeners forgive me for the quality!!!
Can some one Guide me to redo it!!

The Hijackers-[1968 to 1998]A Great Band From Cochin of Early Years of Rock in India,For Whom I, Rama Sethu [Known as Buster] was The First Qualified Sound/Lights Engineer through my company Customize Electronics.

The Group Consisted Of :

Late G.S.Harindhran The Lawyer Turned Businessman[Key Boards].Later on I and Hari were the first to Design Kala Bhavan Recording Studios.The Second regional Recording Studios After Singer Jesudos's Tharangani in Trivandrum .After Hari split from Father Abel,I designed the Hari Shree Recording Studios -The Second in Cochin and Third in Kerala for him in 1979.Hari went on to have Harishree Music Troupe,Mimicry Troupe,Drama, Films etc and killed himself drinking.I was saved,I sobered up in Sep 2,1992.

Jayan the Travel Agent[Vocals]Currently Retired and in Dubai was

Replaced


By

Glen Gill Banks [Vocals]in Later Years. Currently in Norway as a Priest I think

Ravi The Lawyer [Rhythm Guitar].Still a Lawyer in Cochin.

Krishnan The Transport Owner [Drums].Currently enjoying retired life in Cochin.

John Anthony The Only Professional Musician[Lead Guitarist].Now in Chennai and the Maestro of ‘kARNATRiiX’.

Radha Krishnan The Classical Musician[Base Guitar].Currently a Music Director in Cochin.

And Captain B.K Iyer Alias Kuttan who also filled in blanks when both singers were missing.Still in Cochin feeling young and Playing Music with Youngsters in Hotels in Cochin.

Capt. Iyer has been part of this scene for more than 30 years now and has even done research on its history. He was earlier associated with bands like `Hijackers’ and `2B3C’, which incidentally, is the shortened version for “2 Brahmins and 3 Christians”. “Talent, a place to practice, good contract, thorough dedication, love for music and at least the bare minimum of instruments,” is what Capt. Iyer lists out as requirements to form a band.


The Band Played Only Covers Those Days.They didn’t have a Choice!!!


This is one of the Rare Recordings Done in “HMV” Recording Studios in Mount Road Chennai.

Recording was done by my Guru Mr.Raghu and assisted by Mr.Jolly Abraham, now doing Gospel Music

The Same came out as an H.M.V-45 RPM -Record-I think it was given away as complimentary copy to many people.

A few days back someone a Good Samaritan sent this to Johny via Mail.

It is my duty and Honor to upload it here.

May Hari’s soul rest in peace!!!!



P.S:

1]This was recorded on a old Valve Mixture with a 4 Track 1/4 Inch Spool tape Recorder.Then sent to Calcutta for Waxing and then cut as a 45 RPM record.

2]I still remember the mixture and Ragu playing tricks on it.

3]I think after “Human Bondage”,"Hijackers" were the Second in India to release their own 45 RPM Record.

Thanks To Johnny once Again.You have set the trend on, let us see how many are going to send their collection of “Hijackers” live on stage!!!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Find A Goal The Means Will Follow-M.K.Gandhi

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Humour


HUMOUR....


Q. What did the valentine card say to the stamp?
A. Stick with me and we'll go places!


Q. What did the paper clip say to the magnet?

A. "I find you very attractive."

Q. What did the bat say to his girlfriend?
A. "You're fun to hang around with."


Q. What did one light bulb say to the other?

A. "I love you a whole watt!"


Q. What did the elephant say to his girlfriend?

A. "I love you a ton!"


Q. What did the chocolate syrup say to the ice cream?

A. "I'm sweet on you!"

Q. Do skunks celebrate Valentine's Day?
A. Sure, they're very scent-imental!

Q. What did the painter say to her boyfriend?
A. "I love you with all my art!"


Q. What does a man who loves his car do on February 14?

A. He gives it a valenshine!

Q. What did the man with the broken leg say to his nurse?

A. "I've got a crutch on you!"


Q. Did you hear about the romance in the tropical fish tank?

A. It was a case of guppy love.

Q. What do you call two birds in love?
A. Tweethearts!

Q. Why did the stupid boy put clothes on the valentines he was sending?

A. Because they needed to be ad-dressed!

Q. Why is Valentine's Day the best day for a celebration?
A. Because you can really party hearty!


Q. What did one oar say to the other?

A. "Can I interest you in a little row-mance?"


Q. What happened when the man fell in love with his garden?

A. It made him wed his plants!


Q. What happened when the two angels got married?

A. They lived harpily ever after!


Q. Why should you send your sweetie a valentine?

A. Because you always heart the one you love!


Girl : "I can't be your valentine for medical reasons."

Boy : "Really?"
Girl : "Yeah, you make me sick!"

Q. Why didn't Cupid shoot his arrow at the lawyer's heart?
A. Because even Cupid can't hit a target that small!

Q. Why do men like love at first sight ?

Answer from a Female : It saves them a lot of time !

Answer from a Male : Love will vanish when she open her mouth !


Q. Why man holds a woman's hand ?

A.1 : before marriage, it is love;

A.2 : after marriage, it is self-defense !


Sunday, February 08, 2009

Tribute To Actor Nambiar The Handsome Villan In Movies But A Spirtual Giant In Real Life!!

Nambiar, the handsome villain, goes off screen



Real Life Hero


MN Nambiar, the handsome villain that generations of cinegoers loved to hate, passed away here on Wednesday. He was 88.


M. N. Nambiar a veteran villain cum character actor in India Cinema passed away today in a private hospital in the City. He was 90 years old. He has been in the film industry for more than 60 years.

Born on March 17, 1919 in Kannur, Kerala, he entered the stage at the age of 13.

His first film Bhakta Ramadoss, where he played a villain was shot in 1935 in Hindi and Tamil. Nambiar was ailing for quite some time, and was hospitalized some days back.

He was suffering from age-related ailments for the past four months and breathed his last at his residence here, family sources said.

He is survived by wife, son Sukumaran Nambiar, a senior BJP leader, another son and a daughter.

Nambiars Sons With Madoo.They Played Western Music In A Group Called Vooodoos


Joining the famous 'Nawab' Rajamanikam group as a stage artist at the age of 13, he made his film debut in 1935 in the 'Bhaktha Ramadosss' made in Tamil and Hindi. He went on to act in more than 1,000 films.

Nambiar was one of the most sucessful stars of Tamil cinema and perhaps the only actor, who had remained active for six decades.

After becoming popular in Tamil films, he started his own drama troupe 'Nambiar Nataka Mandram', which had staged many plays.

He has completed more than 1000 films, mostly in Tamil and a few in Hindi and Malayalam. He has also acted in an English movie titled Jungle.

Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar was the best known 'villain' in Tamil films who graduated to character roles. He became a legend during his life time mainly playing the villain in MGR films. He has done over 1000 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.

Nambiar had acted with almost all top heroes of Tamil cinema like M G Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan.

He also acted in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, besides an English film 'jungle', which was released in 1952, with Rod Cameron directed by Willam Burke.

M.N. Nambiar was a veteran theatre artist and a legend in cinema. He was one of the oldest actors from the pre-war era who remained in the industry till date. He was always humble despite having worked with seven generations of actors.

The Spiritual Guru


A God fearing person, Nambiar was completely opposite to the villains that he portrayed all the years.

M.N. Nambiar was an ardent devotee of Sabari Mala Sri Ayyappan. He had a long association with the temple, and had visited the shrine for more than 65 years, which earned him the title Maha Guruswamy.

Like the man himself, a professional to the core and devoted to his wife and children, his Gopalapuram hou-se exuded an air of peaceful comfort. Its garden absorbed the unending footfalls of the city’s luminaries, who arrived to pay their last respects.


Reminiscences 'Film News' Anandan, the Kollywood historian and journalist: " Nambiar was the first villain actor in Tamil cinema to get claps, when he appeared on the screen.

He was a very good actor as he had a theatre background. The MGR formula films were not complete without Nambiar as the villain.

Though he played the villain, he was a perfect gentleman and a good human being and had no enemies"
Says noted director P.Vasu who grew up on MGR films: "Who can forget Nambiar? He was the epitome of villainy on screen.

I remember films like Enga Veetu Pillai, Aayirathil Oruvan with MGR sir and Ambikapathy, Utama Puthran with Sivaji sir.

These were classics and Nambiar sir's role in these films was outstanding." In the later part of his career he has done a lot of sympathetic character roles in films like Bhagyaraj's Thooral Ninnu Pochu.

In real life Nambiar was an ardent devotee of Lord Ayappa of Sabarimala.

He was a 'Guru Swamy' to a lot of superstar's who made a pilgrimage to Sabarimala, including superstar Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan.

Superstar Rajnikanth, in whose 'Ejaman' Nambiar had acted, said: "He was a blessed atma." Jayalalithaa, who had also acted with Nambiar in films like 'Aayirathil Oruvan' and 'Dikku Theriyada Kattil', hailed him as a "man of high culture in personal life."



Having acted in more than 330 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and English, he also spearheaded a huge following for Lord Ayyappa. He organised 63 trips to Sabarimala; Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth accompanied him during three pilgrimages.

"Nambiar used to hide Rajnikanth under the bed to keep gawkers at bay," said Nellai Sundarajan, who was part of the trips for years.

Nambiar's high strung acting, which was at its best when he was cast opposite MGR, and his part-smooth and part rough dialogue delivery, peppered with a Malayalam flavour, held an inexplicable fascination for the youth. Nambiar, who entered the field via Tamil theatre like MG Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan, was a natural actor. From 1935, when he entered Tamil films, until his last film 'Sudeshi' in 2006, Nambiar was an actor you could never miss.

Even when the rivalry between MGR and Sivaji was at its height, Nambiar was the only actor who could be cast as villain in both their films. "He is irreplaceable," said director P Vasu.

The Handsome Villan


His favourite films were Ayirathil Oruvan with MGR, Ambikapathi with Sivaji Ganesan, Missiyamma with Gemini Ganesan, Nenjam Marappathillai directed by Sridhar and Thooral Ninnu Pochu with Bagyaraj. This was the film in he had done character roles, something which he had continued till date.

Another film which is unforgettable is Thigambarasamiyar in which he had done 11 roles! He has also acted as hero in two films Kalyani and Kavitha produced by Modern Theatres. He has also done serials such as 'Velan.'

May his soul rest in peace.

More On M.N.Nambiar

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Nagesh, made generations to laugh, passes away

Nagesh, made generations to laugh, passes away



C.K.Nagesh-Gunddu Rao,Born:
September 27, 1933(1933-09-27)
Died :January 31, 2009 (aged 75)
Chennai


Born as Gunddu Rao in a Brahmin community, Nagesh was born to Kannada speaking Brahmin Madhwa parents. He walked out of his house telling his parents that he would be back only after establishing himself in some career. In Chennai, he stayed in a one-room bed-sit at West Mambalam (then a remote area) with lyricist Vaali and veteran actor Srikanth. He found a small time job in the Indian Railways, but he was not satisfied.

Nagesh in Server Suntharam, 1964.


Early in his life, he saw a Tamil play Kamba Ramayanam enacted by his colleagues, and felt that he could do a good job. He persuaded the secretary of the Railways cultural association to give him the role of a man suffering from stomach pain. MGR, then chief guest, seeing this play, in his speech praised Nagesh for his performance. From then onwards, Nagesh played small roles in various drama troupes.


Jerry Lewis Of India


Producer Balaji who spotted Nagesh and gave him his first role in films. The most memorable performance of Nagesh out of the 1000 odd films he has acted in, is his role in Thiruvilayaadal in which he speaks a soliloquy. In this movie,he played a poet who had fallen into bad times. When Sivaji who played Lord Siva in the film saw it he asked the director to retain it in full without a cut.


Nagesh ,MGR And Ashokan


Directors such as C.V. Sridhar and Balachander were those who brought out the acting talents of Nagesh. The movie Server Sundaram portrayed Nagesh in the role of a restaurant waiter who later becomes a successful movie actor in a case of life imitating art and art imitating life. He plaed the villainous comic pimp in Thillana Moganambal starring Sivaji and Padmini. In Apoorva Raagangal he plays a drunkard who talks to his shadow and then finishes his dialogue by saying Cheers and throwing the cup on the wall. In the theaters where the film was shown the audience imitated him and threw cups on the wall of the lobby during interval.

He shined like a diamond in the hands of the directors Sridhar and Balachandar.

MGR Opening Nagesh Theater


His professional connection with Kamal Hassan is of great relevance. He was one of the four bad guys in Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989), where Kamal played three characters. In Michael Madhana Kamarajan (1990), where Kamal played four characters, Nagesh showed his funny side in his style. Later he played a dead man in Magalir Mattum (1993) produced by Kamal Hassan.


The Man Who Made Generations Laugh


Nagesh was a self-taught man who believed that an actor could learn from watching life and its characters. He would often sit in his car on busy roadsides and watch the people on the streets to grasp the mannerisms of people that he would later re-enact on screen.



On the personal front Nagesh was one of the few comedians to have acted with both MGR and Sivaji and invested his money in real estate. Later on, he had a fallout with MGR and it led to his removal from many films. Nagesh theatre owned by him in Chennai was on the verge of getting seized for non-payment of dues but he met MGR and was bailed out. Though financially he was saved, his career had stalled and he moved on to character roles.




He died on 31 January, 2009 at the age of 75 due to diabetes and a heart ailment while he was admitted in Balaji Hospital. He is survived by three sons, including actor Anand Babu.

A million smiles faded when comedian Nagesh died of cardiac arrest in Chennai on Saturday. He was 76.




The Tamil film industry is in a state of grief following the demise of one of its most senior artistes. Nagesh, a veteran with more than 1000 films to his credit, is one of the most respected and revered figures in the industry. He had not been in good health in the recent past. Today morning, he complained of chest pain and passed away when he was being taken to the hospital. He is survived by 3 sons, Anandh Babu, Ramesh Babu and Rajesh Babu. The final rites are expected to be performed tomorrow at around noon at Besant Nagar.

His demise has sent a shock not only across the film industry, but to all the people who have watched him in movies over the years. Many names from the film industry have been pouring in right from the time the news of his demise was known. CM Kalaignar Karunanidhi has also expressed his grief over the death of Nagesh.

Among those who paid their last respects to Nagesh since morning are Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Manorama, S.S.Rajendran, Delhi Ganesh, K.S.Ravikumar, Kovai Sarala, K.Balachander, Bharathiraja, Vasanth, Suriya, Vivek, S.Ve.Sekar, Y.G.Mahendran, Mohan, Rajesh, Santhana Bharathi, Goundamani, Murali and many others.

“He was a big inspiration for me, just like how Sivaji sir is. There has not been a day when I’ve not spoken about Nagesh sir. His death is a personal loss for me,” said actor Kamal Haasan, who was largely responsible for Nagesh’s final innings as an actor, in the last two decades.

The actor had teamed up with Nagesh in films 'Magalir Mattum', 'Nammavar', 'Pancha Thanthiram', 'Dasaavathaaram', 'Avvai Shanmugi' and 'Vasool Raja MBBS'. “He has made us laugh all his life. He was a great comedy actor but he was not just that. He has donned so many roles, including the one that we find him now in,” the actor said, perhaps referring to the role of a corpse that Nagesh did in Kamal’s 'Magalir Mattum'.

Kamal And Vaali Paying Respects


Actress Manorama, who has done over 200 films with Nagesh, was visibly moved and said a sense of loss gripped her. “His death is an end of a great era. Nagesh is irreplaceable. There’s nobody today to do the gamut of roles that he single handedly tried, from the 60s until today,’ she said.

Rajinikanth, whose first movie 'Aboorva Ragangal', said Nagesh was among India’s most important actors. “Nobody would have slogged in filmdom the way Nagesh sir has. I pray for his soul to rest in peace,” he said.


One of the early duet hits of the combination of Nagesh and Manorama was the song Cheeddukkaddu Raajaa (Veaddaikkaaran, 1962).Even today every time a comedian tries to launch himself as a hero, the question - if he would manage both successfully like Nagesh did?- does creep in. For instance, recently when the news of 'Kadhalikka Neramillai’s remake was announced, every lip had one question that went unanswered: Who can actually do Nagesh’s role at least the way he did, if not better?

As actor for more than five decades, Nagesh had an uncanny ability to fuse humour and sadness, in most of the roles he essayed on screen. A spontaneous comedian who sent viewers into peals of laughter with his superb timing and body language, Nagesh was a tough act to follow, say industry compatriots, film critics and friends who interacted with him over the last few decades. They are also quick to add that his super star status did not spill over to his personality. They remember him as a generous, simple person minus the fussiness of an industry veteran. They also credit him with making comedy, an indispensable part of cinema and not just a sidetrack.

"He made the role of a comedian the most indispensable and important part of films. When he was at his peak, he could devote only two hours per film per day. Even Sivaji Ganesan and MGR had to wait for him to come to the set. He was such a crowd puller that distributors insisted on Nagesh being there for all the films then," said actor, playwright and political analyst Cho Ramasamy, who also shared screen space with Nagesh.Nagesh's inimitable style and dialogue delivery is something that top-notch comedy actors strive for till date.

The Comedian Sleeping


"When you deliver lines at break neck speed, you tend to lose clarity. But, Nagesh combined speed and clarity and was easily the master at it. You may come across actors who try to imitate his body language but his talking style was unique. It cannot be mimicked," said actor Vivek, a leading comedian in Tamil cinema.

Acting wasn't at the top of his mind, when he came to the city. But, with a room mate like lyricist Vaali, the interest in plays and acting caught on soon enough. He went on to act in nearly 1,000 films.

"He brought in a new style of comedy modelled on Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. At that time, the comedy was more verbal but Nagesh brought along body language and movements. He essayed some very serious roles in his later movies," said film historian Theodore Bhaskaran, whose personal favourite is a lesser-known black and white classic, "Yaarukkaga Azhuthan", scripted and directed by acclaimed writer Jayakanthan.

Evergreen Nagesh favourites include "Ethir Neechal", "Thillana Moganambal", "Major Chandrakanth", "Kadhalika Neramillai", "Server Sundaram" and "Thiruvillaiyadal." His last film was the Kamal Hassan starrer Dasavatharam, which released last year.

Some of Nagesh's ardent fans in the corporate world include Pepsi Co CEO Indra Nooyi and HCL Technologies founder Shiv Nadar. In earlier interviews to ET, Nooyi's mother revealed that her daughter enjoyed Tamil classic starring Nagesh. On the other hand, Shiv Nadar is said to have a DVD collection comprising every film that Nagesh has appeared in.

Rajini,Kamal And Achi Manorama Mourning