That Harris Phenomenon!

Many friends have repeatedly come up with a poser:"Why do you hate Harris Jeyaraj?".They even come up with theories that all Rahmaniacs are jealous of HJ simply because of his rapid growth vis-a-vis Rahman's remarkable decline in Tamil music.These allegations are pointless.A fan of Sachin Tendulkar cannot be jealous of Cheteshwar Pujara.Moreover,Rahman's Tamil sound has never moved into the realms of mediocrity as populace may suggest.All his recent songs have been celebrated by critics as well as the common man.So,I needed to clarify things in this space that hatred of a composer does not spring from jealousy(or such trivial emotions).After 9 years of Harris-following,I am not sure whether I hate Harris Jeyaraj.

The first time I listened to "Poo Pol" from "Minnale",I instantaneously concluded that it was a new Rahman number before checking out the cassette cover to see the genial smile of Harris Jeyaraj.It is hypocrisy to compare Minnale with Roja.Roja broke barriers.Minnale was just a Rahmanesque album not composed by Rahman."Vaseegara" was brilliant prose converted into elegant poetry by Harris.("Thirudan pol padhungiye thideer endru nee anaipaye adhu kavidhai!").Harris did not break into the scene when there was a musical void.Rahman was on a musical high("Alaipayuthe","Kandukondein","Rhythm") even then.So Harris never filled any gaping hole or was a panacea to any musical headache.He was just an added attraction to an already overflowing cupboard of musical expertise.

The high hopes that I had on Harris started withering away after few movies.He started repeating himself.He reused his catchy hooks flick after flick.(An example:He used the same BGM cues for scenes in "12B" and "Ullam ketkume".)Even his romantic songs always had a tinge of "Hallelujah" Catholic spritual songs flavour which gave him the dubious distinction of being the only music director to be ridiculed ever in "Lollu Sabha".Many fans started unearthing shocking cases of plagiarism against him.Stories of how Harris Jeyaraj listened to English albums to come up with chartbusters would certainly have hurt him badly.

Some attribute my "supposed" hatred towards him to the levels of plagiarism he stoops to.I beg to differ.Even Raja and Rahman have been victims to the complaints of plagiarism for quite some time.In an industry which keeps churning out an average of 5 albums every week,plagiarism is but natural.What puts me off from Harris is the lack of soul in most of his works.His songs give instant pleasure but lack the longevity.What separates Sachin from Kambli is the longevity.(I regret for the repeated usage of Sachin.With the kind of form he is in,he is suddenly everywhere.)Even his much hyped hits("Anniyan","Ghajini"-to name a few) lack surprise and travel the beaten path before disappearing into thin air."Ayan" and "Aadhavan" which won a majority of year-end awards were "yawn-every-second" albums.His BGM work is even more atrocious-a fact I have alluded to in another recent post.
So what exactly have I loved in Harris' works?:

1.The first remains the most satisfying."Minnale" had it all to be called the "Second most sensational debut in Tamil music".Bigger than "Annakili".

2.The BGM score for the love episode in "Kakka Kakka" is definitely a class apart.

3."Ghajini" has inappropriate BGM cues all over.Yet the scene in which Asin and Surya enter the new house together is a scintillating display of sitar at it's peak.



4.Harris has given the massiest intro song for Vikram ever.

5.A sign of novelty I have noticed in Harris' songs is the voices he uses for intro songs.For a police officer with all brawn and brain(and Kamalhassan as the police officer,at that),even Rahman would have opted for SPB to croon the intro song.To go for semi-feminine voices in such a song is a mega experiment but Harris emerged as a winner in "Karka Karka".Further examples of his foolhardiness were evident when he chose Hariharan to croon intro songs for another police officer and a goods smuggler.

6.Harris' brilliant use of singers is more evident in the classic song "Oru nathi oru pournami".If Nithyasree had not sung it,it would have been an "also-ran".

6.I reserve the best for the last.This is a song that has all the typical Harris parameters.Without a semblance of surprise,it takes the beaten path through out but still remains an extraordinary show of soul.Quite appropriate indeed that the hallowed combination of GVM-HJ had to end with this song."Annul mele Panithuli" is a fantastic example of how an orthodox song without musical acrobatisms can still leave you speechless.
And yes-I cannot hate Harris Jeyaraj as long as he keeps coming up with gems like them.