Chennai
Na. Muthukumar was an amicable, fun-loving, humorous poet, for whom words, syllables and evocative phrases came as easily as his understanding of musical metre and depth. While he was composing the songs for my film, Puthiya Thiruppangal, he based it on a thorough interaction with the music director, Vidyasagar, and myself, to get a satisfactory sense of the all the dimensions of the song, from concept to final construction. I often felt that his method was delightfully old-school, while his compositions were unequivocally modern.
When Na. Muthukumar won the National award for best lyrics in 2014, he told me that I was among the first persons that he called to convey the good news because of the support he got from me on this matter. That’s the kind of good person he was, a special person who nurtured relationships in an industry that is relatively pragmatic for survival. But from the moment I met Na. Muthukumar. to write the lyrics for my film, he made no secret of an inner angst that he was carrying within him. And he never hesitated to call on me, at his will, to be a sounding board, to find words for his angst. What an irony that a poet who easily expressed others’ ideas should struggle for words to express his own inner feelings !
But he left before one could understand from him as to where that angst came from. An angst that slowly, but surely, ate into his very being. Was it creative dissatisfaction that came from the hunger for greater poetic heights? Or was it an angst towards a world that never quite recognized him the way he desired? Perhaps we will never know, or perhaps, we will have to interpret it as being as evocative as his poetry.
The writer is a film director
Kollywood town mourns
Dhanush- “Rest in peace na.muthukumar. Very shocked and saddened. Strength to the family (sic).”
Devi Sri Prasad- “He gave beautiful lyrics for many of my Tamil Songs! Can’t believe this news!. May God giv Strength to his family. “When I sing a tune, he used to spontaneously giv me the lyrics on spot!! A great Talent!! A deep loss for Tamil Films (sic).”
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