Good looking Carnatic Musicians-your choice?

Miscellaneous topics on Carnatic music
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tylerconscious
Posts: 25
Joined: 17 Oct 2006, 10:40

Post by tylerconscious »

Beautification is very much a part and parcel of celebrities in any industry, these days. It is time the efforts of Carnatic Musicians in this regard is recogonised and discussed!

GNB was supposed to be strikingly good looking, MS was too(casting them in movies was ample testimony). Even in todays circuit, we see male and female musicians indulging in style and fashion statements all the way to the concert stage. The women adorn their expensive sarees and jewellery, while the silk wear is the staple choice for the men folk. However we have seen some artists try their hand at different hair-styles and so on.

Who do you think were the good looking ones, woud be interesting to know what the verdict out there is, of course all in good humor.
Last edited by tylerconscious on 08 Feb 2007, 14:57, edited 1 time in total.

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

DKP
Her smiling face alwys reminds me of my late Grand Mother.
A lovely Grandma she was.
The most beautiful woman , I have come across.

chalanata
Posts: 603
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 15:55

Post by chalanata »

chembai !!!! R.Vedavalli. she's without any make ups always. tiruvengadu jayaraman. he comes in a panchkacham and kondai usi namam. suits his base voice. TVS. he comes in a half shirt and othai vibuthi in the forehead. i do not like the mayilkan vulgarity of some vidwans. b.rajam iyer's diamond kadukkan is attractive. neyveli santhanagopalan with make up of pachakacham and kondai usi namam. both are born for him. sowmya has to realise that she would look more pretty without any make up. have you seen charumathi raguram? she's saraswathi only. smiling saraswathy. one difference is that our saraswathi has a voilin instead of veena.

sbala
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Joined: 30 Jul 2006, 08:56

Post by sbala »

Never seen KVN but seems like he should be up there among the best in this department as well. Among the current male artists, Gurucharan would be on anybody's list.

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

If we are talking of olden days, I have an unfading mental image of Mankkal Rangarajan who was elegance and poise personified. And the best ever in 'royal' looks was HMB! Everybody used to standup and venerate him as he enters the concert platform! Among women I could never forget the young MS (of course she was too fashion conscious in those days!)

vasya10
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Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 22:32

Post by vasya10 »

Among men of olden days, we read that Sri SG Kittappa was a "Sundara Purushar"...

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

When you go that for back one has to consider Pushpavanam himself who was beauty personified (I have not seen him !) as also 'poochi' who used to set the mood through his famous fragrance!

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

CML,
Don't forget the disciple of the disciple of Poochi. NAmakkal Seshaiyangar's shishyA--Rudolph Valentino of India, as one of the London dailies described him! Sorry, folks, for nepotism. It was my uncle VVSadagopan, described thus when he got off the ship in England for the filming of Nava Yuvan alias Modern Youth, in thamizh--the first movie in indian film history to be filmed abroad. He also took in the coronation of the king of England while he stayed for a few months there.
Always wore khadi pancha kachcham and a khadi 'concert shirt' :) and sri chUrNAm (oTRAi). By the time he got to singing a viruththam--say, AniRai mEikka nI pOdi from nAlAyira divyap prabandam, his sri chUrNam would dissolve in sweat, his wavy hair curling...he WAS handsome and had a charming smile...
Last edited by arasi on 09 Feb 2007, 00:15, edited 1 time in total.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

I do remember the stunning looks of VVS though I never got to meet him as often as I wanted, But I have to confess I was more captivated by his voice. His 'enta vEDukOndu..' has never stopped resonating in my ears.
By the by when I saw TNS as an youngster when I visited India with his glowing choorNam I felt divine as when I felt as he started singing!

ksrimech
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:25

Post by ksrimech »

arasi - small correction AniRai mEikka ni pOdi is from pEriyAzhvAr tirumozhi (iranDAm pattu ezhAm tirumozhi mudal pAsuram).

The artiste with the simplest make up I have seen is Smt Pattammal, a very simple lady I would say. I dont know about her in the 60s. Worst make up - Smt MS (Particulary in the 60s), Smt Sudha, Smt MLV, Sri BMK. Worst in the sense too much. I once saw Sri BMK in a concert with a lot of make up. I was wondering if men really needed any! I would rather close my eyes like I do when I listen to Sri Sanjay, Sri Krishna or Sri TNS (becos of their konal chestai infested divine music). Vedavalli mami is also very simple.

I have seen a photograph of Sri ARI with Sanku chakra kaDukkaN. I have always wanted to make one for myself like that. I loved his way of the bright tirumaN/SriCUrNam. May be its like what ever your Hero does it always looks good.
DKJ and MDR were also simple, looking at their pictures and videos. KVN also looked very smart in his younger days. Gurucharan and Swarna Rethas are there for the mordern era.
Last edited by ksrimech on 10 Feb 2007, 03:27, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Thanks, ksrimech for the correction, I have edited my post.

Yes, I remember KVN as a handsome young man with pensive eyes.
Pattammal was kindness personified. Her face glowed with her inner beauty and still does.
I thought Vasanthakokilam (I mean, the original :)) looked beautiful, so was her voice. She wore kanakAmbaram and jasmine flowers. KBS in white or nArmaDi and vibhUthi looked divine to me.MLV, make up or not, had this charm which was a reflection of her imaginative prowess and kind heartedness.
Used to walk past GNB's house. Was he handsome! maNakkAl too, a distinct kumkumap poTTu on his forehead. He looked quite a bit like Lalgudi who wore a kudumi in his youth and was as handsome as they come! Not forgetting TNK, that smile playing on his face (a jovial person and fun to talk to).
Last edited by arasi on 09 Feb 2007, 00:39, edited 1 time in total.

mahavishnu
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Post by mahavishnu »

TN Krishnan. Still looks youthful and radiant.
He always also had very good taste in spectacles....

rasam
Posts: 139
Joined: 10 Oct 2006, 06:36

Post by rasam »

Is the average age around here 85?

arunk
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Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 21:41

Post by arunk »

rasam wrote:Is the average age around here 85?
:lol:

Priya
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Joined: 20 Jan 2007, 00:44

Post by Priya »

well if you ask me, balaji shankar is plain HOT !!! : )

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

What is age? Isn't it just a plain number?

mohan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

Priya wrote:well if you ask me, balaji shankar is plain HOT !!! : )
Has anyone actually seen him recently?

srinidhi
Posts: 227
Joined: 09 Feb 2010, 08:59

Post by srinidhi »

<<Has anyone actually seen him recently?>>

I remember reading somewhere that he was spotted at TNS' Kalanidhi concert.

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

TRS
A Picture of Sartorial elegance

rasam
Posts: 139
Joined: 10 Oct 2006, 06:36

Post by rasam »

What is age? Isn't it just a plain number?
No offence cmlover, I couldn't resist the comment after looking at posts about Poochi and Ariyakudi in a thread about fashion/beauty. I mean why dont we talk about Purandaradasa or Venkatamakhin. I am sure they were pretty fashionable for their times too ;)

Speaking of modern female musicians, most of them could do with a few workouts at the gym to lose weight... It also seems as if they are not wearing enough makeup ;) ;) (makeup porela bolarruku)

I find it amazing how when we talk of yesteryear artists like Muthia Bhagavathar and GNB who indulged rampantly, the paraded adjectives are "elegant", "charming" etc., vis-a-vis the modern artists who are panned as being "materialist" and "impious"
Last edited by rasam on 09 Feb 2007, 07:03, edited 1 time in total.

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/features/in ... hadran.asp

See the very last question and answer from Sri Ramabhadran

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

What is age? Isn't it just a plain number?
cartoon quips:

Retirement pension official,reading application, to applicant:
“Feeling 58 isn’t enough.You must be 58.â€

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Well, since we see today's artistes in person and see their photgraphs in the papers and magazines, we old timers tried to give our young forumites--like rasam--an idea about yesteryears' musicians. I agree, it is the music that counts...:)

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Fiftyeight, Cool? That young?

vgvindan
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Joined: 13 Aug 2006, 10:51

Post by vgvindan »

Have we ever wondered what a performer (musician) would feel how his audience should look like? There was a man - his audience preference was queer, how they should be dressed, where they should be seated. Having those conditions satisfied, he was waiting for their command to sing. Others' applauses would not matter to him. Want to know more - read on -
http://www.rasikas.org/wiki/ramabhirama

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

A good one, Govindan!

vijay
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Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06

Post by vijay »

Hmmm...olden days - all of the "big 3" - MS, (the younger) MLV, DKP had their own distinctive charms. GNB, Ramani, TN Krishnan, KVN, Lalgudi were some of the males who stood out for their looks...I have never seen VVS in person..

TNS had quite a fan following among women in his youth - Unni seems to have taken over that role from him now. Gurucharan would probably emerge as the next-gen "Styleguru". Among women, I would vote for Bombay Jaishri for her grace and poise...

To bring in Hindustani as well - the younger Bhimsen must have been a hunk. Shivkumar Sharma and Amjad Ali among the instrumentalists. Kishori Amonkar among women - easily one of the most beautiful women I've seen....

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

The very different and wonderful sarees that Sudha wears in most of her concerts have a special mention.
from
http://sudharagunathan.com/photogal_view.asp?PGID=3

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

arasi may remember the popularity of the 'MS Blue' sarees of yore!

Sometime back folks used to teach music to their daughters if they were not good-looking to get them married. (I am not kidding!). Some of them were very good singers and then they were permitted to sing only over the AIR and not on the concert platform. It is DKP who boldly shattered the barriers of concert singing by women! It is good times have changed.

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

I think Ranjani and Gayatri are also examples of understated grace...

sbala
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Joined: 30 Jul 2006, 08:56

Post by sbala »

Seems like we are all focusing on different aspects of beauty. dressing, smile, simplicity, overall look and feel!. Who would win the Most Beautiful Smile contest? Among contemporaries, i would pick Akkarai anyday. Sowmya is also quite good. Who is the "Arvind Swamy" among the males?

peanutbutter
Posts: 22
Joined: 08 Feb 2007, 14:51

Post by peanutbutter »

There should be some sort of contest for best looking male and female Carnatic musicians today. Maybe categorized by age.

sangeetarasikan
Posts: 68
Joined: 12 Sep 2006, 17:07

Post by sangeetarasikan »

My vote. Am only talking of living musicians.

Male:

Lalgudi Jayaraman - his eyes spoke their own language in a concert.

T N Krishnan - Age is adding more charm to his existing good looks.

Seshagopalan 20 years ago was certainly drool-worthy.

Ravikiran & Sanjay - Some raw power about them that cannot be ignored.

T M Krishna - Conventional Iyengar elegance.

Sikkil Gurucharan & Chitravina Ganesh - 'Innocent' good looks

Female:

E Gayathri - Always found her beautiful. Age hasn't made a dent on her beauty!

Sudha Raghunathan some 15 years ago was definitely attractive looking if not a conventional beauty. Of late I find her choice of clothes too flashy.

Jigyaasa
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Joined: 16 May 2006, 14:04

Post by Jigyaasa »

Among the men, I'd say one of the Malladi brothers is quite good looking. And among the women, Ranjani(of Ranjani Gayatri fame) looks beautiful.

chalanata
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 15:55

Post by chalanata »

we can dsgress a little and talk about looks and personalities. N.Ramani in my perception is an introvert. this is inferred from the way of his expressions during his concerts.

sbala
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Joined: 30 Jul 2006, 08:56

Post by sbala »

I don't understand why but when it comes to accompanists, the current generation never gets a mention . I think Delhi Sunderrajan has an impressive stage presence among the violinists.

sridevi
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Joined: 10 Feb 2006, 20:22

Post by sridevi »

mohan wrote:
The very different and wonderful sarees that Sudha wears in most of her concerts have a special mention.
from
http://sudharagunathan.com/photogal_view.asp?PGID=3
I am at a loss for words after reading the descriptions for each sari. Reminds of the Seinfeld episode where ELAINE is supposed to come up with catchy phrase/caption/description for the Himalayan walking boots for Mr.Petermans catalogue!! ( wonder if the author of the captions here also went through similar experiences as Elaine did in her quest for the perfect caption!)

bala747
Posts: 314
Joined: 20 Mar 2006, 12:56

Post by bala747 »

Heh I remember my grandad's exclamation when he saw MS Anantharaman on TV. "Kishkindatthilendu vandirukkaano?" But he loved the man's violin though. Interesting though to see the choice of words by different members here.. For the first time I am seeing TNS being described as DROOL worthy... and Sanjay as having "raw power", heh... the innuendos write themselves!

(Maybe cml sir was right.. I need to do some brain laundry!)

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Maybe your grandpa hailing from sucIndruM (town of clensing Indra) saw his fraternal reincarnation (as vaali) at kiShkinda :)
as indeed the prowess of the arm of MSA is mighty indeed !

jaisree
Posts: 42
Joined: 02 Mar 2006, 00:23

Post by jaisree »

chalanata wrote:sowmya has to realise that she would look more pretty without any make up.
ksrimech wrote:Worst make up - Smt MS (Particulary in the 60s), Smt Sowmya, Smt Sudha, Smt MLV, Sri BMK. Worst in the sense too much.
ksrimech & chalanata, it might surprise you to know this... but having been Sowmya's close acquaintance and colleague for many years, I can assure you that she does NOT use makeup (except a light gloss to deal with chronic chapping of the lips), even for TV programmes and made-for-TV concerts such as Jaya TV's Margazhi Utsavam! In fact she abhors the stuff... her accompanists remember a concert in London, prior to which she developed a skin rash and someone advised her to use light makeup to cover it up. She was sooo uncomfortable to the point of distraction and wanted to rush back home to wash away the stuff after the concert!
Last edited by jaisree on 09 Feb 2007, 22:23, edited 1 time in total.

Suji Ram
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Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 00:04

Post by Suji Ram »

mohan wrote:
The very different and wonderful sarees that Sudha wears in most of her concerts have a special mention.
from
http://sudharagunathan.com/photogal_view.asp?PGID=3
I have seen some people here using such design as drapes for the curtains in their home.
Last edited by Suji Ram on 09 Feb 2007, 23:39, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Post by arasi »

Ha, Vijay! I see you surface. Where were you? :)

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Suji
Or is it possible it is the other way around :)
(Recall Sound of Music :)

Suji Ram
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Post by Suji Ram »

cmlover wrote:Suji
Or is it possible it is the other way around :)
(Recall Sound of Music :)
oh yes! :)

ksrimech
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:25

Post by ksrimech »

jaisree wrote:I can assure you that she does NOT use makeup (except a light gloss to deal with chronic chapping of the lips), .....
Thanks for the clarification. I have removed her name from my posting.

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

Amazing thread. What will we come up with next - who has the best kudumi? :)

Btw, is Sanjay the only singer who doesn't apply anything on his forehead?

mahakavi

Post by mahakavi »

jayaram wrote:Btw, is Sanjay the only singer who doesn't apply anything on his forehead?
But he does on his upper lip. I saw a recent picture of Sanjay sporting a mustache!

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

What about the goatee and the streaked locks?

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

Come on guys!
Everyone is human, PLEASE let us not pick on ones look. I'm sure if someone makes fun of our 'looks' we'll not enjoy reading/hearing it. thanks

ramakriya
Posts: 1876
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 02:05

Post by ramakriya »

IMHO, listeners should not care about the looks of musicians, except for the following as nicely put by purandara dAsaru:

gaLa SuddhavirabEku tiLidu pELalu bEku kaLavaLa biDabEku kaLemukhavirabEku

"sing clearly with a good voice, showing a radient face with no signs of worry"

(from tALa bEku takka mELa bEku)

-Ramakriya
Last edited by ramakriya on 10 Feb 2007, 11:16, edited 1 time in total.

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