March 27, 2011

Padmini & Vyjayanthimala's Classic Tamil Dance-off

Finally, here's a high quality video of Kannum Kannum Kalandu from the Tamil film Vanjikkootai Vaaliban which was taken from a Tamil TV. broadcast. Enjoy Padmini and Vyjayanthimala as they square off in the greatest dance-off in Indian cinematic history. The Hindi version is Aaja To Aaja from Raj Tilak and it's the centerpiece of Tom Daniel's excellent Padmini - The Hindi Years DVD. You can get the DVD for free - Here.

6 comments:

  1. Quite wonderful. Not quite sure on the direction the music takes upon Vyjayanthimala's entrance but there we go beyond that it is an amazing sensual treat. The climax and Vyjayanthimala's eyes are worth the admission fee alone...

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  2. I can tell you the direction that composer Chitalkar Ramchandra surprisingly takes with the music upon Vyjayanthimala's entrance. He takes the music by way of Havana, Cuba circa 1958 as he cleverly mixes some Latin dance music into the song!

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  3. Wow!! This is indeed the best copy available of the Tamil version. Did you ever see the version on YouTube a couple years back before istream removed it for copyright violation and put up their horridly-degraded copy? It was from JayaTV, and while the resolution isn't as clear as the one in your post, the contrast was such that the blacks and whites just popped (especially the designs in the floor). I adored that version and still have it, but the problem was it cut off the first minute of the song. This version is just brilliant! Somehow I overlooked that there was a Hindi version of it too- off to watch. Thank you for posting this! :)

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  4. I never saw the JayaTv version. This version isn't perfect, but it's certainly miles better than the istream crap. Yes, go see the Hindi version on Youtube. Make sure you watch the restored one by Tom Daniel (tommydan1). It's brilliant! @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MznvQBRXUes ...or better yet, get his Padmini DVD.

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  5. I know I've seen and even posted other versions of this competition before we were left solely with the istream crap. I think one of those versions must have been the JayaTV version that Minai describes.

    Mister Naidu, thank you for making sure that YouTube has a decent copy of the Tamil version again.

    I tried a little to discern if there were any noticeable differences between this and the Hindi version, other than the difference in language and a change in some members of the cast. Though I don't know if I have the time or energy to complete that task... (Actually, it sounds like a project that would be perfect for Minai, considering her recent comparisons of a Gopi Krishna dance. :) ) But one thing I think I'm noticing is that in the Tamil version, Vyjayanthimala actually seethes a little more in the beginning, while she's still seated and watching, so it's even scarier when she finally joins the dance. But that could be a completely subjective impression on my part...

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  6. Richard, I think Vyjayanthimala does do more seething in the Tamil version and that's a good thing :) I love the back and forth seething and glaring between the two. Priceless.

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