“In a live recording that lasts up to eight minutes, R.D. Burman uses over 300 different types of instruments, hundreds of violins and so on. It’s a challenge to enhance and appreciate them individually in DTS six channel audio,” says A. Muthusamy of Honeybee Music Studio. He has collected original hi-fi stereo recordings of music composers such as R.D. Burman, Biddu, Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikanth Pyarelal and Anand Milind and has enhanced them on DTS six channel. “I have picked songs of films released between 1975 and 1985. Songs from Sholay, Qurbani, Hum, Yaarana, Saagar, Tezaab and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak... ,” he says.
He plays ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’, ‘Mehbooba’, and ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ on DTS 5.1 six-channel audio, and we sway to the beats and sing along. “That’s what original music does to you. It leaves you charged,” says Muthuswamy. More songs follow — ‘Dil Kya Kare’, ‘Saagar Kinare’, ‘Ek Do Teen’, and ‘Yeh Dosti’ — and six audio speakers capture the energy. “R.D. Burman recorded his songs live on hi-fi stereo while composing for films. We can enjoy the grandeur of his music orchestra and subtle nuances only on six channel DTS and stereo hi-fi, which are original theatrical technologies. None of the latest LCDs, LEDs, and Plasma projection TVs can replicate the experience,” he says.
Muthusamy has now completed 300 Hindi songs and is in talks with audio companies that have the copyright of the songs. “I have spent 45 years in this field and I managed to source the original audio tapes, including the original wrapper of the films through my network of contacts across the world. I sent out the CDs of enhanced Hindi songs to 300 people in Tamil Nadu and the feedback has been positive.”
The music lover says the new Dolby digital technology offers a mere surround sound effect and deprives the audience of a true movie experience. “Dolby has taken over homes and movie halls. Today’s youth enjoy the digital surround as they aren’t exposed to original music,” he explains. Muthuswamy manually enhances old compositions, where he separates and enhances each of the six channels in quality and strength to suit the latest audio format, without tampering with the original composition. This, he says, is his way of making the future generation aware of original music. “We have celebrated 100 years in cinema, but the artists, musicians or theatre owners have ignored to promote this original theatrical technology. The days when families watched movies together are gone. Now, people watch movies on pen drives. Over 6,000 people in Tamil Nadu are aware of my work and the technology. With active social networking the number is growing. For people, who are fed on diet of original music, nothing else is good enough. I want to bring back the magic of compositions in their original form,” he says.
Muthusamy has earlier manually enhanced 5,500 Ilaiyaraaja songs from 100 films released between 1976 and 1981.
Visit >www.honeybeemusicstudio.com or call him at: 94437-08290.
His e-mail is ilaiyaraaja.muthusamy@gmail.com
