Tamil Features

Songs on the Kungumam Trail

For Tamils, the kungumam is the holiest of everything holy. And so, partly in honour of holi, and also to celebrate Tamil cinema’s undeniable fixation with thaaikulams and their various adornments, here are the songs  that we could find when we typed ‘kungumam‘ in Google.

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“Kunguma Poove” from Maragatham

Singers:  Chandrababu, Jamuna Rani

Lyricist: R Balu

Composer: SM Subbiah Naidu

Starring: Chandrababu, Jamuna Rani.

A playful little ditty about rogues and maidens, this track is all that is fun and quirky. At a time, when leading heroes and heroines were singing about their pure love in pure Tamil, this song (peppered with Madras Bashai) proved to be refreshing as well as catchy.

 

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“Kungumam Manjalukku Indru Thaan Nalla Naal” from Enga Muthalali

Singers: KJ Yesudas, S Janaki

Composer: Ilaiyaraaja

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Starring: Vijayakanth, Kasthuri

A dream sequence like none other, this Kungumam song has kuthuvilakkus (Kasthuri included) galore, and also a very..healthy Vijayakanth.

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”Kunguma Pottin Mangalam” from Kudiyirundha Kovil

Singers: TM Soundararajan, P Susheela

Music: M Vishwanathan

Jayalalitha and MGR roll around in parks and on flower beds as they sing about Kungumam and it’s ‘mahimai’.

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T

“Oru Kunguma Chengamalam” – Aradhanai

Singers:  SP Balasubramaniam, S Janaki

Composer: Ilaiyaraaja

Lyricist:  Vairamuthu

Starring:  Suman, Sumalatha, Nizhalgal Ravi

Nizhalgal Ravi and Sumalatha dance the awkward dance of the ’80s outside what looks like your typical hill station house. Everything about this song is awkward, except Ilaiyaraaja’s music. Come for Nizhalgal Ravi’s weird dance steps, stay for Ilaiyaraaja’s soulful music.

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