{"id":47027,"date":"2026-01-25T21:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T01:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=47027"},"modified":"2026-01-26T01:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:14:29","slug":"dingiri-dingaaley-meenatchi-dingiri-dingaaley-rocking-baila-type-song-%e2%99%ab%e2%99%a5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=47027","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Dingiri Dingaaley Meenatchi, Dingiri Dingaaley&#8221;- Rocking &#8220;Baila&#8221;-Type Song \u266b\u2665"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fb-like\" data-href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/archives\/47027\" data-layout=\"button_count\" data-action=\"like\" data-show-faces=\"true\" data-share=\"true\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>By D.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Favourite Film Songs -2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201c Dingiri Dingaale Meenatchi Dingiri Dingaale, Ulagam Poara Poakkaip Paaru Thangamay Chiillaaley\u201d was a song that rocked Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon in 1958-59 and the years after. The rhapsodic song  from a Tamil film \u201cAnbu Engey?\u201dwas widely popular during my childhood days. It was released in Sri Lanka in 1959.No sing song or dance at a party was complete without it. Even at children\u2019s parties this song would be sung or played with every one dancing. Singing Dingiri Dingaaley and dancing to the song was a regular feature of life in those years<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47037\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47037\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/EE1-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Music has its own language! Linguistic conflicts cannot undermine the universality of music.&quot;\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-large wp-image-47037\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-47037\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Music has its own language! Linguistic conflicts cannot undermine the universality of music.&#8221;<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Years later after I  entered journalism I found myself being asked to sing \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d frequently by my Sinhala colleagues in the media. Ethnic relations had not deteriorated badly in the years before \u201cBlack July 1983\u201d. Fellow scribes of all communities had cordial relations  with each other. When \u201cspirits\u201d were high the journalistic fraternity would engage in a sing- song whenever possible. At such raucous gatherings where many, many  songs were sung there would always be a request from Sinhala friends for two Tamil songs. One was \u201c Adi Ennadi Raakkammaa\u201d from the film \u201cPattikkaada Pattanamaa?\u201d. The other was of course \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d. Both were sung in films by the popular play back singer T. M. Soundararajan known generally as TMS.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nDingiri Dingaaley  or more correctly the song\u2019s melody really caught on in Sri Lanka.  Many Sinhala versions based on the tune also evolved. The most popular one   had the opening line &#8221; Harima Wedak Nedha Machang, Harima wedak Ne&#8221; set to the tune of \u201cDingiri Dingaaley Meenaatchi Dingiri Dingaaley\u201d. There were mischievous variations too with ribaldry riding high in some. The bands at the Royal \u2013 Thomian and other big matches would play them. My friend Ranjan in Toronto  informs me that in later years  different versions  had been rendered by performers like Anton Jones, Desmond de Silva and the Gypsies.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/268811394&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cDingiri Dingaaley Meenatchi, Dingiri Dingaaley\u201d MP3 on SoundCloud \u266b<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPuruthugeesi Kaarayaa\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The main reason why the Tamil song \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d became immensely popular among Sinhalese was because of the lilting tune. A contemporary parallel would be the popularity of \u201cPuruthugeesi Kaarayaa\u201d from the Sinhala film \u201cSandesaya\u201d among Tamils. It was the standard song those days for dancing the \u201cBaila\u201d. As in the case of \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d there were many Tamil versions of \u201cPuruthugeesi Kaarayaa\u201d set to the melody composed by Suni Santha. Music has its own  language! Linguistic conflicts cannot undermine the universality of music. In later years we had all Sri Lankans appreciating Mohideen Baig, HR Jothipala, CT Fernando, MS Fernando, Nithi Kanagaratnam and A. E. Manoharan  regardless of their ethnicity.<\/p>\n<p>An  important reason for Dingiri Dingaaley\u2019s success in Sri Lanka was because  of the fact that the tune was extremely conducive to dancing the Baila. This was due to the influence of the Baila itself  upon the music director who composed the \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d melody. How this situation came about is further  testimony to the close links that prevailed between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in the early years of the Sinhala film industry.<\/p>\n<p>That  was a time when Sinhala films were made mainly in India with the aid of Indian directors, cinematographers, editors, music composers and playback singers. Some of the Indian film fraternity even came over to Sri Lanka and involved themselves in Sinhala films. Many of those films were adapted versions of Hindi and Tamil films. Some were dubbed versions in Sinhala. It was said in lighter vein that the only thing \u201cSinhala\u201d about these films were the actors, dialogues and words of songs.Indian music directors like V. Dakshinamurthy, C.N. Paandurangan, S.S. Vedha, T. R. Pappa  and S.M. Subbiah Naidu have composed music for several Sinhala films. Playback singers like A.M. Rajah, P. Leela, K. Ranee, S. Janaki, Jamunaranee, Jikki and P. Susheela have sung in Sinhala films.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B.A.W.Jayamanne<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was the  Indian music director S.S.Vedha(full name Vedhasalam)who composed the tune for Dingiri Dingaaley.  How Vedha acquired a taste for the Baila was due to his \u201cCeylon connection\u201d.The talented Vedha  had earlier worked under the music director C. N. Pandurangan and also played the harmonium for the orchestra at dance performances of popular Indian actress Vyjyanthimala. Vedha\u2019s first big break to be a music director of a film on his own was given by pioneering  Sinhala  director and actor B. A. W. Jayamanne. The first film that Vedha composed music on his own was the Sinhala film \u201cUmathu Vishvasaya\u201d produced and directed by BAW Jayamanne in 1952. It was the Tamil actor Sriram who introduced Vedha to BAW and helped him get his big break.<\/p>\n<p>Vedha went on to compose music for more Sinhala films produced  by BAW Jayamanne.These included \u201cKele Handa\u201d(1953) and\u201dIrangini\u201d(1954). \u201cKele Handa\u201d was a smashing success and the songs became widely  popular.  Apart from BAW Jayamanne, Vedha composed music for some Sinhala films produced by others too. Among these were \u201cDingiri Menike\u201d(1956) produced by S.D.S.Somaratne and \u201c Jeevitha Satana\u201d (1957) produced by Ceylon Theatres. The practice of enlisting Indian music directors like Vedha to compose music for Sinhala films came to an end only after the production of Sinhala films in India was stopped by the  SWRD Bandaranaike Govt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vedhasalam Known as Vedha<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was while composing music for BAW Jayamanne\u2019s films that Veddhasalam known as Vedha acquired a familiarity with Sri Lankan music and dance  forms particularly the baila.Vedha had made some trips to Sri Lanka. However his close interaction with \u201cCeylonese\u201d was in Chennai &#8211; then known as Madras &#8211; itself. BAW Jayamanne had rented out two adjacent houses on Lloyds road in Madras for his  team of  actors and artistes to stay when in India for making a film. Among these were  BAW\u2019s brother Eddie Jayamanne and his wife Rukmani Devi. Apparently Vedha used to visit the Sri Lankans regularly and interact with them. It was then that he became fascinated with the Baila.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47033\" style=\"width: 148px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47033\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Vedha.jpg\" alt=\"Vedha\" width=\"138\" height=\"140\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47033\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-47033\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vedha<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Tamil film \u201cAnbu Engey?\u201d (Wnere is love?) was filmed in 1957 and released on January 22nd 1958. The film was produced for Jubilee films by V. Govindarajan with whom the actor Sriram had collaborated in  making films. Sriram who introduced Vedha to BAW Jayamanne earlier,  recommended his friend  the music director to Govindarajan also. Vedha got the assignment. The film was scripted by \u201cMurasoli\u201dMaran the nephew of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi. Maran himself later became a cabinet minister in the Indian central Govt The \u201cAnbu Engey\u201d movie director was  D. Yoganand who also directed the Sinhala movie \u201cSundara Birinda\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>When the film was planned it was decided by the director and music director that a dance sequence in a western \u2013 style club should be filmed.The director wanted an upbeat toe-tapping number. The music director suggested a baila type melody. Yoganand gave the green light to  Vedha.  He composed  a \u201cbailaistic\u201d tune. The producer Govindarajan rejected it and wanted Vedha to compose a light classical number instead. Fortunately the director overruled the producer and the original tune stayed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cSiripuu Paadal\u201d Seetharaman<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The lyricist V. Seetharaman was given the task of writing the song. Seetharaman had a flair for writing humorous songs and was known as \u201cSirippu Paadal Seetharaman\u201d. When Seetharaman was searching for a catchy opening line it was Vedha who suggested \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d. Apparently Vedha who composed music fior \u201cDingiri Menike\u201d liked the sound of  the word \u201cDingiri\u201d. Seetharaman went on to write the words of the song in a satiric mode. It was a general indictment of the pretentious changes in society due to western influence.In a song laced with  pin- pricks of a lighter vein several English words too were used. Each verse was in two lines with an alliterative touch.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47034\" style=\"width: 219px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47034\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/TMS.jpg\" alt=\"T. M. Soundararajan\" width=\"209\" height=\"280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47034\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-47034\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">T. M. Soundararajan<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the film the song  was picturised on the hero S. S. Rajendran.  It is a dance \u2013 song sequence set in a cosmopolitian club against a westernised backdrop. The song is sung by TM Soundararajan as SS Rajendran lip \u2013synchs.TMS with his full \u2013throated voice sings bulliently with gusto and fervour. SSR as he was popularly known usually acted as a villager or a common man in films. For this song sequence SSR  elegantly  wears a tuxedo with bow and dances flamboyantly at times. Vedha uses an impressive orchestra with western musical instruments to provide the music. A large number of Anglo- Indians (equivalent of our Burghers)in Madras were hired to engage in dancing for the film shoot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cAnbu Enge\u201d Roaring Success<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnbu Engey\u201d was a roaring success and launched the careers of  SS Rajendran and his leading lady Devika. Among the chief reasons for the film\u2019s success was the song sequence \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d. In this respect I can recall how  I first saw this film at the age of five with my family and a lot of other relatives. At an extended  family gathering on a week-end,  some of my older cousin exerted pressure on their parents that they must see the film because of Dingiri Dingaaley. So a spontaneous decision was taken and all of us went together to the Mylan theatre to see the film.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47042\" style=\"width: 550px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47042\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/SSR-D.jpg\" alt=\"SS Rajendran and Devika\" width=\"540\" height=\"489\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47042\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-47042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SS Rajendran and Devika<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I have had the habit in my younger days to retun home after a film and re-enact some of the scenes imitating the actors and singers. After seeing \u201cAnbu Engae\u201d I used to keep on singing \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d and dancing. This led to an amusing practice that revives nostalgic  memories of my father who is no more.  I shall conclude this article with that anecdote.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cCigarette Aaga Maari\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d song there is a scene where the hero SSR sings the lines \u201cAppan Paattan Aasthi Ellaam Cigarette Aaga Maari- Aiyaa Vaayil Pugai Eduppaar, I am very Saari\u201d. In the scene a man in a corner is seen smoking. SSR goes down to him singing \u201c the wealth acquired by your father and grandfather is now being turned into a cigarette.You gentleman are emitting smoke out of your mouth\u201d. Then SSR reaches out and snatches the cigarette from the man\u2019s lips saying \u201cI am very \u201cSaari\u201d( Sorry). I liked that shot very much.<\/p>\n<p>My father though not a chain smoker  was a heavy smoker. After seeing how the scene was played out in the film,  I would sing \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d when my father started smoking. When the \u201ccigarette\u201d related lines came up, I would  go up to my father and snatch his lit  cigarette and throw it in the ash tray singing \u201c I am very saari\u201d. Initially everyone was highly entertained by this  especially my mother who  was always asking my father to cut down his smoking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI am very Saari\u201d(Sorry)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With my mother\u2019s  tacit encouragement I kept on singing \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d whenever my father lit a cigarette and then snatched it away. Naturally my father\u2019s amusement soon gave way to irritation as he was being denied his regular smoke as soon as he lit a fag. Finally he and I had a discussion and arrived at a compromise.  I was to  begin singing the song  only when my father had smoked more than half the cigarette. By the time I came to the \u201cI am very Saari\u201d(Sorry)line the fire would have reached the butt. I could then snatch the cigarette and throw it off. Of course this \u201cNegotiated settlement\u201d was made possible by the toys and tit-bits given to me by my father.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eG6f5dKzVxA?rel=0&amp;controls=0&amp;showinfo=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cDingiri Dingaaley Meenatchi, Dingiri Dingaaley\u201d on YouTube \u266b<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Thereafter I started singing \u201cDingiri Dingaaley \u201c a few minutes after my father lit his cigarette. Everything was hunky \u2013 dory. After a while other films and other songs began  entering  my realm and \u201cDingiri Dingaaley\u201d was not sung as frequently. However I never lost my liking for the song. Dingiri Dingaaley too never lost its appeal and has stood the test of time. Writing about the song  at this juncture  has also  evoked  pleasant memories in my mind of a father, his eldest son and a lit cigarette!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>(This article written some years ago has been re-posted here without any changes)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com\"><font color=\"\">dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com<\/font> <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- DBSJ14 --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:inline-block;width:300px;height:600px\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-4528630493113906\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"8043885143\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"tweetbutton47027\" class=\"tw_button\" style=\"float:right;margin-left:10px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdbsjeyaraj.com%2Fdbsj%2F%3Fp%3D47027&amp;text=%26%238220%3BDingiri%20Dingaaley%20Meenatchi%2C%20Dingiri%20Dingaaley%26%238221%3B-%20Rocking%20%26%238220%3BBaila%26%238221%3B-Type%20Song%20%E2%99%AB%E2%99%A5&amp;related=&amp;lang=en&amp;count=horizontal\" class=\"twitter-share-button\"  style=\"width:55px;height:22px;background:transparent url('https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-tweet-button\/tweetn.png') no-repeat  0 0;text-align:left;text-indent:-9999px;display:block;\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Favourite Film Songs -2 \u201c Dingiri Dingaale Meenatchi Dingiri Dingaale, Ulagam Poara Poakkaip Paaru Thangamay Chiillaaley\u201d was a song that rocked Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon in 1958-59 and the years after. The rhapsodic song from a Tamil film \u201cAnbu Engey?\u201dwas widely popular during my childhood days. It was released in Sri &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=47027\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &lsquo;&#8220;Dingiri Dingaaley Meenatchi, Dingiri Dingaaley&#8221;- Rocking &#8220;Baila&#8221;-Type Song \u266b\u2665&rsquo; &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47027"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86894,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47027\/revisions\/86894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}