RMIM Archive Article "151".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Great composers, haunting melodies (2/2)
#
# Posted by: Adithy (munna@cs.uidaho.edu)
# alt.culture.kerala
# Source: The Hindu, Aug 1994.
# Author: T.P.Sasthamangalam
#
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Great composers, haunting melodies
Malayalam Films
by
T.P. Sasthamangalam
The Hindu, Friday Review, August 19, 1994
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Great composers, haunting melodies
The golden jubilee of Malayalam film music was observed in Au-
gust, 1994. T.P. Sasthamangalam surveys the developments in the
sphere in the last 50 years.
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-- The golden period in Malayalam film music started with
"Neelakkuyil". The major lyricists of this period were P
Bhaskaran (first song: "Choriyuka madhumadhuri" in the film
"Chandrika"). Vayalar Rama Varma (first song: "Thumbi thumbi vaa
vaa" in the film "Koodappirappu"), and ONV Kurup (first song: "Aa
malar poykayil aadi" in "Kaalam marunnu"). If Vayalar's lyrics
followed the classical literary tradition, Bhaskaran's verses
oozed rustic charm. Scoring poetically ponderous words of Vayalar
posed a great challenge for composers, while Bhaskaran's in-
herently musical lyrics found them at ease. The earlier works of
ONV Kurup reflected the poet's concern for the downtrodden. And
his innumerable poetic creations of this period, to say the
least, belonged to a rare class.
The images of classical Sanskrit literature, particularly those
from the works of Kalidasa, were adapted for the first time into
Malayalam lyrics by Vayalar. And these ditties were breathtaking-
ly tuned by G Devarajan, who came to the scene in 1955 after a
successful stint as music director in the leftist theatre group
Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC). With the arrival of singers S
Janaki in 1959 (first Malayalam song: "Rakkuyile" in the movie
"Minnalpadayali), P Susheela in 1960 (first Malayalam song: "Pat-
tupadi urakkam njan" in the film "Seetha"), K J Jesudas in 1962
(debut song: "Jathibhedam mathadwesham" in the film "Kalpadukal")
and P Jayachandran in 1966 (first song: "Oru mullappoo malayu-
mayi" in the film Kunjali Marakkar"), the stage was set for a
truly remarkable period that was to take Malayalam film music to
glorious heights.
The songs by the Vayalar-Devarajan team, which opened its account
in "Chaturangam", were the hallmark of this period. The hits by
the duo included "Periyare" ("Bharya"/1962), "Kannuneer
muthumayi" ("Nityakanyaka"/1963), "Kattil ilam kattil" ("Odayil
ninnu"/1965), "Sanghupushpam kannezhuthumbol" ("Sakuntha-
la"/1965), "Ezhu sundara rathrikal" ("Aswametham"/1967), "Pari-
jatham thirumizhi thurannu" ("Thokkukal katha parayunnu"/1968),
"Swarnnachamaram" ("Yakshi"/1968), "Kattadichu kodum kattadichu"
("Thulabharam"/1968), "Nityakamuki" ("Susy"/1969) and "Sanyasini"
("Rajahamsam"/1974). Another prominent composer of the period was
M S Baburaj, the son of a singer from Bengal who settled down in
Kozhikode.
Most of the songs Baburaj were based on the Hindustani style, in
which he had his initial training. He was introdunced to the
world of film music by singer Kozhikode Abdul Khader and lyricist
P Bhaskaran through the film "Minnaminungu" (1957). Some of the
haunting melodies in Malayalam were created by the Bhaskaran-
Baburaj team. The hits included "Adyathe kanmani" (Bhagya-
jathakam"/1962), "Anuraganatakathin" ("Ninamaninja kalpa-
dukal"/1963), "Thaliritta kinakkal" ("Moodupadam"/1963),
"Anjanakannezhuthi"("Thacholi Othenan"/1964), "Thamasamenthe
varuvan" ("Bhargaveenilayam"/1964), "Vasanthapanchaminalil"
("Bhargaveenilayam"/1964), "Oru kochu swapnanthin" ("Tharavattam-
ma/1966), "Innale mayangumbol" ("Anweshichu kandethiyilla"/1967),
"Swarnavalakalitta" ("Lakshaprabhu"/1968), "Pathiravayilla"
("Manaswini"/1968) and "Vijana theerame" ("Ratri vandi"/1971).
Says singer K J Jesudas: "Baburaj is the greatest melody-maker
Malayalam cinema has ever seen. Even 15 years after his death,
his songs remain hot favourites. And they will be so forever."
The period also saw the rise of composers like M B Sreenivasan
(debut film: "Swargarajyam"/1962), R K Shekhar (first film: "Pa-
zhassi Raja"/1964), Job (debut film: "Oral koodi kal-
lanayi"/1964), Pukazhenthi (debut film: "Muthalali"/1965), Salil
Chaudhury (debut film: "Chemmeen"/1966), A T Ummer (first film:
"Thalirukal"/1968), M K Arjunan (first film: "Karutha pour-
nami"/1968), Usha Khanna (debut film: "Moodalmanju"/1970) and K V
Mahadevan (debut film: "Padmatheertham"/1971).
The prominent lyricists in the latter part of the golden period
were Yusafali Kecheri (first song: "Mailanchithoppil" in the film
"Moodupadam"/1963) and Sreekumaran Thampi (first song: "Avalude
kannukal" in the movie "Kattumallika"/1966). "By the late Seven-
ties the music scene went through massive changes. A new culture
where speed and ostentation mattered most came along with the in-
troduction of modern recording facilities. The songs were writ-
ten, composed and recorded with mind-boggling briskness, and for-
gotten by the public with equal alacrity. Unable to get along
with the flippant new trends, the musicians of my generation
thought it better to lie low. However, a few good songs were pro-
duced in the modern period too", says G Devarajan.
The composers who emerged at the top in the modern period includ-
ed Syam (first film: "Manyasree Viswamithran"/1974), Kannur Rajan
(first film: "Mr. Sundari"/1974), K J Joy (first film: "Love
letter"/1975), Ilaiyaraja (first Malayalam film: "Aaru manik-
koor"/1978), M G Radhakrishnan (first film: "Thampu"/1978), Ra-
vindran (first film: "Choola"/1979), Vidyadharan (first film:
"Aagamanam"/1980), Jerry Amaldev (first film: "Manjil virinja
pookkal"/1981), Johnson (first film: "Inaye thedi"/1981),
Raghukumar (first film: "Dheera"/1982), Ouseppachan (first film:
"Kathodu kathoram"/1985), Ravi (first Malayalam film: "Panchag-
ni"/1986), Mohan Sithara (first film: "Onnu muthal poojyam
vare"/1986) and Perumbavoor G Raveendranath (first film: "Thoo-
vanathumbikal"/1987). Veteran Hindi composer Naushad Ali turned
out a couple of hits in the film "Dhwani" in 1988.
During this period, singers like M G Sreekumar (first song: "Vel-
likkolusode" in the film "Coolie"), G Venugopal (first song:
"Manathe manikya kunninmel" in the film "Odaruthammava alari-
yam"), K S Chitra (first song: "Chellum chellum" in the film "At-
tahasam"), Sujatha Mohan (first song: "Kannezhuthi pottuthottu"
in the film "Tourist Bunglow"), Arundhati (first song: "Arikilo
akaleyo" in the movie "Navambarinte Nashtam"), Minmini (debut
song: "Akkare ninnoru kottaram" in the film "Swagatham") came to
the fore. The lyricists who carved a niche for themselves in the
industry during the same period included Poovachal Khader (first
song: "Mazhavillin ajnatha vasam kazhinju" in the film "Kattu-
vithachavan/1973), Bichu Tirumala (first song: "Akkaldama" in the
film "Rathinirvedam/1978) and Kaithapram Damodaran Namboodiri
(first song: "Devadundubhi sandralayam" in the film "Ennennum
kannettante"/1986).
Though the number of artists in the music scene increased in the
Eighties, the quality of songs dreadfully came down. "I don't
think we will ever be able to better the songs produced during
the golden period. The were created in an era when innocence and
warmth still had their place in human life. Amidst the din and
bustle of today, it is certainly a great relief to immerse one-
self in the old melodies", sums up K J Jesudas.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian