Today ,November 22,marks the 50th birth anniversary of the best ever Malayalam song,Thamasamenthe Varuvan.The movie,Bhargavi Nilayam with the immortal song,was released on November 22,1964.
My home was just opposite to a theatre,Sreekala,in Tripunithura.If I remember right,the theatre was opened in 1966,because the Tamil movie,Motor Sundaram Pillai,a Nagesh starrer was the first movie there.It was a 1966 film.Mahakavi Kalidas,followed.We didn't have a radio.Bhargavi Nilayam and Chemmeen were shown in Sreekala,in 1966.Maybe I heard the song before that in the small public park,close to the North Fort Gate junction.There was a mike in the park.The park itself is not there now.I was just a four year old then.The song has grown inside me,with me.It will die,ofcourse, only when I breath my last.For others,it will continue to resonate,till the end of the world.
Yesudas with Baburaj
Bhargavi Nilayam,was the only movie script written by the legendary Vaikam Muhammed Basheer(1908-1994).It was found and printed by the Kalakaumudi weekly, years later, after his death.The script was based on his short stories,Neelavelicham and Nilavu Kanumbol.Basheer once wrote that,Neelavelicham was based on his personal encounter with the ghost of a beautiful woman.Prem Nazir,Madhu and Vijayanirmala were in the leading roles.Madhu was the writer and Vijayanirmala,the ghost.It was the first horror movie in Malayalam.It was also the directorial debut of A Vincent,the Cinematographer.The camera for the movie,was wielded by,P Bhaskar Rao.It was the debut movie of an actor,Padmadalakshan,who became famous later,as Kuthiravattam Pappu.His name in the movie,was,M P Kuthiravattam.The film was shot in Thalassery.
Bhargavi Nilayam poster
Its sound track,containing seven songs,crafted by M S Baburaj,was a master piece.Except the dance song,Anuraga madhu chashakam,By S Janaki,all the other songs were hits.Thamasamenthe became a sensation.Other songs were,Ekanthathayude aparatheeram,Arabikadaloru manavatti(Yesudas,P Suseela),Pottatha ponnin(Janaki),Pottithakarnna kinavu(Janaki).It is not easy to count two songs in the same movie among the first 10 in a language.But I consider the song,Ekanthathayude , sung by Kamukara Purushothaman,picturised on the Thalayi beach,one among the best 10 songs in Malayalam.
Most of the best songs in Malayalam, have been lipped by Madhu.He lipped for Ekanthathayude....
It was easy for P Bhaskaran to write the lyrics.The content of the songs and some of the lines too,were there in the script.Ekanthathayude apara theeram(the vast sea shore of loneliness)was there in Baheer's story,Anarghanimisham.In Neelavlicham,the writer was expecting the ghost any moment,but she made him wait.From there,began,Thamasamenthe...(Why the delay,my dear..)
(The above video is Yesudas singing the song,2o years later,in 1985 film award nite)
The song,was set to Hindustani Raga,Bhimpalasi,a combination of two ragas,Bhim and Palasi.It is a late afternoon raga,related to Hindustani ragas,Dhanashree,Dhani,Patdeep,Hamsakinkini and Patdeepaki.In Carnatic music,it is close to Abheri,falling with melakartha 22,Kharaharapriya.The famous song,Manasanilayil,in Dhwani is set to Abheri.Raga Bhageshree also is related.The madhyamam is the important note in Bhimpalasi.No wonder,Yesudas perfected the song only in the 23rd take!
Baburaj had Talat Mahmood in his mind to sing the song.Thamasamenthe was inspired by the Talat song,Humse aaya na gaya in the 1957 movie,Dekh Kabira Roya.The lyric was by Rajesh Kishen and music by Madan Mohan.
I do not know why Babukka could not rope in Talat.He realized his dream in 1977,by calling Talat to sing for the movie,Dweep.Another song,by the sea.
There is one song too,close to Thamasamenthe,in Bhimpalasi,in the 1957 movie,Chandrakantha,sung by Rafi.The song is,Maine chaand aur Sitaron ki.
Many have suspectedthe Rafi song by Noushad,Mere mehboob tujhe in the 1963 film,Meri Mehboob,as the original.But,it is in raga,Jhinjhoti.
The most interesting myth is that,Baburaj tried to imitate Bhimpalasi again in the famous song,Pranasakhi njan Verumoru,in the movie,Pareeksha(1967).It is in raga,Sindhubairavi.It was the same team:Bhaskaran,Baburaj and Prem Nazir.Rathisukhasaramayi in Dhwani is in Sindhubairavi.
There are several famous Hindi songs in raga,Bhimpalasi.
1.Beena madhur kuch bol/Ramarajya/Saraswati Rane(1943),2.Asmanwale Teri duniya se/Laila Majnu/Talat & Lata(1953),3.Aa Neele Gagan/Badshah/Lata(1954),4.Tere Sadke Balam/Amar/Lata(1954),5.Maine Chaand aur Sitaron ki/Chandrakantha/Rafi(1956),
6.Humse Aaya Na gaya/Dekh Kabira Roya(1957),7.Nagma O sher ki/Ghazal/Lata(1964),8.Naini are Badra Chaiye/Mere Sayya/Lata(1966),9.Khilte hain Gul Yahan/Shirmilee/Kishore Kumar(1972),10.Ae Ajnadi tu Kabhi/Dil Se/A R Rahman+Udit Narayan998),11.Samay O Dhire/Rudali/Bhupen Hazarika.
Here is a classical Bhimpalasi from Pandit Jasraj.
For Thamasamenthe,Sitar was the main accompaniment.Let us listen to maestro,Pandit Ravi Shankar playing Bhimpalasi,in Sitar.
Jayachandran the singer,who had accompanied Yesudas in Mridangam, once at the school youth festival,considers,Thamasamenthe,the ultimate song.Just to listen to the song,he had watched,Bhargavi Nilayam,27 times,in the Ponni theatre at Irinjalakuda.I end my tribute with Jayachandran's tribute to Yesudas and the immortal song.
Reference:
1.The Story of Indian Music/O Goswami
2.The Raga Guide/Joep Bor
3.Chandrakantha.com
4.malayalasangeetham.info
5.My comments in Multiple Version of Songs in Songsofyore.com
Bombay Ravi transformed Malayalam melody Bombay Ravi(1926-2012) was born in Delhi.He shifted to Mumbai in 1950. He was born as Ravi Shankar Sharma.He learnt music listening to the bhajans his father sang.He had no formal training;he taught himself Harmonium. He was a trained electrician.He didn't want to shock anyone;So he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood.He lived on the streets;Slept at night at the Malad railway station.In 1952,Hemant Kumar asked Ravi to sing backing vocals for Vandematharam in the movie,Anandmath.His musical journey began.Chaudwin ka Chand(1960) made him immortal.
Bombay Ravi
He took a break for 12 years, from 1970.In 1982,he made a come back with Nikaah.Hariharan,a music aficionado,convinced Ravi in 1986 to make his foray into Malayalam ,with Panchagni.Ravi has composed music for only 15 Malayalam movies.Six of them were for Hariharan:Panchagni,Nakhakshatangal(1986),Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha(1989),Sargam(1992),Parinayam(1994),Mayookham(2005).Panchagni,scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair,told the story of a heroine of the erstwhile Naxalite movement,who had to face grim realities again,while trying to have a normal life.The character had a shadow of the revolutionary,K Ajitha,daughter of Kunnikkal Narayanan from Kozhikode and Mandakini from Maharashtra.It was a Naxalite family.Both the songs from the movie by ONV,replaced cacophony in Malayalam with melody,and became a rage. SONG1:SAGARANGALE/FILM:PANCHAGNI/YESUDAS
SONG2:AA RATHRI MANJU POYI/FILM:PANCHAGNI/CHITRA
Same year,Hariharan came up with Ravi in Nakhakshathangal.The movie had Guruvayur temple as backdrop.Singer Jayachandran donned an important role in the film and sang two songs:Kevala Marthyabhasha and Vreelabharithayay.There were five songs in the movie.Manjal prasdavum,Neeraduvan Nilayil,Aareyum Bavagayakanakkum are the rest.Ravi got the state award for music director and Chitra won the national award for the best female play back singer for Manjal prasadavum. SONG3:MANJAL PRASADAVUM/FILM:NAKHAKSHATANGAL/CHITRA Ravi gained another national award for Chitra for the song,Indu pushpam in Vaisali(1989).It was another night song after Aa rathri manju poyi... SONG4:INDU PUSHPAM/FILM:VAISALI/CHITRA
Though all the songs in Nakashathangal are still fresh in memory,there is a poem by ONV which is seldom mentioned. SONG5:VREELABHARITHAYAY/FILM:NAKHAKSHATHANGAL/JAYACHANDRAN After two Hariharan movies,Ravi composed music for Theertham(1987) directed by Mohan.Usually it is not seen in the list of Ravi movies,because the songs are not available.I have seen the movie,which tells the story of a Nambudiri girl,played by Pallavi Joshi.Maybe the makers of the movie thought it not worthwhile to bring out the record,because two of the songs were by Nedumudi Venu & chorus.The songs,Ganapathiye Nin Achan and Aathintho,written by my friends,Kavalam Narayana Panicker and Balachandran Chullikkad had absolutely no Ravi touch.It had the typical Kavalam folk touch.A third song,Bas More Nainaan by Alka Yagnik is shown in the credit;the lyrical credit given to Kavalam and Chullikkad.Very doubtful.I remember only the folk songs. Coming back to Hariharan movies,Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha had five songs,out of which two,written by poet and administrator(he was Chief Secretary,Kerala;after that Vice Chancellor)stand out:Chandanalepa sugandham and Kalarivilakku(Chitra). SONG6:CHANDANALEPA SUGANDHAM/FILM:ORU VADAKKAN.../YESUDAS
Kaithapram Damodaran Namboodiri wrote two songs.Indulekha Kan thurannu(Yesudas) and Unniganapthi Thampurane(Chitra,Ashalatha).Indulekha is still remembered.The last,Enthinavidam Parayunnacha was from the folk Vadakkan pattu. The musical melodrama,Sargam had nine songs,five of them by poet and Krishna devotee,Yusuf Ali Kecheri.1.Kannadi aadhyamayen(Chitra) 2.Pravahame(Yesudas),3.Aandolanam(Yesudas,Chitra),4.Krishnakripasagaram(Yesudas) 5.Sangeethame(Yesudas).Ravi won the state award. SONG7:KRISHNAKRIPA/FILM:SARGAM/YESUDAS
1994 was the land mark year for Ravi.He got the national award in 1995 for the two movies he did in Malayalam in 1994:Parinayam directed by Hariharan and Sukrutham by Harikumar.Parinayam was based on the caste inquisition of Thatri in 1905.It had four songs,written again,by Yusuf Ali:Vaisakha poornimayo(Yesudas & Chitra versions)2.Samajasancharini(Yesudas,Chitra versions)3.Anjusarangalum(Yesudas)4.Parvanendumukhi.The best in the movie,Samajasancharini was in fact composed by Manoj krishnan,assisting Ravi at that time.Hariharan and Yusuf Ali insisted that Manoj do it-Ravi was absent,but they urgently needed the song.This has been revealed by Yusuf Ali.Manoj from Palakkad,whom I know personally,set it to raga,Kamboji.Manoj,later in 1997,sang Chundathu Thenulla for Ravi in the album,Aavani Kanavukal.In 1998, he sang a solo,Samagana (Yesudas had a version)for Ravi,in Kalivakku.I met Manoj after Yusuf Ali's confession.He did music for a Tamil film later.He played the song by Subha in that film,in his car,for me.That movie didn't see light of day. SONG8:SAMAJA SANCHARINI/FILM:PARINAYAM/YESUDAS
So,to do justice to Ravi,let us listen to him.Another night song: SONG9:VAISAKHA POURNAMIYO/FILM:PARINAYAM/CHITRA
Both movies were scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair.The Back ground score for Sukrutham was done by Johnson who won the national second best music director award the same year.He won the national best back ground score award for Malayalam film too.The movie script took a holistic approach to death,taking a leaf out of MT's own life when he was a journalist.Death is a moment to rejoice.The hero walked toward a running train,detached.Among the four songs,Kadalinnagadhamam is a gem.Lyrics by ONV. SONG10:KADALNNAGADHAMAM/FILM:SUKRUTHAM/YESUDAS,CHITRA
The last work of Ravi, in Malayalam ,too, was for Hariharan.Mayookham(2005)had six songs,including a sloka,Tha Geha Krithya Niratha sung by Vijitha Jai Ganesh.For the first time,Hariharan himself wrote two songs:Kattinu Sugandham (Yesudas)and Chuvarillathe(Jayachandran).Mankombu Gopalakrishnan wrote,three:Ee Puzhayum(Yesudas),Dhanumasa pularikal(Sujatha) and Bhagavathi Kavil Vacho(MG Sreekumar).We see a waning Ravi here.Ee Puzhayum is the average one among them.It was the Debut movie of Mamta Mohan Das. SONG 11:THA GEHA KRITHYA NIRATHA/FILM:MAYOOKHAM/VIJITHA
Ace director Bharathan called Ravi for Vaisali(1989) and Padheyam(1993).Though Padheyam is not a good work of Ravi,Vaisali was a land mark.Except Poomullakkattil by Chitra,all songs were hits.It told the Rishyasringa story.I was not aware of the Rishyasringa temple at Kigga,Sringeri,and that Sringeri got its name from him,at the time when I saw the movie.It seems Bharathan didn't knew either;the movie was shot in Idukki.Kigga itself is amazing - I was there four months back.Vaisali was scripted by MT and Padheyam by Lohitha Das.Actor Gopi was one of the producers of padheyam,a compelling story of an unusual love between a young girl and a senior poet.It was Chippi's debut film.Out of six songs by Kaithapram,only two are remembered:(Chandrakanthamkondu(versions of Yesudas & Chitra) and Rasanilavinu Tharunyam.
SONG 12:RASANILAVINU/FILM:PADHEYAM/YESUDAS,CHITRA
Jayaraj,had assiste Bharathan, for six movies,from,Chilambu(1986).He had met Ravi during the recording of Vaisali.Jayaraj,aptly named his debut movie,Vidyarambham(1990).Three songs in the movie,Uthralikkavile(Yesudas),Poovarambin Thazhe(Chitra) and Pathira kombile didn't click much.Kaithapram,it seems,was not having the same wave length.Uthralikavile, was set to raga,Mohanam;Bhoopali in Hindustani. SONG 13:PATHIRA KOMBILE/FILM:VIDYARAMBHAM/YESUDAS
The case was different when Yusuf Ali teamed up with Ravi,once again proved by Gazal(1993).Out of nine songs in the movie,Isal Thenkanam and Sangeethame are ever green. SONG14:ISAL THENKANAM/FILM:GAZAL/YESUDAS,CHITRA
Its original was Mujhe Pyar ki Zindagi dene Wale sung by Rafi and Asha Bhosle in Pyar Ka Sagar.Of course,Hindi tune was also by Ravi. MUJHE PYAR/FILM:PYAR KA SAGAR/RAFI,ASHA
The best of Yesudas appeared in an unreleased movie,Kalivakku(1998).It was to be directed by either Vinu or Paul Njarakkal.It was also the best of K Jayakumar. SONG 15:YADUKULA KOKILA/FILM:KALIVAKKU/YESUDAS
SONG 16:GAGANA NEELIMA/FILM:KALIVAKKU/YESUDAS
SONG 17:SAMAGANA LAYA/FILM:KALIVAKKU/YESUDAS
Three songs in the movie,Five Star Hospital(1997), directed by Thaha retained some of the inherent qualities of Ravi:Maranno nee nilavil,Ithra Madhurikumo and Vathil Thurakku Kaalame.It had one song by K G Markose-Anadi Gayakan.Lyrics were by Yusuf Ali.Maranno nee nilavil reminds me of the Naushad songs in Dhwani. SONG 18:MARANNO NEE/FILM:FIVE STAR HOSPITAL/YESUDAS
There is nothing home to write about the songs in Manassil Oru Manjuthulli(2000).It was the only movie directed by Mumbai business man,Jaikumar Nair with serial actors Krishnakumar and Praveena in lead roles.Along with M D Rajendran,Suresh Ramanthali too wrote lyrics. Ravi's only Malayalam album,Aavani Kanavukal (1997)had 10 songs.Six solos of Unni Menon,one duet of Unni Menon with S Janaki,One each of Janaki and Daleema.Both Unni Menon and Manoj Krishnan had their versions of one song,Chundathu Thenulla... While Ravi was very active in Malayalam,Ousepachan,reputed Malayalam composer,lifted a 1965 Hindi tune of Ravi and used it in the Priyadarshan movie,Megham(1999). SONG:NJAN ORU PATTU PADAM/FILM:MEGHAM/YESUDAS
SONG:O MERE ZOHRA JABEEN/FILM:WAQT/MANNA DEY
Ravi died a sad man-in his final years,he was harassed by his estranged son,Ajay Shankar and his wife,the Marathi actress,Varsha Usgaonkar.Ravi lamented that his son and his wife wanted to throw him out of his house(The Deccan Chronicle,27 December,2011).Ravi's wife had died in 1986. Reference:1.malayalachalachithram.com 2.malayalasangeetham.info.3.My talks with Manoj Krishnan,Ravi's assistant
Salil-da had another wife, Malayalam was a mistress
Malayalam owes it to the serendipity of Ramu Kariat.In the mid-1960s he was determined to make a cinematic statement. He was mesmerized by the scriptwriter of Do Bigha Zamin(1953) and music composer of Madhumati(1958). Ramu Kariat, Director of the epoch-making film, Chemmeen(1965), met that script writer and composer, Salil Chowdhury. Madhumati had two stalwarts and was scripted by Ritwick Ghatak; its Editor was Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who later edited Chemmeen,Ezhu Rathrikal and Nellu.
Salil Chowdhury
It was not music that changed Salil's life; it was the story, Rikshawalla that he wrote in the early 50s. His close friend Ritwick Ghatak wanted to make it into a film. But when Bimal Roy visited Kolkata, Ritwick made Salil tell him the story. It was shot in Hindi in 1953 as the famous Do Bigha Zamin. Bimal Roy wanted initially Salil to write the script only but was asked to do the music later. Rickshawalla finally made in Bengali in 1955 was a flop. His debut in Bengali was Poribortan(1949).It had a chorus and a solo,Abujh manre bal morey.Debabrata Biswas, whom he knew from the Indian People's Theatre Association(IPTA )days, sang the debut song for him(source: Wikipedia). Debabrata had sung some of Salil's protest songs.Mahabharoti(1994) was Salil's last Bengali movie.
Salil Chowdhury(1922-1995) was born in Kothaliya, Sonarpur in the 24 Parganas district of West Bengal; it was also the birthplace of Subash Chandra Bose. Salil spent his childhood in the village, of Harinavi. His father, Dr Gyendra Mohan Chowdhury was working in a tea garden in Assam. The childhood days Salil spent in Assam made him a musician. His father had inherited a lot of Western classical records and a gramophone from the departing Irish doctor. Salil listened to Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Tchaikovsky. He heard the chirping of birds in the jungles and listened to Assamese folk music. Mozart, who died at 35 and created six hundred compositions, was his favourite. He used to joke later that he was Mozart reborn. He taught himself flute. He learnt Piano, violin and Esraj.
He also imbibed progressive ideas from his father who used to stage plays with the coolies and tea garden workers. According to Reghu Chakraborty, Salil's friend and close associate, financial difficulties, pushed Salil to choose music as his vocation. His father, who resigned from his job in Assam, died suddenly. It fell on Salil to look after the family were eight brothers and sisters. When he joined the Bangabashi College in Kolkata in 1944, he became part of the Communist Party. He took part, as a worker in the peasant movement, in the Tebhaga struggle of the Kisan Sabha. At that time,share-cropping peasants had to give half their harvest to the owners of the land; the demand of the tebhaga (sharing by thirds) movement was to reduce the share to one-third. His first protest song was Bheschhe baaner Jale, when he was only 21.
Sabita
Salil joined the IPTA of the Party as a flute player. The song, Kono ek gayer Bodhu he composed when he was 27 became very popular. It infused a new wave to Bengali music. In the mid-sixties, he drifted away from the movement disliked the infighting in the party, the petty jealousies over his success and the Party's attempts to control the artistic content of his work.
One more incident shook his life: he fell out with the singer, Hemant Kumar.
Manna Dey with Sulochana
It was just after the split in the Party that he got the call from Kerala. Chemmen released on 19 August 1965 won the national award for best feature film and Marcus Bartley won the gold for Cinematography at the Cannes Festival. Salil Da introduced Manna Dey to Malayalam, though Manna Dey had married Sulochana of Kannur in Kerala, in 1953. Sulochana rehearsed him for several days to get the pronunciation right. Her father Kumaran had a business in Mumbai. She sang the duet, Ami Tomaro Shongey Bendeehi amaro pran with Manna Dey at a Rabindra Sangeeth recital organized by the Indian Cultural League in May 1948. Manna Dey was teaching Rabindra Sangeeth in Mumbai. Love blossomed."I can claim without the slightest hint of embarrassment that all the love songs I ever sang following our marriage are dedicated exclusively to her," he wrote in his autobiography.
SONG 1: MANASA MAINE VARU/FILM:CHEMMEEN/MANNA DEY
Now, let us listen to the Bengali version by Yesudas and Sabita in the 1979 movie, Srikanter Will. Several people are curious why Salil didn't retain, Manna Dey. This is the only song people don't dare to attempt in Kerala-where is the initial humming of Manna Dey when Yesudas attempted?
Here is the one by Hariharan, for the dubbed version of Chemmeen in Hindi, Chemmeen Lehren(1980). The movie was dubbed into English as The Anger of the Sea.
SONG: PYASA HAI MAN KYA KARU/FILM:CHEMMEEN LEHREN/HARIHARAN
The original of Puthanvalakkare is, Bagh Mein Kali Khili in the 1965 Hindi movie, Chand aur Suraj. SONG: BAGH MEIN KALI/FILM: CHAND AUR SURAJ/ASHA BHOSLE
Kadalinakkare was based on the Bengali folk song,Hay,Hay,Herilam by Nirmalendu Chowdhury.Salil da wanted Lata Mangeshkar to sing Kadalinakkare; She had a fever, so, Yesudas lent the voice!
SONG: HAY HAY HERILAM/NIRMALENDU CHOWDHURY
Salil Da composed music for 70 Hindi,41 Bengali and 27 Malayalam movies and one Malayalam album.111 songs in Malayalam. Out of 27, four were background scores: Abhayam(1970), Dweep(1977), Vellam(1984)and Vasthuhara(1991). After Chemmeen, the next in Malayalam was Ezhu Rathrikal(1968), directed again by Ramu Kariat. It had the Bengali, Kamal Bose, as a Cameraman. Lyrics again by Vayalar Rama Varma. The song, Kaadaru Masam by KJ Yesudas is still fresh.
SONG 2:KAADARU MASAM/FILM:EZHURATHRIKAL/YESUDAS
But the rendering of a five-line poem, evoking the depth of night, by PB Sreenivas is haunting. It has no percussion, only the piano chords to seize the mysteries of the night. The only song PB Sreenivas did for Salil is my favourite. The lyric is unique.
I remember Kakkakarumbikale sung by Yesudas, Anto, KP Udayabhanu and Latha Raju too. The song, Makkathu Poyvarum was composed by Latha's mother, Santha P Nair in Salil's absence. Salil scored background music for the 1970 movie, Abhayam directed by Ramu Kariat. The music was by Dakshina Moorthy. It had 13 songs/poems.
For the first time, ONV Kurup teamed up with Salil Da for Swapnam (1973) directed by Babu Nanthancode. Madhu and Nanditha Bose were the leading pairs. All five songs are still remembered: 1. Mane Mane 2.Kanakuyile 3. Nee Varu Kavyadevathe 4. Sarike, En Sarike 5. Sourayudathil. Babu the director, later left movies and became a priest, with the name, Brother Thoma. His last movie had this name on the credit card. He was an Adayar Film Institute product. He studied Cinematography, and was a tutor in the Institute for a brief period, under T Vaiyadurai, his guru and dept Head. He worked there for two years there as a production manager. Cameraman Nivas and actor Sudheer were his friends. Nivas had been the cameraman for Bharathiraja, and through him, Babu knew Bharatiraja.
His first movie was Dhakam (1972), in Tamil, and it was a flop. He was assisted in the script by Vaiyadurai and K K Raman; Vaiyadurai wielded the camera. The cast included Muthuraman, Nandita Bose, Sundarrajan, Pandharibai, Rajakokila, Renuka Parvathi, and Jayaseelam. One of the lyricists on the credit card is Bharati- Bharathiraja?
After becoming Brother Thoma, he gave up chappals. He was seen walking barefoot on the Merina beach, in the scorching son. He didn't join any Church and was a self-styled evangelist. He used to deliver public sermons in Nagercoil towards the end. Former minister B Wellington and owner of Madras Cafe, Narayanan decided to launch a movie project with Baby. When they boarded the train from Cochin to meet him in Chennai, he took a train to Kerala, to avoid them. Thus he left filmdom.
SONG4:NEE VARU KAVYADEVATHE/FILM:SWAPNAM/YESUDAS
Original of Mane, Mane was,the 1971 Tarun Banerji Song, Aarderi nei Aschi.
SONG:AARDERI NEI AAMI ASCHI/TARUN BANERJI
It was recycled into Hindi by Salil, using Yesudas, in 1978, for an unreleased film.The song was,Gaa Mann mere gaao Tarane.
In those days, novels were adapted into movies. Chemmeen by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Abhayam by Perumbadavam Sreedharan and Swapnam by P Kesava Dev. The next film of Ramu Karyat was adapted from Nellu by P Valsala(1974). It was the debut movie of Cinematographer Balumahendra and actor Mohan Sharma. Prem Nazir and Jayabharathi were in lead roles. Jayabharathi was brought in because Saradha refused the role of a tribal woman. Ramu asked K G George, SL Puram Sadanandan and Valsala to write the script. He took portions from the three and re-wrote. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the Editor again. There were four songs penned by Vayalar. Though people think that Manna Dey sang only one song, Manasa Maine, he sang, Chemba, Chemba with Jayachandran in Nellu.
Director N Sankaran Nair used Salil Da's talents for five of his films Leela (1975), Thulavarsham (1976), Madanolsavam (1978), Ee Ganam Marakumo (1978) and Chuvanna Chirakukal(1979). All the songs in Madanolsavam are evergreen hits. ONV once again teamed up with the Kamal Haasan movie, Rasa Leela. Four songs in the movie have stood the test of time;1.Manaykale Thathe 2.Neeyum Vidhavayo 3. Nisasurabhikal 4. Ayilyam padathe penne.
SONG 6:MANAYKALE THATHE/FILM:RASA LEELA/YESUDAS
But my favourite is Neeyum Vidhavayo by P Suseela because of the lyrical quality. The widow played by Jayasudha asks the full moon, You too a widow?
SONG 7:NEEYUM VIDHAVAYO/FILM:RASA LEELA/P SUSEELA
It was during the research for this post that I discovered, one song in Thulavarsham, Swapnadanam Njan, was written by my former colleague, Chovallur Krishnan Kutty. Vayalar wrote,Keli nalinam andYamune Nee Ozhuku .These three were composed by Salil Da. Dakshina Murthy was the other composer. Hema Chowdhury was the heroine.
SONG 8:SWAPNADANAM NJAN/FILM:THULAVARSHAM/S JANAKI
Madanolsavam took Salil da to new heights, with ONV. All six songs were instant hits:1.Madaprave Va 2.Sandhye 3.Mele Poomala 4.Ee Malar Kanyakal 5.Nee Mayum Nilavo 6.Sagarame Santhamaka Nee...Nee Mayum Nilavo is ethereal, and my second favorite of Salil. A rare gem.
SONG 9:SAGARAME/FILM:MADANOLSAVAM/YESUDAS
SONG 10:NEE MAYUM NILAVO/FILM:MADANOLSAVAM/YESUDAS
Mele Poomala was sung by Salil's second wife, Sabita (Banerjee) Chowdhury with Yesudas. Salil had three daughters with his first wife, Jyoti (the marriage was on July 14,1952): Aloka, Tulika and Lipika. In Sabita, two daughters: Antara the singer, and Sanchari and the sons, Sanjoy and Bobby.
Aurina Chatterji, granddaughter of Jyoti, and daughter of Lipika, who lives in Mumbai/Toronto, Says that the Jyoti family used to refer to him as Bapi dadu. He was an infrequent visitor at,16, Hi Krest, Perry Cross Road, Bandra, Jyoti's house. Salil, according to Aurina, was a benevolent ghost. The walls of the house were plastered with his photographs. Salil was a tutor to Jyoti in Philosophy. Malayalees have an answer here, in why he gave only copies to Malayalam. It was definitely an aberration. Vayalar Rama Varma's wife's younger sister, Bharathi, became Vayalar's wife. I have seen the first wife as a domestic servant in my place, Tripunithura. N Mohanan, writer, and son of Lalithambika Antharjanam, who was with the Sahitya Akademi called me once to say that the Akademi has sanctioned a pension to Vayalar's wife. But they found he had another wife.
Aurina Chatterji
Now, we have another revelation in Malayalam by Saraswathi, daughter of Karoor Neelakanta Pillai, writer. She says, there was a proposal from Vayalar. As far as I know, Vayalar loved only one woman, the actress, Ragini, who was married to Madhavan Thampi. I was sitting in the actress, Padmini's home in Chennai, in 1987, talking to her. The children in the colony were playing cricket outside. Suddenly, two girls appeared in the room. One girl, I knew-Amala, is now the wife of Telugu superstar, Nagarjuna. The other girl was dark. Padmini, the one-time heroine of Rajkapur, introduced her as Lakshmi; the daughter of Ragini. The Travancore sisters, Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, danced and were in the limelight for long. Ragini enjoyed her drinks. A genius may have other relationships. To be frank, the Jyoti branch is better. Aloka was a Professor, liked by her students.
Now I quote Aurina, verbatim: One day, in our Bapi-bedecked hall, my older cousin told me in conspiratorial tones that Bapi had another wife and he had other children and that is why he lived in Calcutta, and that is why we rarely saw him.
Ramu Kariat
Aurina says then that she was a happily stupid child. She continues: I didn't think of my mother's devastation, nor the stigma of my grandmother in the 1960s in India....he once accompanied Charlie Chaplin on Piano...But for all his generosity, when it comes to the outside world, like so many luminaries before and after him, Bapi was less than exemplary in his personal life. He had abandoned a devoted wife, a wife he had fallen for while he tutored her in Philosophy, a wife he had secretly married much to the chagrin of her Brahmin father, a wife who selflessly clothed and fed and mothered many of the Film and Cinema aspirants who followed Bapi from small town Bengal. He abandoned his three little ones, the musically named Aloka, Tulika and Lipika, who to my shock and eternal admiration, harbour no regret against their deeply loving but absent father. He always disappeared behind the fragrance of his tobacco pipe...
Young Salil
Finally, Aurina asks some questions about him if he were alive now: What was it like to hide in toilet holes to escape the British? Did you really think Stalin was a good man? How about Brezhnev? Can you teach me how to create harmonies? What are your thoughts on Putin? What do you think of the CPI(m) now? (Salil died when Aurina was 12)
Sankaran Nair's Ee Ganam Marakumo saw the ONV-Salil combine again hitting the charts. The four songs in the movie are still known 1. Ee kaikalil 2.Kalakalam 3.Onapoove,Omal Poove 4.Rakuyile Urangoo...
Salil again tried Sabita with Yesudas.Rakuyile Urangoo had its original in Raat kuheli in the Bengali film,Rai Bahadur.Its Hindi version is Chaand Kabhi in Sapan Suhane.
SONG 12: RAKUYILE /FILM:EE GANAM MARAKUMO/YESUDAS, SABITA
For Salil,1975 was successful. Three commercial directors, Kunchako, Bhim Singh and P A Thomas commissioned him, proving Salil a huge success in mainstream Malayalam Cinema. Kunchako invited him for Neelaponman, Bhim Singh for Ragam and PA Thomas for Thomasleeha. It is also amazing to note that Kunchako used Marcus Bartley as the Cameraman for Neelaponman.A Cannes winner for Kunchako!The three songs out of five, penned by Vayalar are still hits:1.Kaadu Karutha Kadu 2.Kilu kilum 3.Theyyam Theyyam Thare.Theyyam Theyyam was based on his Bengali classic, Dhitang dhitang bole sung by Hemant Mukherjee(1954). Lata Mangeshkar's version followed in Aawaz (1956).
SONG:DHITANG DHITANG/HEMANT KUMAR
Salil met Hemant Kumar for the first time, in the house of Debabrata Biswas, in the early 40s. After joining the Communist Party in 1946, Salil spent most of his time in Jashoda Bhavan, where he took part in political discussions. In one such discussion, Krishno Bandopadhyay suggested to Salil to request Hemant to sing his songs. Salil met Hemant at his Indra Roy Road residence 1n 1948. The party had become illegal after the Calcutta Thesis. Hemant asked Salil to come up with something new since it was a difficult time. Salil went back and finished the half-written song.Kono ek Gayer Bodhu was born.Salil went underground; Hemant himself recorded it as a Puja number was a sensation.
SONG:KONO EK GAYER BODHU/HEMANT KUMAR
Its tune was copied in the 1979 film, Devadasi by Salil himself.
SONG 13: ORU NAL VISANNERE/FILM: DEVADASI/YESUDAS
Sharmila Tagore was there in Chuvanna Chirakukal.Among the four songs by ONV, people remember two. Neeyoromal was based on the 1973 Bengali song, Nayone tari from, Pasher Bari, sung by Dhananjaya Bhattacharya.Parannu poi nee came from, Mone pode Sei, in Antarghat.Hindi version is Kishore Kumar's Man kare Yaad in Aakhiri Badlaa.
SONG 14: NEEYOROMAL KAVYA/FILM:CHUVANNA CHIRAKUKAL/YESUDAS
Don't you think, this is a copy of Neelaponmane? Copying a Malayalam song himself!
