Kerala - Thrissur   

Recreating Kerala in California

Album matters: A scene from the album. (Right) Rajesh Naroth with cinematographer Sudesh Balan.

Thrissur: The scenes look as though they were shot at Marayur or Devikulam. California-based IT professional Rajesh Naroth wanted his music video Kanmani to have a Malayali feel but its budget did not allow him to fly his crew to Ke rala. Hence, he recreated Kerala in a U.S. studio. Locations in California that resembled places in Kerala were selected for shooting.

The result: a video album with a Malayali spirit and high production values that the U.S. entertainment industry affords.

Kanmani ( http://www.albumkanmani.com) is Mr. Naroth’s debut album. A song from the album is posted on YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/ profile?user =rnaroth). It features Suman Tatapudi, a student of the University of California in Berkeley, and Shalin Shah, a medical student. “The scenes have been painstakingly shot and edited,” says Mr. Naroth.

Big names associated with the album include Anu Sridhar, niece of violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, and Prasad Bhandarkar, disciple of veteran flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia.

The singers include Unni Menon, Madhu Balakrishnan, Manjari, Jassie Gift, Vidhu Prathap, Franco and Arthi Murlikrishna.

“The songs are interesting,” says Manjari.

Jassie Gift too agrees. “I like a few of them. Music directors usually make me sing fast numbers. Mr. Naroth did the opposite: he made me sing a melody,” Mr. Gift says.

Mr. Naroth, who hails from Thalassery, resides in Silicon Valley in California. The star of the project is Sudesh Balan, a Malayali cinematographer who works in Hollywood.

“His cinematography is the soul of the video. His work in Hollywood productions is yet to be noticed in India,” says Mr. Naroth.

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