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Monday, Nov 05, 2007
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Kerala

Strumming your heartstrings

The song ‘Thattam pidich…’ in ‘Paradeshi’ is a favourite with the masses.

Malayalam cinema has contributed handsomely to the genre of Mappila Pattu, or songs that reflect the Muslim culture. Songs like “Kasthoori thailamittu…” (‘Kadalpalam’), “Oru kotta ponnundallo…” (‘Kuttikuppayam’), “Kayalarikathu…” (‘Neelakkuyil’), and “Pathinalam raavudichathu…” (‘Maram’) continue to be popular decades after they were created.

‘Paradesi,’ a thought-provoking film directed by P.T. Kunhumohammed, also contains a lovely song that brings out the Muslim culture beautifully.

“Thattam pidich valikkalle mailanchi chediye…” is one of the most popular songs of the Malayali at the moment and quite deservedly so.

‘Paradesi’ has two other eminently hummable songs, making it one of the finest albums of late in Malayalam cinema. “Thattam pidich…” is indeed the pick of the album. There are two versions of it; one with the background music and one without any music at all. It is the latter that sounds better. The song scores because it has beautiful lyrics by Rafeeq Ahmed, a most melodious tune by Ramesh Narayan and superb singing by Sujatha, who hasn’t sounded so well since “Varamanjaladiya…” (‘Pranayavarnangal’). “Thattam pidich…” proves once again that Rafeeq is one of the very few lyricists in Malyalam cinema today who are truly poetic. He has worked only in a few films after making his debut with “Parayan maranna…” (‘Garshom’), though. His most popular song so far remains “Rakkili than…” (‘Perumazhakkalam’). “Thattam pidich…” has the potential to surpass its popularity. Rarely do we come across lines like “Panayola thattika pazhuthiloode veenu chitharunna thoovelicham/ Ente chiri pole ennoral veruthe kothipicha pularkala ponvelicham ithiri njaneduthotte” in Malayalam film songs these days. Slow-paced, the song grows on you gradually, conquers you, and makes you want to hear it again and again – the hallmark of a good song. It tugs at your heartstrings. Sujatha teams up with Manjari for “Anandakanneerin azhathil minnunna…,” a delectable song composed by Ramesh Narayan in the Oppana mould. Both Manjari and Sujatha are in great form here, singing with gay abandon. The other song of the album “Ya duni duni…,” sung by M.G. Sreekumar and Vineeth Sreenivasan, heralds a promising debut as a music director by Shahabaz Aman, who has already made a mark as a singer. It is a fine composition, no doubt.

It is fast-paced, folksy, melodious, and features a clever use of rhythm by Shahabaz. Sreekumar impresses with his rendering too.

P. K. Ajith Kumar

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