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Scoring beat

Photo: S. Gopakumar

Beyond time and space Chandran Veyattummal used snatches of music of the flute and the saxophone to create his award-winning score

“I was excited. For it was totally unexpected.” That is how Chandran Veyattummal reacted on hearing that he had got the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Background Score for ‘Bioscope.’

“Film director Madhusoodanan wanted something different that would be beyond time and space. I took six to seven days to compose the score that has incorporated snatches of music of the flute and the saxophone, but the tone is different,” says the unassuming music composer about his award-winning work.

Fifty-three-year-old Chandran hardly looks like your average globetrotting music director. But that is what he is. Chandran has been touring various countries, composing music for theatre productions. Since 2001 he has also been associated with C-DIT projects.

Paris Chandran, as he is called for his trips abroad, began his film career with a film ‘Galileo,’ (1994), directed by James Joseph. ‘Bioscope’ is his sixth film; the earlier films being ‘Shari,’ ‘Drishtantham,’ ‘Ottakayyan’ and ‘Thakarachenda.’

Brought up in a family, which traditionally performed Thira and Theyyam in Kozhikode, Chandran began his career with a firm grounding in traditional art and music. His father, Kollappan, was a Kathakali artiste and mother, Ammalu, an exponent of Kurathiyattu pattu and Carnatic music. In 1982, he enrolled for a one-year course in Sopana Sangitham under Njeralath Poduval at the School of Drama, Thrissur. He also began scoring music for Calicut University Little Theatre, an offshoot of the School of Drama. Noted theatre personality G. Sankara Pillai was the mentor of the Little Theatre.

“You could call that the turning point in my career,” Chandran says. “We got a contract from Tara Arts, an Asian theatre based in the United Kingdom, to perform in London. They selected an actor (Murali Menon), a musician, a director and a couple of experts in martial arts. We were there for six months, performing in different parts of England. Soon after this tour, the director of Tara wrote to me and Murali asking if we would be interested in future projects. With Sankara Pillai Sir’s permission, we proceeded to England again.”

For the next few years Chandran stayed on in England working for Tara and the National Theatre, London. For Tara, he composed music for ‘Vanavasam,’ ‘Inspector-General’ and ‘Tantone’s Death.’ And for the National Theatre, he composed music for ‘Tartuff’ and ‘Mrichakadikam’ (Little Clay Cart). Chandran imparts an ethnic flavour using traditional instruments to enrich European plays. This found favour with his Western counterparts.

Although he got the opportunity to stay permanently in England, Chandran chose to return home in 1991. He got married to Shailaja and worked as a music composer for films and documentaries. But soon theatre came calling again. This time it was in the form of the French touring theatre, Footsbarn, which was visiting Kerala at the time.

“Actor D. Reghuthaman, who was part of the Footsbarn, recommended my name and I was invited to join as a music composer. From Kerala, they selected Shaji Kariyatt, Kaladharan and Sreeletha. We toured the whole of France and I returned to Kerala in 2001.” Chandran, however, continues to make music and also associate with the Footsbarn Theatre.

G. Jayakumar

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