When Lajjavathi made me weep

When someone does something different, and some others follow it you call it a trend. Malayalam cinema’s recent trend, so many people around me say, is Lajjavathiye…Ninte Kadakkannil… (For the uninitiated, this happens to be something so many people call a song, and it forms part of award winner (sic) Jayaraj’s ‘4 The People). While some call it a revolution in the Malayalam film music firmament, some others dub it as God’s gift to Malayalam cinema via Jassi Gift. Gifted this young man indeed is, because he is termed by so many people as being on top of the charts. Curious enough to know how he managed this, (because the first time and every time I listened to this pile of words and beats blurting out of every radio and TV, I experienced a serious heartburn-constipation combo attack) I spoke to some of my dear, knowledgeable friends in the film industry. Guess how they answered my question? Some simply laughed (reminding me of Harachand’s oft-quoted words: “ When a joke is not worthy enough to be appreciated just laugh it off”). Some others explained to me what Jassi Gift said when he made the ‘song’. He had announced his song as ‘Dalit Sangeet’, it seems. The director, Jayaraj, hastily stepped in to save his movie, correcting Gift’s words and rechristening the song as a unique blend of Rap and Reggae. Wow, I admire Jayaraj’s skills in playing saviour to himself!!! The knowledgeable beings in the industry also tell me that this song has never been a hit…it was all Gift’s, Jayaraj’s and the media’s creation!! I have to believe them, as I believe they are real music lovers and that people like me can never admire Lajjavathiye as a piece of art. May be I sound very cynical, but this is just my personal thought. I still admire people’s courage in clling Lajjavathiye.. a perfect music composition! And let me add, I don’t have anything against Gift’s, Jayaraj’s or the Lajjavathiye..lovers’ sentiments. But still, I wish somebody still makes music of the likes of Taarakaroopini…neeyennumannude bhavanaa romanchamayirikkum and Maanathin muttathu mazhavillaal azha kettum madhumaasa sandhyakale….. I wish…

Comments

Babitha Marina Justin said…
for once i disagree with Sanjeev ramachandran...if the populace love it then there something in the song that goes along with the heaartbeats of the common people and the youth alike, i know it can be unpalatable to us who are more used to a 'particular' kind of aesthetics steeped in carnatic, the lyrical and all, but i believe its time for malayalam songs to doff the garb of tradition and experiment with herself, lol.
well, the same kind of constipated heartburns were experienced by many when even Beatles began singing the first time... :)
4:17 AM
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