Songs that do matter

It was Adoor Gopalakrishnan who said songs are unnecessary ingredients in a good film. According to him songs break the flow of the story telling and serve only the purpose of allowing the distracted spectators to go out of the movie hall to have a smoke or to use the toilet. He definitely has a point; we will all agree seeing the ease and frequency at which heroes and heroines break into singing. However, there are some songs that have an umbilical chord relation to the movie. If you take out that song, the movie will look incomplete. Here is my top ten of such songs.

1. Oru Murai Vanthu Parthayaa (Film: Manichithrathazhu; Direction: Fazil; Music: M.G. Radhakrishnan; Lyrics: Bichu Thirumala and Vaali)

It is during this song that the dual personality of Ganga (played splendidly by Shobhana) burst upon the unsuspecting audience. Perhaps the most important scenes of the movie are during and after this song.

2. Ente Khalbile (Film: Classmates; Direction: Lal Jose; Music: Alex Paul; Lyrics: Vayalar Saratchandra Varma)

This song plays a big part in unfolding the mystery behind a murder and leaves the viewers thinking ‘how on earth did I fail to notice it’.

3. Thamasamenthe Varuvan (Film: Bhargavi Nilayam; Direction: Ramu Karyattu; Music: Baburaj; Lyrics: P. Bhaskaran)

I don’t have words to describe it. You need to watch the movie to feel how important that song is.

4. Dhum dhum dhum dhum Dhundhibhi naadam (Film: Vaisali; Direction: Bharathan; Music: Bombay Ravi; Lyrics: O.N.V.)

This song is a cinematic capsule of life. One can find how the joys and mirth of the celebration gradually fade into heart-breaking agony. This song provides a fitting climax to a rare technically world-class film in Malayalam.

5. Kanneerpoovinte Kavilil (Film: Kireedam; Direction: Sibi Malayil; Music: Johnson; Lyrics: Kaithapram)

Only one thing overshadows this song in the movie: the incredible performance by Mohanlal. Still, this melancholic song conveys the essence of the movie. I think no other song can take such a credit.

6. Karmukil Varnante (Film: Nandanam; Direction: Ranjith; Music: Raveendran; Lyrics: Gireesh Puthanchery)

This is a film-song version of a Krishna bhajan. The heroine sings her heart out for the mercy of Lord Krishna who plays a very important role in this film. For those who haven’t seen the movie, let me add that this is not a kind of devotional song that heroine or hero’s mother used to sing in the Hindi films of 1970s.

7. Indulekha Kanthurannu (Film: Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha; Direction: Hariharan; Music: Bombay Ravi; Lyrics: K. Jayakumar)

This song beautifully captures Chanthu’s (played brilliantly by Mammootty for which he won the Bharath award) self-defeating love towards Unniyarcha and how he was ready to do anything to attain his forbidden love for her.


8. Poikayil Kulirpoikayil (Film: Rajasilpi; Direction: R. Sukuamran Nair; Music: Raveendran; Lyrics: ONV)

This one is easily the sexiest song in Malayalam: in terms of both visuals and lyrics. A half-naked Bhanupriya, in the role of a woman who is the incarnation of Parvathi, virtually lures Mohanlal, playing the role of a man who is the incarnation of Lord Paramasivan, into loving her.

9. Ramakatha Gaanalayam (Film: Bharatham; Direction: Sibi Malayil; Music: Raveendran; Lyrics: Kaithapram)

No other stage performance in Malayalam films is loaded with such emotion. Mohanlal, after learning that his brother whom he loves and adores is dead, sings this song on the stage on behalf of his brother.

10. Pravachakanmare Parayoo (Film: Anubhavangal Palichakal; Direction: K.S. Sethumadhavan; Music: G. Devarajan; Lyrics; Vayalar Ramavarma)

I don’t remember much about the song and the movie right now. But still I remember the ‘how true’ feeling I had when I watched the movie through Doordarshan on one of the Saturdays during my adolescence.

Tail piece: I am not a fan any of the stars. I strongly believe in the message of the film Udayananu Tharam. That is, the director is the Hitler of the movie, as the late John Abraham loved to say. So the selection of four Mohanlal films against only one of Mammootty is a mere coincidence. I haven’t seen much films made earlier than 1980s. So forgive me if I missed something.