Malayalam Film Music

[raagadevan]

Half a century of enduring melody

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-pape...cle6620052.ece

It is perhaps the best Malayalam film song of all time, and it turns 50 this week [in 2014!]. It was in November 1964 that the Malayali saw Prem Nazir lip-synching to the enchanting melody on screen for the first time. The film was Bhargavi Nilayam , directed by A. Vincent and scripted by Vaikom Muhammed Basheer.

It is one of those works of art when everything gels perfectly. Sublime lyrics by P. Bhaskaran, mesmerising music by M.S. Baburaj, and brilliant rendering by a young K.J. Yesudas made the song timeless.

‘Thamasamenthe…’ is actually composed in the Hindustani raga Bhimpalasi, which is similar to Abheri in Carnatic. “The beauty of Bhimpalasi could not have been expressed better,” says composer Ramesh Narayan.

Yesudas live:



Movie version: