Ninnullil premam undakumaarakanam, Paavamaam enne ni nokkumaarakanam… are lines from a well-known prayer in Malayalam that used to be sung in schools.
Film director Jiju Ashokan took the two lines from the prayer and added some creative verses of his to come up with a ditty that is now racing up the charts in Malayalam film music. The song from Premasoothram , Jiju’s third film as director, is a guy’s prayer to his girl to make some room for him in her heart and also a declaration of his ardent love for her, all conveyed with a pinch of earthy humour. The simple lyrics and the catchy chant, composed by Gopi Sundar, have helped the movie capture eyeballs even in the midst of some high-profile releases that is reaching theatres this week.
Film director Jiju Ashokan
Jiju says there was an innate rhythm in the lyrics and as soon as Gopi heard it, he was enthused by the lyrics. Gopi and Jiju had worked in Urumbukal Urangarilla, his previous film and so the two were in sync while the song was being composed and the tune fell into place immediately.
“Growing up in Irinjalakuda, I have heard friends and classmates sing these two lines to woo girls or to capture their attention. It used to be quite a rage. But none took the trouble to rework all the lines of the prayer. However, those two lines stayed in my mind and while working on the film, I decided to rework the entire verse for a song in the film. I did not want to make it a heavy one and so I deliberately did it with words and imagery that would strike a chord with all listeners,” says Jiju.
It should not have been a difficult task for the scenarist and short story writer who made it to the credits of films as script writer of the award-winning Oridathoru Puzhayundu and also Shakespeare M.A. Malayalam . He made the transformation from author to visual narrator with the movie Last Bench (2012) and followed it up Urumbukal Urangarilla in 2015.
Inspired by short story
“ Premasoothram , very different from my previous two films, has been inspired by an element in a short story that appeared in famous author Ashokan Charuvil’s collection of short stories, Jalajeevitham ,” says Jiju.
That the entire film, also written by Jiju, happened to hinge on a schoolboy romance was a happenstance that made Ninnullil premam undakumaarakanam the apt song for the theme. Giving a gist of the story, Jiju says the film is about a group of teenagers who have grown up together. Prakashan was smitten by Ammukutty, right from the time the two were in class five. However, Thavalakannan Suku is also after the same Ammukutty. While Pallavan Suni and Parotta Rameshan are determined to ensure that Prakashan gets his girl, Pandan Paramu is equally resolute that Suku must win her. And this rivalry casts its shadow on all their plans and decisions.
“It is into this arena that Chemban Vinod’s character walks in. He is a self-professed ‘love guru’ and soon becomes the teenagers’ adviser and guide. The youngsters are willing to go to ridiculous lengths to win her love and eventually there is a change in the pace of the story. Their efforts take them through paths less taken and all of them begin to understand what life is all about,” narrates Jiju.
Enacted by actors such as Balu Varghese, Dharmajan, Chemban Vinod, Sreejith Ravi, Sudheer Karamana, Lijo Mol and Anumol, the movie was filmed by Swaroop Philip, mostly in Anandapuram near Thrissur, Mattom near Kecheri, and Kottayi in Palakkad. Of the five songs in the movie, two were written by Jiju and three by Harinarayanan. Mithun Jayaraj, Arun Gopan, Sudheesh Kumar, Uday Ramachandran, Krishnajith and Sachin Raj are the singers.
As a lyricist, Jiju has certainly scored high. Now, to the viewers.
