Balyakalasakhi , that poetic gem of a novel written by Basheer, gets a filmy interpretation by Pramod Payyannur. The eponymous movie, the filmmaker’s first feature film, releases in February and is likely to be Mammootty’s first release this year.
The audio release of the film will be held in Kochi on Monday. It promises to be music to the ears of fans of Malayalam music as two of the six songs in the film have been tuned by the late K. Raghavan. “In fact, Mammookka will release the CD by handing it over to Raghavan Master’s family,” says Pramod.
The CD has lyrics and music composed by several leading masters in the field. The first line of the song ‘Thaamara poonkaavanathil thaamasikkunnoley…’ has been mentioned in the novel by Basheer himself. An oral traditional song of the Muslims in Kerala, the song’s lines were supplemented with lyrics penned by K.T. Mohammed. It has been sung by none other than K.J. Yesudas.
‘Kaalam parakkanu…’, the second song composed by Raghavan Master, which has Pramod’s lyrics, has been sung by V.T. Murali.
P. Bhaskaran’s poem ‘Ente Thoolika’ has been adapted for a song composed on the lines of Rabindra Sangeeth. It is the title song and has a mix of Urdu lyrics and Baul music too. It has been soulfully sung by Shahabaz Aman. The entire song signifies a journey. The Urdu portion has been sung by Ustad Faiyaz Khan.
Sreekumaran Thampi’s lyrics for the film has been sung by Vijay Yesudas and K.S. Chitra as a duet while ONV Kurup’s poem ‘Vaaghdatta Bhoomi’ has been translated into Bengali and sung by Bengali singer Raghav Chatterji.
Kavalam Narayana Panikkar has composed a song in the folk music tradition that makes use of Basheer’s idioms and words. It has been sung by Shahabaz.
To mark the audio release on January 6, DC books is releasing a book that has the text of Balyakalasakhi, the lyrics of the songs in the movie and a critical appraisal. Critic M.K. Sanu will release the book by handing it over to Fabi Basheer.
