A t a time when music-based chat shows were rare few on Malayalam television, it was V. Krishna Kumar who set the ball rolling with his stylish show ‘Symphony’ on Kairali TV. He later continued his association with music, through programmes on Surya TV and Asianet News, under the banner of his company, Symphony Television and Entertainment Ltd. A new show from the production house is ‘En Swaram’, which will be aired on Doordarshan Malayalamfrom December 22. Krishna Kumar talks about the programme and his shows. journey with the medium. Excerpts:
‘En Swaram’
It is a daily music show in which we are planning to bring 60 talented singers in 130 episodes. The show will have the same ambience and feel as ‘Symphony’, especially in areas such as lighting and setting. Nanda Kumar T.Menon, who had done the special lighting for ‘Symphony’, joins me in this venture. I have also brought in a number of people who had worked behind the scenes for ‘Symphony’. Divya, a medical practitioner and serial actress, is the anchor.
What’s unique about the fare?
Each episode will have three singers presenting three different genres and styles. I have envisaged it as a multi-lingual show, featuring songs in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil. As in ‘Symphony’, the guests are given total freedom to improvise the song they are presenting.The first schedule will have singers such as Mohammed Aslam, Vidhu Prathap, Sudheep Kumar, Kallara Gopan, Rakesh Brahmanandan, Rajasenan, Kalabhavan Sabu, Rajalakshmi…
After the first schedule, we will be airing a ‘Masters’ Choice’ segment, in which senior singers will present their songs. I had shot those songs for my archives gallery and have not been aired on any channel till date. You get to see singers such as K.S. Chithra, Hariharan, Usha Uthup, Manjari, Madhu Balakrishnan, Unnimenon, Gayathri and many others presenting their favourite songs. A highlight is Usha’s rendering of the song ‘En swaram’, composed by K.J. Joy and sung by K.J. Yesudas. The texture of her voice has given a new feel to the song, backed by a different orchestration.
Competing with music-based chat shows
‘Symphony’ was a new experience for viewers. But times have changed and I have apprehensions. Still, it is about putting in your best. In fact, there is always an uncertainty about any new venture, but I hope our hard work will be rewarded.
His company
Symphony Television and Entertainment Ltd. was formed in 2005. Our first assignment was the Soorya Festival that was aired on Asianet as different episodes. ‘Melody’ on Surya TV, which ran for seven years, gave us a boost. We also produced ‘Hridayapoorvam’, hosted by Madhupal, and ‘Rangoli’, a team-based cultural competition featuring students from 40 colleges across Kerala on the same channel. It ran for three seasons. Now we are working on a music-based chat show, ‘Harmony’, on Asianet News. In the meantime we did ‘Rangoli’ for the Gulf audience, for students of 20 schools in United Arab Emirates aired on their regional channel, E-Vision, which ran for three seasons. Now I am co-producing the same for Zee Middle East.
Looking back
Music has always been close to my heart and the concept of ‘Symphony’ was always there in my mind, complete with unplugged music and the special lighting. It was the late Venu Nagavally and musician Balabhasker, part of the production team, who insisted that I should anchor it. We featured 90 singers of which 60 of them were new names. This included Manjari and Kalyani Menon. That has been the most satisfying moment of my career.
(‘En Swaram’ will be aired on DD Malayalam from December 22 daily at 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.)
