Melodies from Malabar

April 18, 2013 07:07 pm | Updated 07:07 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

MELODY AND PERFORMANCE: One of the segments in 'Kasavuthattam'

MELODY AND PERFORMANCE: One of the segments in 'Kasavuthattam'

R eality shows based on Mappilappattu songs have become the staple of leading Malayalam television channels. The genre has a distinctive cultural identity and covers a variety of themes ranging from love, faith, heroism and marriage to satire and philosophy. These Mappilappattu reality shows have a wide reach in the Middle East, thanks to the burgeoning population of people from Malabar in these countries, and most channels have cashed in on this fact. One such show is ‘Kasavuthattam’ on Amrita TV that is currently in its second season. Aired Thursday to Saturday at 11 p.m. in India (9.30 p.m. in UAE), it is produced by Anuroop M.T. He talks about the show and explains how and why it clicks with the viewers. Excerpts…

Reaching out to viewers

We’ve had a good response for the first season of the show. The show is for contestants from West Asia. The current edition has 20 competitors who work or stay in places such as Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Auditions and shooting are in Dubai, even the grand finale of the first season was held in Dubai. We shoot 30 episodes or so in one schedule.

Judging panel

We have an eminent judging panel comprising V.M. Kutty, an expert on folk literature and Mappilappattu, V.T. Murali, an authority on music of Malabar, and Liji Francis, playback singer.

But then almost all Malayalam channels have a Mappilapattu reality show…

It is true. The genre is rich in terms of variety. Also, such shows have a large viewership in West Asia. This means there is always scope for such shows. Amrita TV had four reality shows targeting the Gulf countries. These shows are in a way a medium for these non-resident Keralites to reach out to their people back home. We have a contestant who has not come down to Kerala for the last five years or so. He cannot come home for another two years. But he is happy that his relatives in Kerala are watching him on television.

On spicing up such shows with dance and music

It is important for a reality show to be visually appealing. But that does not mean we are tampering with the genre. In fact, you cannot do that with Mappilappattu. Whatever dance and fun you see in such shows are part of certain rounds such as the ‘marriage round’, which means there would be an Oppana performance or a round devoted to film songs, in which we incorporate dance or music depending on the situation. We also have segments for traditional songs and another round called ‘Your Choice’ in which the contestants stick to traditional Mappila songs.

Your association with Amrita TV

I was associate director of reality shows such as ‘Super Star’ and ‘Super Dancer’. My first independent work for the channel was ‘Super Star Ultimate’. Then I produced ‘Samagam’ and now along with ‘Kasavuthattam’, I am also producing ‘Super Star Junior – 4’.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.