Nangeli gets a warm welcome

Vidhu Prathap’s Acapella number ‘Nangeli’ rocks the charts

November 21, 2014 05:45 pm | Updated 05:45 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

A working still from the music video 'Nangeli'.

A working still from the music video 'Nangeli'.

Spirited music, lyrical lines and catchy visuals are enough for a music video to go viral. ‘Nangeli’, a song sung by playback singer Vidhu Prathap, has all that and more.

It is Vidhu himself who gives the album that extra something with his uncanny ability to make his songs an evocative experience for the listeners. The music video that was released in Kochi on November 10 by Lal Jose and, later, uploaded on YouTube, touched the magic number of one lakh views within five days and is still counting.

“I never thought it would do so well. I sang it yesterday at a concert in Doha and it was appreciated by the audience. After the programme, there were many who told me that they had seen ‘Nangeli’ and enjoyed the song a great deal,” says Vidhu, speaking over the phone from Doha.

He says it was a friendship that was born on the campus of Mar Ivanios College in Thiruvananthapuram that led to the creation of ‘Nangeli’. “Ten years ago, we were all college mates and then we used to make music and have jamming sessions. All of us remained in touch. Manu Ramesan, son of veteran lyricist S. Ramesan Nair, became a music composer, and he and I often get together. During one of those sessions, we discussed the possibility of an Acapella number with the earthy flavour of a toddy shop mêlée. But we wanted a catchy name. Then it was Ramesan Nair sir who suggested the name Nangeli and he also composed a poem for us,” explains Vidhu.

After Manu scored the music, Vidhu recorded it during one of their music sessions. The beats, the strumming of the guitar and the rhythm were created by Vidhu himself. The classically trained Vidhu must have relied on his vocal base to get the rhythm and the beats right.

“We recorded several tracks and mixed it later for the song along with the vocals. There isn’t a single musical instrument in the song. All the accompaniment was provided by my voice. Both of us were happy with the results and I recorded it on my mobile,” says Vidhu.

Later, he played it for his former college mate and friend Kunhunni S. Kumar, son of senior cinematographer S. Kumar. He enjoyed the feel of the song and its music and suggested that they turn it into a music video.

Vidhu was keen that they wait till they were able to find a good producer. When Anand Padmanabhan of the city-based Bulls Eye Productions turned up on the scene, the picture was complete for the visual composition of the rollicking number.

Danseuse Deepthi, Vidhu’s wife, enacts the mystical Nangeli while the choreography for the video was done by T.R. Srijith, Rima Kallingal’s choreographer and Deepthi’s friend. “The entire project came alive due to our friendship,” says Vidhu.

At a loss to describe the support and accolades he has won from his well-wishers and friends in the industry, Vidhu says he is overwhelmed by the encouragement.

“But this has motivated me and I plan to come up with more such musical adventures,” says Vidhu before signing off.

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.