It was sometime in August 2009 that Mohan Raghavan, lyricist Rafeek Ahamed, and I met at Thekkinkadu Maidanam for finalising the song for ‘T.D.Dasan Std VI B.' Only a few days earlier, I had been introduced to Mohan by Ajith, a common friend of Agni Cultural Academy, Annamanada. In our first meeting itself, Mohan had narrated the story of Dasan. A gripping tale set against the backdrop of ‘Karimpanas' of Palakkad. Had it stirred the Palakkadan genes in me? I do not know, but I was already in awe of the artiste in Mohan.
Tuning in to the movie
I had requested Rafeek to write the songs for the film. While driving to the maidanam, I rang up Rafeek to check on his travel plans to Thrissur and told him: ‘if this story transforms into a film, many of us will have good reasons to cheer about.' Mohan had wanted a folk number from me and my Palakkad connection helped me bring in the strains of Kanyaarkali. The sun was setting and the grandeur of Vadakkunnathan's shadow engulfed us. The basic tune was already finalised.
“A little boy receives a letter addressed to him. It was his father's letter or so he believed. He is overjoyed and breaks into a song – scenes of rustic Palakkad, the hot and dusty winds, the bamboo fences, the boy along with his friends are flying a kite…” Mohan had explained the song sequence. ‘Khazakkisque' remarked Rafeek and tugged at the string of the kite that soared high in the sky. Rafeek began writing… ‘Venjamarakkatte – Kannantali kadum Chuttivaa…,' which Jinsha would sing weeks later.
While the film was being shot I had helped organise the Kanyaarkali dancers from Palakkad. During the shooting, Mohan kept to himself and to his work. Arun Varma, cinematographer, became close to him during this period. During the final edit, we shared our admiration for Johnson Master's idea of beauty and his brilliance in creating background score for films.
As I was watching the film for re-recording, I knew I was associating with san exceptional talent, and suddenly felt grossly inadequate. It took us more than 15 days to complete the final score and mix. Mohan had an ear for music and we had a wonderful working relationship. I planned for minimal music, while Mohan wanted more. I gave in to his wishes. Much later, after the film fetched many awards, some friends advised him to prune the music to ‘fall in line' with the festival circuit films. He refused to do so and stuck to his decision.
With just one film, Mohan's grasp over the medium and his honesty brought him a lot of fans, friends, and loyalists. Recognition and awards came in search of him. He was in tears when veteran film director Siby Malayil rang him up and congratulated him. When filmmakers Sathyan Anthikkad and Blessy called him, he called me to share his joy. He was ecstatic when Mammootty appreciated his work.
Death was something that Mohan loved to explore in his stories. I was one of his sounding boards. Death, its intrigue, boundaries of the certain and the uncertain, were his areas of inquiry. At the same time, he kept his stories simple. It was in the subtleties and refinements that he chose to focus on. And it was precisely this common thread in aesthetics that united our spiritual souls. ‘I will do just one more film,' he had once said. Why was he saying this, I am yet to figure out. Never did I imagine that he was destined to do only one.
We never spoke of Dasan's score after the film. Mohan had his own ways of communication. Implied emotions and feelings, they say, are things of the past because one is forced to share and receive likes these days. Despite his reclusive nature and a tendency to get lost in his own thoughts in the midst of our conversations, we played around with silence, bared our souls, openly said yes and no to ideas, and laughed at each other. I went to Annamanada twice in the last one month and witnessed a life full of art, music, and literature in Mohan's home village. When I made it the third time, Annamanada greeted me with stillness and tears.
Mohan, you have touched excellence, silently, in your own unhurried pace. I hope you get to read this note. This time I am painfully aware that the mail address is right.
