“Udane kazhuthenteth arukku bappa, Udayon thunayille namukk bappa...” a mappilappattu on Bakrid (Eid Al Adha) that fills the heart with sorrow and devotion right from the opening note, is more than enough to know what Krishnadas Vadakara was to the Malayalam music industry.
In an attempt to make the new generation music buffs aware of his life and his laudable contributions to music, ‘Swara Gangayile Ekaki,' a 45-minute long documentary will be released soon.
Speaking more on the documentary, writer and director Naser Ebrahim says, “It was his admirers' long pending wish to present an apt souvenir on his music life to him. When I shared the plan with 80-year-old Krishnadas, who is suffering from memory loss, he nodded with a grin. Then I started collecting details on his early life and his growth as one of the most sought-after musicians.”
Though he dominated the music chart of Malabar with more than 1,000 hit songs, the details of only 50 per cent of the songs are available now. There are several V M Kutty-Krishnadas gems that were celebrated for a long period. V M Kutty brought the best out of Krishnadas. “Kandalazhakulla Pennu...” and “Surumappattuduthole...” are a few to name. Over the years, he started singing songs that he composed.
His songs were a major attraction of the Communist party meetings. His first public performance was at the tender age of five during a Communist party meeting held at Vellikulangara. The overwhelming response of the audience helped his parents identify his skill in music. “Kalavandi ith kalavandi....” song was more than enough to attract many to the meeting venues. “Whatever be the programme, the organisers used to mention his performance in the programme notice to draw more people,” said Naser. He also made his presence felt in the theatre and film industry. K J Yesudas, Vani Jayaram, Janaki, V T Murali and Sibilla have sung several songs composed by him.
“More than doing a documentary, we are trying to reflect the music of Malabar in the early 70s. During our research, we came across several artistes who have not received the attention they deserve,” says producer of the documentary, C C Rajan. Pappan Vallikkattil, Raghavan Master, V T Kumaran and P T Abdurahiman are the other talented artistes who were mentioned in the documentary. The documentary will be launched during a mega musical event that is to be attended by as many as 25 singers at the Vadakara Town Hall in the last week of December. Singer K J Yesudas and minister M K Muneer are expected to attend the function in which Krishnadas will be honoured. The documentary is produced by Face Movie International, Orkkatteri.