For director Muhsin Parari, the suicide of University of Hyderabad student Rohith Vemula and subsequent unrest has a personal implication. Muhsin sees Rohith, with whom he shared many a mutual friend, as an inspiration and a foot soldier for equality, justice and freedom.
The KL-10 director wanted to bring Rohith’s cause before the world and thus was born the single, Funeral Of A Native Son. The successor of Native Bapu, Muhsin’s first music video, which fought against blindly tagging a community with sedition charges, his next also has actor Mammukoya and Harris Saleem rapping. The vocals are by Resmi Sateesh.
“Vemula’s cause is something I identify a lot. I wanted to give it a visual representation. The video Funeral of a Native Son follows the lines of Native Bappu in which Mammukoya and Harris rapped. “The flavour and feel are the same, but I have highlighted Rohith’s cause. I have employed the use of metaphors and lyrics which Rohith used in his poems,” says Muhsin.
In her rustic voice, Resmi echoes the sentiments of thousands who are unjustifiably bound by propaganda while Mammukoya mourns the loss of his son, while urging the thousands out there to partake in his struggle. Harris Saleem’s rap gives the single an edge.
“For those who have already watched my Native Bappu, there may not be an element of surprise to see Mammukoya rapping. However, as an artist who has a very strong political stance, Mammukoya takes the video to a whole new level,” says Muhsin.
The music video, shot by Shehnad Jalal, was edited by Rajesh Ravi. The music has been handled by Bijibal while the lyrics were penned by Santhosh Varma, Muhsin Parari and Haris Saleem.
The Funeral of the Native Son has been brought out by Bodhi Silent Scape and Mappila Lahala initiative.
