KOCHI: ‘Devaprabha’, the book penned by Anil K Nambiar talks about noted lyricist and poet Abhayadev, who showed the new path for Malayalam film music by retaining the essence of the culture of Kerala. Through his book, Anil talks about the wonderful world of fantasy cinema and the realistic interpretations of the same through Abhayadev’s cognitive levels of understanding.
According to the author, Abhayadev mastered everything that he dabbled in; theatre scripting, acting, writing lyrics, translation and dubbing.”It took me five years of research and learning to write this book. The book encompasses Abhayadev’s life story from his birth to his contributions in the field of music,” Anil said.
According to the author, Abhayadev’s lyrics were simple and easily understandable to the general public. His first movie was ‘Vellinakshathram’ in 1949. He wrote ten romantic songs for the film including ‘Jeevithavaadi Poovidukayayi’ and ‘Aha Mohaname Jeevithamethum’.
The combination of Abhayadev-V Dakshinamoorthy brought out 14 songs in the well-appreciated movie of that time, ‘Nalla Thanka’, directed by P V Krishna Iyer and produced by Kunchacko and K V Koshy. Abhayadev contributed 362 song lyrics to the film industry from the years 1949 to 1966. Some of his noted films are ‘Chechi’, 1950, ‘Raktha Bandham’, 1951, ‘Kanjana’, 1952, ‘Sathyabhama’, 1963 and ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni’, 1966.
His contribution to the field of literature is not less. Abhayadev translated books from Hindi to Malayalam and vice versa. His famous translated pieces of work include patriotic songs (collection of poems), ‘Guru Pooja’, ‘Nurungukal’ (collection of stories), ‘Ektara’ (novel), ‘Man kolangal’ (stories), ‘Nissarakaryam’ (novel), ‘Apoorva Bengal’ (theatre play), ‘Bhajanamalika’, ‘Gauthamabudhan’ (children’s literature), ‘Kaserayude Kadha’ (political theatre play), ‘Ramakadhayude Ulpathy Vikasangal’ (translation-study), ‘Moscow Muthal Keralam Vare’ (story) and ‘Kissamoorsika’.
Apart from writing romantic lyrics for films he also wrote lullabies. ‘Arareerareerraro kanmaniye en makane’ song from the movie ‘Achan’ in 1952 and ‘Kanne neeyurangu’ from the film ‘Loka Neethi’ in 1953 are perfect examples of his excellence in creating masterpieces. The Abhayadev Foundation was set up by his children Aravind and Rajiv as a sign of respect and honour to their father in the year 2001. “Abhayadev’s lyrics will always remain treasured in our minds. His glory never fades. He will keep influencing generations forever,” Anil added.