KPAC’s Old Malayalam Drama Songs-4

Ningal Enne Communistakki ( You made me a Communist )

Of the 12-odd dramas that were adapted to film, the ones that were the most popular had to be Mudiyanaya Puthran and Ningalenne Communistaakki. And amongst the duo, this had the upper hand. If not for anything, but for the fact that Prem Nazir, Sathyan shared space with KT Ummer, a veteran from KPAC , who would go on to become one of the most handsome villians, made all the more better with his signature style of dialogue delivery and mannerisms.

The drama was the defining production that dexterously weaved in the principles of collective ownership, struck against the fiefdoms created by caste strictures and the ensuing poverty in Kerala’s prevailing social system, exhorting people to rise up and fight it, portrayed through the lives of a crumbling, gone-to-seed Illam (a sort of Manor House ) whose head was still stuck on past glory, and the son who was unemployed, firebrand and ripe for a revolution with a cause.

Lyrics : ONV Kurup | Music : G. Devarajan.

1. Vellaaram Kunniley ~ Sung by : K. Sulochana

Another ode to the frolicking breeze, this time to the one that goes around playing the flute in the bamboo thicket on the slope of the neighborhood hill, asking it to join in the song and dance in the fields.

2. Ponnarivaal ~ Sung by : G. Devarajan.

Devarajan Master at his romantic best, this is an outright come-hither song describing his lady love taht are sprinkled with similes and expressions only a farm-hand would craft from his heart, right from the Ponnarival Ambiliyil Kanneriyunnoley..literally translating to “The one casting sly pining glances on the sickle-shaped Moon..” Beautiful.

3. Maarivillin Thenmalarey ~ Sung by : K. S. George

KS George’s voice had this ability to sear your heart when he wanted, with its scalding, brooding sadness, and when it came to compositions such as Maarivillin, it was like a double whammy. This composition was a sort of sulking against the rainbow leaving the scene after offering a brief visit, but the festivities were still on full swing in the farmlands. I still remember him singing this live, on DD, a year before he passed away. Even with the cancer-ravaged throat, it still retained the soul, if not more.