It was with a lot of expectations that I started to read Didi Damodaran‘s biographical take on Seema‘s life and times entitled ” Vishudha Shanthi” – a tongue-in-cheek pun on her maiden name and the role that made her the actress that we know her in Malayalam cinema.The narrative flows as this extended and warm conversation between Seema and Didi Damodaran, frank, forthright and brutally honest on the questions that seem to manage to just about touch the fringes of a legacy few can equal in professional Malayalam Cinema.
If only, she had sat through a dozen more of similar conversations ! Now, that would have resulted in something that any Malayalam Cinema fan would have deliriously dived in and would have really taken his/her own time to come up for air.
Continue reading Vishudha Shanthi | Actress Seema in conversation with Didi
Shyam aka Samuel Joseph was like a breath of fresh air when he stepped in to take the baton of Music Composer in Malayalam. Not that there was a dearth of talent, but it was high time someone with a different ‘sound’ made his/her mark in Malayalam Cinema. And who else but Shyam, who was the pet of MSV and the favorite violinist of Salilda, we owe a big note of thanks to him for bringing the Western thematic concepts into popular mainstream Malayalam cinema. Though he dabbled in independent projects and attended as a session violinist in the Tamil film industry ( his first Tamil film was Etrikal Jagrathai in 1968) , his first independent project in Malayalam was Manyashree Vishwamathran (1974), Madhu’s fourth film as Director, and was recommended to him by none other than Sheela. This note is just a frank appreciation of his immense talent and the dexterity with which he composed his songs that had his signature in almost every tune, at times even reminding you of Salilda’s magic.
OLD MALAYALAM CINEMA 