Music director M Jayachandran on awards, songs, singers and his journey in the Malayalam film music industry

M Jayachandran on awards songs singers and journey in Malayalam film music industry

Surrounded by framed handwritten lyrics by renowned Malayalam lyricists, it is easy to talk music in composer M Jayachandran’s aesthetically designed office at his home in Thiruvananthapuram. With nine Kerala State Film awards for the best music director and one for the best singer (male) in his 28-year journey in Malayalam cinema, Jayachandran is certainly on song. A trained Carnatic singer and performer, Jayachandran’s passion for music and his songs have been a gamechanger in Malayalam film music.

Currently working on the score of Otta, Resul Pookutty’s maiden directorial film, Jaychandran’s zest for music is as fresh as it was 28 years ago when the engineer-turned-musician made his debut as a composer in Chanda (1995).

Says Jayachandran, “I have composed for over 140 films in 28 years. That has been my biggest award. An award is a reminder to be more dedicated to my work.”

His latest award is for his songs in Ayesha and the period film Pathonpatham Noottandu, films set in two different periods, geographical locations and with very different themes.

If Pathonpatham… is about the warrior Velayudha Panicker who lived in the 19th century in Travancore, Ayesha, set in West Asia, is about a deep bond between two women who did not even have a common language to communicate.

Agreeing that  it was a challenge to work on both the films at around the same time, Jayachandran says that for the period film, he had to understand the music of those times. “Malayalam language was more inclined towards Manipravalam (a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam used during the medieval period in Kerala) then and the music may have been influenced a lot by Carnatic music. At the same time, I had to create something that a listener of today can enjoy.”

For Ayesha, he tuned in to his interest in Arabic and world music. “We recorded in Istanbul; The Czech Symphony played a part for one of the compositions in the film and we also recorded in Dubai. The work  involved a lot of research in West Asian music. I worked for nearly a year on the music of Ayesha.”