Biennale Music: Old Hits Instil Nostalgia at Hospital Crowd

KOCHI:
The venue smelt of iodoform typical of hospital corridors, yet the mood was of nostalgia for most in the crowd around. For, it was a four-decade-old film song being presented before them.
‘Keralam Keralam’, from the 1977 movie ‘Mini Mol’, wafted across the air today, replacing gloom with brightness for the gathering of people from all age-groups, evoking memories about good old days, courtesy the Malayalam song that describes the scenic beauty of their emerald-green state pulsating with cultural activities.
At the popular ‘Arts and Medicine’ show held in Cochin Medical College, patients, bystanders, hospital staff and students enjoyed singer Deepu Rajan at his musical best, stringing together melodies from the black-and-white and Eastman colour era of Mollywood.
In no time, the young vocalist switched to another hit ‘Suprabhatham’ from 1973 movie ‘Pani theeratha veedu’. He later crooned some retro hits including ‘Laksharchana Kandu’ from ‘Ayalathe Sundari’ (1974), ‘Ushakiranangal’ from ‘Guruvayoor Kesavan’ (1977) and ‘Uthara Swayamvaram’ from ‘Danger Biscuit’ (1969).
Deepu was accompanied by Sarishma Sunil. She started with ‘Moham Kondu Njan’ from the 1983 movie ‘Shesham Kazchayil’, and then came up with couple of new-age hits including ‘Mazhaneer Thulllikal’ from the 2011 movie ‘Beautiful’.
Deepu, who won several youth festival titles, has performed in number of stage shows across the state and abroad. He has also rendered several drama songs for leading troupes in Kerala. Sarishma, a plus-two student, has been performing in many stages around Kochi. Both singers hail from Palluruthy.