Still from Thai Kadum Bridge’s music video ‘Kalyan Cut Blue’ Photo credit: Special Arrangements
Reinterpreting the story of Kalyankattu Neeli, a blood-sucking vampire from Malayalam folklore, music band Thaik Kadam Bridge is here with their new music video ‘Kalyankat Neeli’.
The song Power Pack is one of the tracks from his album, letterReleased in 2019. Composed and sung by the band’s frontman and violinist Govind Vasantha, the song is penned by his sister Dhanya Suresh. “This song was produced for my YouTube channel earlier than we would have imagined. letter. I have loved the concept forever Yakshi (a female vampire) and similar dark themes. So I made this tune and sent it. Chichi (Big Sister) to write the lyrics,” he says. He added that the song’s orchestration was different then. The band has collaborated with Mohan Veena’s narrator Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt for the song.
Nostalgic frames
The video has come to be praised for its old-world feel. “That’s because we shot it on film. It was my dream to use the format and, in this case, it complements the timeline of the story. In the West, many musicians for their music videos are opting for film over digital,” says Narain Ajith, director of the video.
Still from Thai Kadum Bridge’s music video ‘Kalyan Cut Blue’ Photo credit: Special Arrangements
Govind adds: “We had our concerns about using the film. It was expensive and we didn’t have enough to finance the video at the time because there were no shows due to the pandemic.
Narin added. “Using film is expensive and has limitations, especially when it comes to retakes. So we rehearsed the scenes for a week before we started shooting.
Thai Kadam Bridge’s new music video ‘Kalyan Kattu Neeli’ is directed by Narayan Ajith Photo credit: Special Arrangements
He has experience working with director-cinematographer Little Swamp of Thai Kadam’s popular music videos ‘Navarasam’ and ‘One’ and films like Parava And Varathan. “The script was ready in 2019 and by the time the project started, I had rewritten it several times as I wanted to present it in the current context. The narrative captures Neely’s state of mind as she confronts her past and avenges her death at the hands of her husband,” explains Narine, adding: “Neely’s story is about women being strong and It gives the message of not being a victim of atrocities. and violence.”
Shot by cinematographer Janamijaya Droz, it stars Chennai-based Bharatanatyam dancer Simran Sivakumar in the lead role.
The song is available on YouTube.
