An Indo-Arab dream of symphonic size

Thiruvananthapuram: Elated at having bagged the national award for his heart-rending song in the Malayalam movie ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen', music director M Jayachandran now dreams of a loftier musical venture – a confluence of Indian and Arab music.
"It could be a mammoth project involving noted singers from both genres, but that's my dream – to bring together Indian and Arab music.Perhaps I am a novice in symphony, but I can still give it symphonic proportions," he said at a meet-the-press programme organized by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here on Wednesday.
At present, however, his focus is on bringing out an equally stirring composition for the late O N V Kurup's lyrics in the upcoming film ‘Kamboji' directed by Vinod Mankara. Also in the offing are melodies for movies by Rajeev Nath, Ajith Poojappura and Jeethu Joseph.
Dedicating the national award to all his ‘gurus', composers of yesteryears and the Malayalam film industry, Jayachandran said the award-winning song ‘Kaathirunnu… kaathirunnu' was a team effort by lyricist Rafeeq Ahammed, himself and singer Shreya Ghoshal. "I was in a state of extreme sadness after the unexpected demise of my father, when Vimal (the director) called me to compose songs for the film. I was not sure I could do it, but my pain inspired me to effectively depict the long wait by Kanchanamala, the forlorn protagonist of the film," he said.
Asked about the controversy triggered by the state award-winning music director Ramesh Narayan who had alleged that actor Prithviraj tried to keep out his songs from the film, Jayachandran said Prithviraj had every right to take part in the discussions considering his extreme commitment to and involvement in the project. "It was with the consent of Ramesh, a great friend of mine and a true musician, that I joined the project. I'm just concerned about the music and not with the politics behind it," he asserted.
Jayachandran also rubbished the notion that he preferred non-Malayali singers – a jibe at his preference for Ghoshal – saying his choice of singers depended on the type of voice and rendition required for each song.
Looking forward to receiving the prestigious national award, he said the award function will be a great opportunity for him to ‘take a selfie with Ilayaraja', the winner of the best background score award.