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Salil Chowdhury

Nellu (1974)

A landmark Malayalam film rooted in the music and cultural rhythms of the tribal communities of Kerala’s Wayanad hills.

Nellu Poster

Film Information

Language: Malayalam

Director: Ramu Kariat

Lyrics: Vayalar Rama Varma

Nellu (1974) stands among the finest works of the celebrated Ramu Kariat – Salil Chowdhury collaboration. Set amidst the lush Wayanad forests, the score draws from the music of Kerala’s tribal communities, blending folk authenticity with Salil’s uniquely sophisticated melodic style.

Songs

Nr Song Singer(s) HndMalTamTelKanBngOth
NL1 Chemba Chemba P. Jayachandran, Manna Dey -----MA4-
NL2 Kadali Chenkadali Lata Mangeshkar --AK2--SM13OB36
NL3 Neela Ponmane K. J. Yesudas, P. Madhuri -----SM15GS3/BJ2
NL4 Kaadu Kuliranu P. Susheela -------

Notes & Background

Nellu is a deeply atmospheric film rooted in the tribal cultures of the Wayanad region of Kerala. The music reflects nature, ritual rhythms, and community storytelling traditions.

For the powerful song "Chemba Chemba", it is said that Salil went into the forests to observe tribal percussionists, drawing inspiration from their traditional drumming to create the iconic introduction of the song.

Esteemed director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra, who later collaborated with Salil on Kokila (Kannada) and Aziyatha Kolangal (Tamil), expressed deep admiration for how Salil integrated Wayanad's folk elements into the score.

The background music also contains a remarkable flute interpretation of "O laali re laali laali" from Salil’s Gujarati film Ghar Sansaar, known in Bengali as the unforgettable "O neel neel paakhi" sung by Sandhya Mukherjee.