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Salil Chowdhury

Samayamayillapolum (1977)

A deeply melodic Malayalam score featuring some of Salil Chowdhury’s most inventive cross-language compositions, based on themes adapted across Bengali, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam.

Samayamayillapolum Poster

Film Information

Language: Malayalam

Lyrics: O. N. V. Kurup

The film contains one of Salil’s most fascinating melody journeys. The song “Shyamameghame” is a Malayalam adaptation of Sabita Chowdhury’s rare Bengali classic “Jaao Tabe Jaao”. A Hindi version by Yesudas is also believed to exist but remains unfound.

The melody of SP3 – Mayilukalaadum evolved into at least four compositions across different languages, including Bengali “Jhilmil Jhilmil” (SC46) and Kannada (OE3), demonstrating Salil’s extraordinary ability to reinvent a musical idea.

Contains a beautiful flute-based background piece. Legend says a Kamal Haasan look-alike was used due to the actor’s unavailability.

Songs

Nr Song Singer(s) HndMalTamTelKanBngOth
SP1 Shyamameghame K. J. Yesudas -----SC34-
SP2 Onnam Thumbi P. Susheela -----AN1-
SP3 Mayilukalaadum K. J. Yesudas & Sabita Chowdhury LB3---OE3SC46-
SP4 Devi Devi K. J. Yesudas SB1----LM17-
SP5 Background Music - -------

Notes & Background

Samayamayillapolum (1977) is a treasure in Salil’s Malayalam repertoire. "Shyamameghame" is based on Sabita Chowdhury’s beautiful but less-known Bengali song "Jaao Tabe Jaao".

The melody of SP3 – Mayilukalaadum was transformed by Salil into songs across multiple languages, including:

The film also contains a short but stunning flute interlude widely admired by collectors.

Curiously, it is believed that lead scenes feature not Kamal Haasan himself, but a look-alike, due to scheduling conflicts.