Nanda's mellifluous voice adorns film songs
Ruwini Jayawardana
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RENOWNED VOCALIST: Nanda Malini
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MUSIC: Listening to her is divine but a tete-a-tete is
unforgettable. She is a legend herself in the Sri Lankan music scene and
had held many a number captive by her beautiful songs which transcend
deep into your heart and touch your soul.
Her voice reaches far beyond the local horizons, as far as to win
international aesthetic appeal. She is Nanda Malini, veteran artist,
whose name is carved out in gold in the Lankan music industry.
Reaching another milestone in her career the renowned vocalist with a
golden voice will launch her latest CD comprising a collection of 16
award winning songs which she had sung for various films.
This CD titled Etha Kandu Yaye will be released at the BMICH Open Air
Theatre on September 8 at 7.30 p.m. This is her second CD consisting of
a collection of film songs, the first being Ran Kenden which was
launched in 2005.
Songs from Etha Kandu Yaye were selected from her first film Ranmuthu
Doowa to the recent film Uppalawanna.
The title comes from a song in the film Tharanga. Sri Chandraratne
Manawasinghe, Mahagama Sekera, Arisen Ahubudhu, Dharmasiri Gamage,
Professor Sunil Ariyaratne, Kularatne Ariyawansha, Sunil Sarath Perera
and Dr. Praneeth Abayasundara have penned the lyrics. Pandit W. D.
Amaradewa, Shelton Premaratne, Sarath Dassanayake, Victor Ratnayake,
Rohana Weerasinghe and Navaratne Gamage composed the tunes. The CD is
produced by Gigiri.
Musical programme
To celebrate the launch of the second volume of her film songs a two
hour musical programme will be held. Fans are given an opportunity to
hear the celebrated vocalist singing live, free of charge.
Dance items by Ariyaratne Kaluarachchi and Ravi Bandu Vidyapathy will
also highlight the occasion. Rohana Weerasinghe will lead an orchestra
made up of 15 to 18 musicians. The event will be sponsored by the Sri
Lanka Rupavahini Corporation.
Born and raised in Kotahena, Nanda Malini is the fourth child in a
family of nine children. Her father was a tailor and had always been
very straight with his ideas.
It was her alma mater Kotahena Gunananda Vidyalaya which paved the
way to her destiny. N. Margaret, one of her teachers introduced her to
SLBC where young Nanda took part in the programme named Lama Mandapaya
(Children's programme) till the age of 16 years. Ranmuthu Doowa was the
first colour film with lyrics composed by Amaradewa.
It opened a new chapter in film songs, creating an identity away from
Hindi tunes and lyrics.
"These old tracks had not been preserved properly. They were damaged
and beyond repair. It was difficult to hunt them down and compose the
tunes to match exactly with those of the past," explained Nanda Malini.
New version
"Some of the musical instruments used in those days were difficult to
find at present. We had to compose these songs all over again and it is
essential to do justice to them because people are bound to compare the
new version with the past song.It was not an easy task," she stressed.
"In the past the films gained popularity through songs. A film
included about five or six songs. Now the situation has changed. Only a
few film songs get through to the audience.
The songs Payana me hiru in Channa Perera's film Anjalika sung by
Uresha Ravihari and Sulanga, the theme song of Bennet Ratnayake's
Sulanga sung by myself are a few exceptions. People are no longer
enthusiastic to listen to film songs. That trend had passed." According
to Nanda Malini a dark era had swept over the cassette CD industry.
There is a group of people waiting for an artist to release a CD so
that they would be able to profit by plagiarising it. She expressed her
regret of the situation because no one had taken any action to end this.
A striking feature about her CD collection is that each differs
widely from the other. Among its collection is a CD Kunkuma Pottu which
has songs sung in Tamil. She had composed this during 1993 when the
country had been at the depths of war and ethnic problems.
"I studied Tamil folk songs in India. That is how the idea to do a CD
with Tamil songs came to me. There were some who protested against it
but some, especially the Tamils showed their approval," she explained
also adding that she had grown up in a multi-ethnic background.
Computer software
Another of her CDs, titled Andaharaya is made up of music composed of
computer software.
Nanda Malini is the mother of two children. Her eldest daughter,
Varuni, is a dancing teacher while her granddaughter, Randi, is a
student. Her second daughter, Ama, is a child psychologist in London and
is expecting her first child.
At present the veteran vocalist is leading a life of simplicity,
dedicating her time to the students who visit her at her home, 'Nanda
Malini Ashramaya'. There she disseminates her knowledge among many,
gently guiding them towards their success.
"I have contributed to 105 films during my 45 years in the field. My
wish is to include all these film songs in three volumes. We are making
preparations to record and release the third volume next year," she said
adding that this will bring her venture of rerecording the past film
songs to a final. She is not one to dwell on past creations.
"I hope to present something unique and new to the fans. Once I make
sure that these songs are preserved I would focus my mind in this
aspect." |
