Director Jayaraj liked the Kilukkam lullaby so much that he wanted to collaborate with its music director for his film Paithrukam.
“I thought Kilukil pambaram was a great tune and I felt that SP Venkatesh was the perfect choice for Paithrukam which had a lot of scope for music,” Jayaraj told The Hindu. “I always enjoyed working with him and he would come up with his tunes really fast on his harmonium and his assistant would accompany him on the dholak.
Probably the best song Venkatesh composed in Malayalam is a song set in Raga Anandabhairavi, Valkannezhuthiya makara nilavil. “Usually he gave a few tunes to choose from, but for this particular song he didn’t have to because I liked the first one alone,” recalled Jayaraj. “I thought Bombay Jayashree’s song in Paithrukam, Neelanjanappoovin, is also a great composition, just perfect for the situation.”
Venkatesh won the Kerala State Film Award for this film. “He was happy when he got the award,” said Jayaraj. “Remember this was a year when many films like Manichithrathazhu were competing.
He said that Ventakesh was hurt that he was not credited recently for his song Shanthamee rathriyil (Johnnie Walker) in another Malayalam film. “He was hurt that he wasn’t recognized,” Jayaraj said. “I wasn’t even given credit, even though I was the director. We’re releasing the film, and maybe his last work was the scores he did for the remastered version.”
Published – 03 Feb 2026 21:09 IST
