Neelavelicham: Thamasamenthe’s version from Aashiq Abu film encapsulates the romance between Bhargavi, Sasikumar

The makers of Neelavelicham dropped the third track from the Aashiq Abu directorial on Friday with the new version of composer MS Baburaj and lyricist P Bhaskaran’s Thamasamenthe Varuvan. The song follows the previous tracks Anuraga Madhuchashakam and Ekanthathayude Mahatheeram.

The latest video of the song showcases the budding romance between its lead characters Bhargavi and Sasikumar, played by Rima Kallingal and Roshan Mathew, respectively. The track is a total contrast from the pacy Anuraga Madhuchashakam, which also featured the two characters at length.

Also read: Exclusive! Tovino Thomas: Being an ardent Vaikom Muhammed Basheer fan, it’s a blessing to work in Neelavelicham 

While Yesudas had rendered the original song, Shahbaz Aman has sung the latest version, which has instruments arranged by Bijibal and Rex Vijayan.

Vijaya Nirmala and Prem Nazir had played the respective characters in Bhargavi Nilayam, which was also based on Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s story Neelavelicham. In the upcoming movie, Tovino Thomas will be seen in the role portrayed by Madhu in the 1964 release that was helmed by A Vincent.

Also read: Exclusive! Roshan Mathew: I’d never done anything like Neelavelicham before, I had to go with my gut instinct 

Shine Tom Chacko, Chemban Vinod Jose, James Elias, Jayaraj Kozhikode, Uma KP, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Jithin Puthenchery and Pooja Mohan Raj are the other cast members of the film, which has adapted screenplay by Hrishikesh Bhaskaran and cinematography by Gireesh Gangadharan.

In an earlier interview with OTTplay, Roshan had said that he has never done a movie like Neelavelicham before. “The language used in the movie is something that was taken from Basheerian literature. Most of our efforts have been to tell the story as honestly as possible. We have tried to ensure that the effort we have put in doesn’t stand out on the screen,” he said.

Tovino too had told us that adapting the language was one of the biggest challenges for the team. “While attempting a period film like this, the biggest challenge was that it has to connect with the new-age audience but we can’t use today's Malayalam,” he said, adding that both Aashiq and Hrishikesh were able to crack that in the movie.