Alupannadi Vunda from Gayam

The Telugu film industry continues to mass manufacture films mocking its audience's intellectual levels with songs engineered to fit standard templates, hoping in vain, to replicate a 'successful formula'. Forgotten in this elusive search, is one cardinal rule of good film making - a song should be an integral part of the script and a powerful technique to move the narrative forward, not sideways. Despite such stifling environment, one voice not only manages to be heard above the surrounding din, but also distinguishes itself with an electrifying presence - Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry.

Sirivennela's mastery over the language and his dexterity in creating evocative lyrics through simple words is easy to discern. But his holistic view of the movie's storyline and a perceptive ability to adapt his lyrics to the setting of a song may not be as obvious to many listeners. Alupannadi Unda? from the movie Gaayam is a shining illustration of Sirivennela's innate ability to grasp the mood of the character while remaining true to the movie's evolving theme.

This background song is a euphonic rendition of a young woman's mind, her hopes and her aspirations in the face of a beautiful, yet uncertain relationship. As the movie's script would have it, subsequent events cast a shadow on this relationship, rendering their love a tragic victim of circumstances.

Let's linger over the lyrics a bit before we see how Sirivennela slips in this dark aspect into the song, without in anyway, diluting the joyous mood.

Alupannadi undaa yegire alaku, yedaloni layaku
Adupannadi undaa kalige kalaku, karige varaku
Melikalu thirige nadi nadakalaku
Mari mari urike madi talapulaku; La la la la la la laa ||Alupannadi undaa||

Naa kosame chinukai karigi, aakasame digadaa ilaku
Naa sevake sirule chiliki, daasohame anadaa velugu
Aaraaru kaalaala andaalu bahumati kaavaa naa oohalaku
Kalalanu tevaa naa kannulaku; La la la la la ||Alupannadi undaa||

Nee choopule tadipe varaku; yemainado naalo vayasu
Nee oopire tagile varaku; etu unnado merise sogasu
Ededu lokaala dwaarala talupulu teriche tarunam koraku
Eduruga nadiche toli asalaku; La la la la laa ||Alupannadi undaa||

With a penchant for metaphors derived from nature, Sirivennela likens her state of mind to a tireless ocean wave (Alupannadi undaa yegire alaku, yedaloni layaku). Much like the wave, her dreams too are seemingly unstoppable. Sirivennela cautions, albeit very indirectly, that while dreams may defy boundaries (Adupannadi undaa kalige kalaku), they melt away in their own wake (karige varaku).

Not wanting to take away the spirit of the song (and the situation) by such dark forebodings, Sirivennela quickly moves onto the metaphor of a twistin' and windin' river (Melikalu thirige nadi nadakalaku), drawing us into her rapturous imagination (Mari mari urike madi talapulaku).

He commands nature to pay its tributes to this beautiful young woman -

Naa kosame chinukai karigi, aakasame digadaa ilaku
Naa sevake sirule chiliki, daasohame anadaa velugu.

At another level, is this chinuku a teardrop, an ashruvu? A tearful tribute to their unconsummated love? Perhaps, only Sirivennela can answer!

Sirivennela then dwells on the reasons for her euphoria -

Nee choopule tadipe varaku; yemainado naalo vayasu
Nee oopire tagile varaku; etu unnado merise sogasu

Sirivennela moves on to subtly point out that hopes and dreams have a tendency to stay tantalizingly out of reach. (Eduruga nadiche toli asalaku).

Alupannadi Unda? is an example of a solid team effort - mellifluously orchestrated by the underrated Sri, sung by the ever-dependable Chitra and captured aesthetically by Rasool. Sirivennela's rhyme blends rather nicely with Sri's introductory rhythms and short musical phrases. Sri's creative use of the cadence of the waves and raindrops provides the right ambience, with the accompanying strings adding depth to the song. What appears to be a song describing the emotional high of a young woman, is also in disguise, a harbinger of the forthcoming events.

Prasad Varma and Surya Kumar

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