Veteran music director and lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi has reacted to Union Minister Suresh Gopi singing his popular song ‘Keralam Keralam’ in Parliament. Thampi said he was happy that Gopi spoke about the state being officially recognised as Keralam. However, he was unhappy that Gopi did not mention his name while singing the song.
Thampi reacts to Suresh Gopi’s Parliament speech
Taking to his Facebook handle, Thampi spoke about the matter in a post and shared that Gopi remembered several Malayalam literary and musical personalities but did not name the person who wrote the song.Sreekumaran Thampi shared that Gopi spoke about personalities such as M T Vasudevan Nair, Johnson, Vayalar and G Devarajan. He also mentioned Gopi’s interest in literature and music. However, Thampi said the Union Minister did not mention him as the lyricist of ‘Keralam Keralam’.“He was not ready to mention the name of this servant, Sreekumaran Thampi, who wrote the song ‘Keralam Keralam’,” Thampi said.He then made a sarcastic remark and suggested that Gopi may have found his name difficult to pronounce. Instead, according to Thampi, Gopi referred to him as “a great poet”.
Thampi recalls their early connection
Thampi also remembered his connection with Suresh Gopi during the actor’s early years in cinema.He recalled producing and directing the 1980 film Yuvajanotsavam, which starred Mohanlal. At the time, Suresh Gopi was mostly playing smaller roles. Thampi said he gave him the role of the main antagonist in the film.Thampi also recalled that Gopi later expressed his wish to become a hero. He then asked director I V Sasi to cast Gopi as the lead in ‘Aksharatthettu’. Thampi had written the screenplay, dialogues and songs for the film. He said Gopi made his debut as a hero in the film.
Veteran lyricist makes a sarcastic remark
Thampi said Gopi’s mother called him after watching Aksharatthettu at a theatre in Kollam on the day of its release. He recalled that she thanked him on behalf of the family.“I know the truth that one should not expect gratitude from anyone,” Thampi said.He suggested that Gopi may have forgotten these old incidents. Thampi then took another sarcastic swipe at the minister’s memory.He said that even at the age of 86, he had not forgotten these incidents and hoped Gopi would recover from his alleged memory problems.Thampi also pointed out that the lines “Bandhuvaaru shathruvaar, bandhanathin novariyum, kilimakale parayoo…” were written by him as well.
