Thiruvananthapuram, Veteran music director and lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi on Friday took a swipe at Union Minister Suresh Gopi for not naming him while singing his song “Keralam Keralam” in Parliament.
Thampi recalled that Gopi’s mother called him after watching the film at a theatre in Kollam on its release day and thanked him on behalf of the family. He recalled that when he produced and directed the 1980 film ‘Yuvajanotsavam’, starring Mohanlal, he cast Gopi, who was then largely playing minor roles, as the main antagonist.
Thampi said Gopi recalled Malayalam literary and musical stalwarts, including M T Vasudevan Nair, Johnson, Vayalar and G Devarajan, and spoke about his interest in literature and music, but did not mention the lyricist of the song he sang. “He was not ready to mention the name of this servant, Sreekumaran Thampi, who wrote the song ‘Keralam Keralam’,” Thampi said. Thampi said that when Gopi expressed his desire to become a hero, he asked director I V Sasi to cast him as the lead in ‘Aksharatthettu’, for which Thampi wrote the screenplay, dialogues and songs. He said Gopi made his debut as a hero in the film, despite Sasi initially considering another young actor who was popular at the time. “I know the truth that one should not expect gratitude from anyone,” Thampi said, adding that Union Minister Gopi might have forgotten these things now.
