Amala Muralidharan
The
Master Mind
Music
was a career that Govind P Menon had always dreamt of. At the age of
nineteen, when Govind left
his home for marking his name in the music world, he
had no idea that he was going to build the strong ‘Thaikkudam Bridge’, we know
of today - now a rage among the music lovers. Govind’s better half is his
‘green violin’ which he carries with himself wherever he goes, as a true
companion. He hasn’t learnt music professionally but his experience of working
with renowned musicians from the film industry, made music his cup of tea. He
owes his success as a person and a musician to music composers, Oussepachan and
Gopi Sundar. Starting his career as a
keyboard programmer, he later proved his talents in Super Talent too, a reality
show in Kerala. He has programmed, composed, and assisted many music
directors in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu. He has worked for
more than 100 films till date; few movies to name are Bum Bum Bole, Aakrosh,
Love ka Punchnama and Akaash Vani. “I wasn't much into studies, my father
was my pillar of support and the sheer hardwork put in helped me reach my
destiny” he says. Music runs in his blood as he is from a musical
family. His father, Peethambaran Menon, who was the ‘Voice of
Thrissur’ in the 70’s, is also a part of the band. He is one of
the vocalist and the violinist, music producer and general
manager of the band. “Incredible things happen when your passion turns out
to be your career, I couldn’t have asked for more”, laughs the artist. Hailing
from Thrissur, this 25 year old has now become one of the most sought after
music producer in the Malayalam Film Industry.
The
Bridge
Flickering
stage lights flashed on the gleaming young vibrant faces. Hands swarm in the
air as silhouettes waving to the tune of unprecedented music. The whole place
echoed with chorus voice of the audience as the charmers’ strike to ‘bridge the
gap’, as the band says. ‘Music brings people together... it can change the
world because it can change the people’, and Thaikkudam Bridge truely does that
by bridging people all over the world. This interesting band with a very
interesting name has taken the music industry by a storm ever since they
featured for Music Mojo in Kappa TV last year. These rockstars have been
gigging in colleges, in and around Kochi and even abroad with their breath
taking performances.
The
Menon brothers – Govind and Siddharth, made a home video of ‘Tum Ho’, an AR
Rahman mix, which was noticed by Kappa TV, an entertainment channel. It was
then that these hotshots jam-packed in a room and came out with 12 songs for
the programme. They started off their journey from the Thaikkudam Bridge, in
Kochi with 13 members and today it has grown up to be a big tree
reaping 18 brilliant artists. Inspite of
their diverse cultural backgrounds, it is the comradeship that keeps them
bonded. It was through ‘Nostalgia’,
that these people sprung up to fame. “Nostalgia is nothing but an old wine in a
new bottle, it’s only through these covers that we could touch the hearts of
people” says Govind. Like a calm and quite brook, the
‘Nostalgia’ cover version of this band which improvises the
evergreen numbers, has given the young crowd a nostalgic touch of the
late 80’s and 90’s Malayalam music, it gave goosebumps to many
and has got a terrific response from people
worldwide. Nostalgia is viral all over Youtube, and has created waves with
more than 15 lakh viewership. The band gained popularity through the social
networking sites such as Facebook and Youtube.
Their
musical gamut includes Hindustani classical, romantic songs, to rock music,
attempted by artists perfect in each genre. Haq Allah, Illayraja
Medley, Rahman Medley, Chekele, Thekkum Kooradiyathil, Aerials are few
other covers done by them. Fishrock and Shiva are two of their original
compositions. If Nostalgia was a quite one, then Fishrock sung and composed by
Govind gushes like a vehement and lively creek. It has turned out to become a
peppy number even among the small kids. The lyrics of Fishrock have been penned
by Govind’s sister, Dhanya. Disciples of Padmashri Ustad Rashid
Khan, Krishna Bongane and Nila Madhav Mohapatra’s rendering of ‘Shiva’ are
quite enticing, composed by Govind and penned by Gajanan Mitka.
Thaikkudam
Bridge recently launched their website at Cafe Papaya, Kochi. They
are now getting ready to perform once again for Music Mojo and
even MTV ‘Coke Studio’, with their new original
compositions. They have conquered all hearts through their covers and
originals, are ready to surprise the music lovers with their venture into the
film industry. Govind debuted in Malayalam film industry as a composer through
North 24 Katham, in which Siddharth bagged the Best Debut Singer (Male)
CERA BIG Malayalam Music Award. All the members of the band are now connected
with the industry with many offers pouring in from Bollywood, Tollywood,
Mollywood and Kollywood (Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil film industries).
These
stalwarts have been lucky enough to have tasted success in their transformation
stage, looking forward to creating more music which would be an aural treat for
their music lovers. “Our greatest reward is the appreciation we get from
people, it is all that matters at the end of the day”, says Govind.