Several trips to the Gulf and events in and around the hometown has kept Vidhu busy in Aug and Sep. Onam lunch was in the UAE as is routine now.
Events
- He was at 2 TV channels inaugurations in the past couple of months - Kairali's People TV and Amrita TV
- Upcoming show with Udit Narayan in the Gulf, Vidhu was picked because of his easy handling of Tamil and Malayalam songs and stage presence
Movies
- Thanmaatra - Blessy's new Mohanlal movie, heard this is the title song, very different - Music by Mohan Sithara
- Bus conductor - not sure about the name but sung by Madhu Balakrishnan and Vidhu - Music by M Jayachandran
- Mantram - Music by Alex Paul
Will update as details come in ...
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Latest movies/events - Jul '05
Latest songs
- Mayilin song in Pandipada for Dileep (Suresh Peters music)
- Song in Krithyam for Prithviraj
- Couple more movies and several albums
- Will update as details come in
Generally a slow time for malayalam movies and songs
Several costly movies have fared badly at the box office, should get better soon
Upcoming Events
- Another show in London during Aug '05
- Gulf shows in Sep for Onam (Vidhu has'nt been at home for several onams now!)
Post comments to bring any issues to my attention.
- Mayilin song in Pandipada for Dileep (Suresh Peters music)
- Song in Krithyam for Prithviraj
- Couple more movies and several albums
- Will update as details come in
Generally a slow time for malayalam movies and songs
Several costly movies have fared badly at the box office, should get better soon
Upcoming Events
- Another show in London during Aug '05
- Gulf shows in Sep for Onam (Vidhu has'nt been at home for several onams now!)
Post comments to bring any issues to my attention.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Latest movies/events - May '05
Latest songs
- Kannil umma song in Alice in Wonderland (sang for Jayaram, Vidyasagar's music). Director Sibi Malayil had some good things to say to him after he heard the recording.
- Oridath oridath song in Adbuthadweepu (sang for Prithviraj, M Jayachandran's music)
- Velliyaranjanam song in Annorikkal
- Hey U Queen song in Twinkle twinkle little star (Ilayaraja's music)
- VidarumVarnapookal song in Iruvattom Manavatti (Alphonse's music)
- Kannil umma song in Alice in Wonderland (sang for Jayaram, Vidyasagar's music). Director Sibi Malayil had some good things to say to him after he heard the recording.
- Oridath oridath song in Adbuthadweepu (sang for Prithviraj, M Jayachandran's music)
- Velliyaranjanam song in Annorikkal
- Hey U Queen song in Twinkle twinkle little star (Ilayaraja's music)
- VidarumVarnapookal song in Iruvattom Manavatti (Alphonse's music)
Many albums, these are getting better than traditional movie songs these days!
- Mazha kaalamalle
All these songs are on Coolgoose.com - search for artist = Vidhu
Events
- Ajman show postponed to sometime in Jun '05
- Show in London (yeah again!) during Jun '05
Friday, March 18, 2005
Events/schedule - Mar '05
Vidhu is on back-to-back trips for the next few weeks. Only the major events are listed:
- First on the list is a show in Dubai
- Next there is a Singapore show, I believe this is his first time in Singapore
- End of the month is a trip to London, this is a 4-5 days programme
The US show seems to be coming back to life. It could be re-scheduled to sometime in September if the visa issues are sorted out soon.
- First on the list is a show in Dubai
- Next there is a Singapore show, I believe this is his first time in Singapore
- End of the month is a trip to London, this is a 4-5 days programme
The US show seems to be coming back to life. It could be re-scheduled to sometime in September if the visa issues are sorted out soon.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Recorded for Ilayaraja
This is for a movie called "Twinkle twinkle little star".
Vidhu Prathap was in Chennai last week to record for this movie. The amusing thing about recording for Ilayaraja is that the maestro himself ends up singing some of the best songs in the movie - not sure if this is because of some technical reason or if he just liked his own music enough to sing it himself. And of course, who has the guts to question "the little king" ? :)
This movie is getting some publicity with its multi-lingual (Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu) scope and new movie making technology being used. This is a dicey story-line, so it will take some story-telling to pull this off. No amount of technical wizardry can substitute a weak story or weak direction. Need to wait and see how it develops.
Vidhu Prathap was in Chennai last week to record for this movie. The amusing thing about recording for Ilayaraja is that the maestro himself ends up singing some of the best songs in the movie - not sure if this is because of some technical reason or if he just liked his own music enough to sing it himself. And of course, who has the guts to question "the little king" ? :)
This movie is getting some publicity with its multi-lingual (Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu) scope and new movie making technology being used. This is a dicey story-line, so it will take some story-telling to pull this off. No amount of technical wizardry can substitute a weak story or weak direction. Need to wait and see how it develops.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
US show cancelled
This show has been cancelled due to visa troubles for some artistes.
The side effect has been that even other shows and recordings that were scheduled during then had to be cancelled due to the month long US show that was supposed to happen in April.
Well, bad things just happen I guess !
Other shows have already come his way so he's not too disappointed.
The side effect has been that even other shows and recordings that were scheduled during then had to be cancelled due to the month long US show that was supposed to happen in April.
Well, bad things just happen I guess !
Other shows have already come his way so he's not too disappointed.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Most exciting shows
Which shows did Vidhu Prathap himself enjoy and cherish ? Which were some of his mega shows? Have to unscramble old memories here, going back from the most recent -
- Ilayaraja's Symphony show in Chennai - the maestro released this album along the lines of "How to name it", Vidhu was one of the singers invited for the show - sometime in Nov-Dec 2004. Jyotsna and Vijay Yesudas were also there
- Mohanlal's 25th year celebrations - this was a mega show and done at several places at the same time. Artistes had to choose 2 locations to perform. Vidhu was at TVM and Kozhikode.
- Monsoon diary - this was an extremely well-crafted show in TVM and impressed Vidhu quite a bit - it drizzled and poured on the stage - the show was staged by Rajeev Kumar, and produced/planned by Shaheen, a young guy with a strong business tack. Good to see these talented guys getting into the limelight
- Vidhu Prathap's first European trip - performed in Germany, Austria, UK, Italy and other places - the troupe was led by Urvashi
- will keep adding as I recollect ...
- Ilayaraja's Symphony show in Chennai - the maestro released this album along the lines of "How to name it", Vidhu was one of the singers invited for the show - sometime in Nov-Dec 2004. Jyotsna and Vijay Yesudas were also there
- Mohanlal's 25th year celebrations - this was a mega show and done at several places at the same time. Artistes had to choose 2 locations to perform. Vidhu was at TVM and Kozhikode.
- Monsoon diary - this was an extremely well-crafted show in TVM and impressed Vidhu quite a bit - it drizzled and poured on the stage - the show was staged by Rajeev Kumar, and produced/planned by Shaheen, a young guy with a strong business tack. Good to see these talented guys getting into the limelight
- Vidhu Prathap's first European trip - performed in Germany, Austria, UK, Italy and other places - the troupe was led by Urvashi
- will keep adding as I recollect ...
Monday, February 14, 2005
Birthday and those good old days!
DOB - 1st Sep, 1980
-- Born in Kaithamukku, Trivandrum
-- Studied first few years in Holy Angels, then finished at Christ Nagar
-- College, Mar Ivanios - he was the Arts club Secretary during graduation year
-- University, district, Rotary winner in several musical categories, years in a row
-- Final competition attended was the Asianet Voice of the Year - he was in the 10th std when the competition started and 17 when it ended in 1997 - he won the title against impossible odds. More on this later ...
-- Going to competitions was his way of constantly getting better - I counted upwards of 300 trophies, cups, plates and statues on 3 lines of shelves in his house
-- the hard part was the saadagam, the practising, continuing music lessons, travel and school - a tough regimen to follow year after year
-- then he had the occassional urges - like learning kalari from CVN Kalari nearby (yeah the guys who taught J Chan for his new movie) - that stopped after sometime...
-- Born in Kaithamukku, Trivandrum
-- Studied first few years in Holy Angels, then finished at Christ Nagar
-- College, Mar Ivanios - he was the Arts club Secretary during graduation year
-- University, district, Rotary winner in several musical categories, years in a row
-- Final competition attended was the Asianet Voice of the Year - he was in the 10th std when the competition started and 17 when it ended in 1997 - he won the title against impossible odds. More on this later ...
-- Going to competitions was his way of constantly getting better - I counted upwards of 300 trophies, cups, plates and statues on 3 lines of shelves in his house
-- the hard part was the saadagam, the practising, continuing music lessons, travel and school - a tough regimen to follow year after year
-- then he had the occassional urges - like learning kalari from CVN Kalari nearby (yeah the guys who taught J Chan for his new movie) - that stopped after sometime...
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Email-id - its changing, watch this space
Email-id - his id is changing - the old one is full of junk mail
There are a lot of "chatters" who borrow Vidhu Prathap's name - dont fall for it.
Vidhu never chats - sometimes his friend gets on a session to be in touch with fans and faithfully reports most sessions.
Address:
'Govindum'
MRA 169
Kaithamukku
Trivandrum
Cell #:
When your cell bill is like Rs 10,000 a month - I can understand you don't want this posted!
There are a lot of "chatters" who borrow Vidhu Prathap's name - dont fall for it.
Vidhu never chats - sometimes his friend gets on a session to be in touch with fans and faithfully reports most sessions.
Address:
'Govindum'
MRA 169
Kaithamukku
Trivandrum
Cell #:
When your cell bill is like Rs 10,000 a month - I can understand you don't want this posted!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Latest events/movies - Feb '05
This is going to be a regular title - listing upcoming events and movies that Vidhu is involved in.
Latest shows -
He just got back from almost a month-long show in the Middle-East. Led by Mohan Sithara and in the company of the latest crop of stars like Afsal and Jyotsna, this was a good show. He appeared on the DSF programmes (Dubai shopping festival) -- anchored by Santosh Paali -- several times.
In between, there was a program in Bangalore with Rimi for which he had to fly down for a couple of days. The show played to a packed auditorium and the sponsors were so happy that they asked for a date every month!
Latest movies -
Fewer recordings last month due to the month-long show in the Middle-East.
- Vinayan's experiments continue with Adbuthadweep - Vidhu has recorded for this movie some time ago
- Recording completed in Chennai for Pandipada - Dilip movie, Suresh Peters' music, Rafi Mecartin's direction
Few other movies too - updates coming ...
Latest shows -
He just got back from almost a month-long show in the Middle-East. Led by Mohan Sithara and in the company of the latest crop of stars like Afsal and Jyotsna, this was a good show. He appeared on the DSF programmes (Dubai shopping festival) -- anchored by Santosh Paali -- several times.
In between, there was a program in Bangalore with Rimi for which he had to fly down for a couple of days. The show played to a packed auditorium and the sponsors were so happy that they asked for a date every month!
Latest movies -
Fewer recordings last month due to the month-long show in the Middle-East.
- Vinayan's experiments continue with Adbuthadweep - Vidhu has recorded for this movie some time ago
- Recording completed in Chennai for Pandipada - Dilip movie, Suresh Peters' music, Rafi Mecartin's direction
Few other movies too - updates coming ...
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Major milestones
Can't list every milestone and award he has won - that would be the "opposite of fun" for me!
But major ones, in order of importance -
- Kerala State award, Best male playback singer, for the song Kalame Kaikolluka nee, movie Sayahnam, year 2000, music Perumbavoor G Ravindranath. Incidentally, Perambavoor is also his teacher on and off
- Asianet-Lux award, for the song Sukhamani Nilavu, movie Nammal, year 2002, music Mohan Sithara
- Asianet Voice of the Year - the first such attempt in the country to bring out latent talent from all over Kerala - lasting 1 and 1/2 years in 1996-97, it was a gruelling match of the best talent - music college toppers to professional musicians. The best judges and the best anchors. Vidhu came out best - at age 17, this was a feat. More on all this later ...
- First break in a movie, Devadasi, year 2000, music by Sharath. Unbelievable song Pon Vasantham with 12-13 shifts in talam. Singer Unnikrishnan rendered a song in the same movie which he declared was the toughest song of his career
- First hit song Valeduthal, movie Meesa Madhavan, year 2002, music Vidhyasagar
- The Week magazine, in their 2003 I-Day issue, projects Vidhu Prathap as one of India's 50 emerging stars - this link works on and off, so here's a cached link
- Vidhu's version of the song Shukiriya - from the movie Niram - most requested song for stage shows at that time
- Ilayaraja introduces him in Tamil, movie Solla Marantha Kathai - an offbeat movie with great songs. Song starts with a bold '70's style humming
But major ones, in order of importance -
- Kerala State award, Best male playback singer, for the song Kalame Kaikolluka nee, movie Sayahnam, year 2000, music Perumbavoor G Ravindranath. Incidentally, Perambavoor is also his teacher on and off
- Asianet-Lux award, for the song Sukhamani Nilavu, movie Nammal, year 2002, music Mohan Sithara
- Asianet Voice of the Year - the first such attempt in the country to bring out latent talent from all over Kerala - lasting 1 and 1/2 years in 1996-97, it was a gruelling match of the best talent - music college toppers to professional musicians. The best judges and the best anchors. Vidhu came out best - at age 17, this was a feat. More on all this later ...
- First break in a movie, Devadasi, year 2000, music by Sharath. Unbelievable song Pon Vasantham with 12-13 shifts in talam. Singer Unnikrishnan rendered a song in the same movie which he declared was the toughest song of his career
- First hit song Valeduthal, movie Meesa Madhavan, year 2002, music Vidhyasagar
- The Week magazine, in their 2003 I-Day issue, projects Vidhu Prathap as one of India's 50 emerging stars - this link works on and off, so here's a cached link
- Vidhu's version of the song Shukiriya - from the movie Niram - most requested song for stage shows at that time
- Ilayaraja introduces him in Tamil, movie Solla Marantha Kathai - an offbeat movie with great songs. Song starts with a bold '70's style humming
Friday, January 28, 2005
The beginning ...
If you are imagining Vidhu Prathap's home to be a sangeetha sabha of veteran carnatic exponents, forget it! His father Prathapan was not muscial in any out-of-the-ordinary way nor his mother Laila. His appuppan (the Late Chief Judicial Magistrate, TVM), grandad on his mother's side, however dabbled a little.
Because or inspite of all this, they let the kid take up music lessons when he was 3 years old. His elder sister was already doing that and together they went out to music competitions. The kid pair used to visit their dad in Abudhabi - and go to every competition they could find. And they won prizes.
Vidhu excelled in several art forms - mono-act, recitation, light/classical music etc. More prizes stacked up in his room.
Skip, skip ... end of the begininng.
Because or inspite of all this, they let the kid take up music lessons when he was 3 years old. His elder sister was already doing that and together they went out to music competitions. The kid pair used to visit their dad in Abudhabi - and go to every competition they could find. And they won prizes.
Vidhu excelled in several art forms - mono-act, recitation, light/classical music etc. More prizes stacked up in his room.
Skip, skip ... end of the begininng.
Monday, January 24, 2005
About this blog - Jan '05
Why a blog about Vidhu Prathap? Fair question. Because, lets see:
- there are a lot of people interested in knowing minute and latest details about this singing star
- people are confused as to why all this attention on "just another new singer"
- people want to get their facts straight on their favorite stars
- they need a compilation of details all at one place
- there is a lack of good write-ups on malayalam music in general
- also, there's my own urge to share this information
- many more reasons - too many to list ...
Being very close to Vidhu Prathap, I hope to do justice to all of you out there who follow his music. There will be frequent updates and unpublished details here - so check back often. There is a lot of hype about him but a lot of facts too, you will see these separated here as we go along. Singer Vidhu Prathap, regular young guy Vidhu Prathap, its a hard combination to carry around. Please post your comments by clicking on the comments link.
- there are a lot of people interested in knowing minute and latest details about this singing star
- people are confused as to why all this attention on "just another new singer"
- people want to get their facts straight on their favorite stars
- they need a compilation of details all at one place
- there is a lack of good write-ups on malayalam music in general
- also, there's my own urge to share this information
- many more reasons - too many to list ...
Being very close to Vidhu Prathap, I hope to do justice to all of you out there who follow his music. There will be frequent updates and unpublished details here - so check back often. There is a lot of hype about him but a lot of facts too, you will see these separated here as we go along. Singer Vidhu Prathap, regular young guy Vidhu Prathap, its a hard combination to carry around. Please post your comments by clicking on the comments link.
Now, onward to the posts ...
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