Cut the Comedy: When the Parody Kings Ruled Onam

• 09 Sep 2016
• Sunaya
• Features

There was a time,when comedy was on cassettes.You had a 'reel' good time listening to all those parodies.Things are so modern now and perhaps it's time to rewind to the days of old fashioned humor.

Comedy and parody are two things equally enjoyed by every Malayali.The advent of satirical approach to the everyday happenings and issues around the city brought in an entire new genre of humour which brought attention to serious and controversial issues happening in the society. It was a new experience for the creator of such mimics as they realized how much the audience was enjoying and appreciating the effort. It takes great effort, time and practice to bring in a subtle wittiness in every aspect of life and bring out an enormous piece of comedy.

Little did we know when the parody king Nadirsha was asked to write a few carol songs and Onapaattukal that we would get a humour packed cassette called ‘Onathinidakku Puttu Kachavadam’.Yes! in 1992,the cassette that made every Malayali laugh their heart out came into being with three fathers; Dileep Nadirsha and Abi. The content was exceptionally hilarious that is considered a classic from the 20th century.The kind of reception it experienced was beyond the imagination of its makers. Malayali’s welcomed them like how they would welcome Maveli every Onam season.With consecutive hits for three years,the series experienced an expansion to ‘De Maaveli Kombath’ and manymore series added on to the existing package.

 

“Specialaayi swalpam arikitti onam naallil athu kazhukkan eduthappo mannamadichu kirungipoyi” Nadirsha in reference to the quality of rice in ration shops in Kerala.

It was the biggest hits of those times. The theme of the series varied according to the current happenings in society. When the roads of Kerala faced neglect from the concerned authorities,the  idea of Maveli coming out of the potholes on the roads and going back to them came to the minds of these creators. Other issues faced by the panchayats and cities were also the theme of the cassettes. Looking from the perspective of every human being, these people brought out socially relevant issues into the limelight by way of humour and satire.

Isn’t it challenging to bring out a product that has no visual to entertain people? From the sound effects to the dialogues and distinct voices of people, it was perfect in the production. People never experienced a lag in the content. A picture was drawn on everyone’s imagination by these artists. Audience going back to them every Onam was the proof that they never got bored of the content and the audio drama. Since the visual was not present,the voices were made very prominent and close to the voices of famous stars in order to make people know who is speaking. It is important to know the person speaking in order to understand the line of the story. Every year they came up with new themes to give people a different experience.

Old Fashioned Humor

There was a time when we realised Onam had only arrived when the cassettes hit the market.The enthusiasm that people had for preparing sadhya, arranging pookkalam and playing Vadamvali and other games equals the enthusiasm for listening to these parodies. People would rush to the stores to buy the latest edition so much so that it became an integral part of Onam.The impact of these cassettes was so enormous that people experienced a cultural shift. As the transition from cassettes to CD’s to television channels was inevitable, the creators too were bound to grow and evolve with their baby production. Most of the stars present in the Malayalam film industry were once a part of this production.They grew with this and infact this little star tried to continue its lineage through others who followed it.But now it has almost come to closure.

 

“Ente Vaamana ninakku nooru nanniyundu. Ee bhuminnu nere paadhalathilekku enne chavitti thazhuthiyallo,inikku ishtaayi. Onnum kaanendallo” Dileep as Maveli in Innocents voice. Onnathinedayil Puttu Kachavadam vol:1.

Decline of comedy

With the decline in cassettes and CD’s parodies too came to an end. Gone are the days when parodies were a rage among Malayalee’s. "Parodies are not there anymore simply because we stopped” said Nadirsha.”Two of my favourite compositions are the one I sung praising Yesudas and a parody about drunkard’s life.”Despite the effort and hard work of a number of people who worked behind these cassettes,it was a victim to the privacy attack." The original suffered a great amount of loss.At this point there was a shift from audio to video.The Onam programs started airing directly to channels making it convenient for both the audience and its makers. A genre that everybody enjoyed was mimicking politicians,by acting and bringing out social issues.They gave these artists a few threats,but also direct appreciation from these politicians for the humour they bring out in serious issues. Both the mannerism and voice is the component present in them. Channels need politicians and people are enjoying them like any other programs. Another controversy that they faced was disguising male artists into female characters."No matter what you try to do, the act that you perform on stages should not be vulgar in terms of dressing,” said Kalabhavan Madhu. ”It has come to a point where some programs show whatever they wish to do which is not right”  he added.”There was a time when Jayaram and others had performed as female characters that did not give a disgusting feeling to anyone. Infact people enjoyed that act verymuch, not being vulgar is a strong component to that.”

 

“Ente Maveli inni paadhallathinni varumbo ee kothikkine kollan enthengillum marunnu kondu tharanam” Abi in his famous thatha voice Onnathinedayil Puttu Kachavadam vol:1

Between the Lines

Though satire has evolved and changed in its course and has taken different forms,right from the beginning that they try to do is throw lights at relevant matters no matter what they say and show try to bring out a message from the act. Even though,it had the recognition as an entertainment medium;it also sent out good messages. It would be the one medium where people can laugh and reduce their stress as well as get a good message out of it. Like any other medium,satire and comedy programs are an effective source to send out positive messages to the world.

Adapted from the original article in FWD Life September 2014 issue.

Words: Simna Nahas

Illustration: Leeza John