Will Jerry Amaldev return to cinema?
Jerry Amaldev, the man who composed some of the most memorable Malayalam songs for movies like Manjil Virinja Pookal, Nokkethaa Doorathu Kannum Nattu, Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal and Ente Mamaattikkuttiyammakku, has become an alien in the Malayalam film industry today. This highly-qualified musician has not composed any tunes for films for nearly 13 years! In fact, he is one of the victims of our faction-ridden film industry in Malayalam.
“I have no complaints against anyone. I’m out of the film industry because I did my job and went home; I didn’t indulge in any other things that would have kept me going,” 69-year-old Amaldev told a news agency.
However, he refused to open up about the controversy over which he was kept out. “I may have been misunderstood by some musical personalities and despite a patch-up, the patch was still there,” he said.
After completing his Bachelor's degree in music and Master's in composition from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York in 1975, Jerry made a sensational debut in Malayalam films in 1980 with Manjil Virinja Pookal. The movie catapulted Mohanlal to stardom and won accolades for its beautiful songs. Jerry won the State award for best music director of the year for his debut venture.
After this stupendous success, Amaldev became one of the most sought-after composers and went on to compose music for nearly 75 Malayalam films. However, his career in films came to a sudden end with Mammootty starrer No. 1 Snehatheeram Bangalore North in 1995.
Today, Amaldev has his own music band called ‘Rock of Ages’, which consists of 24 people. He does stage shows, besides teaching music at a leading private school in Kochi. Will he ever return to the Malayalam film industry? “Why not, but will it happen? In case it happens, I will be selective and will accept only films that have a human-interest element," he said.
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