Nanjiyamma, the viral Indian tribal folk singer from Attappadi in Palakkad district of Kerala has just won the national award for Best Female Playback Singer at the 68th National Film Awards for her song, ‘Kakakkatha’ that she sang and wrote for the action thriller film, ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’.
The Malayalam film released in 2020 is directed by Sachidanandan KR (Sachi). The veteran singer-songwriter also played the character of the mother of Ayyappan Nair’s wife in the story. The character of Ayyappan Nair is played by Buju Menon, who won the award for Best Supporting Actor. The song, ‘Kakakkatha’ introduced the world to the lost musical identity of her tribe bordering Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The award-winning musician was born in 1960 in Attappadi and she recently gained massive popularity for her song, ‘Kakakkatha’ which she wrote in the Irula language. The track is composed by Jakes Bejoy and received more than 10 million views on YouTube in just a month.
The gifted singer is a part of the Azad Kala Samithi, which is led by another tribal artist from Attappadi, Pazhani Swami. She was married off at the age of only 15 and her husband had always encouraged her to continue with her singing. She is now in her sixties and pursuing her passion for folk singing.
Despite becoming popular, she still takes her cattle to graze and farms every day. After winning the award on Friday, she said, ‘My son told me about the national award declaration. We all watched the award announcement on TV.’
Nanjiyamma sings folk songs that have been passed down through generations. She along with 42-year-old tribal artist S Pazhaniswami often participates in folk music programs held in and around Attappadi village. Pazhaniswami has also acted alongside her in the film, ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’.
Her first commercial song was for a documentary for Mathrumozhi, titled lAggedu Nayagal, directed by Sindhu Sajan. She even lent her voice to the Government of Kerala’s housing program Life Mission. That was the first time when Irula language was used in a public relations program in Kerala.
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