Youth revive ‘Vilpattu’ through documentary

The documentary titled 'Athijeevanathinte Jnanoli' produced by the group from Neyyattinkara was released here on Thursday.

Mr Vinod Sen, who scripted the documentary, told Deccan Chronicle that at first the plan was to bring out a book on Vilpattu. "However, soon I realised that there were not enough written documents for bringing out a book," Mr Sen said.

"The script of Vilpattu was originally in a language that is a mix of Malayalam and Tamil. It was Mr Balan Pillai, a DySP in the Kerala police, who gave a modern version of the art form by incorporating social issues and even Bible stories. Mr Sen is also the coordinator of the project which is produced by Swadeshabhimani centre, Neyyattinkara and directed by his friend Sanobar.

Mr Balan Pillai also had begun to present stories in Malayalam. In fact, he had constituted a Vilpattu troupe of the Kerala police, he said. After Mr Balan Pillai left the scene, it was Mr Thalayil S.Kesavan Nair who has been instrumental in keeping the art form alive, he said.

"As an advocate in Neyyattinkara bar, I was inspired by Mr Nair's commitment to the art form," Mr Sen said.

Vilpattu, also known as Villadichampattu and Villuppattu, is a ritual art form where narration is interspersed with music, popular in the southern part of Thiruvananthapuram district and Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. The villu, a bow, the age-old weapon of warriors, is used as a primary musical instrument for the Villupattu artists.

The camera of the documentary is by Sreeraj Panicker, editing by Santhosh Sreedhar, music by Jayan V. Pisharody and narration by Aliyar.