Good old 90s! 'Venkatesh touch' that elevated 90s Malayalam cinema

A rare talent who could compose 25 songs in a canter, all in a day. During the late 80s and early 90s, the name ‘SP Venkatesh’ was so hard to miss as it appeared often during the credits of the movie. Venkatesh was a crucial part of the movies of that era, as the directors of that time mostly relied on his background music skills to elevate a scene, to attain the right mix of emotions. The Chennai native was an inevitable part of 90s Malayalam cinema. Gen Z’s will be less aware of the name Venkatesh or the amazing talent that he was. However, it takes just one song from the movie ‘Johnnie Walker’ to show how versatile his creativity was. Even GenZs would hum the tunes of the movie, which has not lost its sheen despite passing decades.

SP Venkatesh was one of a kind who jumped across genres and created songs of all hues. It would be difficult to accept the fact that the composer behind the songs' Ootypattanam' in 'Kilukkam', is the same one who created the melodic ‘Valkannezhuthiya’ song from the movie Paithrukam. Venkatesh was essentially a filmmaker's musician and never allowed his songs to stand higher than what the scene demanded.

As well as music, S. P. Venkatesh's notable contribution is in composing background music for hit films. He composed background music for many films, including Mammootty's hit film Mahayanam, Mohanlal's Devasuram, No. 20 Madras Mail, Customs Diary, Amma Ammayiyamma, Agninakshatram, Lelam, Vajram, Runway, and Mambazhakalam. The present generation witnessed the power of his works when the remastered release of Mohanlal’s cult movie ‘Sphadikam’ hit theatres recently.

Surprisingly, at the peak of his popularity, Venkatesh chose to slowly walk away from the glitter of cinema. However, Venkatesh remained etched in Malayali minds for the work he created. There are a few interviews of his, and many would not recognise his face; however, the name SP Venkatesh is a brand in itself that makes Malayalees take a detour back to the good old days.