https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i2.008
The Eternal Kilippattu: The Recurring Song of the Bird in Malayalam Film Songs
Aparna K
Research Scholar
PG and Research Department of English
Farook College (Autonomous), Kozhikode
Affiliated to University of Calicut
Dr. Muhamed Ali E. K
Assistant Professor
PG and Research Department of English
Farook College (Autonomous), Kozhikode
Abstract: Movie songs are integral to Indian cinema, so much so that they are often dubbed as musicals in Western discourse. From duets, melodies, the romantic numbers around the trees, and even disco-pop music that fills tourist buses and wedding halls, songs showcase the wideranging musical and cultural spectrum of Indian films. Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan wrote Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu using the help of a bird as the messenger. This symbolic association has endured, with birds being a recurring motif in Malayalam literature and cinema songs, symbolising freedom, love, and longing. This paper takes up for analysis Malayalam movie songs from 1980s–2025. Birds are used as metaphors for a girl, as in “Thathamma Peru” and “Kilipenne” songs in Dosth (2001). They also appear in evocative imagery, as in “Thamarakkili Paadunnu” from Moonnam Pakkam (1988) and “Kurukkane Karakana Kiliyale” from Swapnakoodu (2003). This paper explores the recurring motifs of birds in Malayalam movie songs using Jung’s collective unconscious theory, examining their cultural significance, symbolic meanings, and aesthetic presence within the larger framework of Indian cinematic music.
Keywords: Malayalam Cinema, Avian Imagery, Collective Unconscious, Intermediality, Jungian Archetypes
Read full manuscript PDF