The man with magical words: Hari Narayanan

There won’t be a single Malayali who hasn’t hummed Hari Narayanan’s words at least once in their lifetime. Be it the most popular song of 2014, Olenjali Kuruvi, which captivated both young and old with its nostalgic-cum-romantic lyrics or Kaatumooliyo Pranayam, that caught the fancy of youngsters and teenagers, Hari’s words have been loved by all.

The year 2015 finds Hari’s kitty full of songs which is great for his fans. Theatres, radio stations and several playlists are filled with his newest songs from recent releases like Chirakodinja Kinavukal, Oru Second Class Yathra, Bhaskar the Rascal and Ivan Mariyada Raman. Every song that he has written for these films is now a chartbuster and also earning critical acclaim. Happy and content, Hari says that he has been very lucky and is glad to be a part of good films and working with talented music composers.

“I am grateful for all the talent that has contributed to making my songs popular ever since my first film, The Thriller, in 2010. Of all, I think last year was the best as I received quite a lot of appreciation and four awards,” he says with a humble smile. The awards he bagged included the Kerala Film Critics Award.

According to Hari, a successful lyricist has to put himself into the souls of the characters he is writing songs for. Hence, to concentrate more on writing, the Thrissur-based lyricist has decided to take a break from his job this year. “Though advanced technologies have made communication between composers and lyricists easy, I thought of focusing on writing as the travel and discussions involved in writing were making it tough for me to give my best in my job,” he explains.

An admirer of late poet and lyricist P. Baskaran, Hari loves listening to old Tamil and Malayalam songs during his free time. “I am writing for a couple of films now and am also reading some books,” says the popular lyricist.

The songs Rathri Mulla Than Kathoram and Marhaba from the film Laila O Laila that is releasing today are already chartbusters. “I feel happy when I see the Top Ten Songs of the Week on Television,” quips the man with magical words.