Music composer Alphons Joseph is ecstatic that the Malayalam film 'The Face of the Faceless' has entered the eligibility list for 'Best Original Song' and 'Best Original Score' at the Oscars 2024. The acclaimed musician had composed the music for the three songs, which will now compete with over 90 other international songs at the Oscars. The final list of nominees for the Oscars will be announced in January.
'Barala Tribal Song,' 'Ek Sapna Mera Suhana,' and 'Jalta Hai Suraj' are the three songs that will compete in the 'Best Original Song' category. “The Barala Tribal song was composed from the home of a tribal resident in Madhya Pradesh. The woman was extremely shy and was very embarrassed to sing in front of us, so she would hide behind the door and sing. We shot the song, but improvised on it a little for cinematic purpose, by keeping the essence of the song intact,” he said.
The other two songs, according to the music director, were on women empowerment and a nun's struggle to understand her true calling in the world. 'The Face of the Faceless' is based on the life and times of Sr Rani Maria, who worked tirelessly for the people in Indore. “Sister Rani was a fighter who worked for the empowerment of the women in the community. Through her encouragement, they formed a musical band over there. She also struggled to ensure they have a source of livelihood and fought for government grands for them. Though the government was initially not supportive of her cause, they soon provided loans to the people there,” he said. Another song reveals the dilemma she faces when the church chastises her for being too involved with the community.
Singers Khailesh Kher, Javed Ali, Hariharan, Chithra, among others sang the songs, while the lyrics were by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. The team, including the film director, are keeping their hopes high. In a recent interview with 'Adaminte Makan Abu' director Saleem Ahamed, the filmmaker had said India always stood a chance to win an award in the song category, given that most of our songs were steeped in rich, cultural heritage. “Also, we have diverse number of songs, unlike films in other countries,” he had said.
