No matter where in the world, if she is on stage, Usha Uthup will sing a Malayalam song, that's a given. And whether or not there is a Malayalee in the audience, the crowd will wholeheartedly take up the cheering part.
Her song Ente keralam etra sundaram reverberates her candid devotion to the state. And for Usha, Kerala is not just a tourist spot. It is the native place of her husband, Jani Uthup from Kottayam. It was after getting married that her surname changed from Iyer to Uthup – now, a name so popular among indi-pop and jazz music lovers. As her daughter also lives in Kerala, Usha's ties with Kerala has always been emotional.
But when she wanted a song to express her affection to Kerala, everything seemed inadequate. Although there are several captivating songs on Kerala, Usha’s songs are globally acclaimed. And now, Kerala Tourism uses her song in its campaigns. It was then that people started asking about Chitoor Gopi, the unsung lyricist of the song.
Gopi remembers how the opportunity to work with Usha came his way. “She told me about the idea of the song through phone only. She wanted to have song with the theme ‘I love kerala’. As she found it difficult to pronounce ‘r’ and ‘ra’, I had to choose words without these.
“She encouraged me a lot. After attending to each line of the song and learning its meaning, she will prop me up saying ‘fantastic’ etc. This song was composed after preparing the lyrics. She herself tuned it. Recording was done at her studio ‘Vibrations’ in Kolkata. It became a super hit soon and was used in every stage of hers. People all over the world received the song with applause. When Johny Sagarika released an album “Olappeeppi” incorporating this song, that also became popular”.
Usha was not going to stop with that. She asked for more songs from Gopi. Thus he wrote almost all the songs of Usha in Malayalam, except some devotional and film songs. That includes Kochi’s super hit Pyara pyara, Cochin town.
Even though a highly adored singer, she will record the songs only after learning it thoroughly. “She will ask for each word, its meaning and pronunciation several times till she can follow it completely. You know how dedicated she is,” he says.
Gopi, who has penned so many light songs and movie numbers, had been close with so many singers and back ground experts. He is a tablist favoured by distinguished singers like K.J .Yesudas, Jayachandran and Vani Jayaram. So his words of reverence to Usha are truly recognition to her.
In the album ‘I Love Kerala’, the song Malabarinte oppana”, written by Gopi and rendered by Usha Uthup, is composed by none other than R.D.Burman.