The lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus has brought the entertainment industry to a standstill. Yet musicians across the world has been reaching out to listeners through live sessions and interactions via various social media platforms.
SAMAM (Singers’ Association Malayalam Movies), an organisation for playback singers of Malayalam film music industry, is using the platform to support singers and musicians who’ve been badly hit by the cancellation of stage and television shows, recordings and other events. From May 4, 60 singers are performing live on their Facebook page and this will go on for the next 60 days, that is till July 2.
Sudeep Kumar, president of SAMAM, kickstarted the initiative and among those performing during the next two weeks are Mridula Warrier, Pradeep Somasundaram, MG Sreekumar, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan, Kavalam Sreekumar and Sithara Krishnakumar.
“We got this idea when a member of SAMAM held a live session on Facebook for a group and the admins of that group offered her a payment of ₹50,000. She handed it over to SAMAM. A few other singers who were paid also gave it to our welfare fund. We’ve raised over ₹2.5 lakh like that. That’s when we thought about using Facebook as a platform to raise funds for those musicians who are struggling for their livelihood during the lockdown period,” says Sudeep.
Singing for a cause
SAMAM has been planning fund-raiser programmes since it was formed two years ago to help musicians who are ailing and to start an insurance scheme. But the first event had to be cancelled when Kerala was hit by the floods in 2018. When floods again ravaged the state in 2019, 30 members from the Association travelled all the way to Wayanad to provide assistance to those affected by landslides. And they were working towards holding a mega event later this year, which seems difficult in the current scenario.
“We have over 70 playback singers as members. Although many of them don’t need financial help, there are a few who need assistance. We will also distribute the money to members of orchestras who are in dire straits and many yesteryear singers too,” he adds. The singers will go live for one hour every day at 8 pm. During the one-hour session, besides their songs, these artistes will also croon the numbers that their fans ask for.
A UK-based online education platform has offered support to SAMAM and stream the live sessions in the country on weekends, Sudeep adds.
“It was our dream to bring more than 70 singers on one stage with a 100-member orchestra. We don’t know when we will be able to do that. Right now, 60 singers will perform from their homes for a cause,” Sudeep says. KJ Yesudas is the chairperson of SAMAM; while MG Sreekumar is the vice-chairperson and P Jayachandrn the chief advisor.
For details, visit SAMAM’s official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/samamofficial/