Thaikkudam Bridge Tap Into Powerful Folklore and Myth Yet Again in ‘Kalliyankatt Neeli’ Video

In the decade that they’ve been thriving, Kerala fusion rock/metal band Thaikkudam Bridge have particularly changed the game for music videos in independent music. The labored, intricate and multi-layered visual language of the band recently saw another addition to their catalog, with the hair-raising music video for “Kalliyankatt Neeli,” off their 2019 album Namah featuring classical and fusion veteran Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

In the music video for the song, director Naren Ajith, director of photography Janamejaya Daroz and the crew tell the story of a Yakshi, described as a mythical figure of a woman who suffered an unnatural death and returns to Earth to seek vengeance. Actor and dancer Simran Sivakumar portrays calm, terror and vengeance throughout the six-minute video, with the narrative also reflecting a present-day commentary on gender norms, patriarchal practices and more.

A common element that you might spot in the “Kalliyankatt Neeli” video that’s seen in Thaikkudam Bridge’s other releases is that they draw from folklore and myth quite often. Early on, music videos for “Chathe” invoked philosophical ideas around death, undoubtedly informed by Malayalam texts. The band teamed up with filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar for the stomping tale that was “Aarachar,” starring actor Aditi Rao Hydari. Once again, a vengeance-bent female protagonist is at the center of the seemingly mythic visual narrative.

One of their most powerful stories delivered through a music video to date, however, remains “Navarasam,” which came out in 2017. Director, cinematographer and editor on the video Littil Swayamp brought to screen a story about the artist as an outcast, with a child and his family experiencing the titular navarasam – nine emotional states, from love to disgust to compassion and everything in between. Thaikkudam Bridge used “Navarasam” to talk about how traditional art forms are dying. The overarching message likely refers to theyyam, the dance and storytelling artform that has for generations been nurtured in Kerala but struggles, like several Indian indigenous art forms, to stay relevant.

Also a common motif and plot element in the Thaikkudam Bridge visual universe is the forest. The environment is a perennial backdrop for their music videos. You can find a more vibrant representation of it in the music video for “One,” but forests have a heightened significance in “Inside My Head,” their English song off Namah. Released in 2017, the music video directed by Vivek Thomas with a concept by Lijo Jose Pellissery has the forest as a silent character as a gruesome story plays out between four people in the woods. They are far from civilization and that’s perhaps where their primal nature comes out in full force.

Considering “Kalliyankatt Neeli,” Thaikkudam Bridge’s music videos have acquired an aesthetic that few other bands have etched out for themselves. Here’s hoping there are more tales drawing from Kerala traditions, myths and folklore with future videos.