Malayalam music video 'The Road — All India Travel', which was released recently, is an ode to travel. The song, in fact, goes the extra mile to encapsulate the spirit of wanderlust by complementing its uplifting lyrics with shots captured in over 30 landmark locations spread across 10 States.
For Ananthu Rajan who directed and edited the video, the visuals gathered itself were the result of the cast and crew's need for travel. "Anoop Nirichan, who composed the song, sent me the initial version of what was supposed to be a small-scale travel song in March 2019. We later felt we could in fact set the visuals in a larger context," says Ananthu from Pala in Kottayam district.
Ananthu, along with his cameraman Bibin Joseph, Ranjith Nair who plays the traveller on the bike in the video, and two associates — Arun Babu and Akhil Santhosh — then hopped on their motorbikes for a country-wide odyssey. "Five of us hit the road in three bikes. The first schedule of the shooting, from Kochi to Khardung La in Ladakh deemed the world's highest motorable pass, covered 90% of the visuals required," he says, adding that they covered closed to 7,000 km in total, though they made their way back to Kerala by train from Delhi after dispatching their motorbikes in cargo. They were back home after about 30 days.
Notable pit-stops on the way where they obtained footage include Ootty, Murudeshwar in Karnataka, Kudajadri, Harihar Fort in Maharashtra, the Taj Mahal, Amritsar and a clutch of picturesque locations in the Srinagar-Ladakh-Manali region.
Ananthu Rajan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Ananthu, who works with a wedding videography company, says the team travelled light. "The camera, of course, had to be handled carefully. We did not carry any lighting equipment since we had decided to go for shots fully in natural light," he says, adding that apart from manageable bumps in the road like having a tyre puncture near Rajasthan border, the trip went without hiccups. The second schedule for the shooting was held in December 2019 that included Kanyakumari and locations in Kerala such as Vagamon and Aanachaadikuth waterfalls in Thodupuzha.
The lyrics are penned by Babu TT and the song is crooned by Crishna of the music band Masala Coffee. 'The Road — All India Travel' was released on the YouTube channel Ondraga Entertainment launched by ace director Gautam Vasudev Menon.