The favourite lullaby of Raha, daughter of Bollywood couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, is an iconic Malayalam film song. The cute detail from the Kapoor household was shared by Alia Bhatt herself, during a recent television show alongside Karan Johar.
Bollywood couple singing old Malayalam song, why?
According to the 'Highway' actor, baby Raha, who will turn two later this year, loves the Malayalam song "Unni vaavavo" so much that it has become her signal word to hint that she is feeling sleepy. Raha's mother said it was her nanny who started singing the famous Malayalam song to the child in order to make her fall asleep. Alia went on to say that Ranbir Kapoor has also learnt the song because he loves to sing it to his daughter.
Here is what Alia Bhatt said during the television show,"... There is this song. When Raha becomes sleepy, she says 'Mamma Vaavo', 'Papa Vaavo... 'that is her cue to go to sleep. Now Ranbir has learnt Unni Vaavaavo." The actor herself sang the first few lines of the song while narrating the story.
But why is not "Unni vaavavo" familiar to the pan-Indian audience? Why, unlike several recent Malayalam tracks, is this one an Instagram sensation already?
Maybe it is because the song is not a fast number but a melodious track as lullabies should be. That's right. Raha's nanny used the song to put her to sleep because that is what it was supposed to do, even in the movie. Like Raha, generations of children in Kerala went to sleep listening to it ever since its release.
The song
"Unni vaavavo" is a track from the 1991 Mollywood family drama "Santhwanam" by popular director Sibi Malayil. The music was composed by Mohan Sithara while the soothing lines were penned by noted lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. Meena played the role of a young teen paying a visit to her estranged paternal grandparents -- Nedumudi Venu and Bharathi. She was born out of a marriage that her father's parents didn't agree to. The movie progresses as the ice melts between the girl and her grandparents.
Sung by maestros KJ Yesudas and KS Chitra, the song is used with a pinch of nostalgia in the movie. The granddaughter starts singing the song in an effort to win the heart of his grandfather who is yet to come to terms with her arrival. The song, which was sung to her by her father (Suresh Gopi), was originally used to put him to sleep by her grandparents during their younger years.