Life of Pi: Is Bombay Jayashri’s Oscar nominated song ‘Pi’s Lullaby’ not original?


Thiruvananthapuram: A trust named after Carnatic musician Irayimman Thampi has accused Bombay Jayashri's Oscar-nominated song 'Pi's Lullaby' of not being an original composition, an allegation denied by the vocalist. The song, written and sung by Jayashri for the film 'Life of Pi', has been nominated in the Original song category at the Academy awards this year, but the trust has alleged that it is a word-by-word translation of composer Thampi's renowned lullaby in Malayalam 'Omanathinkal Kidavo...' Thampi (1782 1856) was the palace singer in the court of Swathi Tirunal Maharaja, the ruler and music legend of Travancore in the 19th century. Legend has it that Thampi composed the lullaby for the royal children. According to Irayimman Thampi Trust chairman, N Krishna Varma and secretary Rukmini Bhai Thampuratti, descendants of Thampi, Jayashri's song was a 'mere translation of the Malayalam verse into Tamil.'