Motherjane is an Indian rock band from Kochi, India, formed in 1996. The band consists of John Thomas (drums and percussion), Clyde Rozario (bass guitar), Deepu Sasidharan (guitar, backing vocals) Santosh Chandran (guitar), and Vivek Thomas (vocals). They have released a total of two studio albums, and three singles. Since their formation, different styles like progressive rock and Carnatic music have influenced their music.

History[link]

Formation and early days[link]

Motherjane was formed in 1996 by drummer John Thomas and bassist Clyde Rozario to "fill in" for another band which had backed out from a college festival at St. Albert's College, Kochi. The initial line up consisted of John Thomas (drums), Clyde Rozario (bass), Mithun (guitars) and Laji (guitars/vocals), Nirmal David(vocals) and Syam Narayan .^[1] Vocalist Laji soon left the band and Motherjane had to continue as an instrumental band without a vocalist. In 1999 lead guitarist Mithun left the band and was replaced by Baiju Dharmajan.^[1] Around that time, Motherjane used to jam at a restaurant called Ancient Mariner in Marine Drive, Kochi. In 2000, Suraj Mani a HVAC engineer by training,^[2] who used to perform with Bangalore based rock bands, shifted to Kochi and chanced to meet the band at the Ancient Mariner. Thomas invited Mani to sing with the band, but Mani was not satisfied with the band only doing covers. Mani became the bands vocalist and wrote Motherjane's first original song "Disillusioned" soon after. About the same time, Motherjane recruited yet another guitarist, Rex Vijayan. Things took a slight detour after six months, when Mani moved back to Bangalore, but they continued to meet and jam as a band.^[3]

[edit] Insane Biography (2002-2003)

Motherjane released their debut album, Insane Biography in 2002 under Kan & Will Records.^[4] The songs "Maya" and "Soul Corporations" had strong Indian musical elements which would continue in later albums. "Soul Corporations" was featured in Geki-Teki Metal, a compilation album released in Japan in 2004.^[3] Soon after the release of Insane Biography, rhythm guitarist Rex Vijayan left the band in 2003, and was replaced by Deepu Sasidharan. Sasidharan, at that time, was playing with the Kochi based Hard Rock band 13AD. Insane Biography was the only Indian album to be featured in the Asian Rock Rising Festival in Japan on November 1, 2003. The band also headlined Levi’s Great Indian Rock 2003.^[5]

[edit] Maktub (2008-present)

Maktub which was released in 2008, marked a change in Motherjane's musical style. Influence of Carnatic music was prominently seen in the guitar, vocals and percussion, and native instruments like the chenda were used. Strong Carnatic guitar leads by Baiju were instrumental in growing Motherjane's fanbase exponentially and provided a new musical direction to the band. In 2009, Rolling Stone India named Maktub as the album of the year.^[6]

In 2008, Motherjane opened for Megadeth and Machine Head in Rock in India 2008, Bangalore and for Opeth in Saarang '08 at IIT Madras.^[3][7] Motherjane has been a frequent headliner of college rock festivals across India and has performed at IIT Kanpur,^[8] IIT Madras,^[9] IIT Bombay,^[10] IIT Delhi,^[11] IIT Guwahati,^[12] AIIMS,^[13] VIT University and BITS Pilani^[14] amongst several others.

Motherjane was ranked #1 in Rock Street Journal's bands of the decade in 2010.^[15] In the 2010 AVIMA Awards, Motherjane won the award for the Most Popular Act of Asia, and lead vocalist Suraj Mani was awarded Best Rock Vocalist.^[16] In the 2009 AVIMA Awards, Motherjane was awarded the Best Rock Act.^[17]

In November 2010, Motherjane on their website announced guitarist Baiju Dharmajan's departure from the band to work with his new band Wrenz United. Later, in January 2011 Motherjane announced that Santosh Chandran has joined the band as the new guitarist.

Soon after, Motherjane's vocalist left the band in November 2011 suffering due to a nagging back injury that did not allow him to perform at live shows. Vivek Thomas joined Motherjane in December 2011 as a vocalist.

Line-up[link]

Current members[link]

• John Thomas – Drums (1996–present)
• Clyde Rozario – Bass (1996–present)
• Deepu Sasidharan – Guitar (2003–present)
• Santosh Chandran – Guitar (2011–present)
• Vivek Thomas – Vocals (2011–present)

Former Members[link]

• Suraj Mani – Vocals (2000–2011)
• Baiju Dharmajan – Lead guitar (1999–2010)
• Rex Vijayan – Rhythm guitar (2000–2003)
• Laji – Vocals – (1996–2000)
• R.Mithun – Lead guitar – (1996–1999)
• Biju Peter – Vocals
• Deepak Dev

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Insane Biography (2001)
• Maktub (2008)

Singles[link]

• Tribes of Babel (2010)
• Jihad (2010)
• No Contest (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Motherjane on Facebook
• Motherjane on Reverbnation
• A review of Motherjane's album Maktub

Amal Neerad
Amal Neerad
Born	(1975-10-07) 7 October 1975 (age 36) Kottayam, Kerala, India
Occupation	Cinematographer, Film director
Years active	2004 - present

Amal Neerad (born on October 7, 1975 in Kottayam, Kerala, India) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Began his career as a cinematographer, he also turned into direction with Big B (2007).^[1] He is known for his stylishly choreographed and photographed action scenes, often compared to Hollywood. He is famous and infamous among critics for his frequent use of stylized slow motion in action scenes.

Early life[link]

Amal Neerad was born to a well educated family in Kerala, India. His father Prof C.R Omanakuttan was professor of Maharajas College, Ernakulam. After completing degree from Maharajas College, Ernakulam, Amal joined Satyajit Rai Film Institute in Kolkata.^[2] While doing his course in cinematography, he was sent to Berlin film institute on a scholarship.

Career[link]

After reaching back from Kolkata, Amal Neerad started doing cinematography for several ad films. He made his debut as a cinematographer with the Mammootty starrer Malayalam film Black (2004).^[2] Directed by Ranjith, this film was a hit, but Amal Neerad had to wait long for his next break. In the year 2005, he was called by Ram Gopal Varma as the cinematographer for Shiva, which was a career break for Amal Neerad. He then did cinematography for James and Darna Zaroori Hai in Bollywood, before turning to direction. His first film as director happened in 2007 with Mammootty starrer Big B.^[2] Noted for its stunning camera techniques, this film was a box office superhit.^[3] His second film Sagar alias Jacky Reloaded, starring Mohanlal got released in 2008, was a failure but captured the audience despite yet another good show behind the camera.^[4] His third film Anwar, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Mamta Mohandas is noted for its technical perfection.^[5] He is signed in by UTV Motion Pictures for their upcoming film, details of which is not yet disclosed.^[6] It was announced that he will be directing a movie starring Mammootty, in which Pritviraj will play the villain role.This movie will be produced by august cinemas.Sankar Ramakrishnan will pen the script.The story which is set in the kerala of 1950's is not historical. The movie has been kept on hold for now, and Amal Neerad has commenced another film titled Bachelor Party.

Filmography[link]

External links[link]

• Amal Neerad - IMDB profile
• Interview with Amal Neerad. He also talks about his issue with Raj Zacharias

References[link]