[Margam won the Swarna Kamal - Indira Gandhi award for the best film from a debutant director. Nedumudi Venu won the Special Jury award for his performance in the film.]

Margam is rooted in three different geographical areas of Kerala. For the Trivandrum setting, I played melodious folk tunes on the guitar. When the story moved to Tharavad in northern Kerala, I changed the instruments to the traditional Kerala instruments like idakka, ilathalam, etc.

Lastly, the film moves to the Wayanad area where the Naxalite movement originated. Director Rajiv Vijayaragavan wanted more tribal instruments there, and I used sounds that are more rhythmic. In fact, I took a particular rhythm from the way they pound rice, and used drums for the effect.

There is also a philosophical side to the film where the protagonist goes out into the forest area. As nature gradually takes on the dominating theme in the movie, I have used the flute with tribal rhythms at the back as a tribute to my Guru, the late Aravindan, and his brilliant film Kanchana Sita. As the camera travels up to the treetops, the flute also reaches its crescendo. It was evoking the metaphysical, our communion with nature.