Vijayan targets Guinness record with multi-lingual album

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 11 (IANS) Business honcho East Coast Vijayan, a household name in the Middle East and to all music lovers, is seeking to enter the Guinness World Records by bringing out versions of a music album in all Indian languages.

'This is certainly a feat that none has ever attempted. Hence I am aiming for the Guinness,' Vijayan said. 'The highlight is the versions will have the same lyrics (translated) and the same order of tracks.'

Titled 'Ennennum' or 'Forever', the album has already been released in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. 'Work in other languages is going on,' Vijayan told IANS.

Speaking from his office-cum-residence in the heart of the city, he said that he would like to divert money from his business to pursue his interest in music and related fields.

Vijayan left a central government job in the early 1980s to join his businessman brother in Dubai. Soon he started his own car rental business there and called it East Coast, a name by which he has come to be known since.

Vijayan, who has the distinction of bringing out 350 music audio titles with more than 2,500 tracks, also has in his portfolio 40 video titles with more than 150 music videos.

'I am deeply satisfied with what I have achieved,' he said. 'But I prefer to be away from the arc light of publicity and I derive my happiness from being engaged in my passion for furthering my creative talent and writing my own lyrics for the audio and video albums I bring out.'

Considering that he began doing all this in 1998, the accomplishments have come in a short time.

'I have penned the lyrics of all my creations and have given opportunity to so many young new faces in the field of singing, composing and music direction,' said the 60-year-old.

Those who have sung in his various audio and video music albums include giants like K.J. Yesudas.

Vijayan's talent for poems became manifest in his youth itself. While in college, he won awards for verse on many occasions.

Finding the time to write lyrics could not have been easy for he runs a large business. Today he owns more than 200 cars, including a fleet of limousines, and is into bus transport as well in the United Arab Emirates.

'I always made it a point to see that I invest part of the money I earn from my business into the creative field, not vice versa,' he said.

Vijayan first shot into fame in the late 1980s through stage shows. Since then he has earned the tag of being the 'King of the Stage Show Industry' in the UAE.

His three dozen-odd shows have featured big names like Mammootty and Mohanlal. Since 2000, he has been the director of numerous shows.

As if it was not enough, he has directed two Malayalam films too: Novel and the recently released Mohabeth.

'Yes, this is also part of my passion. Next April I will be producing a film in which Dileep will star,' said the man who now spends more time in his studio here, leaving his son to manage the business in Dubai.

'I may not have hit the headlines really but I am happy being away from the publicity glare,' Vijayan said of the fame that normally comes to someone who has achieved much in a little time.

(Sanu George can be contacted at [email protected])