There is a look of contentment on Hariharan's face as he plays the music from his new film ‘Ezhamathe Varavu' at his Kozhikode residence. It is a sneak peak of the music of his new film ‘Ezhamathe Varavu', exclusively for Friday Review .
The filmmaker has composed the music for the movie, himself. After working with the best of music composers, from G. Devarajan to Bombay Ravi, for his 60-odd films in a career spanning over five decades, he has become a music director himself.
Music to the ears
The experience shows and his music is pleasing to the ears, especially a song sung by Yesudas; ‘Ee nilavin smrithiyiloorum…', written by Hariharan and composed in raga Shudh Kalyan, is captivating.
“Yesudas told me that he hasn't sung such a melodious tune in quite some time,” says Hariharan, even as he presses the remote of his music device to play the next song, which is sung by Chithra.
‘Kaadu pooththen, kanavu pooththen…', set to raga Mohanam, has Chithra singing in an unusually low pitch. “I wanted her to sound like this for this particular song,” explains Hariharan.
So why did he take the composer's baton in his own hands? “Because I could not find any composer who could give me the kind of music I wanted for ‘Ezhamathe Varavu'. Having learnt music, I knew that I could be a composer if I wanted to. The experience of working with so many talented composers has helped too,” says Hariharan.
‘Ezhamatha Varavu', which sees him teaming up with master writer M.T. once more, will have three songs.
“I have written and composed the third song and it will be recorded soon. The film's music will be launched next month and I will begin shooting right after that,” he says. He knows that expectations will be high for the music in the film. After all, there have always been lovely songs in his movies.
Unforgettable songs
Songs like ‘Sanyasini…' (‘Rajahamsam'), ‘Manjal prasadavum…' (‘Nakhakshathangal'), ‘Sagarangale…' (‘Panchagni'), ‘Aathmavil muttivilichathu pole…' (‘Aranyakam') and ‘Aandolanam…' (‘Sargam') were chart-toppers and are still hummed by Malayalis.
Will he compose music for other directors too?
“Yes, provided the film has enough scope for good music,” says Hariharan. Indrajith, Padmapriya and Naren have been cast for ‘Ezhamathe Varavu.'
