When boys of his age were discovering the joys of hanging out in coffee bars and doing ‘cool’ things, Anup Rubens was entirely immersed in music. While his intermediate classmates in St Anthony’s and graduation friends in Methodist College went dhak dhak over Madhuri Dixit in the, then hot Prabhat theatre, the ‘bhola’ Anup would sneak into some private gig on the sly to play his favourite guitar.
No wonder his friends still refer about him as the quiet and the decent boy of the class.
His story could be straight from the Bollywood flick Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na with a few changes in the script. In KHKN, SRK was often slighted by his dad for not studying well and lying about his ‘good scores’, Anup was not bad at studies. Like SRK in the movie, Anup pursued his love for music secretly. Oh yes, there is an ‘Ana’ in Anup’s tale too.
He dabbled with guitar for several years and then learned to play piano, keys and drums with amazing ease. When in college, he formed a rock band with three of his friends. The clandestine ‘rock star’ was not revealed to his parents until accolades came his way for his musical genius.
As a boy Anup was not a bright kid in school, just about average. A hardcore fan of Illiyaraja and A.R. Rahman, music was an outlet for his emotions. At his studio in Jubilee Hills, Anup was waiting for the APTransco’s mercy so that he could compose some new tunes for his three up-and-coming movies he is working on.
After posing for a few photographs, the shy composer wanted a break and settles down to speak. “You remember Vilan baniyans, the vests and brief brand for men? I scored the jingle for the Vilan baniyans. Can you believe it? I was paid Rs 2,000 and I immediately put that money back into buying some newer instrument. I thank R.P. Patnaik for the opportunity to score a jingle,” he recollects.
That was in the year 2000, nine years later music composer Anup Reuben’s hands are full, his compositions are topping the charts especially Kali kali ankhen. “Kali-kali ankhen is one of the numbers for Houseful. It is yet to be released and is directed by Ajit Bhuyan,” says Anup. The projects, including Nitin-Hansika, Sarvanand-Priyamani and Tarun-Vimala Raman starerrs, are yet to be released. “I can’t make music for myself. Music could be my soul, but without a little appreciation and criticism it is no good. I was most delighted when I got feedback from my friends and family on Kali-kali ankhen. The most flattering was the one where a sister complained about her brother playing the song to death,” he laughs. Being a music composer was never in his scheme of things while chalking out his career. He wanted to be a businessman. “Being an established jazz artist requires a lot of time. Before I could decide what business I would take up, I was already known as a composer. Soon movies happened and then my own studio,” reminiscences Anup.
Born into a Christian family, Anup says he has nothing to complain about. “Nothing comes easy to anyone. Easy come, easy go, whether it is money or recognition.
I don’t want to call my hard work a struggle. Everyone goes through this routine. What really matters is, you should be humble despite the success and always strive to improve.”
Anup is not the only musician in the house, his brother too plays a guitar at times. “I wanted him to become a software engineer. That will keep him close to our parents.
Being a musician I have erratic hours of recording and I feel there should be someone at home for our parents,” he says.
Like most musicians, Anup says emotions bring out the best in him. When he heard the demise of Dr Y.S. Rajashekharara Reddy, he thought he couldn’t pay a better tribute than composing some tunes for the departed soul. The tunes are regularly played in a Telugu news channel. “The news was shocking. The tunes came in impromptu and when I approached the channel they were more than happy to play them,” says Anup.
When not composing he prefers to read about music, movies and instruments but makes it a point to catch on the latest flick as soon as possible.
“I watch a lot of Telugu movies and I am a die-hard fan of the English action flicks. I prefer to watch Hindi movies only after I have gone through their reviews. The movie I loved watching most was Rock On and A Wednesday.”
Tunes to track
Kali-Kali Ankhen-Houseful
Vennela Vana Vana-Drona
Em Maya Chesavo-Drona
Desham Manadey- Jai
