HYDERABAD: The music of Dhruva is a departure from that of regular Telugu commercial potboilers. It takes you into the rare space where independent music is peppered with cinematic appeal. The music by composer-duo Hiphop Tamizha (Aadhi and Jeeva) marks their debut in Telugu cinema. Incidentally, their work for Thani Oruvan (the Tamil original of Dhruva) gave them a big push as composers and they know they couldn’t have planned their Telugu film entry any better! Known for their quirky regional flavour in their numbers and films like Aambala ( Magamaharaju in Telugu), Indru Netru Naalai , Kathakali in Tamil, they look set to test the waters in a new industry.
“We didn’t exactly plan our Telugu debut. Director Surender Reddy had mentioned that the film’s music was one of the key reasons he loved the original and that he wanted to retain us for Dhruva too. Now as we hear that the film’s jukebox is the quickest to touch the one million mark in Telugu films besides overwhelming responses on social media, we feel really welcome!” says Aadhi.
The four-song album has a new set of tunes, given the change of context in the Telugu version. The scale is grander, the situations are different, he states. Though it was the duo that ideated a new flavour to Dhruva , he was welcomed by a team that was game for experiments. “Even before we began composing, we spent over a week’s time with the director to understand his sensibilities. We all knew the scope it had for a new score. In every sense, this was a new film and like the original, it was not an easy arena to enter into,” they mention. A sample of this is ‘ Pareshanu ra ’, a soothing melody that bears an interesting mix of Carnatic music and hip-hop.
“Only when you get excited about a new movie, would you want to experiment and try out newer things,” Aadhi remarks.
Did composing for a new language, pose a challenge? “We use our independent music to raise our voice and promote our own culture. When it came to films, we knew it is business and had to ensure its universality.
However, within our limitations, we worked extensively with the lyricists to understand the meaning and ensure the words stayed native. We minimised the use of Hindi to the best of our abilities.
But, a film involves a team, there were several aspects that others considered, like popular taste and reach. When there’s a particular meaning to a song, it’s best conveyed in the native language,” Aadhi opines.
Hiphop Tamizha sustain their variety by choosing different genres with each film. They’d worked in a commercial film, a political thriller, a horror-comedy and a time-travel drama in their two-year film journey. “Youngsters are our target group. Our next is also a commercial entertainer. Once you choose different projects, you’ll outgrow your previous works and that keeps you motivated. The fact that we stay in touch with all forms of music helps our cause.”
Was the duo disappointed to not have an audio launch? “Our team was sure that Dhruva would be an instant chartbuster. The songs are growing so popular that we’re planning an audio success meet soon. And we purposely spaced our audio release for the songs to grow with music lovers.”
Two are one
“We both complete ourselves in our work, literally. While I may compose one half of the track, he works on the other and I ideate the next one in the process. He’s such a close friend that we don’t feel like individuals at work, we know we are ‘one’.”- Aadhi
