After resisting the idea of composing music for films for a while, hip-hop artiste Adhi (of Hiphop Tamizha fame) has tested the waters with actor Vishal’s next, Aambala , directed by Sundar C.
“For a while now, nothing much has been happening in the Tamil independent music scene. I didn’t want to sit and complain that things weren’t moving fast,” he says.
Despite being fiercely protective of his creative liberty, Adhi, whose speciality rests in writing lyrics for Tamil rap, has previously sung in movies including Siva Karthikeyan’s Edhir Neechal and Vijay’s Thalaivaa and Kaththi .
He admits that he didn’t know what to expect and was sceptical of working with an experienced filmmaker like Sundar C. “At first, he told me that I must work as one of the five composers in the film. I refused, saying that I either compose all five songs or give this opportunity a pass. I also insisted that I write the lyrics. Despite all this, he decided to give me a fair hearing and accommodated all my ideas,” he says.
Adhi, who has no formal training in music and claims to compose purely on ‘instinct’, recollects a rather funny anecdote from the early stages of composing for the film. “On the second day, Sundar C. explained in detail what he expected from each of the six songs. He was talking about what he expected from the charanam and how the pallavi must begin. Coming from a non-classical background, I wasn’t familiar with the meaning of the words. He was taken aback. Then, he figured out I just refer to these concepts with different words — intro and verse.”
Speaking on the extent to which he could experiment, he says, “The six songs in the film will have flavours of hip hop and electronic dance music. Initially, I thought it was a bit experimental for a mainstream Sundar C. film, but I was given the space by both him and Vishal,” he says.
Adhi reiterates that his foray into composing for films doesn’t signal the end of his career as an independent musician. “When I started out as an independent musician, I had no platform. I will try to bring little-known independent artistes into the limelight as a composer. Even in this film, I have made use of artistes such as Antony Dasan and Rajasthani folk singer Kutle Khan. I will continue to introduce as many independent artistes as possible in my future projects, and make independent music as always.”
