“Her music was minimalist and simple. The background score enhanced my story in Paava Kadhaigal .” These words of praise from director Vetri Maaran is something that music director R Sivatmikha treasures. She shows the video clip of a recent interview, where the director complements her work. Says Sivatmikha, “Vetri Saar gave me the creative space to experiment with genres. For the rural setting in Oor Iravu , especially towards the end where actor Prakashraj is shown seated in front of a house in the village, I tried an European style of music for the background and it blended seamlessly with the narrative.”
Sivatmikha
Having made her debut as a music director with Antony , this Coimbatore-bred composer is now gearing up to launch independent tracks. Sivatmitkha was given the moniker gaana girl after her popular song ‘Gaana’ garnered over 2.6 million views on YouTube. “I was trolled for lyrics that used English words, though the song was well received. It spoke of how the native genre from the South should go global.”
After ‘Gaana’, she dived into Paava Kadhaigal and is now back again making independent tracks themed around trans music and instrumental tracks without any vocals. “I have ensured that there are no Tanglish lyrics this time around,” laughs Sivatmikha, who has done a preparatory course in Electronic Music Production in AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory, Chennai.
Her music, she says, is inspired by sounds around her, be it her pet cat Aslan’s meow, the siren of an ambulance or the vrooming of a bike. “ In fact, I recorded the vroom sound of the bike and used it as an instrument for one of my independent tracks.”
She has also composed ‘Kannae Kanmaniye’, a melancholic lullaby for Oor Iravu . “It was later used as an opening song for all four episodes of PaavaKadhaigal. There are plans to release a full version of the song soon.”
How did she react when she saw the film. “I teared up and it took me over a week to come out of it. It was so real that it jolted me.”
