Mickey J Meyer sits by a desk and seeks inspiration from nature through the window in his US residence, ahead of a music sitting for director Sathish Vegesna’s Srinivasa Kalyanam . Yet to come out of the Mahanati hangover, the composer swears by the slow and steady approach with his film choices that have helped him carve a niche in the industry.
Filmmakers come to him for his strengths as a melody maker, and the composer is not afraid of being bracketed. “Frankly, I am not worried. The art-house, commercial divisions are around every department. Yet I feel I’m winning at the end of the day. Who makes melodies these days? I got to do a Mahanati that’s getting me many accolades and also has every composer wishing they were part of it.”
Was Mahanati his toughest to date? “I feel it was more unique than tough.” He liked being part of a movie that took a spectator back to a different generation and realised such movies may not come by often. “I saw it as an opportunity to create something different and yet match up to the mood of the film. I grew up listening to old Telugu songs and had a good understanding of acoustics and rhythm of the 50s-70s music.”
At the same time, he was conscious of making something that will appeal to all ages and not only to the period in which it was set. He admits it was a challenge to balance modernity with classicality and nostalgia in the background score.
“Nag Ashwin had narrated the story to me and gave me a free hand in composing the numbers; his suggestions benefited the film. With its attention to detailing, the project demanded the best out of everyone.” Not often do songs turn out as a composer visualises it. With Mahanati , the picturisation has complemented the music well. “Especially Mooga Manasulu was beautiful. Keerthy Suresh, cinematographer Dani and Nag Ashwin have created something magical,” he exclaims.
Mickey realises a film’s success decides the fate of its music, but his goal is something bigger. “I try to make music that influences people and has a certain shelf life, something I would want to hear 10 to 15 years later. I want to make my songs work on their own merit and not depend on star/promotional factors. The number of people listening to the album grows in leaps and bounds after a box office success. But it’s not the music alone; the goodwill rubs off on all departments.”
The star value in his projects have helped his albums, though he believes they’ve worked independently too. He remains unaffected by comments about the similarity across his albums. He maintains, “There must be something that I’m doing right when filmmakers come back to me with projects.” Many filmmakers have a long-standing association with Mickey — Sekhar Kammula, Praveen Sattaru, Sathish Vegesna, Srikanth Addala to name a few.
The composer commits to two projects a year at the most, a pace he’s comfortable with. The lack of rush helps him enjoy his work more. The results have shown. “For a composer to sustain with the kind of music I make, would be difficult, I’d think. I don’t run behind the regular commercial projects. My music is slow, works gradually, but somewhere I have the exclusivity that the producers and directors want me for, so no complaints there.”
He also released his first Hindi single Aayat Bane Hum with Jonita Gandhi earlier this year and has committed to Praveen Sattaru’s project starring Ram. “People come to me for my strengths. It’s a responsibility and it works better than being a misfit in regular commercial potboilers,” he signs off.
