Music for films is all about the variety that a composer brings to the table and each composer possesses his own strength. But, what if different composers, having an identity of their own, chip in to have one single album of diverse tunes for one film?
That promises a lot of variety for the listener, even if the task is cut out for the producers to bring their choices on board.
That’s where the V.V.Vinayak directorial Akhil , with compositions by two in-demand music directors like S Thaman and Anup Rubens and Nithiin’s Courier Boy Kalyan (Karthik and Anup Rubens) promise to usher in a new trend.
Some hits, some missesIt’s been a common practice to have a different person for the background score and another for the tracks. Mani Sharma’s transition from a music director to a background scorer has seen him, past his heydays, emerge as the go-to man for potent scripts.
However, with respect to different composers, apart from an occasional Anaganaga O Dheerudu or an Ishq it’s been a decision that’s been sparingly taken.
A look into the past offers significant insights into how exactly this works. Salim-Sulaiman, M. M. Keeravani, Koti, Mickey J Meyer and Ananth were five big names who worked for Anaganaga O Dheerudu and as you see through the tracklist, the realisation of the album offering something more to a music enthusiast and the richness in terms of the score strikes you. The film didn’t tick, which unfortunately affected the visibility of its musical variety too.
Vara Mullapudi, director of films like Visakha Express and Naa Alludu in the past had a similar plan which somehow didn’t materalise. “I wanted to introduce five new composers and give them that necessary time and space to focus on one tune each. The next plan was to take the most promising of them all for re-recording purposes. Unfortunately only one among them was impressive and the idea didn’t quite take off,” he says.
In fact, even for his next film where he roped in MM Keeravani as the composer, the initial plan was to request him to work on one song in the album while he tried to find new talented musicians in the meanwhile.Later, impressed with the script, Keeravani took total charge of the film.
In Bollywood , as you take examples like Subhash Ghai’s Kisna , with music by Ismail Darbar and A R Rahman, the film’s score is surely an aspect the movie was remembered for, whatever be the outcome of the film itself.
In Bodyguard (Hindi), Himesh Reshamaiyya and Pritam’s numbers ‘Teri Meri Prem Kahani’ and ‘I Love You’ amassed equally positive reception.
The big decisionAnother aspect to drive home here is the individuality of an album, an area that might turn troublesome.
There are different ideas that come together that don’t necessarily gel and there’s a great chance of the collaboration going haywire.
So, who takes the decision and how’s the entire element of ego clashes or the hullabaloo over the solo tag avoided?
Anup Rubens himself clears the air. “Working solely on a project is a bonus for the flow it ensures. It’s almost like a dish that you prepare from the starting and the personal touch you give to it.
In the case of Akhil and Courier Boy Kalyan , where my association with both the lead actors, Akhil and Nithiin go a long way, I complied with them as they’d requested. With Thaman too, where we worked as keyboard programmer and rhythm programmer extensively in the past, the combo has proceeded rather smoothly,” he says.
Regarding the decision making on who does what, Anup mentions, “The move is taken by different people for films and it’s not the same person always.”
Vara brings in more detail as he gives specific insights about the same when he states, “It’s about a director’s stature that the power to decide is given to him. Otherwise, it’s the producer generally who takes the call.”
