Govind Vasantha, on many occasions as an adolescent, has expectantly waited outside AR Rahman’s studio, just to catch a glimpse of the man. The fanboy was elated when his idol, in a recent interview, mentioned him as one of the promising composers in Tamil cinema.
Govind’s works couldn’t have escaped Rahman, for they have been consistently well-received. Forming Thaikkudam Bridge, one of the most popular indie bands in the country, in 2013, débuting as a composer with North 24 Kaatham in the same year, coming up with 96 in 2018… the journey, Govind says, has been “fun and phenomenal”. Excerpts from an interview:
What’s Namah about and how long did it take for you to put it together?
As the name suggests, it’s a salutation for our music geniuses, the artistes who have inspired us since childhood. Some of the legends feature in the album. It has 10 songs and 11 artistes. It took us about three years to finish the album.
As you said, the album features a lot of big names in Indian and international music. Mridangam great Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Hindustani vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan, flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, American drummer Chris Adler… It seems like you were trying to do an Avengers with this album.
(Laughs) Well, we sat together and made the songs first. Based on the songs, we had an idea of who all would fit in. Then, we approached some 20 to 25 musicians [of which 11 came on board].
Personally, this decade has been phenomenal for you with Thaikkudam Bridge, 96 , Solo and much more. Since the 2010s are about to end, how do you look back at the last 10 years?
2018, after 96 , was the turning point of my film career. It’s a different kind of a journey as a music director. In 2013, of course, Thaikkudam Bridge happened. That was the start of a new life, a new story… This decade has been fun and phenomenal.
Talking about 96 , the film’s theme song became a sensation. How did you get that tune?
That was an instant idea. It wasn’t composed as a background score. I composed ‘Kaathalae Kaathalae’ as a bonus track for the movie. It took about 15-20 minutes. It was actually supposed to be a violin song. Then, I just went with the flow and blended the ‘Kaathalae’ tune into it. And, we placed it in the movie after the final edit. We haven’t edited anything according to the song. It just magically fit in.
Does it help that you alternate between film music and independent music?
Definitely. If you take songs of 96 , they are about six to seven minutes each. Normally, with film songs, it’s just four to five. The songs of Thaikkudam Bridge are about nine to 10 minutes. There are no time constraints, the music doesn’t have any barriers there. So, I had the same mindset while composing for 96 . If you take ‘Vasantha kaalangal’, it has a long guitar solo intro [for about 1:15 minutes]. Even ‘Anthaathi’ is more in the independent zone.
Is there something you take from film music to independent music as well?
How to get the attention of the mass audience is something I learnt from working in films. It’s important because, in India, film music comes before independent music. So, I get an idea of what people want, what they listen to and then try to bring it out in the independent style.
Has the indie music scene in India grown since Thaikkudam Bridge came into being?
Yes, it’s growing. It has a lot to do with social media and music shows. We arrived at the right time; that year (2013) had a lot of shows. And, now, it’s getting much bigger. It’s a good sign.
- The magic of ‘Kaathalae Kaathalae’, perhaps the most-loved of all the songs of 96 , lies in Chinmayi’s haunting voice embellished by Govind’s minimalist music — most of the song has just the solo guitar and violin. But there’s an element of intrigue in the middle portion of the song. Amidst the guitar and the violin, we hear bird-chirps and whale-songs. Of this, the composer says, “I read a poem long back… I don’t remember the name of the poem or the poet. It’s about the love story of a bird and a whale. Basically, they can’t live together, right? And that’s the same idea of 96 too.”
Despite hailing from Irinjalakuda, you are based in Chennai and you have acknowledged that you prefer composing for Tamil films. Why?
Maybe because I started my career in Tamil. The industry has treated me very well from the beginning. And, the way people look at music in Tamil Nadu is different. They are very emotional about their favourite artistes. I love the kind of respect they have for musicians. If you take AR Rahman or Raja Sir (Ilaiyaraaja), they are like gods. In Kerala, too, we have brilliant musicians, but we don’t consider them as gods. It’s a different culture in Tamil Nadu and I love that.
(WATCH: Govind Vasantha talks about his favourite Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman songs)
We have heard of Ilaiyaraaja composing tunes instantaneously, Rahman's approach of taking his time till he gets what he's looking for. How long do you take to compose?
Well, it depends on when I get the idea. For instance, ‘Life of Ram’ happened in 10 minutes. But ‘Anthaathi’ took me five to six months. And, that was supposed to be the first song. But I didn’t get any idea for a long time.
Do you think the Tamil film audience these days are more appreciative of background score?
They like instrumental music. They notice BGMs. That’s how they grew up, I think. And, for that, we have to give the credit to Ilaiyaraaja. After Raaja Sir came into the scene, they started noticing background score. They became as popular as songs. For example, the themes of Punnagai Mannan and Mouna Raagam . In Kerala, before Johnson Master, I don’t think we used to notice background scores.
