Mejjo Josseph is keeping his fingers crossed. With C/O Saira Banu in cinemas, the composer can’t wait to find out how the movie fares at the box office. For, in a way, that will also decide the fate of his compositions for the film. “The scenario is such that unless the movie does well, the songs don’t get noticed. I have gone through that heart-breaking experience. Nevertheless, I want the movie to do well not just for my compositions but also because it tells a beautiful story. A lot of people have put their heart and soul into it. It has many fresh elements and I hope people like it,” says Mejjo.
The composer was on a “compulsory break” for nearly two years now, his last work being Law Point . “There were many reasons. I was disheartened by the lukewarm response for my work in the last couple of films. As I said, it had much to do with the fact that those movies didn’t do well. So I decided to take a break. Another reason was that some of the projects I had committed to during this period got delayed. C/O Saira Banu too got delayed by nearly a year. But that actually helped me to give more time to the songs and I am confident about the final output,” says Mejjo, who impressed the industry with his debut in Notebook, directed by Rosshan Andrrews, his brother-in-law.
C/O Saira Banu , directed by Antony Sony, one of the assistants of Rosshan, is based on the life of Saira Banu, enacted by Manju Warrier, and her son, Joshua Peter (Shane Nigam).
Soulful voices
Melody has been Mejjo’s forte and that is the flavour of this album as well. Hridayavaathil..., the first song to be released, is by Vineeth Sreenivasan and Jyotsna. He is working with the duo after eight years. Thaniye... is a soothing number sung by KS Chitra and is Mejjo’s favourite track from the album.
Aromale... is more like a lullaby, and has two versions. While the female version has been sung by Chinmayi, Kaushik Menon sings the male version. “This is my first work with Chinmayi. I wanted a fresh voice for the song and that’s why I chose her. As for Kaushik, he is a close friend, and he has sung for me in Entry and Law Point ,” says the 35-year-old.
Chakkikochamme... , sung by Yazin Nizar and Sithara Krishnakumar, is an upbeat number with rap by Joslee Jld. Mejo makes special note of the visuals of the song picturised on Manju and Shane and moves through their day-to-day activities.
As in most of his movies, Mejjo has done the background music (BGM) for this movie as well. It was in Traffic that he did BGM for the first time. “I have enjoyed doing BGM because that gives a feel of completeness to my work. The BGM lends character to a film and when you do the BGM you sort of leave behind your presence throughout the movie,” he says. Lyricists in the album are Harinarayanan, Gilu Joseph and Joslee Jld.
Commenting on the changes that have come over in the music industry he opines that updating is happening automatically. He says he wants to stay away from the trend when the number of hits or likes on various online platforms determines the life of a song. “I believe each song has its own destiny. For example, I had a lot of expectations from my song, Etho nira nidrayil... from Chapters . Many people told me that they loved the song, but it didn’t get a rousing reception from listeners.”
Meanwhile he is testing new waters. The viral a cappella version of Dheevara... from Baahubali, sung by Anju Joseph, was one. Also, his first English composition, Destiny, crooned by Sharon Joseph , was released a few days ago.
