“I didn’t expect him to sing along with me.” That was singer Jithin Raj talking about sharing the stage with maestro AR Rahman at the audio launch of Aadujeevitham, Blessy’s much-awaited survival drama starring Prithviraj.
At the event, Rahman had joined the chorus in Jithin’s solo track, ‘Periyone’. “There was a whole new energy when he sang. That is his magic,” says Jithin over the phone from Chennai. Jithin has sung the track in all five languages in which the film will be released in theatres on March 28.
It is indeed a big project for the singer who debuted in playback a decade ago. The singer from Kunnumpuram in Malappuram has been active in the Tamil industry and has also sung in Telugu and Kannada.
“This is my first original work for Rahman sir. Before this I have sung for dubbed versions of his songs in Mom, Katru Veliyidai and Ponniyin Selvan I,” he says.
Singer Jithin Raj | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Aadujeevitham, the adaptation of Benyamin’s book that narrates the travails of a Malayali migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, has been in the making for a few years now. “I used to go to Rahman sir’s studio to record tracks or sing chorus. I got lucky that I could jam with him when he was working on this track. During our conversation, I told him that I was from Malappuram and he wanted me to sing something regional. Mappilappattu is a traditional song from the region and so I sang a few. He was impressed,” says Jithin.
Dream come true
He remembers how they arrived at the hook lines of the song ‘Periyone en Rahmane, Periyone Raheem’, which was Rahman’s addition to the lyrics written by Rafeeq Ahamed. “He came up with those words and it was magical. From that, we moved on to the melody. I was indeed excited when I was chosen to sing for him. It is a dream of many singers to work with him,” he says.
Jithin adds that he had interacted with Blessy, personally and over the phone, while recording for the song. “He didn’t want the song to be too musical because it is about the character’s struggle and he wanted that pain in the song. I have read the book and could relate to that emotion. The character [Najeeb] is seeking the help of the Almighty to show him the way to escape from the situation. After going through a few corrections, I recorded it in other languages,” Jithin says.
Singer Jithin Raj | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Looking back at his journey, Jithin says that he had his own way of learning music. He got hooked on film music at a young age, thanks to scores of cassettes that his father had at home. “I was more of a listener and that has been like a training. I have taken music lessons from a few teachers, but I didn’t pursue Carnatic music seriously,” says Jithin.
A regular at school-level competitions and youth festivals in Kerala, he pursued singing while pursuing engineering at a college in Tamil Nadu. He was a participant in the reality shows Super Singer 3 (Vijay TV) and Indian Voice 2 (Mazhavil Manorama).
He moved to Chennai looking for opportunities and the break came with the song, ‘Pidikkuthe’, a duet with Shreya Ghosal in Sigaram Thodu (2014) composed by D Imman. “I have sung the most number of songs for Imman sir. I have also worked with Ilaiyaraaja sir [in Telugu movie Gamanam], Yuvan Shankar Raja and Vidyasagar sir.” His filmography has Tamil movies such as Rajini Murugan, Wagah, NGK and Marudhu.
Among the handful of Malayalam movies he sung for are Mariyam Mukku, Thoppil Joppan, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, Parole, Meri Awas Suno and Nadikalil Sundari Yamuna.
With ‘Periyone’ getting noticed, Jithin, 34, is happy to be getting a lot of messages on his social media handles. “It is now that many of them have realised that I have sung a particular song.”
Jithin stresses that it has not been an easy journey in the industry. “I had to send a lot of emails and make several calls asking for a chance. But it has never been a struggle since I have been so passionate about singing. This happens with every singer. There will be a lot of ups and downs and how you handle the phase is important,” says the singer.
