When you first listen to ‘Ennodu Vaa’, an independent single by playback-singer Madhav Krishna and composer-producer Prateek Gandhi, you think it is about two star-crossed lovers on the verge of separation. Or about a man trying desperately to woo his woman.
Watch the video, and you are in for a surprise. This breezy number is about a girl and her pet dog, their daily routine and what happens when she moves out. Indeed, for this writer who is currently a thousand miles away from her own pets, lines such as ‘sogam karaiyum nee arugil irundhal ’ (sorrow melts away when you are near) resonated on a rather bittersweet note.
“And that is exactly what we wanted to achieve,” Madhav quips. “The song is not about two people but it is still honest, the relationship shown is pure. Anyone can connect to it.”
A new challenge
For Mumbai-based Prateek, composing for a Tamil song was a challenge he was glad to take on. He has composed for the likes of Benny Dayal, Ankit Tiwari and Shefali Alvares. He was the voice behind the cricket World Cup anthem ‘Tum Khelo Dum Se’ and Hot Star’s IPL anthem. His independent music repertoire criss-crosses several directions — from Telugu to Hindi to Rajasthani folk.
“I love experimenting with new languages. Just give me the words and I can work with them. Put a newspaper in front of me and I can cull out a song from the top story!” he laughs.
For Madhav, also based and Carnatic-trained in Mumbai, this was a chance to dive into his mother tongue. He has crooned hits in Bollywood — ‘Bezubaan Phirse’ from ABCD 2 , ‘Duhai Hai’ from ABCD — but never any in Tamil.
But why dogs and not humans? Madhav says the idea germinated during lockdown when he and his wife, Jayashree L Narayanan, who penned the lyrics, spent their evenings feeding stray dogs. The couple then brainstormed, created the storyboard and roped in fresh college graduates to work on the animation.
“As soon as the track and the lyrics were ready, we knew this was something special. We were going to see it through the end,” says Prateek, who took over the composing, mixing and mastering.
Lockdown and independent music
The lockdown has bred a host of independent musicians in the country. More so down South, with recent hits like ‘Enjoy Enjaami’. The chance to tap into this nascent world was another trigger for the duo to launch a track in Tamil. “We have more tracks lined up and Tamil will feature predominantly,” says Madhav.
Prateek says he has composed nearly 23 tracks in this period. “I think musicians are connecting more to their own selves and started rediscovering their style. Music is what held people together during these tough times.”
‘Ennodu Vaa’ releases on YouTube on April 1, 2021.
