Even as the power-packed trailer of the upcoming R. Madhavan-starrer bilingual sports drama Saala Khadoos ( IrudhiSuttru ) is making waves, it quietly recognises three debutants: music director Santhosh Narayanan’s music debut in Hindi, national-level kick-boxer Ritika Singh’s acting debut and Vijaynarain’s singing debut. Currently an IT consultant working out of Sydney for a year-and-a-half, the Chennai boy has sung for A.R. Rahman, independent bands including the Harmonize Projekt, and Rascalas, a collaboration between Stray Factory and Culture Machine. He talks about his debut song ‘Jagaa Khunnas/Maya Visai’ and his foray into singing.
How did you get to sing for Irudhi Suttru/Saala Khadoos?
I met Santhosh at an indie ‘street music’ initiative at Besant Nagar Beach. Almost a year later, when I was working in Sydney, I met up with Santhosh when he was in Sydney to record orchestral sections for his film scores. It was during one such session that he decided to try my voice out for ‘Maya Visai’ and it ended up making it to the soundtrack.
You’re working in Australia now. How manageable was the recording process?
Santhosh and his family often visit Sydney and he tried out my voice for both the Tamil and Hindi versions of the song. I was pleasantly surprised to see my name in the Hindi credits as well, along with Vishal Dadlani. I can’t tell you how excited I am, having grown up watching Madhavan’s movies, to get to sing for the man.
You’ve recorded for Rahman. How different was it recording for Santhosh?
I have grown up idolising Rahman and eventually got to do backing vocals for him in several projects. It was a dream come true. Recording for Santhosh, on the other hand, has been really fun as he is a great friend, although I am a lot less nervous in these sessions. He has an incredible sense of humour and evolved musical sensibilities.
What about your debut in Tamil?
My playback singing debut was, oddly enough, an English song from a movie long forgotten. So I’d like to think that my actual Tamil debut was a song that I composed for a charitable trust started by a friend, called ‘The Join Hands Anthem’. I roped in several playback singers for it. It was a great experience and gave me tremendous confidence to consider singing and composing professionally.
Why didn’t you take up singing full time, seeing that’s a hot career now?
At one point in time, I did want to leave my day job as an IT developer in Chennai and jump into music full time. However, I was aware of the risk that this would pose financially, and decided instead to pursue an MBA and take a call after that. My musical goals had evolved over time, and so I began to compose original music, while also singing the occasional film song. I have come to realise that for music to be meaningful, one must enjoy the process of making it, or singing it, even if it is slow. Commercial success and fame are secondary.
What’s in store for the future?
I have a home recording set-up here and would definitely consider singing for future projects. I also plan to release my original compositions this year. Being in Sydney has also exposed me to the music scene there, and I have met some very talented local musicians with whom I am planning to collaborate soon.
