Justin Varghese
recently won the
Kerala state award
for the best
music composer
for his track- Chentamara-in the film
Chaaver
. This was his second state award, the first being the state award for best background score for the film Joji. The composer had a quick chat with us after he returned from Mumbai where he is now involved in
Bollywood projects
, including
Stree 2
which was released earlier this month.
Winning for Chaaver
The film did not get noticed like we hoped. Be it myself or Tinu, all of us were disappointed. We had worked so much on the scores too. Now, winning for that film gives a special feeling. When I called Tinu, I broke into tears.
Research involved in tracks
I had done some research for the music as it has some Theyyam elements. It was when I was doing this research that I was introduced to
Hareesh Mohanan
, the lyricist, who also won the state award for best lyricist for the same song. He said we can talk about Theyyam stories. We used Kandanar Kelan's story in a song where the characters are running around restlessly. Tinu Pappachan (director of Chaaver) didn't want to follow the traditional format, be it in Chaaver or Ajagajantharam (their other collaboration).
Team work with directors
Team work with directors is important. They will have a concept of their own regarding what works and what doesn't. We can make suggestions and bring something new in. In Tinu's case, if I ask him about something experimental, he always asks me to do it and show him so that he can understand. Some directors will have music knowledge. They will tell us the genre they want or the tone they need. Most of the directors only give a basic idea and we work with it. Sometimes, directors take us to spaces we have never explored, too.
Choosing singers
Sometimes when we hear some songs, their names will register in our brain. The artiste may be relatively unknown. People ask me about how I bring in new singers. What I feel is that, when I bring in new singers, it's benefiting my song- my track just becomes better. My award winning track was sung by Pranav ( Pranav CP). I had been listening to his songs for a while then. When we zeroed in on a song with a Thottampattu touch and some pain, Pranav, I felt, was apt for it. So, whenever I come across singers with potential, I register these names and voices.
Working in Bollywood
I have done two Hindi films so far; Munjya and Stree 2 (Background score). From my limited experience, what I understood is that there are some limitations to do experimental stuff over there, unlike here in the Malayalam industry. But work wise, it was very easy to work there. I was hired based on my work in Joji. The director (Amar Kaushik) trusted me. He was aware of my work and that trust is very rare to come by. We don't get that in every film. When that happens, we give it our all.
English (US) ·