Southern ditty

Tamil filmdom is discovering new music composers

Mumbai-based Mahesh, 19, a medical assistant, is hung up on the Tamil song "Appadi podu" in a complete break from his usual selection of Indipop and Hindi remixes.

The Tamil song, sung by KK and Anuradha Sriram, has Mahesh enthralled. What's surprising about the song that was one of the biggest hits of 2004 down south, selling over 3 lakh CDs and cassettes, was that it was created not by A R Rehman but by 40-year-old director Vidyasagar.

Somewhere in Chennai, film director Shankar, best known for his big budget movies (including the Aishwarya Rai starrer Jeans and Indian) has always depended on Rehman to compose music for his films.

Today, however, he is working with new kid on the block Yuvan Shankar Raja for the score of his new film Aniyan.

Raja and Vidyasagar are a part of the growing breed of new music directors who are re-tuning the Rs 200 crore Tamil music industry.

Though Vidya-sagar entered the industry in 1989, it is only in the last five years that he has gained a following. Ditto for Yuvan Shankar Raja who started composing for southern films in 1995 and is now considered a leading music director.

Similarly, Harris Jayaraj has delivered 15 musical hits in the last five years. Filmmakers down south are no longer banking on Rehman to guarantee success.

Raja, 25, younger son of the illustrious Illayaraja (composer for over 750 films in all the four south Indian languages) says, "It is a natural cycle that is affecting the industry; I guess I am here at the right time."

Ten years ago Raja had different ambitions till his mother coaxed him to cut an album which landed him his first film with director T Shiva's Aravindhan in 1995.

Vidyasagar's antecedents would be the enviable launchpad for any director. His father was a music arranger in the Tamil music industry in the '40s and '50s while his grandfather was a Carnatic music exponent at the royal court of Vijaynagaram. "I was exposed to quality music at an early age," he says.

But today's audiences are exposed to a variety of musical influences, which has allowed these new directors to experiment with instruments and genres to create distinctive and original music.

A R Rehman, touted as the biggest musical prodigy the country has seen, practically ruled the notes between 1992 and 1998.

His fame escalated post the Mani Ratnam directed Roja, which appealed to both Hindi and Tamil speaking audiences. With Rehman's high hit rate, it was difficult for new music directors to get a nod to compose music.

Contemporaries like Raja and Vidyasagar had little work on hand. So while Vidyasagar went across to Kerala to establish a base there in the Malayalam film industry, Raja stuck on. In 2000, change began to sweep the industry.

The Tamil music industry was faced with the same problems as the music industry worldwide "" audio piracy and shrinking audio sales, thanks to growing internet downloads. Also, where Rehman composed music on an average for five films annually, his deliverables had reduced to around two a year.

This meant music companies had to wait for a longer time to sell a Rehman music film. A partner with a leading music company reveals, "Five years back Rehman commanded as high as Rs 1 crore for music rights, and with audio facing one of its worst periods ever, we could not afford him any more." This allowed music directors like Jayaraj, Vidyasagar and Raja to prove their mettle.

Enter Harris Jayaraj, 25, who composed music for his first film Minnale directed by Goutham Menon (starring Rima Sen and Madhavan) which became a runaway hit. The music was fast-paced with a young appeal. The film was remade in Hindi (Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein) and repeated its success.

Meawhile, Vidyasagar and Raja were busy tweaking notes for films like Dhill and Deena. "It was as if the wheels of change were set in motion," recollects Vidyasagar.

While Jayaraj followed his first success with more like 12 B, Leysa Leysa, Kakka Kakka, Kovil and Saami, Vidyasagar notched up hits Dhool, Run, Anbe Sivan and the more recent Gillie. Similarly, Raja upped his hits with Nandhaa, Kaadal Kondaen, Manmadan and currently Raam.

According to Raja, this period also saw the entry of new film directors like Dharini, Goutam and Selvarajan who were in their late 20s and wanted to work with newer teams.

Says Mumbai-based singer Shankar Mahadevan, "Each of the new guys has a distinct style and they know their music well." Where Raja loves to experiment with jazz, Vidyasagar adds a rustic Tamil Nadu flavour to his songs and Jayaraj prefers world music.

Raja and Jayaraj prefer composing for youthful, romantic films. An observer points out that while the next gen music directors may not be brilliant composers, they are known to be good mixers, conversant with sound technology.

But in no way is Rehman's popularity diminishing. In the last year, he has composed music for Ashutosh Gowarikar's Swades, Mani Ratnam's Yuva and the Tamil film New. As Mahadevan says, "Rehman has always set standards in Tamil music despite the time taken to come up with an exclusive product."

Rehman has also been busy with a variety of other projects like Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Bombay Dreams and the Chinese film Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

Clearly, there's room for more people to enter the industry. Originality, according to the industry, will rule the roost. Says Vidyasagar, "You may be influenced by many music styles, but it's your own musical DNA that will help you in the long run."

Yuvan Shankar Raja

First break: 1995, when he was 15.
Musical influences: Father Illayaraja, John Williams, Michael Jackson, R D Burman, hip-hop, reggae.
Personal Favourites: 7G Rainbow Colony, Manmadan.

Vidyasagar

First break: 1989
Musical influences: Father, grandfather and all great maestros; world music.
Plays: Nine instruments including santoor, piano, vibraphone and guitar.

Harris Jeyraj

First break: Minnale
Musical influences: "I have learnt from all the 40 music directors for whom I have arranged music."
Personal favourites: Kakka Kakka, Minnale.