Interview with K – “Aandavan Kattalai is an exciting prospect for me”
Composer K (aka) Krishnakumar was spotted by director Mysskin when he was just out of college and looking to do something in music, after getting trained as a singer and keyboardist. That’s how Yutham Sei happened in 2011, and K has now completed 5 years as a composer with some interesting films along the line. This genetic engineering student, who loathed the idea of a regular office job, is now awaiting the release of Dulquer Salmaan’s Kammaatti Paadam, directed by Rajeev Ravi and also working on Kakka Muttai Manikandan’s Aandavan Kattalai. K chats up with Kaushik LM in this casual, freewheeling chat at his cozy studio.
Vijay Sethupathi – Manikandan’s Aandavan Kattalai …
“We have worked on around 10 tunes, over the past 6 months. A couple of them have also been recorded. It’s a very gradual process with director Manikandan. This film is an exciting prospect for me and you can expect folksy, fusion music. Me and Mani were discussing about having Coke Studio type of live music with talented performers on board. We plan to travel to Madurai to pick some new talents. Anthony Dasan has already recorded a song and he is one of the best in the folk space.”
Moving on to Kammaatti Paadam..
“I had worked with Rajeev Ravi in Annayum Rasoolum and was constantly in touch with him since then. He asked me to see the Global United Media-produced Kammaatti Paadam when it was almost done and called me to Kochi. That’s how it started and along with John Varkey and Vinayakan (who has also acted in the film), I have worked on the music of the film. The music would fall in the psytrance space. There would be lots of electronic music, experimentation and basically trippy stuff that would hit the brain, since the protagonist would go on a trip down memory lane.”
More about the film, its music and sound aspects,
“Kammaatti Paadam is a gangster flick. The plot is about a disturbed guy’s journey into his past. The story will begin in the 70s and pass on till the 2000s. The treatment is completely non-linear. This is a first for me, and there is heavy scope for music. The music would be matching the period, with distinct flavors. For example, the 80s would have Ilayaraja type themes and the 90s would have Rahman influences in the music. There would be almost non-stop music in the film.
The film would have 4 songs, all written by Anwar Ali. He is actually a poet, with a government job. The title song would be in a folksy rock space, and then there is a friendship song sung beautifully by Karthik. This is my first song with him and I was blown away by his singing. Vinayakan has also sung one song.
Rajeev is very particular about his film’s sound and Tapas Nayak has worked on the final sound mix. Kunal Sharma has worked on the sound design and effects, and he is a regular in all of Anurag Kashyap’s films.”
Dulquer is fantastic…
“It is a fantastic performance from Dulquer. Vinayakan (earlier seen in films like Thimuru, Maryan and Kali) is a lively performer. Manikandan (enacting the role Balan) was actually working in a fish market before doing this film, and he has delivered a raw performance. All of them are top notch.”
The promising Ghazi …
“Ghazi is a serious film with no scope for the song and dance routines. We have planned 2 montage songs and are fine tuning the lyrics now. The shooting is almost done and the footage is superb. I have to start work on the background scores. Ghazi is based on the director’s own book ‘Blue Fish’. The submarine set is so cool, I’ve been in a real submarine and the same feel has been brought out in this set.”
Does K regret not doing big league films with the salable stars of the industry?
“I have no regrets and I also think that I can’t work like that. Unfortunately, big budgeted films are mostly not interesting. My biggest film so far is Mugamoodi and next, it’s going to be Aandavan Kattalai. But this is again with an unconventional director. I haven’t tried actively for big films, and it somehow hasn’t worked out till now.
I prefer working in interesting projects. Of late, I am also into giving voice-overs and radio acting (when I ask him about dubbing, he smiles and ponders over it). Then there is Lakshmy Ramakrishnan’s Ammani, which is a beautiful little film and a documentary by LGBT activist Leena Manimekalai titled ‘Is it too much to ask?’, which is about two transgenders trying to find a house in Chennai. This docu is already doing its rounds in festivals.”
Finally, the contemporaries that have really impressed K …
“Mainly Santhosh Narayanan, and then Sean Roldan (Joker is superb stuff). Me and Sean have also played together in a show sometime back.”
Good Luck K. Wish you create a niche for yourself in the Indian music scene.
Interviewed by Kaushik LM
