Composer

Even if you want to try out something new, that should not be done without losing your roots.

Madurai G. S. Mani was my guru, and later M. Balamuralikrishna taught me a lot.

I won the national award for the best music composer and also had the fortune of scoring music for songs penned by M. Karunanidhi for the movie 'Pasakiligal.'

If you observe, all classic love songs have a tinge of melancholy that comes naturally with the composition.

Since my childhood, I had a great liking for Karunanidhi and admired his writing skills.

I joined my father for recordings when I was 11 or so. By then, I could play a dozen instruments. My first professional recording was around that time. I played the vibraphone for Shankar-Ganesh in a Tamil film.

I enjoy and understand melody before I create it. But the challenge is that I've also got to satisfy the film going audience of today.

It is disappointing to find that music in Malayalam cinema is drifting away from its strong melody-base.

My father set a strict regimen for me. He insisted that I learn to play many musical instruments before I choose one.

I've composed music for many remakes and they've all come out much better than the original.

Of course, I can speak Malayalam.

All genres of music have their own beauty.

Even Bollywood films set in rural areas have music with a western touch. So, this has resulted in listeners losing touch with their cultural roots.

I am happy that my hard work in 'Chandramukhi' has been recognized well.

People, irrespective of the language they speak, love good music.

I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to compose music for three songs penned by Karunanidhi in 'Paasakiligal.'

I like philharmonic music a lot. That kind of symphonic music has always been an integral part of the arrangements in many of my songs and background scores.

It is alright to ape Western music, but we have to ask ourselves if that is what we need in our films.

In Kerala, three of my movies release on the same day and interestingly I am the competitor for myself there.

Remember, the West's rock or pop was created for their languages, not ours.