In Chennai, want ‘light music’ for your film?

CHENNAI: S Ganesh of Ganesh Kirupa Orchestra, a light music troupe in Chennai, is busy working on a remix. Not so much of his music, but of his troupe. “There is intense competition out there in the wedding music market from DJs and karaoke bands that light music troupes have to constantly innovate to stay relevant,” he says.
With the market for light music orchestras on the decline since the glory days of the 1990s — the pandemic and the lockdown only making it worse — several troupe founders across the state are working on different strategies to stay in sync with what customers want.

Ganesh’s action plan to keep his troupe in tune with the times includes creating a bunch of “readymade” original tracks for lowbudget movies. “I compose the music, a friend writes the lyrics, my orchestra plays it, and then we record and upload it on YouTube to promote it,” says Ganesh. “I have also approached some firsttime directors who are working with low budgets and who are looking for original music for their films. We are creating ‘situational’songs for movies from romance to dance numbers. It’s a win-win. ”
Like Ganesh Kirupa Orchestra, some music troupes in Trichy too are making music for low-budget films, especially those by debutant directors. Visual communication students too have started approaching orchestras for the background score for their short films.
Karthik Kumar of Ganesh Karthik light music group, which was formed in 2005, says he is composing music for short films shot by visual communication students in Trichy. “The city has 150 light music troupes. With the wedding market drying up, more than a dozen have opened studios and work with film directors. ” Karthik adds that earlier, people from Trichy would go to Chennai to record background scores. “But after regular wedding and temple programmes began drying up, several troupe founders like me started recording studios. It was about survival. So, now we have several short film directors approaching us for music. It’s more economical for them as well,” says Karthik.
J Sheik Mohammed fromPudukottai, an engineer, who made a short film, hired the services of a music troupe. “I could not afford to pay to hire a seasoned composer. Working with a music troupe was more economical,” he says.
“With weddings and temple festivals disrupted during Covid, several of my troupe members found other employment, while some are unemployed,” says Arunraj of Winners Orchestra in Trichy. “Now, we promote our music on social media which has caught the eye of filmmakers. So we are getting work there. Also, a lot of people like using troupes like us because we play live music. It has more soul than playing scores electronically. ”
Augustin Jebakumar, a UG student of Kalai Kaviri College of Fine Arts and a music composer, says he has been working with Winners for a while now because it’s both fast and cost-effective. “Though the studios in Trichy are not as high-tech as those in Chennai, it’s still more affordable. Arunraj and I finish an album within a week at a cost of 5 lakh. It would have cost five times that in Chennai. ”
For an indoor event like a wedding, a music troupe charges a minimum of 50,000, while DJs and karaoke bands charge less than a third of that. “Covid hit people hard financially as well. The budget for music at weddings and other festivals is decreasing. And that is one of the reasons the number of light music troupes is also reducing,” says Ganesh.
In Chennai, R Raghuraman of the three-decade-old Balaji and Raghu’s Ilayathendral, says more than 75% of their orchestra members have gone part-time because of the paucity of work. “In the past few years, people have realised it is impossible to sustain as a full-time orchestra member. Most have taken on full-time jobs,” says Raghuraman, who works in a bank.
Ganesh says another way troupes are fighting to stay in the game is by roping in ‘celebrity’ singers. “We scout for the top six contestants of reality singing shows and bring them to sing at weddings. ”
Raghuraman has added a DJ to his troupe. “If that is what the market wants, that is what we give,” he says. “We now take a DJ along with the live orchestra, so we can switch any time the hosts want it. ”
Raako Yoagandran, director of an untitled movie starring Rakshan and Dheena of Vijay TV fame, says most of the musicians he worked with began their journey in the orchestra. “These musicians are adapting to the changing demands of the market. Some are upgrading themselves musically as well as technically,” says Yoagandran.