Composer Sharreth makes a comeback

TOI talks to composer Sharreth, who’s making a comeback in Tamil cinema with 180...
“I believe in a higher power. I only felt that my time hadn’t come when my Tamil debut did not do well,” begins composer Sharreth, a household name in Kerala, who is marking his return to Tamil cinema with 180 after his debut, the Jyothika-Suriya starrer June R, failed to be noticed by the audience.
“There is no point in being disappointed if your work doesn’t get noticed. I know of supremely talented individuals who have been struggling to find a foothold in the industry. Everything happens in its own time. Otherwise, why would Jayendra decide to do a feature film only now when he could have turned director years ago,” he asks philosophically.
Talking about 180, a Tamil-Telugu bilingual which marks the feature film debut of ad filmmaker Jayendra and stars Siddharth, Priya Anand and debutant Nithya Menon in leading roles, Sharreth says that he considers himself blessed to be a part of this film.
“The general trend today permits one to insert songs in a film just for the sake of it. Thankfully, the songs in this film are contextual rather than just being situational, despite the film being a romantic entertainer,” he mentions and explains, “It was not just a romantic song or a dance number for Jayendra. He came up with a concept for each song, musically and visually, and never let me go unless he got the right tune. We’ve had countless arguments while composing and I’m sure these are all going to benefit the film.”
Sharreth’s tunes in Malayalam have, at times, come under criticism for being a bit complex and difficult to sing and the composer agrees. “I would say that it is because I have mostly done heavy films in Malayalam. But I have taken note of the criticism and have worked at coming up with simple tunes. Having worked in southern languages over the years, I have realized that audiences want tunes that are simple. The tunes of this film’s songs can be grasped by even a layman. One can easily sing them in the bathroom!”
Having composed predominantly in Malayalam, did he have to attune himself to a different musical sensibility when composing for his first bilingual? “The challenge, if you can call it that, was only to give the music a flavour that was common to both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. But we also wanted to try out something that isn’t usual in Tamil and Telugu cinema. Even in terms of sound, we wanted to give the songs a distinct flavour and I feel we’ve been able to pull it off. Also, composer Mani Sharma is a good friend of mine. He has programmed for some of my songs in Malayalam while I’ve programmed for some of his Tamil and Telugu songs.”
So, how was it working with Jayendra, who is said to be a musically-aware director (he directed the Carnatic movie, Margazhi Ragam)? “We share a great rapport. Directors are the creative force behind every film and every hit song owes its existence to them. But personally, I believe that a director need not be an expert in music.”
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