I want to do a second arangettam in Carnatic music

Like many Malayalis who turn to a Mohanlal song or clip to unwind when stressed, the therapeutic air spread by songs featuring the megastar has always fascinated young music aficionado Ratheesh Vega. The wish to make the best use of the ���feel-good��� factor of these songs remained with him, even after debuting as a mainstream composer. Ratheesh took the idea to none other than Mohanlal and what awaited him was an instant thumbs up for the novel thought! His brain child, band Lalisom, is all set to tour the world with shows.The musician also has projects lined up in many languages. Kochi Times recently had a chat with the music director.
Excerpts: Lalisom to start touring the world soon For quite a while, the 12-member group Lalisom has been training for a humungous show and I have been re-orchestrating songs featuring Mohanlal for the same. We plan to showcases songs of various moods and languages. Mohanlal will be back from Antarctica around December 6 and after that, he too would join the practice sessions as the lead singer of his band. Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour hologram show, he would be the main singer-cum-narrator. In about 10 days, he will announce details of its first show in Kerala. A lot of surprises are awaiting his fans. We will start off with performances early next year. Fans have a lot of expectations and I have been focused on living up to them.
A musician sans language barriers As for my film projects, I have offers from Hindi, Kannada and Tamil as well and I have decided not to limit myself to a single language, now on. The project of a Bengali woman director is the one I would do in Hindi. The Tamil and Kannada projects will start next year. The relations and expertise you gain while associating with music circles across languages are tremendous and I wish to make the most of it. That said, Mollywood would remain the hub of my musical activity. My immediate next are Picket 43 and Shibu Anthikad���s Nivin Pauly ��� starrer in Malayalam, and two films with entirely different genres of music in Telugu.
Carnatic music, my first love It���s true that in the past, my dream was to make a name as a Carnatic musician and I have not given up on it! For the past 17 years, I have been training under Thrissur R Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and have also staged a few concerts in the past. I would do a second arangettam and come back to embrace it soon. Concerts fusing the eastern, western and rock forms of music are also dream projects I nurture.
Bringing out the singers in actors is fun There are voices both against and for making singers out of actors. Personally, I don���t find it difficult and have felt that those actors who grab the mike come with a passion for singing. Being artistes, they are willing to do all it takes to give a great output. Moreover, it is also a platform for composers ��� who otherwise don���t get to interact with the actors much ��� to establish a good rapport with them. The reach gained by songs crooned by actors is another unmatched perk. I would say that Attumanal Paayayil sung by Mohanlal or the recent Maaye Maaye��� by Shajon would not have received the kind of reception they enjoyed, had playback singers rendered them.