The composer talks about working in Lal Jose’s film and the kind of music he loves to make
Music composer Justin Verghese is all set to rock the Christmas season with his two films. meow And ajagjantaram Releasing in theaters this week.
“It is an exciting phase as these films come in different genres. meow is a family drama and has a soundscape that complements the theme while ajagjantaram There is a fast-paced narrative with foot-tapping tracks,” says Justin, over the phone from Kochi. ajagjantaramDirected by Tinu Pappachan to release on December 23 meowHelmed by veteran Lal Jose, will release on December 24.
“A film by Lal Jose was completely unexpected; He has directed some of the best works in Malayalam cinema. Also, his movies always have good music and he is one of the best when it comes to the portrayal of the songs. So there was pressure on me to give my best work. He understood the situation and told me to sing the way I liked it, ”says Justin.
Justin joined the project after the Red Jose heard his work. pure table, which is being produced. Justin says, “Those songs were done long before the lockdown and he heard them from its producer Vinod Shoranur.” meow It has four songs, one of which is sung by Justin himself. “This is a first for me. Lal sir insisted on it,” he says. As the story is set in the Middle East, a lot of Arabic instruments are used in the music and background score.
Folk and electronic mix
ajagjantaram There is a completely different sound palette. The song that has gone viral is an “electronic-cum-psy trance” version of ‘Olluleru’, a traditional song from the Mavila community. This number has been prepared by Praseetha Chalakudy and team. “Several versions of the song have gone viral… So, I was not initially keen on doing it. However, later I worked on an arrangement that combined folk music with electronic music,” he says. Lyricist Santosh Varma has played all percussion instruments in this song.Justin has also arranged for another folk song ‘Dannaana’ written and composed by folk artist Sudhish Maruthalam.
2021 has been a special one for him due to positive reviews for the title track and background score of Dilish Pothen’s Fahadh Faasil-starrer. jojik, “Even though I was initially disappointed that the film didn’t have any songs and it was an OTT release, once it was released I had no complaints. “I was stunned by the kind of appreciation it received,” says Justin, who worked with a team of musicians in Bulgaria to create this three-minute piece.
A production house has already approached him for an independent project in Hindi. “Also, after watching the movie, Nirupama Rao” [former Foreign Secretary and Indian Ambassador to China] Called me and invited me to Mumbai to work on a project. I couldn’t follow it unfortunately,” he says.
Justin’s upcoming releases include Oru Thekkan Thallu Case (Biju Menon-Nimisha Sajayan), Satyanathan’s voice (Dilip), oru policekarante marnam (Soubin Shahir-Urvashi) and Dear friend (Tovino Thomas-Darshan Rajendran). Two superstar projects are also in the pipeline.
“It took me some time to find my calling in music. I used to sing and my family was very supportive of it. But I stopped it after a point and started playing keyboards in our church choir. Slowly, the music It became a passion,” he says. He learned sound engineering, programming and music production before working with some of the leading Malayalam musicians. His longest association has been with composer Bijibal.
when the movie happened
Justin says his debut [Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela, 2017] Happened by chance “I used to meet Altaf [Althaf Salim, director of the movie] In my friend’s recording studio. He was looking for opportunities to get into direction and we used to discuss it. When Najandukalude Natil…, his debut, rolled by, he had decided on another musician. Unfortunately the person could not accept it due to the clash of dates. I was the next option before him; That’s how I got in.”
His second project, Thannir Mathan Dinang (2019) also has an “interesting coincidence”. “Girish” [Gireesh AD, director of the movie] Made a short film Mukkuthi, in which one of my neighbors starred. So I shared it on my Facebook page. Girish got back to me and the exchange of messages eventually led to a fruitful association. Now I am working on his next project, super sharanya,” he adds.
The 38-year-old admitted that he enjoys making the soundtrack to “Mass”. “I am a huge fan of commercial entertainers with scintillating background scores and songs, which are rare in Malayalam. i could try it ajagjantaram to some extent. However, I want to do more projects like this. I also love composing romantic songs.”
A huge fan of Santhosh Narayanan and Amit Trivedi, Justin says he is always apprehensive about people’s reaction to his work. “I am a very insecure musician. Whenever a song is released, I have butterflies in my stomach. With so many songs released every other day, that too in different languages, it is difficult to concentrate on your work. .and when it happens, I am the happiest soul.”
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