‘I keep in touch with regional music’
Music director Shekhar Ravjiani has been a frequent visitor to Chennai for the past eight years, mainly to collaborate with close friend Gopi Sundar, who has programmed most of his songs, including Ajab Si from Om Shanti Om, Home Delivery and some popular numbers from Bluffmaster. Now, Shekhar has roped in some talented musicians for the upcoming film he is involved in — Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express. “They bring a very different kind of energy to the songs. The music of the film will have a texture that is very south Indian, yet quite modern,” he says.
He has also worked with “some phenomenal percussionists from the city, while the string sections from here are the best in the country,” in his opinion. “The kind of flavour that these musicians bring to a song is just beautiful. Every time I leave Chennai after a session, there is a satisfaction. You just take a melody with you and work with such talented musicians and watch the song come to life,” he says ecstatically.
Shekhar is not new to regional films, having worked on a Telugu film in the past. “I keep in touch with regional music and check out what’s topping the charts. I recently recorded with Chinmayee who introduced me to other songs that she has sung in Tamil. We had also done a Telugu film a few years ago, which was even nominated for a Filmfare award. I am definitely open to scoring music for regional films, especially in Tamil or Malayalam, if a really interesting script comes along,” states this music director who would soon be working on Farah Khan’s Happy New Year.
“Apart from Farah’s movie, I would also be working on a film with Punit Malhotra, produced by Karan Johar and starring Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan. There are also a few other projects which we are about to sign,” he divulges. His frequent visits to the city have resulted in a fondness for south Indian food and some favourite haunts, including Saravana Bhavan, Karaikudi and Kumarakom.
Post new comment