It seems he has a knack for hitting gold; after making Bollywood dance to his tunes through ‘Titli’ Gopi Sundar is back on track with a new version of ‘Ammayi’ song.
Music director Gopi Sundar has hit the heights with his music both in Mollywood and B-town. FWD Magazine meets the magical mind of music who made his way to Bollywood years back, with the latest hit being ‘Titli’ from ‘Chennai Express’, the blockbuster that continues to create history with a record breaking collection of over 200 crores in the first 15 days.
Celebrating Onam as a non-resident Malayali
I was in Kochi till I was 16. After which my family moved out of Kerala to settle down in Chennai. Onam here and in Kerala are poles apart. Though we prepare Onam sadya at home, we miss the authentic Onam with a flavour of traditional ethnicity we used to have in Kerala.
Intentions of making tracks for Malayalis this Onam….
I never consider creating music for fame or for the heck of it. So sorry, no Onam songs from my side, but you can listen to more of me through music I’m directing for movies releasing shortly.
A personality who has helped you grow as a music director….
There are a handful of people. The foremost person will be Ouseppachen. I started working with him at the age of 17. For 14 years I assisted him. With him I began to work on three different levels of music making. I worked as a programmer, as an assistant of Ouseppachen and also got engrossed in advertisement music.
Gopi Sundar getting into the groove of directing music….
Music is a feeling that erupts out of my heart. It’s a spontaneous expression. There is no clear-cut way of making them. At times various sources can influence in creating a novel note.
Talks on flicking music are going about in the music industry at large. Your comment…..
I personally wouldn’t call it copying or stealing music. We’ve some favourite tracks that would lie at the bottom of our hearts because we like it so much. And when we create music, unintentionally the adoration for those original compositions might bring out its influence, which might sound as a blatant copy.
What is it about the song ‘Ammayi’ in the upcoming film ‘Nikkah’?
The original folk song ‘Ammayi’ sung by the legend Eranjoli Moosa will be re-recorded for the movie. I will be producing sounds for it. The re-recording of the song is in no way going to tarnish the charm of the original version.
How is it different from the hit track ‘Ammayi’ from Ustaad Hotel?
In Ustaad hotel, we had just used two lines of lyrics from the original track. The rest of it was a complete fresh song.
Favourite singer in the Malayalm music industry….
Any singer who can take a composition from the music director’s mind to a higher level, exceedingly satisfying the expectation of the director is my favourite singer.
Bollywood movies you have lent music….
‘Om Shanti Om’ for the song ‘Ankhom Mein Teri…’ for which the orchestration and sound designing was done by me, ‘Tara Ram Pam’, ‘Bluffmaster’ for the track ‘Ek Mein aur Ekh Tu Hai and more. Of late I worked on two tracks of the latest blockbuster ‘Chennai Express’.
Tracks in the pipeline
Film ‘Koothera’ starring Mohanlal. ½ by director Arun Kumar, music for ‘Arikil Oral’ a soon-to-be released movie, ‘Mr. Fraud’ by B Unikrishnan, ‘Salala Mobiles’, starring Dulqar Salman. All together I have around 25 projects in hand apart from advertisement music.
Quickies
A talent of Gopi Sundar not made public…
OK, this is not something that I have been doing in a professional way. But yes I’m very much interested in photography. When I’m in a mood I take random pictures on my mobile and professional photographers do say that those have brilliant frames.
Struggle as a beginner…
In the film industry, I’ve never ran after asking for offers. Luckily they’ve always been there for me. But in the advertisement industry, initially it took time to set off.
Are you a good singer?
Not absolutely. But as I have the quality of communicating emotions when I sing which is indispensable in a singer; I would also say that I’m not too bad at it.
A film director in whose film you aspire to be a music director….
There is nothing like that. But I wish I were to give background score in Ranjith’s ‘Indian Rupee’, ‘Diamond Necklace’ and in director Blessy’s movies. Saying so, it doesn’t mean that the existing music is not good. It’s just that I would’ve liked to be a part of it.
Gopi Sundar’s music in regional movies…
As of now I got to work in Mollywood, Bollywood movies and currently on a Tamil project. I did get offers from Telugu movies, but as I’m held up, thought of keeping it aside for the time being.