When he was initially composing for Inimey Ippadithan , 26-year-old Santhosh Dayanidhi was full of profound musical ideas. The film was to be his debut and he had just come out of assisting A. R. Rahman. He’d ask Santhanam if an EDM track would work for a particular situation. “Can we use these chords?” he’d ask, and start playing. Santhanam, who brought Santhosh into the project, was naturally apprehensive, as the film was, after all, conceived as a commercial entertainer, and he wasn’t sure if the deep musical ideas that Santhosh came up with would work. However, a couple of weeks later, Santhosh had adapted. He was now asking if he could compose kuthu songs! As Santhanam said at Inimey Ippadithan ’s audio release, “Santhosh turned into a director’s composer.”
Santhosh had no hesitation in making his debut in this film. “Santhanam plays the hero, and this automatically guarantees a great opening. What else can a new composer ask for?” he says. The keyword he had to keep in mind at all times when composing songs was ‘catchy’. “The lyrics had to be catchy. The tunes had to be catchy.” His favourite song in the album is ‘Athana Azhagayum’, as it’s a “peppy, catchy song.”
The two years he spent with Rahman came in handy, especially when composing background music. “He helped me understand the technique of using songs to create BGM. For example, if it’s a sad situation for the heroine, I’d use the heroine’s intro song and spin it off for a sad BGM.” This technique, Santhosh says, also helps in making the songs popular. “Is there a greater compliment for a composer than to have people singing his song?”
