Rahul Raj is on song! Kasaba and Karinkunnam 6s , two of the big releases this week, have songs and background music tuned by the versatile engineer-turned musician.
After a comparatively quiet 2015 in Mollywood, he got a lucky break when Mammootty liked his work in Fireman (2015), directed by Deepu Karunakaran. “When a senior star like him likes your work, it is a blessing. He suggested my name to Nithin Renji Panicker, director of Kasaba, and that was how I became part of the team,” says Rahul.
Rahul has scored a sizzling item number for the Mammootty-starrer Kasaba and the background music as well. “ Kasaba is a huge film and the song has been picturised so well.”
In the case of Karinkunnam 6s , it was Deepu who brought him on board the sports movie starring Manju Warrier. “He is a friend and he told me that he would like me to team up with him in his works. I have composed three songs for the film and two have been sung by me as well,” says Rahul, who has made a name for his melodious songs in Malayalam.
He has been heard in Telugu since his debut in 2007 and in Tamil cinema through Kadavul Paathi Miruga Paathi . “My songs in quite a few Telugu flicks have hit the charts. Films such as Oh My Friend and Mahi Raaghav’s Telugu movie Paathsala widened my repertoire.”
There was a lull although he scored the soft and soulful ‘Hemantheme’ in Kohinoor , which, incidentally, is still his caller tune. “I did a number of good films last year but unfortunately not all did well at the box office. That affects songs as well,” explains Rahul.
In Karinkunnam 6s , the rocking, energetic ‘Ulkathin,’ sung by Rahul, Arun Alap and Joju Sebastian, which was the official promotional of the film, and the melodious ‘Medampoompattum Chutti’, sung by Najim Arshad have won raves in social media.
“The other song is like an anthem, a crescendo that is also a kind of a culmination of the film. It has snatches of Hindi lyrics and goes ‘Dhadakne de’… I have sung it with Najim,” adds Rahul.
In a telephone conversation with the musician, a State award winner for his background score for Shyamaprasad’s Rithu , Rahul says that he had no plans for singing when he composed the songs. But Deepu enjoyed the cadence of his voice and insisted that he take on the role of the singer as well.
Agreeing that it is a good time for different kinds of voices and experiments in Malayalam music, Rahul explains: “Earlier, there used to be a template for voices and music. That does not exist. Listeners are open to listening to new voices and experiments. That has helped new composers to experiment and take risks in composing and trying out new voices,” believes Rahul.
He feels that the Net has helped music buffs to tune in to world music and that has changed their expectations of film music in Malayalam as well.
Rahul will soon be heard in Prithviraj-starrer Ezra and Inspector Dawood Ibrahim with Jayasurya in the lead, and the Telugu film Vaadu Neenu Kadhu .
