Many surprises were in store for viewers when Guppy reached theatres - a fresh storyline, poetic frames and engaging characters. The icing on the cake was, perhaps, its soulful songs, composed by debutant Vishnu Vijay.
The youngster is actually one of the most prolific flautists in the South Indian film industry.
He’s played the flute for music director Santhosh Narayanan for two songs in Kabali , ‘Vaanam’ and ‘Maya nadi’ and for the film’s re-recording sessions too. He has worked with composers Devi Sri Prasad, G. V. Prakash and Vijay Antony in different languages and in Malayalam for Ouseppachan, Gopi Sunder, Vidyasagar and Deepak Dev, to name a few. He has also worked for Sai Shravanam, who co-produced the music of The Man Who Knew Infinity , a biopic on math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.
“Composing music has always been on my wishlist and I used to create short instrumental pieces,” says the unassuming Vishnu, over the phone from Chennai, where he has been based for the last four years. A native of the capital city, he shifted to Chennai with stars in his eyes; a dream he shared with Johnpaul George, the director of Guppy , who is also his best friend from college, Sri Swati Thirunal Music College (SSTMC).
“We moved to Chennai to get a break in tinsel town. While John went on to assist directors Samir Thahir and the late Rajesh Pillai, I got opportunities to work with many musicians. We always said that we will do our first film together and that finally materialised with Guppy ,” says the 28 year old.
Vishnu was initiated into music by his father, vocalist Vijayan Ambalappuzha, a retired professor of music at SSTMC. Although Vishnu is a keen singer, he fell in love with the flute after watching his cousin, Gireesh, play the instrument.
“He taught me basic fingering techniques and I used to accompany my father when he held music classes at home. Later, I studied under flautist Kudamaloor Janardanan and there came a discipline to my learning of the instrument. Kudamaloor sir widened my horizons by exposing me to various other genres of music, such as ghazals, Hindustani, and Western classical,” says Vishnu.
He was also guided by Parvathipuram Padmanabha Iyer, his music teacher in Model Higher Secondary School and composer, Ishaan Dev, “who taught me technical and digital aspects in music.”
Armed with all that experience, Vishnu was fairly confident about turning composer.
“I had an idea about the output. Above all, John had been travelling with the subject of Guppy for nigh on five years now. I knew exactly what he wanted,” he adds.
Guppy unfolds in a seaside village, where Michael (Master Chetan) a.k.a.Guppy (for he makes a living by selling the guppy fish) lives with his ailing mother. Guppy’s life changes with the arrival of an engineer, Tejus Varkey (Tovino Thomas).
The tracks in the film stand out for their originality, orchestration and experimentation with voices. One of the more catchy tracks is ‘Gabrielinte,’ which reminds you of songs played by church bands. Antony Dassan, a popular Tamil folk musician, makes his debut in Malayalam with this number. “We wanted a raw, fresh voice and his was spot on for the song. Musicians who are part of actual church bands have played in the song,” Vishnu says.
Vishnu has roped in yesteryear singer Lathika to croon the duet ‘Athiraliyum’ with Vijay Yesudas. “She taught us in college and we were all very fond of her. With her pliant voice she was the obvious choice for the song,” Vishnu says. He has also recreated Lathika’s popular song, ‘Hridaya raga thanthri’ from Amaram in the voice of Kaanchana Sriram (daughter of singer S. Sriram) in the movie.
While the sprightly title track, ‘Thira thira’ has voices of Madhuvanti Narayanan, Suchith Sureshan, and Vishnu’s father, the melodious ‘Thaniye’ has been sung by Sooraj Santhosh, lead singer of Masala Coffee band and Vishnu’s childhood friend. Vishnu himself has sung a song and John’s mother too has sung a prayer song.
“Most of the songs are layered with live instruments. We have used instruments such as sitar, tabla and shehnai that are rarely used in film songs these days. I wanted to keep flute portions to the minimum. But John felt that flute is one instrument that conveys emotions the best and insisted that I retain them. There is an underlying emotional track in all the songs, be it in the relationship between Guppy and his fish, or that between him and his mother. The songs of Guppy can be taken as a one whole unit, with one song connected to the other, but each one is distinct from the other.”
Vishnu is now polishing his skills under Rajkumar Bharathi (great-grandson of poet Subramania Bharathi). “He’s a great musician in his own right. I usually play for his recordings for dance productions and each session is an experience in itself. It is like getting paid for a class you attend!” says Vishnu.
So, is there a musician he follows? “When I started learning music, I had idols and wanted to make music like them. But now I strive to create music that is my own,” says Vishnu.
