J assie Gift arrived on the music scene with a bang. His distinctive voice and the songs he composed for Jayaraj’s 4 the People catapulted him to fame. Soon, his tunes began to be heard in other South Indian languages too. Of late, the singer-composer is prolific in the Kannada music industry. In the meantime, he is on the judging panel of the reality show ‘Minnaminungu’ on Kairali TV, along with Carnatic vocalist singer S. Mahathi and folk singer Pushapavanam Kuppuswamy. In an interview with Friday Review Jassie talks about the show, his music and what lies ahead. Excerpts:
‘Minnaminungu’
It is dedicated to the late Kalabhavan Mani, who did much to popularise folk tunes. Kerala has a rich tradition in folk music.
There are 12 contestants in the show and you get to listen to some popular folk tunes as well as authentic folk songs, some of them in languages that are rarely heard/spoken. The contestants have been selected through auditions; some of them have in-depth knowledge about the songs and the languages.
Experts in folklore music also join us on the show.
You seem to have taken a step back from Mollywood…
That is because I am busy in the Kannada film industry. I had a dream entry in Kannada and gradually I started getting more work. So, I decided to stick on there. Compared to Kannada, there aren’t enough songs in Malayalam movies, these days. While you have two or three songs in a movie here, in a Kannada movie there are at least four to five songs. On that note, I do have two Malayalam films coming up – Ivide Ee Nagarathil , in which I have worked with P. Jayachandran for the first time and Pulinchodu Puranam . I will start work on a Tamil movie soon.
Life after ‘Lajjavathiye...’
The stupendous success of the song and the movie had its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that it was loved by so many people. It was heard in other languages too. But the flipside was that I was expected to create songs that would become as popular. They didn’t want a similar song, but wanted the same mass appeal. That is not easy because each film is different. So I had to be choosy. Also, the present scenario is such that you have to take a lot of factors into consideration if you are working in a Malayalam movie. The songs you compose should please the director, the producer, the actor... In fact, those who don’t know music start judging your songs. I am not comfortable working in such a situation, whereas in Kannada I get more freedom to work. I need my space as a composer and I can’t compromise on that.
Singing vs. composing
Composing is definitely what I enjoy more than singing. There is no risk in singing, while composing is a different experience altogether. The song you make gives you an identity. I haven’t stopped singing. In fact, last year, I sang for Ouseppachan sir in Utopiayile Rajavu and I have sung in another movie for him.
Independent music in Malayalam
I started out with a band and I appreciate that there are a lot of bands that are coming out with new music. But we have miles to go because even now only a few bands have managed to make a mark with their own songs. And these songs reach out to only a small section of the audience. Film songs still hold sway and the day original tracks become more popular than film songs there will be a definite change in the scene.
Meanwhile, I am working on launching a band and an album. It will be called ‘Speed Sanyasin.’ It’s a multi-lingual project and we will have songs that will make you dance. The work on the album has started and we plan to launch it next year.
‘Minnaminungu’ airs on Kairali TV, Monday to Thursday at 8 p.m.
