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'If the music is soulful, language is no barrier'

Uttam Singh.

It was, of course, Dil To Pagal Hai that made Uttam Singh a household name, success having cast around him that temporary cast of invulnerability it always does.

So it was a surprise when he turned up in Madras, to compose music for a Malayalam film, Hariharan's Prempoojari. Why make music for such a small audience when he had Bollywood at his feet.

But Uttam Singh appeared to be extremely excited with what he had composed. He was given the freedom to experiment with his kind of music. There were no limitations, there was no talk about commercial elements, and there were no compromises. If that wasn't all, he was composing music for a music composer. When Shobha Warrier met him he had about him the beatific air of the untrammelled artist.

This is a Malayalam movie and it will be totally different from Hindi films. You are from Punjab. Did you have any difficulty in composing music for a film in the language you aren't familiar with?

I had no problem at all. One reason could be that I worked for Ilayaraja for nearly 10 years. I've mixed the music of about 300 to 400 of his films and he is like a brother to me. Since I'd worked with him for such a long time, I know the kind of music people like here.

A still from Dushman. Click for bigger pic!

Yes, Hindi and Malayalam films are very different. When I heard the storyline of the film itself, certain compositions came to my mind. Hariji liked the very first tune I offered. I'm trying my best to come out with some different music in this film. It was a challenge for me to create music, which should show the strength of a music composer. It should also expose the ability of the singer to sing.

Was it easy for you to compose music for a music composer who has his base in classical music?

It was very easy. I finished my work, all the six songs, in just four days, O N V (O N Vijayan), a great poet I was told, wrote the lyrics of two songs first. Then I composed music for those lyrics. It was great fun, I must say. I really enjoyed. And since the story was about a music composer, you feel more inspired.

Is it for the fist time that you are working for a south Indian film?

Yes, this is a new language for me. Even the culture is different. As I was coming here quite often, I could smell this music.

As for Malayalam movies, I feel it has got a touch of class. So you can show what you are worth, your capabilities and your strengths here. Usually in commercial films, we have to compromise a lot. Here I could do what I really wanted to.

Hariharan.

I didn't have to compromise anywhere on my music. Whatever notes, whatever orchestra arrangements, whatever mood I thought of, I used. I have composed all the songs based on various ragas. They are not pure classical but based on classical music. The music can be called both modern and traditional.

It must have been satisfying for you then...

Extremely satisfying. If the music is soulful, language is no barrier. Language is only a carrier of music, I feel. I feel you needn't know Malayalam to enjoy this music.

When you composed the music for Dil To Pagal Hai, did you expect it to be such a big hit?

We expected it to be a hit, but not of this magnitude. I am grateful to the people of my country who accepted it wholeheartedly. I feel, in one way, they have shown all Indian composers that we should create music based on our own tradition, and not those copied from others.

Does the knowledge of Indian folk music help you while composing music?

Of course. Our music is so rich that we do not have look for inspiration from anywhere else. In our country, there's every kind of music. You can go to any part of India and listen to our vibrant folk music. Each state has something different to offer.

Uttam Singh working on the music of Prempoojari. Click for bigger pic!

We are not short of music. I think we are unnecessarily moving towards the West, without understanding our strengths. We look forward to MTV, Channel [V], etc for music. This is very sad. I don't know whether we realise what we are doing or not. But I feel we do not have to go to the West at all.

You are famous all over India -- when you compose for Hindi films, the whole of India listens. But when you compose music for such a small state, the audience is smaller. Still, why did you accept this film?

I wasn't thinking about Kerala being a small state and that music would be heard there alone. On the contrary, I'd say that if the music of this film is good, it will cross all language barriers.

For a music director, creative satisfaction is very important. If I get a chance to work with good directors, I 'll come back again. I don't want to work with people who ask me to compose one song here, one song there etc. I like to work only in good films.

In Bombay too, I work in very few films. I accept a film, even if it is in Hindi, only if the story is right and the film-maker good. I'm very choosy.

What was fascinated me about Prempoojari was the young man, the young singer, tries to break all traditions of music.

So it was a challenge, a formidable task for me to come up with a different culture of music by itself... I think I've succeeded.

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Music in his blood

Uttam Singh's photographs: Sreeram Selvaraj