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'Singing for 'Raavan' is a dream come true'

Mehul Satish Thakkar, ibnlive.com

Now who hasn't hum to the tunes of Pal Pal Hai Bhaari from Swades? Or Kandhon Se Milte Hain Kandhe from Lakshya, Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire? Or Fiqrana from Blue? Maybe you were so lost that you didn't get the time to ponder who could be the voice behind those melodious numbers. Vijay Prakash adds yet another feather in his cap with Beera Beera, his latest song from Mani Ratnam's Raavan. Meet the singer in a candid tete-a-tete with IBNLive.

The song Beera Beera is already climbing the charts. How does it feel?

Honestly, I personally like all the songs of Raavan. Beera Beera just happened to come my way. You will be surprised to know that this song was recorded just two weeks prior to the music launch. I always wanted to sing in one of Mani sir’s film. I was hoping against hope that Mani sir would give me an opportunity this time. I was really disappointed when I came to know that the recording was already complete. It came to me as a real surprise when I finally got a call from him. He he asked me to come down for a song recording. So that’s how I became a part of this project.

You have worked with AR Rahman earlier. You lent your voice for the Oscar winning song Jai Ho in Slumdog.... How was it working with him?

Now who wouldn't want to work with a living legend?! It was a pleasure working with him in Slumdog Millionaire. He is into music all the time. I've not seen someone who is so dedicated and passionate about his works. I was fortunate that I got to work with him several times. Every singer dreams to work with him. What makes him unique is that he gives a lot of freedom to the singers. He allows them to try out different things, which helps you grow.

Do you plan to become a composer in future?

I haven’t really planned to become one. Frankly speaking, I think every individual who is associated with the music industry is a composer. As a singer, I am enjoying what I am doing. Lots of quality work is coming my way. I am working with different composers. So let’s see.

What makes AR Rahman different from other music directors?

To me, as a singer, every music director is special. Obviously, AR Rahman is a legend. His music has a global appeal. He is blessed with an immense talent. He also has a spiritual angel to himself. He spends so much time for music. He works 24/7 and that’s why each of his work is becomes a masterpiece.

You also playback in films down south. How difficult or easy is it to juggle between different languages?

Luckily, for me I haven’t really had any problem. Honestly, it is difficult to speak different languages. But when you sing in different languages, the music takes care of everything. I was born in Mysore, so I can easily speak Telugu. I have spent most of my time in Mumbai, so Hindi also is not a problem. I have not only got the opportunity to know different languages, but have sung for so many jingles in different languages.

Would you like to say something about the Beera Beera song? How was it recording the song?

I first recorded the Tamil version of the song. As I said earlier, this happened to be the last addition to the album. As I finished recording the song, Mani sir informed that Gulzar sahab was supposed to join us at the studio. So that same night, we also recorded the Hindi version, Beera Beera. Both the versions were recorded on the same day. It was a dream come true for me.

‘Raavanan’, a re-incarnation

‘Raavanan’, a re-incarnation

Vikram in 'Raavanan'.

Gulzar Adds Lyrics to A.R. Rahman's 'Raavan' Closer

We all know that director Mani Ratnam is a genius.

In what could be a another feather in his cap, the director who is almost ready with the bilingual Raavan (Raavanan in Tamil), will be honoured with Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice Film Festival to be held in September.

This was announced at the ongoing Cannes film festival by Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller just before the launch of Raavan.

Ratnam's wife was there along with the cast comprising of Aishwarya Rai, her husband Abhishek Bachchan and Vikram to receive the honour.

Both the Hindi and Tamil versions will be screened at the Venice Film Festival.

"Mani Ratnam used to make movies only in his native tongue, Tamil, but has been one of a handful of filmmakers to successfully handle the transition to the all-India market. One of the great innovators in contemporary Indian cinema, he helped introduce the auteur concept to contemporary Bollywood,"  Mueller said.

"His movies display precision and poise, and have always been removed from the bombast and bluster of mass-produced regional cinema. The lavish musical numbers in his films, some of the best-tailored in Mumbai and Chennai in recent years, have influenced the style of many others (as well as the design of commercials and music videos). Ratnam's most celebrated films have become part of the cinematic imagination of the sub-continent," he added.

Raavanan gets a ‘U’ certificate from censors

Ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam is a relieved man these days, and he has many reasons to rejoice. While some of Mani’s previous films faced problems with the censors, his much hyped trilingual magnum opus Raavanan in Tamil and Raavan in Hindi was cleared with a ‘U’ certification. While confirming this information to DC, a source from the censor board reveals that all the members who watched the movie were in awe of the way Mani Ratnam had tackled the subject.

It is heard that those who watched the Tamil version of the movie Raavanan were stunned by Vikram’s (who plays the role of Veera) performance. Even A.R. Rahman’s scintillating music left the members impressed. The cast of the Tamil version of the movie includes Vikram, Aishwraya Rai, Prithiviraj, Priya Mani, Karthik, Prabhu and Munnah. The hindi version has Abhishek, Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Govinda and Ravi Kishan in the lead roles. Rahman’s music has already become a huge hit. The trilingual including its dubbed Telugu version will be hitting cinema halls by June 18. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Raavan will have a world premiere at London with the entire cast including director Mani Ratnam, on June 16. Abhishek, who plays Beera in the hindi version, has tweeted about this on a popular microblogging site. A unit member also reveals that Mani may not hold any special show for friends or colleagues before the release of the film.