MUSIC DIRECTOR ARRORA INTERVIEW

I was personally interested in composing even as I was playing the flute for other composers. I wanted to explore further and see what I could offer to a film as a composer beyond being just a musician. It started with ads for many prominent brands and this caught on slowly and led me to films.

I am very happy with the reception to my debut album, Kalyana Samayal Saadham (KSS). Mella Sirithai’s response in the online space was terrific. All this took some time to sink in.
 

Director RS Prasanna has very good music knowledge and taste and even my producers were well-versed in music. I am lucky to have associated with such people in my first film.

RS gave a lot of inputs even during the film’s RR and was happy with my extra inputs and initiatives too. If he is open to it, I am always ready to work with him on all his future films too.

The reception to the film’s BGM was also good when it was released online in YouTube. Good music bits from the film’s BGM score were recognized and appreciated by people after the BGM released.
 

I must also thank Santhosh Kumar of Think Music (who released the music of KSS). He encourages good music and is a very good judge of talent. He unearths good musicians and I am very happy to be associated with Think Music.
 

I share a good rapport with all the musicians in the industry. They have all contributed to my debut album and I owe them big thanks.

Being a flute player, I have a great ear for melody and for composing new tunes. I also love the rhythm section and my future albums would be rhythm-heavy. So, new tunes and rhythm are my USPs

I listen to a lot of World music, a lot of Bollywood film music and also the works of people like Yanni.

I am wide awake and buzzing from 8 am to 11 pm. After 11, my engine switches off (laughs). 

I haven’t gone on such exotic composing and discussion trips yet. So I don’t know for sure how it works. But when we go to a new place, some freshness would definitely come in. Creativity would crop in and new thoughts would flow.

Ads are totally different from films, the mindset is really different. Ad film directors work on a tight deadline and music is the last chain in a long line of activities. Deadlines are tight and work pressure is immense. I have done about 50 to 60 ad film jingles and they have been enjoyable despite the tight workloads.

I really enjoyed Kadal and Maryan from Rahman sir. Santhosh Narayanan’s Cuckoo, GV’s Raja Rani and of course standalone numbers like ‘Kaasu Panam’ are strong favorites.
 

I know Santhosh from our formative years in the industry and we have had great days. He used to be a programmer and I used to be a musician. We used to chill out and also do good work during out recording trips and sessions.
 

Anirudh’s work is impressive too.

Gaana Bala is doing great, so is Anthony Dasan. I would love to work with them and also great singers from the North such as Sonu Nigam. Of course, Bombay Jayashri with whom I have collaborated on many concerts and albums, is one of my strong favorites. There is a sea of music talent out there and if I work with all of them, I would automatically sustain for 100 odd films.

People think that Arrora is someone from the North, considering my name. I have strong roots in Tamil Nadu since long and I can say I am a son of the Tamil soil.
 

There is also a perception that Arrora is someone who can only deliver melodies and classical ‘raaga’ based music. I can deliver any type of music and do justice based on the genre and milieu of the film.

I can also work in a North Madras based film. I am open to any kind of genre, particularly village based films.

ALL THE VERY BEST, ARRORA ...