One of the finest composers in the industry, Sunny M.R is known for his offbeat music that is backed by the latest technologies. With a rich repertoire that shines with films like Om Shanti Om, Dangal and Barfi among others, Sunny has worked extensively with the hitmaker Arijit Singh and hence it was quite natural for him to pick the sought after crooner for his new single Gaaye Jaa. We caught up with the multi-hyphenated talent who also composed three songs for the recently released Aamir Khan film Laal Singh Chaddha. Excerpts:
Was Arijit Singh on your mind when you were composing the song?
I composed Gaaye Jaa in 2017 for a three-song EP, which never took off due to certain logistical reasons. But when Arijit heard the track in 2020, he wanted to sing the vocals for it. I wasn't ready to change the base of the song, but being a close friend he ended up convincing me to test it and it worked out perfectly.
You and Arijit share a great equation. You have worked together on numerous songs and live shows. Tell us about your association and how was the experience?
Arijit and I have been friends since 2007. Working together has only been a way to elevate our friendship. The process was smooth as butter with him singing and me shooting the video. The entire experience was like two friends at a music camp churning out a good product.
You have also composed for several Telugu movies. How similar or different is the experience as compared to Bollywood?
The experience is drastically different. The requirements of music in the Telugu industry are unlike Bollywood. The processes and music styles that work with Bollywood, don't work with the audience there. With influence from composers like AR Rahman, Illayaraja, and Santosh Narayan, the audience listens to an entirely different kind of genre, leading to an experience poles apart from Bollywood. When it comes to the directors from the industry, I have always had their trust to have some creative freedom. They always seemed to believe in working on what I created for them.
One of your upcoming projects is Imtiaz Ali’s web series Dr. Arora. Tell us about the songs.
The two songs in Dr. Arora are an ode to the '70s and '90s respectively. The first one is Bewafa Mashooka and the second one is Ishq Ishq. Imtiaz was able to get Irshad Kamil onboard to write the songs. The idea behind Bewafa Mashooka was to create a song that people can relate to as an old song of the '70s but made in the current times. With Ishq Ishq, our goal was to bring back the vibes of the '90s with dholak and tablas as a love song.
Both the songs are unique in their way because as composers, we rarely get an opportunity to recreate a vibe of an era and when we do, we like to have complete creative freedom while ensuring that we are not mocking the era.