Exclusive: "The biggest task when composing for a Shiva Rajkumar film is to not let the fans down," reckons J. Anoop Seelin

Music composer J. Anoop Seelin's repertoire has been growing more vibrant with each passing year. Through the years, he has striven hard to create a prominent niche for himself that today, the phrase "A J. Anoop Seelin Musical" has become one of the main draws for the audience to watch a film. The seasoned campaigner has managed to strike a good balance between small and big-budgeted movies in his decade-and-a-half-long career, and the year 2022, in particular, looks quite exciting for him. There's 'Thothapuri' and 'Ranganayaka' with his frequent collaborators Vijaya Prasad and Guruprasad (respectively) but with the mighty Bairagee, starring Shiva Rajkumar in the lead, too part of the list, there's a lot in store for the fans.   

Bairagee would only be the second time that Anoop Seelin is scoring for a film starring Shiva Rajkumar (the first being the 2019 film 'Rustum'). When quizzed about the pressures surrounding a project of such stature, Anoop states in full candor that while his approach as a music composer remains the same, one can't afford to drop the ball considering the veteran actor's many million fans.

"As a composer, you tend to be mindful of not letting the fans down when it comes to films like Bairagee. The soundtrack will have to feature all the commercial elements and yet be refreshing and new somehow - so, you try to strike that balance. And in the case of Bairagee, Shivanna's character is quite unique so his entry song had to really massy but the film also required a new kind of rhythm pattern. His intro song also has verses like Shivappa Kayo Tande so one can imagine the setup to be opulent and big - there were about 2000 junior artists involved in the making plus about 2500 members of the general public who had come to see him. That gives a fair as to what the overall soundscape would be like," shares Anoop Seelin in an exclusive chat.

While films like Bairagee pose new challenges, Anoop's sense of familiarity is sustained through his repeated collaborations with the funny men Guruprasad and Vijaya Prasad. With the former, the journey began with 'Mata' when he was the track singer and later became the composer on 'Eddelu Manjunatha'. 'Sidlingu' marked the beginning of his relationship with Vijaya Prasad and Anoop Seelin has remained the primary choice for both filmmakers throughout. But how does one score for comedy films and still retain a level of freshness? Anoop Seelin shares:

"The essence of music is quite limited when it comes to comedy because the viewer only cares for the punch line and nothing else. And your job as a composer isn't to underline that punch line with music but rather not embellish it. What you include right after the punch, in terms of music, is what matters and accentuates the comedic element. And with both Guruprasad and Vijaya Prasad, they don't make out-and-out comedies - their films have a strong emotional core so you are dabbling with a wide range of elements with their films".