Harshavardhan Rameshwar Interview: Scoring for psycho dramas like Anomie is tougher job than doing for action and hero films

Composer Harshavardhan Rameshwar, known for his works in Animal and Arjun Reddy, is all set to make his Malayalam debut with the upcoming psychological thriller drama Anomie, starring Bhavana and Rahman in pivotal roles.

“The team had shot the film entirely, and then approached me. So, it was easy for me to score, because the whole film and visuals were right in front of me already before beginning my work. Sujith Sarang who shot the film came up with visually stunning work, and it was a new kind of experience to score music and songs for a film which has already shot these, unlike in other films where we first score and then film,” Harshvardhan says OTTplay.

Harshavardhan Rameshwar on scoring for Anomie, making Malayalam debut

Having worked in Hindi and Telugu films, Harshvardhan calls it a new and refreshing experience working in Anomie, his Malayalam debut. “It was challenging to crack the soundscape of the film. Director Riyas Marath was open to explore and wanted something international with mix of hip-hop, EDM. He wanted something hybrid. At the same time, even the acting felt very natural and real, almost like the camera captured what really was happening. We tried different genres like hip-hop, Futurepop,” the composer mentions.

Anomie will be the new addition to the many psychological thrillers from Malayalam like Anjaam Pathiraa, Thalavan , and Bougainvillea .

Harshvardhan says unlike in Animal, in which the soundtrack featured a mix of old songs, and collaboration with multiple artists, Anomie did not witness any such module of scoring. “We worked around each song and score with a fresh take, and being a psychological thriller, we had to uplift every scene with the score. There are about 3 songs so far, and we might add one more.”

‘It is a pressure for composers to score for the reel culture’

A common challenge that composers of today’s times face is to make sure there is a hook line or catchy 15 seconds in songs, to make sure it goes viral on social media that banks on reels. Harshvardhan acknowledges this as he says, “It is a pressure for composers to score for reel culture, because you need to make that 15 seconds resonate so much with the social media culture. Back in the days, that was not there because it was live instruments and recording. Now, we have to sit and create sounds which will cater to social media. It becomes electronic as well.”

So, does Anomie music also follows such a trend? The composer answers that whether the director or him, they did not go beyond hook lines. “We wanted a good song and did not go after hook lines. I think that has made us arrive on good music.” The Malayalam film is also different for Harshvardhan who has earlier scored background for heroes like Ranbir Kapoor (Animal), Shahid Kapoor (Kabir Singh) and Vijay Devarakonda (Arjun Reddy). In Anomie, which is completely genre based, the composer says, “Those films rid on heroes’ shoulders and the films were also character driven. But in Anomie, there are many characters. While in Animal and Arjun Reddy, your intention is to elevate the hero, in this case, it is purely based the scene and characters present. The story is the hero in Anomie.” Having said that, Harshvardhan says that scoring for a drama is tougher job than scoring for hero-elevated films.

Besides Anomie, Harshvardhan is working on two other projects; Spirit featuring Prabhas under Sandeep Vanga directorial and Prithviraj’s Nobody. “I am going to take the story on priority and score. Each of these films come from different school of thought, and it is good to have a balance. I am also looking forward to release of Anomie.”

Wrapping up the conversation, Harshvardhan says he is looking forward to release his previously scored tunes. “I would like to release somewhere on my channel, one by one. I feel it is a right time because a lot of composers are also doing it. There are some singles which I had scored and waited for right situations. Now, I want to release on my platform,” he concludes.