Exclusive! Composer Charan Raj: Vocal casting for songs is as important as the star cast of a film

Earlier this week, when the title track of the Telugu version of Sapta Sagaradaache Ello came out, called Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati, audiences were anxious to see if composer Charan Raj could repeat the magic of the original. If the response to the Telugu version is anything to go by, it seems that Charan not only managed to retain the soul of the track, but also made it sound just as good as the Kannada song. His masterstroke, said audiences, was that he retained Kapil Kapilan’s vocals and got brilliant lyrics by Poorna Chary, which matched the tune and the original song perfectly. With Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati’s soundtrack, Charan had told us that his aim was to ensure that it captures the soul of the music and that his compositions transport audiences into the world that’s been created in the film.

Exclusive! Charan Raj about Sapta Sagaradaache Ello's music: I'm Hemanth's instrument; give a musical translation to his ideas

Having the right voice talent onboard is something that Charan is quite particular about, which he’d discussed with OTTplay prior to the release of Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A. “Vocal casting is just as important as the star cast, as that is what brings freshness to a song. Having said that, you don’t need to always go looking for new voices; instead, you need to find the one that’s perfect for your requirement. When I am not composing, you will often find me browsing social media to check out different artistes. It’s a conscious and continuous process to discover not only singers, but instrumentalists and music producers too. Also, sometimes I share my music with the studios that I work with for recordings and ask them for feedback on whose voice might work best. Also, film music is very collaborative; everyone pitches in their ideas and finally, the composer captures all of it and presents it to audiences. To give you context, recently, I was recording an artiste called Arun Kamath and had given him the track version that I had sung for reference. During the recording session, he came up with so many harmonies that I hadn’t thought of in the track version. He was putting in his ideas, which was so magical,” Charan explains.

Read: Can’t get enough of Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’s soundtrack? Charan Raj has a treat for audiences

Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati Side A, starring Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Achyuth Kumar, Avinash, Yamuna Srinidhi, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Ramesh Indira and Sharath Lohithashwa, among others, is being released by People Media Factory in the Telugu version on September 22. The second instalment of the Hemanth M Rao film, side B, is releasing in the Kannada original version on October 20, for Dasara, with the Telugu version expected a week later on October 27.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello is high on music with 12 songs, says director Hemanth M Rao