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One of the hit movies, which is presently
capturing the imagination of the Tamil audience is Amarkkalam. Besides its hero Ajith who
is the heart throb of teenage girls, the movie is also noted for its songs which are often
featured in the top of the hit chart in many satellite channels. Though the music director
of this particular movie is little known, his previous movies released earlier have had
songs, which are talked about, among the public. At 39 Barathwaj tastes the fruits of
success. But this is not without a struggle and totally renouncing his earlier career as a
Chartered Accountant.  A native of Ravanasamudhram, (a small village in
Tirunelveli district), Barathwaj spent much of his younger days in Delhi, where he had his
education. "Along side my regular studies, I learned the three major forms of
classical music, Hindustani, Carnatic and Western. Initially, this learning took place
from the courses offered by Delhi University and Delhi School of Music," says
Barathwaj. Though he started practicing Chartered Accountancy, his interests clearly
lay in creating his own music. The quest for creativity was shaped through his work
as a singer/composer at AIR and Doordarshan, Delhi. "They had copy right problem in
singing other's compositions. So I was left with the task of singing and composing my own
music. Of course, it was very difficult to win the acknowledgement of many. But I was
convinced as much as my producers and technicians, that I have something unique to offer
as a musician," says Barathwaj.
 Bharathwaj's calculation was slowly shifting from balancing the accounts to
searching for the best place to start his new career in music. His first and obvious
choice was Chennai where every musician moves along with the success and failure of the
film industry. This is also partly because of his Tamil descent. In 1986, the Chennai
scene was totally dominated by one name - Illayaraja, who had the final say in deciding
the fate of a movie. "Those were the initial years when I worked with Ashok Leyland
and was involved in music for many devotional albums. I knew it was a long way to go and
the task before me was arduous," recounts Barathwaj. By 1989, there was a small and
quiet invisible change in his career towards composing jingles. He worked extensively with
many established ad agencies. The opportunity to score music for the Tele serial
‘Udal Poorul Anandhi’ beamed in Doordarshan brought him a step closer to the
silver screen. He went on to do 22 Tele serials for all the major Tamil channels, which
can still be seen after more than 1000 episodes.
The break for Barathwaj came in the Telugu field. The movie
'Sogosu Chooda Tharama' became an instant hit and Barathwaj became busy there. He was
booked for 13 films in a row, followed by a couple of movies in Kannada. The
enormous success of Barathwaj caught the attention of the producers in Tamil. Very soon,
the first offer came from Venkateshwarayalia for the film 'Kadhal Mannan' in 1998. The
film had hit songs such as Mettu Thedi, and Unnai Partha Pinbudhan, which are much talked
about even today. The fruition of Kadhal Mannan was followed by offers from
K. Balachandar's Kavithalaya. Barathwaj went on to work for their movies Pooveli and
Rojavanam. "I think my initial test with the Tamil audience is over. But, the next
task is to get myself established as a quality musician," says Barathwaj.
 As a composer, Barathwaj's imagination seems to reach higher plains when he
scores soft and melodious numbers. "Yes, I am in fact a melody man. It is because I
believe that the effectiveness of a song is particularly tremendous when you give soft and
melodious texture to it. Also, it gives a better feel of a situation which I should convey
as a film musician," explains Barathwaj. He also owes the melody aspect of the music,
to some of the great names of the Hindi music world, such as Roshan, Madan Mohan, S. D.
Barman, etc., whose music he relished and grew with. His compositions are not, without
innovations. He is setting a new trend in film music, thereby introducing some unusual
elements in the song sequences. This is certainly proving successful, as these songs have
a lingering effect. For example, in his first movie Kadhal Mannan, he made the famous
music director turned character artist M S Viswanathan (MSV) sing one of the songs. MSV is
still remembered for his brassy voice is much revered by many of his old fans. And so the
song immediately stuck a chord with the old timers.
 In his latest movie Amarkkalam, he has tried out a similar technique by making
the heroine of the movie sing one of the songs. In the same film, he has composed a song
with 90 lines sung nonstop by S P Balasubramaniam. Critics say that this song has a slight
resemblance to one of the Hindi pop albums. Barathwaj totally refutes the allegations that
on many occasion music directors steal the tunes and beats for already existing songs.
"We are always under pressure from the directors to compose a similar number to that
of a hit. But I would say that the best music directors will not budge
to the pressure, because they know very well, copying means digging their own
graves," remarks Barathwaj. He also explains that this 90-line song is composed
keeping the situation in mind. In that scene the hero is plunged in an emotional battle
when he is reminded about his past. The continuous
movement of the song is to emphasise the hero's struggle.
 His latest projects are Partheen Rasitheen, a movie by Screen Moviemakers. This
film is also the third for Barathwaj with director Charan after Kadhal Mannan and
Amarkkalam. Barathwaj is also taking up re- recording for an English movie 'American
Dream' which captures a young Indian in America who
suffers a series of cultural shocks in his quest to find a new life there. The movie,
directed by Gopi Charan will be fully shot in the US.
Like many in the North, the Tamil audiences decide the
merit of a movie on the originality with which its music and songs are being composed. In
this context, the hit movies of Kadhal Mannan and Amarkkalam caught the imagination of
many due to their quality music. Indeed, these songs still feature in the popular music
programmes of the satellite channels. The vigor with which Barathwaj works, putting the
few successes behind is a clear indication that his little triumphs are not mere flashes
in the pan.This capable music director, if he churns out consistent hits, would surely
achieve his dream of joining the cream in a few years time.
L. Subramani
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