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| An informal chat with Vidyasagar |
 With his grandpa a 'Vidhwan' at the court of the king of Vijayanagaram, his father a musician who could play eight instruments, it was but expected that Vidyasagar would enter the music scene. And he did it at the age of four, when he began learning vocal classical music. An Andhraite, brought up in Chennai, Vidyasagar however found his slot in Malayalam films for which he has won four state awards. He has since composed for about 200 films, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and one in Hindi ('Durga'). With the success of the Tamil film 'Dhil', the Vikram-Laila starrer, and 'Run', the Madhavan-Meera Jasmin starrer, the film's music too was talked about. And now Vidyasagar is having a second 'Run' in Tamil. A chat with the music director.
On his training: At the age of four I learnt vocal classical music. When I was eight-years-old I joined Dhanraj Master. In fact both A. R. Rehman and I had joined on the same day. I learnt guitar for 3-4 years there, then the piano. Then I did my seventh grade in theory. At the age of eleven, I was a regular musician for many music directors. I could play for all languages because then, most films had their recording at Chennai. Today I can play about ten instruments.
On his entry as a music director: I wanted to compose my own tunes and have someone else play them. I'd assisted various music directors and even done ghost music for some of them. So I had the experience and wanted to compose independently. I signed my first film in Tamil in 1989 titled 'Poomanam' directed by Rajasekhar (Robert). I had a good rapport with actor-director Arjun, and composed for many of his earlier films.
On his Malayalam films: I composed for my first Malayalam film in 1996. It was for the film 'Azhagiya Ravanan' where
Mammootty played the hero. It won me the state award. Since then I've won four state awards from the Kerala Government. In 2001, four of the films for which I had composed music went for the National award selection. I'm thrilled that I was a part of it. I was busy in Malayalam from 1996-2001. Then the Tamil film 'Dhil' was released and I became busy in Tamil too. It was only after a gap of one-and-a-half-years that I could go back to Malayalam. I composed for 'Meesha Madhavan' the Dileep-Kavya Madhavan starrer. The film is the biggest hit of the times and my music too became very popular. The Malayalee audience prefer soft melodies with a classical blend and still maintain their nativity.
 On the Tamil scene: Though I've done many Tamil films earlier, it was 'Dhil' that brought me back into the reckoning. Now I'm scoring for the same team of Dharani-Vikram for their 'Dhool' too. I had signed some big banners like Surya Movies 'Run'. I'd done director Lingusamy's 'Anandam' and he suggested my name for 'Run' too. The film's music is a hit and it has boosted my stock.
On his other films: I've composed for the Ajit starrer 'Villian', my third film with Ajit. I consider 'Anbe Sivam', a prestigious offer. For I'm working in a Kamal Haasan film. Further, I was the one who'd composed for director
Sunder C.'s first film 'Murai Maman'. And now we're coming together again in 'Anbe Sivam'. I have 'Iyarkai' produced by actor Prabhu's cousin Kumar. There are smaller films like 'Pallavan', 'Well Done', 'Anbe', 'Power of Women'.
Lyrics versus tune: For me, lyrics are more important than the tune. I want my music to be melodious and the
listeners to enjoy them. I prefer setting tune to lyrics already written.
On cutting a private album: I want to, but it needs a lot of time. I've to take a concept first and then work on it. Probably it will materialise next year. I'll take a concept other than love and patriotism.
On the singers he's introduced: I've given a break to many singers like Harish Raghavendra, Pushpa Sriram, Sriram Parthasarathy, Gopal Rao, Manickam Vinayagam, and Srivardhini. I select a voice according to the situation.
His success slogan: Success doesn't depend on how many films you do, but for how long you've managed to sustain in the industry!
Malini Mannath
published on 29th Oct 2002
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