'With Freak Penne, I wanted to buck the age-old trend of our songs having poetic lyrics'

Sathyajith is only 23 but the very first film song that he penned and sang has already crossed 11 million views on YouTube. While the track –

Freak Penne

– from the movie

Oru Adaar Love

has had its fair share of detractors, its surging popularity cannot be denied.

In conversation with the singer and songwriter, who has two more tracks lined up in the movie:

Your first song Freak Penne has crossed 12 million views, but it has also got its share of criticism. Is any of it something that you had foreseen?
I expected a lot of criticism as we were bucking the trend and trying something new. I knew that there would be resistance because in Malayalam we have always adhered to a set of prescribed rules in terms of how the songs and lyrics must be. With my songs, I wanted to change that.

But when a lot of people posted their negative comments and disliked the video, I was obviously hurt. As a creator of a song, I believe the likes and dislikes matter more than the number of views.

What was heartening though was that though there were a lot of negative comments on the first day, many started supporting the song from then on. That delighted me. It’s not often that people outrightly support a song on social media, so that was exciting to see.

Omar Lulu had said that the song was initially not part of the film. When did he choose to include it?Most of the cast and crew of the film were chosen from social media and auditions. After the first round of auditions, they picked me but were unable to reach me. However, the movie got delayed by a few days because the cameraman was unwell and that’s when they reached out to me again. They met me in Thrissur and Omarikka said that they had seen my previous works that included covers of various songs. He said that he was confident about my talent and wanted original songs that I haven’t released on social media yet.

I had written and composed Freak Penne almost five years ago. It just had a basic tune and I played it out for him. He has this uncanny knack for judging if a song will work or not. After listening to the track, he said that even though there’s no situation for the song in the script, he will include it. He took the decision even before the song Manikya Malaraaya was released and became a huge hit.

How was it collaborating with music director Shaan Rahman for the song?I felt confident after Omarikka told me he will include Freak Penne in the film. He then asked me who my favourite music director in Malayalam was and I named Shaan Rahman. That’s when he revealed that Shaan was in fact part of our film and that just doubled my confidence because I was sure that no one would be better suited than him to compose the music for the song.

I was nervous when I first met him. I am not from the film industry and I didn’t know how I had to talk to him or how to take his suggestions. But he put me at ease quickly and even before recording, we talked for a long time to get rid of all my fears. That helped finish the recording in one take.

Lyrically also he liked the song and assured me that it will be a blast. When we combined his tune with mine, the song just went up a notch.

You are singing two more tracks in the movie. How different are those?One track is again a trendsetter but it goes with the story unlike Freak Penne which is a standalone song. The song is about Plus 2 students’ lifestyle. It’s got a rap style with words that people use in their daily conversations. I am intent on using that style in my lyrics because it is fresh, easy to sing along and understand too. If you look at the songs in our industry, melodies as well as fast tracks have had poetic lyrics. I wanted to change that.

The third song, which is the title track, is again rap but the lyrics has the literary touch. We haven’t tried anything different with the track.
Earlier, songs used to be made to suit the film’s narrative. But what’s the current style?This way the musician can showcase his unique style. If you look at the Tamil film music scene, Anirudh Ravichander and Hip Hop Tamizha have managed to create a niche with their styles. For films they compose, there would only be two or three songs that go hand in hand with the story. The other songs would have no connection with the story and would be used as trendsetting tracks. The producers and directors have given them a free rein to do that. This allows them to express their creativity freely and as they have the space to do that, they have been able to create their own identity. Consequently, the makers now have confidence in them that they can consistently come up with chartbusters.

You are also acting in the movie, which has suddenly created expectations. Does that put pressure on the cast?We are all under a bit of pressure but we also know that we can overcome the burden of expectations. It’s the first film for almost all of us and hence we are all putting in our very best. Most of the cast is between the age of 18 and 23 and were selected because of their talent. So, we all have our own expectations to deal with and want this movie to succeed. When degrading comments come our way, we will obviously be hurt. But we have learnt to deal with it too.

Tell us about your life before Oru Adaar Love?I grew up in Karukachal, Kottayam. It’s a village, and cinema is a dream for everyone there because it’s something we thought was beyond our reach. I have been trying to realise that dream since I was 17. There has been a lot of opposition from my family and friends but I have worked hard to get here.

I have done jobs as a labourer as well as a video editor. I have always wanted to make music albums and I was hoodwinked by many who promised me that they would help me out in return for my help in editing their videos. I used to save the money I earned as a labourer but whenever I got a video editing assignment, I usually didn’t look at the monetary benefit but rather focused on how much experience I could gain from the job.

My family never had the financial capability to send me to a college where I could learn sound engineering. They wanted me to earn a degree and then pursue music. That’s how I got into the Government Polytechnic College, Kottayam, but my passion for music was greater and so I dropped out of college when I was 19. However, I still have the belief that I can study further. After two or three years, I will pursue academics.