HYDERABAD: Pursuing two passions at the same time in itself is a Herculean task. And so is finding it in yourself to catch up with forgotten dreams. Kalyan Vasanth who was a household sweetheart during his reign in the singing reality shows of the yester years like Paadutha Thiyaga and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, now made a comeback with the Carnatic cover of the hit number Inkem Inkem Inkem Kavale. As it turns out, there was a lot more than just music brewing for this youngster in his hiatus. “I have always been involved in music throughout my life. But it wasn’t ever commercial. The decision to pick up music again commercially was intuitive. It wasn’t something I planned beforehand,” says Kalyan.
The inception
Kalyan apparently was always keen to reinvent songs even as he hummed on his own. He says, “I once went to a live music gig at a lounge where my friends, The Jammers (Telugu cover band) were performing. They called me on the stage to sing one song and I picked a Carnatic song which garnered quite some applause. I realised then that Carnatic renditions are something people actually do enjoy.” Taking forward that thought he went on to apply that to pop culture by adding a Carnatic touch to a hit song: Inkem Inkem Inkem Kavale from the film Geetha Govindam. “When I sing a song, as any singer would, I come up with sangathis or aalaaps that could’ve worked with it. And after the gig wanting to sing again rekindled in me,” he confesses. But instead of going the routine way he thought of a new path. “Fusing Carnatic with Rock or mashing up two languages was already done and dusted. I thought because I have a good grip on Carnatic singing, I put that and my then favourite song together and ended up with the cover,” he shares.
The team
Just coming up with the song wasn’t enough. Packaging it to appeal to music-lovers was also apparently a taxing job. “It took us over a month for first getting our song ready with the instrumentation, recording, mixing, mastering and shooting the entire thing. Whether it was our instrumentalists or the DOP they all wanted everything to be perfect,” he huffs. The team of thirteen including the musicians and the technical team worked hard on every detail he confesses. Once they had the product, it wasn’t long before, Aditya Music, the label which produced the song published the cover on their official channel. “It’s only been four days since we released and we are already getting a lot of love. The movie’s producer and director both shared the song and said that they enjoyed it as much as the original itself,” says the 27-year-old.
The hiatus
So what did Kalyan do all these years away from music? “Music never really left me. I was still performing in traditional concerts and pursuing formal training and certifications in Carnatic music. But I realised my passion for filmmaking in these years,” he says. Despite working a corporate job after engineering, he made time - and excuses - to work in the movies. “I was credited as an assistant director in Baahubali in which I worked for one schedule,” he shares. But as his love for filmmaking grew, his pursuit to connect with the right people to draw him closer to his dream of making a movie grew as well. With the help of a few industry professionals, he got in touch with biggies like RGV, Trivikram and Puri and got to show his work as well. And as fate has it, he now works at Puri Jagannath’s office, fondly called The Cave. He believes that he is capable of combining his two passions effectively. “Whenever I think of stories I also think of songs or music that would elevate a certain scene or emotion. So what I know of music helps me in getting a wholesome picture of my vision,” he shares. Filmy dreams aside, ask him whether he will be coming up with more covers he says, “Covers are mostly to grab the attention of the audience. But I look forward to creating original music soon.”
— Srividya Palaparthi
srividya.palaparthi@newindianexpress.com
@PSrividya53