CHENNAI: The story of R Raghavendra’s transformation to Sean Roldan is intriguing. Growing up in a family of classical musicians, it was difficult for the young music composer to disown his identity and try to do something different. His father, Srimushnam Raja Rao, is a renowned mridangam artiste. “Hailing from that background, I knew I’d be identified in a specific way. That disturbed me. I wanted to be a nobody. Also, I strongly felt that changing my name will help others change their perceptions towards me,” he says.
“In general, people draw parallels between intelligence and Carnatic music. I don’t like that.” In hindsight, does he think it has all paid off? “Pretty much, yes,” he laughs.
The conversation shifts to Pa Paandi. “Dhanush approached me because he liked my work in Joker,” he adds. Sean loved the story and wasn’t going to miss the project.
“I am a big fan of Dhanush from his Kaadhal Kondein and Pudhupettai days. If somebody takes 48 hours to do something, he finishes that in four seconds. He’s incredible and a child at heart. I often tell him that he’s the Leonardo DiCaprio of India,” he says.
How does Dhanush respond to that? Sean laughs. “He doesn’t take me seriously.”
A section of the audience has already begun comparing him with Ilaiyaraaja. “It isn’t a pressure, but gives me a sense of responsibility. Raaja sir is phenomenal. What I like about him is consistency. He was able to make music both for the common man and the elite. I don’t think I can never be him. People know that too. I guess they are saying this because my music reminds them of his,” he says.
Growing up, Sean also listened to a lot of AR Rahman. “During the 90s, he was associated with my dad. At home, we only had one cassette of Roja. The rest were all of classical music. I’ve lost count of the number of times I must have listened to that album.”
He admits to a lot of Rahman influences in his music. “I also like MSV sir a lot,” he adds.
Sean, however, originally wanted to become a write. His maternal grandfather Sandilyan was a renowned Tamil novelist. “When I told my family about my ideas, they told me to focus instead of classical music. I, however, wanted more. After some time, they realised I was keen on what I had started doing,” he says.
He believes that there are two approaches to music. “One, in which you make personal explorations into music, and the other, through which you attempt to satisfy the needs of others. Many have repeatedly told me that songs like Ilaiya Nila and Raja Raja Sozhan Naan aren’t being composed anymore. I want to change this, and with Pa Paandi, there was an opportunity. I unlearned everything and worked hard on my basics. Though I was interested in complex tunes and sophistication, I decided to stay away from that for this film,” says this composer, who, for the longest time, would shut himself in a room to make music.
“During those days, I wasn’t a busy musician. Now, I can compose anywhere. I don’t have to go to Bangkok or Sydney for this,” he smiles.
He suddenly turns philosophical. “I have come to a point where I know me and don’t know me. I’ve realised that everything is an illusion. I feel energised when I listen to Bob Marley or a Muthuswami Dikshitar kriti. I may sound like a hypocrite, but I assure you, I am not,” he says.
“My biggest strength is that when I do something horrible, I have no problem admitting it. I realise that not everything that comes out of me is gold. I’m fortunate to have worked with amazing technicians filmmakers like Raju Murugan. When he did Joker, my main worry was that I shouldn’t insult the film with my cranky music.”
Sean, who has a number of projects in his kitty including VIP-2 and Mariyappan (Aishwarya Dhanush’s upcoming directorial venture), remembers feeling “spiritual” when he hugged Raj Kiran and Rajinikanth.
“Every time I get their blessings, I feel great. I am a sucker for positive vibes and so is Dhanush. We both appreciate the simple things in life,” he says.