Sean Roldan likes to compose for movies without watching them. The music director, who has been on a high over the last couple of months having worked on four films back to back, tells us that his ‘method’ is fairly simple. “Once I get a brief on the film, I like to sit and think...a lot,” he says. For instance, in the case of Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, which is partly a silent film, the onus of the music was tremendous. And the music brewing in his mind went on for two to three weeks before anything was written down or recorded. “Yeah but once that was done, I had my entire line up of songs and BGM ready to go in 10 days,” Sean tells us. Talk about a method composer. Did we mention that he’s all of 26?
“For me it’s about travelling with the movie, not making a name or a hit song,” says the newbie in the industry. He adds after a moment, “When given the liberty to imagine, I can go beyond the movie rather than be restricted by a visual.”
From Vaiyai Moodi Pesavum and it’s Malayalam equivalent Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram to another upcoming release this summer, Mundasapatti — it’s clear that directors think this youngster has a knack for comedy. But Sean’s plans are a lot bigger than fitting a niche.
After completing work on socio-political thriller Sathuranga Vettai recently, he says, “It’s been like a honeymoon period for me so far... but now I want to do films that contribute to society in some way. Entertainment alone is not enough.” Although he does admit later on, “I’ve been dying to compose music for a Michael Bay-style action flick. You know car chases, crashes, big bangs...” We guess it’s safe to assume he’s a Transformers fan!
So what’s next? Sean catches us by surprise when he responds, “I’m writing the script for Broadway type of musical in Tamil. Films are not going anywhere, right?”