CHENNAI : Recuperating after a bypass surgery, Guhaprasath had to keep his commitment to rendering nine songs including a title song. Such was the commitment of the music director, it left Sivapprasadh, the director and actor of the play Vallalar, in tears. The drama was presented on the auspicious Tamil New Year’s Day last month.
Recalling that poignant moment, the 53-year-old composer of stage plays said he possibly derived the strength from Vallalar, a poet known for his integrity and the desire that the poor had to be fed first before engaging him in a conversation.
Out-of-the-box ideas
Among a handful of music composers in the world of Tamil stage plays, Guhaprasath has been calling the shots for well over three decades. Predictably, he is in his home territory in crime and historical subjects. For the genial man, social scripts are fine but the disturbing aspect is in the scripts that lack the ammunition to pep him up.
Ahead of his preparation for Mallik Kafur and Pattinathar, two dramas of contrasting styles and of different centuries, slated in the next month, Guhaprasath feels he is in the best phase of his career. “Of the 12 dramas in the recent Kodai Nataka Vizha, I was part of six projects which is self-explanatory of my saleability factor. Having seen everything for decades, there is a longing in me to be part of scripts which are challenging to push my creative side. For any composer, the desire is to put his thinking cap on. We need writers who think differently and set the platform for the directors to think out of the box. At the end of the day, it is teamwork where one thing leads to another. Music is the essence and soul of any play. There are the magical moments where I had underscored in sync with the scenario on stage,” he explains.
Recalling a poignant moment in the play Piriyamudan Appa, Guhaprasath said he had an insight into the script where the son was not aware of the demise of his father. “I could have easily played the pathos feel but the catch was in the audience being aware of the happening. Only the son was in the dark and the message had to be conveyed through a musical sound. Here, less was more and the audience could connect with that. A magical moment on screen deserved the little nuances with which the scene got the coating it merited,” he shares.
For Guhaprasath, the early interest was kindled when he was in half pants. “My father, the late K Subramanian, was a musical composer in troupes of Sivaji Ganesan Nataka Manram, Seva Creations (SV Sahasranamam) and T S Seshadri. The other inspiration was my mother, a music teacher, blessed with extraordinary skills in all facets of music. My schooling days in Padma Seshadri were filled with happy memories, with due importance given to the extra-curricular activities,” he recalls.
In his blood
Guhaprasath feels fortunate to be the son of music-loving parents. “I was thrown deep into the sea when just in class eight, learning guitar and the theoretical aspects of Western music. The talent in me blossomed under the expert hands of teacher Saks Diwakar. Incredibly, I could bring the desired effect of a guitar with the support of an amplifier and a small speaker. That was the golden period of Tamil theatre with roughly a play on each day of the month. Running from one sabha to another and from one venue to another on days when there was more than one play had looked too good to be true, now,” he shares.
Rewinding the time when music composers were only sought for historical and devotional plays, Guhaprasath says it was by chance that he got the opening for a social play. “Mother Creations for their new play Anega Asirvatham needed the expertise of a keyboard operator, who could give different perspectives to the script in the musical score of Kicha. The desired effect through the keyboard was recorded directly on the tape with connotations of Western instruments. The music was talked about long after the show, which opened the doors for me. Those were days when the job was done with recording. The word-of-mouth ensured a pleasing workload, resulting in getting a foothold in All India Radio. It was the dream of every composer to be part of AIR’s plays which had a huge fan following,” he reminisces.
Guhuprasath remembers his debut as a composer for a play by Mother Creations. “Ambika Amaravathi was all about a talented lyricist, going bonkers at the sheer reach of his compositions. His dreams had taken wings and there was every reason for him to rejoice at the happenings. Bringing in the desired effect through the keyboard left the audience in a trance. That opened the floodgates to my journey in theatre, which was in an oscillation phase till then,” he reveals.
The process is the focus
Guhaprasath vividly remembers the one piece of advice from his father. “Leave nothing to chance, was that golden word from him. The preparation has to begin from the script stage and it is imperative to go through the whole script. Next comes the scenes which have to be in sync with the music. From my long experience, I have a fair idea of the light and sound needed for a scene. Once it is registered in the mind, it boils down to the execution. Everything had to be in place in the grand rehearsal,” he shares.
Of a disturbing moment in a play in the recent Kodai Nataka Vizha, Guhaprasath says he was a helpless spectator when the lead actor failed to have his mobile phone in his shirt pocket. “The bell was screaming as I had to play that, not bargaining for the actor’s faux pas. The actor had to scramble on the stage to get a mobile phone but the damage was done.
Those are moments seen as part and parcel of one’s profession. All the same, an avoidable exercise from the audience’s point of view,” he notes. A moment to cherish for Guhaprasath was the effect of composing for the play Nethra Darisanam which had just three characters — a violinist and singer (both visually challenged), and a music composer. “All the feelings had to be conveyed through music. I feasted on the background score, giving the platform to a female singer for the songs. Rarely, one gets a chance to exhibit prowess in a musical subject. The audience’s reception is important, as such scripts stay in the mind for eternity. More often than not, the job is to connect the audience with the script. As the saying, well begun is half done, the composers do get an inkling early on in the play that the music will do wonders in the script. But, such plays are a rarity, as the writers are unsure of the reach and not inclined to test the IQ of only a section of the audience,” he informs.
Mindset over money
Another play which bowled the composer all ends up was Thirumugatrupadai where the title song needed the depth of the prowess of Lord Muruga. That number came straight from my heart and I surprised myself with the pitch which had the power to slice through a wall. You can call it Divine blessings where the composer is showered with unstinted praise for an out-of-the-ordinary effort. In my view, every composer is blessed when such opportunities knock at their doors,” he shares.
Awards had been a telling commentary on the strike rate of Guhaprasath. Every sabha had felt honoured to honour him. Not the least being Kartik Fine Arts, where not a year had gone by without Guhaprasath closing his hand on the trophy.
For the judges, their job had been made easy when the audience give vent to their feelings about the defining moments of a play. Oh, the man is on the job, had been the refrain of the ones, ticking the right boxes with a pen and paper.
On the dearth of composers, Guhaprasath expresses that the silver lining is in stage plays getting due recognition in the media, in recent times. The disturbing note is the lack of patronage for ticketed events. “For the audience’s mindset to change, he has to get his money’s worth. Tickets could be reasonably priced with basic facilities in a theatre. Corporates could play a role but they should have some stake. Venues like the refurbished Kalaivanar Arangam are screaming to be paid attention. When you give quality play in a proven venue, theatre buffs are sure to play their part in the success. Is it, not the bottom line when so much effort is put in for the curtains to go up? Having smelled the flavour of a Nasha, the magical moment sweeps you under the carpet, the moment the bell sound is heard before the start. Nothing can beat that euphoric moment — call it madness if you like,” Guhaprasath signs off with a nod. You could not agree with him more — but there is a method to it.