THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tales have it that all the tearful adieu the voted out contestants are accorded on reality shows is a hoax, just part of the big show and triggered by no real friendship. But, Arrows, the music band formed by four fellow contestants of the 2007-2008 season of Idea Star Singer, spoofs those rumours. When the band takes off on Wednesday, it’s the song of friendship that will fill the air.
The foursome needs no introduction to the television-viewing Malayalis across the world. As contestants of Asianet’s mega reality show with a record-rating, Arun Gopan, Roshan, William Issac and Sudarshan have earned a place of pride in the hearts of audiences.
They join in a chorus to veto the theory of cut-throat competition in reality shows. ‘‘There may be competitive spirit among the participants, but our Star Singer team of 2007 captured the hearts of the audience with the bond that we shared,’’ says Arun Gopan, the singer who sports longish hair and cool spectacles. Roshan who later figured among the top fourteen contestants of Indian Idol agrees that they shared unique bonding compared ‘‘to the more professional and competitive atmosphere up in the north’’.
The four friends realized that they shared a similar wavelength even as the show was in progress. Each of them had been nurturing the dream of making it big on the music scene and thought a chorus will be better heard than solo refrains. But the idea of a joint venture had to be shelved for the two years that followed the show when all four were literally flying around to perform stage shows.
Arun Gopan cuts the long story short, ‘‘Finally, about six months ago, we decided to give it all a break and got together to put our dream on track. There are a lot of people who have lent us a helping hand. Thomas Chacko, an Idea Star Singer fan in the Gulf, helped us with a stage show in Doha in October 2009 called ‘First Night with Arrows’, which was like a fund-raiser for us. Rajeev Venkateswaran, a music lover in Alappuzha, who had supported Sudarshan (also a native of Alappuzha) when he was participating in the show, let us occupy his house near the banks of the Punnamada ‘Kayal’. Inspired by the Kuttanadan ambience, we set about composing the songs that formed our first album, ‘We are the one’.
Sudarshan fills in the details of the composing days, ‘‘We would head for the banks of the serene Punnmada Kayal in the afternoons, laze around just gazing at the lake and that’s when the tunes would take birth on their own.’’
He remembers a spooky incident from those days, ‘‘We thought we will make a song that will create the ambience of a haunted place. To get the mood right, we decided to go to Alappuzha beach late in the night. But William was dead against the late night adventure, but somehow we egged him on. But at the beach, however much we tried, he would not relax and settle into a mood to work. After 3-4 hours, we gave up and went back. The next day’s papers had the Paul Muthoot murder all over them. And William’s prophecy about the bad omen was proved right.’’
The album has five songs in it, the background score for which was done by Shaan, an upcoming singer and composer. On the launching day, the band will stage the first song they composed and which figures first in the album, ‘Swarasagaram’. The four hopeful youngsters, Arun, just the final exams short of becoming an Ayurveda doctor, and all the others with a degree in music, are keeping their fingers crossed for the D-Day. ‘‘We have songs that will appeal to all kinds of listeners and the songs will be aired on channels soon. The launch pad of Idea Star Singer has given us a head start, we hope people will continue to support us,’’ says Sudarshan.
The album is produced and marketed by one of the most sought-after banners, Saregama. The launch will take place at the SP Grand Days hotel in the city.
aswathy@expressbuzz.com