If you didn’t know him, you’d never guess that this quiet man composed the insanely fast-paced Nakka Mukka song from the 2008 Tamil superhit, Kadhalil Vizhundhen. With just sheer will and a single-minded focus, Vijay Antony has become one of the most sought-after music directors in the Tamil film industry.
Antony says he wanted to become a music director since his college days. “From Palayamkottai, I came to Chennai to join Loyola College. I did two undergraduate courses, but completed only one.”
Though he came to Loyola in 1995, his actual college life began much earlier. After completing class 12 (1992), he joined St Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai. “I enrolled in BSc Physics, but never completed the degree as I had too many arrears,” he laughs.
It was at this college that Antony discovered his potential to compose music. “I used to participate in all inter-collegiate culturals just so that I can bunk college. I’d compose my own songs and sing them on stage. Much to my surprise, I won every competition,” he adds.
He participated in many state-level competitions and won prizes. “After three years in St Xavier’s, I decided that my career is only in music and approached a cassette company that produces devotional songs. They told me to learn music first,” adds Antony.
With his mind set on music, Antony came to Chennai. But raised by a single mother, it was an uphill task to convince her about his career choice. “When she finally relented, I joined the undergraduate programme in visual communication at Loyola College in 1995.”
He had a packed schedule with mornings dedicated to keyboard classes and evenings spent in learning various musical instruments. “I also worked as an assistant sound engineer in my friend’s studio,” he says. He had numerous crushes at Loyola but they fizzled out. “I’ve proposed to so many girls but no one
accepted it.”
While he participated in all college culturals at St Xavier’s, Antony never attended even a single cultural fest at Loyola. “I knew I would become a music director one day. So, it was necessary to prove myself in any competitions,” he says.
Eight years after graduation he got his break as a music director with the Jiiva-Sandhya starrer, Dishyum (2006). The songs, Dailamo and Nenjankoottil were chartbusters. He has also sung many songs like Suppose
Unnai (Sukran, 2006), Nakka Mukka (Kadhalil Vizhundhen, 2008) and Aathichoodi (TN01 AL 4777, 2009), which have become a rage among the youth.
So what do his friends say about his success? “When Nakka Mukka released, my friends couldn’t believe I had composed the music. Most of them are now
humming Aval Appadi Onrum Azhagillai from Angadi Theru (2010). They’ve always supported me”.
— umakannan@expressbuzz.com
Extempore songwriter
“I still remember how I used to compose music and write my own lyrics on-the-spot at various college competitions. Once at an Anthakshari, competition, I started singing my own songs. Only after five or six rounds did the audience realise that none of them were film songs. However, I still won the competition.” Vijay will be playing a lead role in the upcoming flick, Naan directed by Jeeva Shankar