Airavata Album: Kannadigarinda, Kannadigarigagi

The audio launch of the film will be on August 16 and according to the music director, the music as well as the singers are all natives of Karnataka.
Airavata Album: Kannadigarinda, Kannadigarigagi

Lacing its numbers with Kannada flavour and going beyond the usual sounds, music director V Harikrishna has brought in a native touch to the songs in the soon-to-be-released film Airavata starring Darshan. The audio launch of the film will be on August 16 and according to the music director, the music as well as the singers are all natives of Karnataka. “All songs are by Kannadigas and for Kannadigas. We have roped in only Kannada singers belonging to the state,” says Harikrishna.

The lyrics of the songs have been penned by director AP Arjun and Yogaraj Bhat. Singers include Hemanth, Shashank, Seshagiri, Sunita S, Santosh Venky, Chintan Vikas, Indu Nagaraj and the music director himself.

Interestingly, actor Darshan and Harikrishna share a good rapport with each other, having been associated with each other in many films. The music director who has given a series of hits usually matches the tunes to situations and connects them to the characters, especially to the key notes in the hero’s role in the film.

 “I work as the fan of the hero and not as the film’s music director. That’s how I try and match my songs to the actor’s personality,” says Harikrishna.

Actor Darshan too vouches for the music director’s talent and their close association.

He says, “Harikrishna has brilliant knowledge of re-recording. I don’t want to compare him with anybody but I find him to be the best re-recorder and the best example is my film Kranti Veera Sangolli Rayanna. While we put in our acting talent in the film, he actually fills the gaps with re-recording. That’s his speciality.”

On singer Hemanth, Darshan says, “I am very particular about him singing a song for me because I love his voice. I have always considered him as my voice right from my film Majestic,” he says.

According to Darshan, his past experiences have taught him that the audio rights cannot be sold to just any company because most of them prefer songs sung by a singer from a different state who is a popular brand.

“But since Harikrishna himself has a company - Dbeats we went ahead with only Kannada singers. This is the first time we have done this for any of my films,” he says.

The songs

City Express got one-liners of four songs from the album, which are all peppy numbers 

■  1+6 huttid date... 6.3 belididu height... ee yugada white elephant...evane hosa government : This song is written by AP Arjun and is the introductory song of Darshan and describes a cop’s courage and his dashing qualities.

■  There was a ajji, halliyalli....Avar mommagalu nonsense : This song is penned by Bhatru and is a track where the hero teases his love in a romantic way.

■  Naan acchaa Kannada medium... Kakakikikookookayamu : The song is written by Bhatru and is an item number featuring Bollywood actress Mahek Chahal.

■  Gudi mele gante... gante pakka roadu... roadu mele chakra.. chakradmele bus:  It is a tappangunchi song in which lyrics written by Bhatru are sung in a fast pace with too many words. The track has been shot in Switzerland.

The challenges of dancing on a set

According to Darshan, he makes sure to hear all the songs before going to the sets so that he catches the rhythm.

“I am not a good dancer. So, listening to the fast numbers helps me to do my best. Though Kalaimaster regularly assists me, I am always conscious when it comes to dance steps. I am free with tappagunchi numbers but I am not comfortable with western dance,” he says.

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