Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, it is nothing but music that is keeping Arjun Janya busy. The music director, who had experienced some health issues due to a blockage in his heart, is currently on a recovery mode, and he says the lockdown has only come as an advantage to him. With about 15 projects in hand, Arjun is neck-deep in work, making music in the comfort of his house-studio in Bengaluru and without much distraction.
“Music has kept me busy, and all of it is happening amid a lot of peace. As a music director, the problem I would usually face was meeting deadlines. When the makers plan a song release, it puts me under pressure to work overnight. Sometimes, I would get just 15 days to complete the re-recording to meet the target of the release date. This is not the case now. There is no rush, and that is helping me try out more creativity,” says Arjun Janya, who is juggling composing music and rerecording for a handful of projects, for which shooting has been completed.
These include Darshan-starrer Roberrt, directed by Tharun Sudhir; Prem’s Ek Love Ya; Kotigobba 3 starring Sudeep and directed by Shiva Karthik; Yogaraj Bhat’s Gaalipata 2; Vikram Ravichandran’s debut, Trivikrama; Sharan’s Avatar Purusha; Rajasthan Diaries made in Kannada and Marathi; and Sheetal Shetty’s directorial, Window Seat.
“Sitting in my studio, I have managed to record songs with singers like Shreya Ghoshal, Shankar Mahadevan and Vijay Prakash, among others. I am also completing the background score and editing for a couple of films. All the time on my hands is also allowing me to experiment with music on different instruments,” says Arjun Janya, who is dividing his hours between work and spending time with this family. “This lockdown has also helped me bond with my daughter, which is something I was missing because of work,” he says.