KOCHI: Reality show singers of all kinds can be found a dime a dozen these days. But when one thinks of soulful singing, the picture that springs to the mind is that of dreamy-eyed youth rendering the melodious ‘Raasathi-nilaponkal ayelo’ medley or ‘Kanneerpuvinte’ on stage.
We are talking about none other than Job Kurian, who, besides being the runnerup of the 2006 Amrita TV Superstar reality show, went on to win many hearts through his expressive performances in the show as well as later.
Some of them, which have been uploaded on the youtube, have got five figure hits, and the numbers continue to rise.
Where is the singer these days, Malayali music lovers have been wondering for a while. Well, the engineering graduate has landed a plum project, his is the voice behind the peppy folk song in Santosh Sivan’s multi-starrer ‘Urumi’ -‘aarane aarane,’ which is already the talk of the town. A characteristically reticent Job opens up on the song and his journey so far.
Aarane aarane...
Yes, I know it is not exactly my kind of song, but for me the music director matters more than the song. Deepak Dev, one of the judges of Superstar, has always been very close to me. I knew he’d give me the space I require. “Let’s just give it a try,” he said. I thought the song might be edited out at the end but by God’s grace, there it is and I thank Deepak Dev.
Your disappearance from the music scene for a while...
But I’m not sitting idle. For the past three years, I’ve been learning piano and Hindustani vocal at Kess Bhavan, Thrissur, under Fr Thomas Chakkalamattom and Dinesh sir. In other words, I’m constantly preparing myself for whatever opportunities I might get.
Ever felt that you were not given enough playback singing opportunities?
Well, I’m not the kind of person to push myself for projects. (I should change that attitude, I know - he says with a laugh) But honestly, I’ve never felt so. If I really deserve something it’ll come to me. Like I said, I prefer to work with a music director who knows my strong points. Both Alphons for whom I sang in the movie ‘Black Cat’ and Rahul Raj who composed the songs for ‘Rithu’, were such people. Their approach is very modern and liberal and I’m lucky to have worked with them.
Music reality shows
By all means, it was Amrita Superstar which gave me the big break. But my advice to new talents is - Don’t get carried away if you win. Yes, it’s a confidence booster, but it’s not success and it’s definitely not the end. Treat it just like a good opportunity. All too often I’ve found the graph going down for many reality show celebrities.
Post the Amrita show, I did a string of stage shows, was lucky enough to go to London once with Chitrachechi. But at one point, I realised I was not learning anything or progressing. That is when I stopped and turned my attention to taking music lessons.
Life before Amrita Superstar
I did my engineering in a college in far-off Hassan, Karnataka. There I won an all India prize for Western solo. Some of my teachers used to tell me to take up music as a career, which is when I started thinking about it seriously. I would have left the course midway but my parents were adamant that I finish it and somehow I passed. I used to (and still) listen to a lot of Western music — blues, country, anything, which has probably helped me sing Western better. But I’m a total ‘nadan’ really. I also learnt Carnatic under Perumbavoor G Raveendranath and Surendran sir. My family was always supportive, I have to say.
Future plans and dream
I’ve already done two ‘Straight from the Heart’ concerts with my friend Charan and others which were aired in Rosebowl. The channel promotes music with a difference and we got a good response from youngsters. Charan, Yakson and I also did the album 'Thalam' which got good reviews. Well, I recently moved to Bangalore as I’m working with Charan on new projects. My dream is to keep on composing, singing and not just limit myself to one field.
Take on life
As a kid, I never got the first prize for music in school, so I firmly believe you just need to keep walking, you WILL reach somewhere.
