Several musicians were badly affected when the Malayalam film industry came to a standstill due to the pandemic. However, music director Gopi Sundar who took music production classes has also become a director. ‘Indumathi’ featuring singer Sithara Krishnakumar and ‘Karaveerakangal’ featuring young talent Adwaitha Padmakumar were the first two music videos from this hit song maker.
Titled ‘The Way I Learned Sound Production’, his classes are one-hour sessions for 15 days. “Honestly, I wanted to be engaged with work. That’s how the idea of the online classes came about,” says Gopi. For him, the classes are about passing on his knowledge to the future generation. “I want them to know the intricacies of sound production for movies. The sessions also focus on time management and behaviour. I give them fresh compositions to work on so that they can bring out their creativity. I’m also planning to incorporate some of them for my future projects,” adds Gopi.He says he tried his hand at direction as he has enough time now and loves to experiment with his skills.
He finds the directorial process more enjoyable than a challenging one. “People who do background scores have a filmmaker in them. We’re familiar about a scene including the shots and the editing. So, I found it easy to direct these videos. As of now, I’m only planning to direct music videos,” says Gopi.‘Indumathi’ and ‘Karaveerakangal’ were well received by the viewers, encouraging Gopi to come up with more music videos. Singer Imran Khan, who was part of a reality show, will be featuring in his next video. “I’m excited about the video. Another video will be on ‘Bow Bow’ song, sung by Abhaya Hiranmayi and composed by Sachin Warrier. “Directing a song composed by Sachin thrills me,” adds Gopi.
He wishes to provide a platform to budding talents through his directorial ventures. “Musical talent is innate and unique for many. It is best to explore individual styles than imitate another person. Parents can reach out to me if their wards are talented and I’ll ensure that the song will come out in the best way possible. Rights of the song will be with the Gopi Sundar Music Company and all they have to take care of is the shooting expense. I don’t know till when I’ll be directing these videos, so it’s a limited offer,” says Gopi.
He says he enjoyed doing the background score for the movie ‘C U Soon’. “I loved watching the movie. Usually, I do a background score in a packed schedule. For this movie, I could work freely,” says Gopi. He used the lockdown period to watch many movies. “I learned many new things and updated myself. The Covid-19 pandemic has made me realise to live in the moment and lead a quality life,” adds Gopi.