‘Katchi Sera’ and ‘Aasa Kooda’ fame Sai Abhyankkar is making his debut as a music director with Benz, the LCU film starring Raghava Lawrence with director Bakkiyaraj Kannan. Speaking about how he got the opportunity, Sai says, “Santhosh Kumar, the head of Think Music, and Magesh Rajendran from Think told me that there is an amazing script they would like me to listen to. I love how a script turns into a film with all the beautiful background score and songs.”
He goes on to add, “I then met director Bakkiyaraj Kannan at the Passion Studios office. I knew Benz before I met Bakkiyaraj sir, whose filmography I am a big fan of. I saw its first-look poster, like, one year back. I imagined who would do its music, as it looked like a big project back then too. By God’s grace, it is me.”
The LCU is known for its music, thanks in large part to its association with composers such as Sam CS and Anirudh. About making his debut with the universe, Sai says, “It feels special to be part of LCU; there have only been two composers in it.”
At the same time, Sai was unaware that Benz would be an LCU production. “When they told me the story, they did not tell me that it would be part of LCU. But suddenly they gave me that spark of the universe while I was listening to the script. When they told me the story, they did not tell me that it would be part of LCU. But suddenly they gave me that spark of the universe while I was listening to the script. It is a film with a dark, commercial touch with humour and that beautiful LCU connect. We are trying an international musical approach for it.”
Speaking about whether he feels any added pressure from the LCU tag, Sai says, “I feel no pressure. I know that the scores for all the other LCU offerings are super hits. But I just want to keep my approach to the film original. I want to give this universe a new sound.”
Sai’s playback singer parents, Tippu and Harini inculcated in him the habit of listening to good music at an early age and supported him throughout his journey, for which he is grateful. “I started to listen to Rashid Ali, Ghulam Ali Khan, and Amir Khan when I was just four or five. That played a role in shaping my journey before I learnt vocals from Sriram Parthasarathy. Then, I learnt tabla, mridangam, drums, guitar, and piano. I predominantly play piano, and I learnt all these for my production ideas.”