Jakes Bejoy, who primarily works in Malayalam cinema, had dabbled earlier in Telugu cinema with films like Taxiwala (2018) and Pakka Commercial (2022). However, the music director has been receiving unparalleled acclaim for his work on the latest Nani-SJ Suryah film Saripodhaa Sanivaaram. “I never got this much love from the audience. It boosted my morale and my team’s too; I am feeling true Telugu love right now,” he adds.
Jakes Bejoy recalls how his work for the Dulquer Salmaan starred King of Kotha, which released exactly a year ago, played a huge role in him coming onboard for the Vivek Athreya directorial. Recalling his first narration by the director, Jakes adds, “Vivek didn’t want to get into all-superhero film mode, but he wanted that element of heroism, with some rawness and native touches. And he liked the King of Kotha soundscape, which had a Maharashtrian element and north-Indian percussions. We blended western orchestra with these beats, which sounds very different.”
Soon after the first narration, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram was officially announced, and the announcement video, titled ‘Unchained,’ required a theme music piece. Jakes recalls, “I wanted to bring that pucca Marvel superhero mood and make it stand apart from regular mass films. The announcement video itself helped me come up with the theme for it.” Similarly, teaser videos were released regularly, like Surya’s character teaser on Nani’s birthday, or Daya’s character intro glimpse, which gave Jakes enough time to gradually develop a soundscape for the project. The composer elaborates, “Every two months we were working on a new theme. By the time four videos came out, we had four solid themes, and the audience already registered it. My duty was just to use those themes at the appropriate places in the film.”
Jakes Bejoy is cognizant of the evolving tastes in contemporary music, with an emphasis placed on creating music suitable for Instagram reels to cater to that segment of viewers. “Instagram generation has an attention issue for sure. The biggest challenge is to find catchy content that will attract them immediately.” And yet, the music director is mindful of not compromising on the quality of the output.
He adds, “I can only do what I know or like. I believe if the music is good and has soul, it would have a long life. If we focus too much on what others want, we dilute the strength of our content. If I am not liking it, and merely catering to what the director wants, it won’t work.” Nonetheless, Jakes places special importance on knowing the pulse of the youth audience. “You have to have an idea of what they resonate with, what music they like, and then try to incorporate it into your work. It can’t be too grandfatherly also,” he adds with a chuckle.
Talking further about his work on Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, Jakes admits with a childlike confidence, “I got the music for all the mass moments right. Once the themes are ready, I focus on the high moments such as the hero’s intro, villain’s intro, interval punch, etc.”
The composer further recalls the most challenging scene in the film, the post-interval stretch where Surya (Nani) and Daya’s (SJ Suryah) planning moments are spliced up together, culminating in the pub sequence where the former character attacks the latter. He explains, “There is no dialogue at all in that portion, it’s entirely musically driven. So we needed a graph for the entire sequence that builds up gradually and hits a peak in the pub.” Jakes recalls that he took five days to get that moment right, adding, “That build-up is what worked—the way it starts to reach a crescendo. It’s a technique in scoring.”
In the last two years, particularly, Jakes Bejoy has been extremely busy with film projects. The Saripodhaa Sanivaaram composer clarifies that he is not choosy or doesn’t have any particular criteria about the projects he considers. “If any good friends offer me films, I never say no. Likewise with big and respected directors from Malayalam cinema, because after all they have contributed so much.”
Jakes mentions that he always likes to take his time while composing songs and background scores. He states, “Sometimes deadlines are hard so we have to bring a full stop to the proceedings.” Jakes adds that the work is never over, especially when it comes to melody songs. “With melodies, it’s particularly hard to stop working because those compositions are always evolving. But in this case, I was happy with all the songs; be it ‘Sarimapa’ or ‘Garam Garam,’ they all added a different vibe to the film.”
Jakes also mentions that he ensures to keep up with contemporary film music, even amidst his hectic work schedule, including the work done in Telugu cinema. He mentions that he really liked Santosh Narayanan’s score for Kalki 2898 AD and that he is a huge fan of the work of Mickey J Meyer. Referring to Meyer, who worked on the recent Ravi Teja starred Mr Bachchan, Jake says, “I love the way he mixes his scores.” Also talking about his fondness for Guntur Kaaram composer S Thaman, Jakes adds, “He has been my reference point. He is next level, with the energy he brings to the scores, or the volume of work he has been doing. He consistently maintains that quality, and never fails.”
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is not the only Telugu film for Jakes this year. The music director is also on board for the upcoming Vishwak Sen starrer Mechanic Rocky, which is scheduled for an October 31 release.