HYDERABAD: Neeve is the current song of South India which has become a viral on YouTube. An independent music album called in Neeve in Telugu, Neeye in Tamil and Neene in Kannada, is composed by our Telugu boy from Karimnagar, Phani Kalyan. Phani, who belongs to the first batch of AR Rahman’s music school, KM Music Conservatory, says, “I am enjoying the success of Neeve. Our efforts paid off and our hard work is recognised. My phone has been constantly ringing and I am swamped with notifications on my social networks since the release. Many directors and producers including Dil Raju called me. I am unable to sleep and this is my current status,” says an elated Phani Kalyan, whose music video Neeve shot in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, has become a Youtube sensation in the four south Indian states.
That none other than award-winning blockbuster director SS Rajamouli has tweeted about it is almost a seal of approval on his work.
“I have had a song in my mind for a long time and I approached Gomtesh Upadhaye, whom I met through AR Rahman’s fans group. Gomtesh, a cinematographer and filmmaker, listened to my music and agreed to do a video album. But then, it is not just the wish and will that are required to produce an independent music album. One needs money too. We approached couple of producers but none came forward as they felt it will not give any yields to them. That’s when Gomtesh suggested that we go for crowdfunding and he raised a total of Rs 1.8 lakh by putting our project on a crowdfunding website and promoting it via social network”, says Phani who is thankful to all the funders who made this project possible. The project immediately got rolled in all the three languages.
“I approached Sree Jo of Vellipomaakey song fame and he kindly obliged to pen down the lyrics for Telugu version. We started the project, but it wasn’t as smooth as we expected. There were constant hurdles including finding logistics, location, dancers, and many. I owe it to Gomtesh for overcoming these. It took us three months to complete the project and finally the video went into post production in September and was launched on October 9”.
Neeve, has a romantic and sensual angle to it. The video depicts the tuning between two individuals who have passion for each other and the art. “Unlike regular videos, Neeve is an art form. The dance and the picturisation are beyond words and our dancers Shreya Deshpande and Niranjan Harish did complete justice on screen under the guidance of choreographer Vishwakiran Nambi. Yazin Nizar and Sameera Bharadwaj rendered voice in Telugu version and my friend VS Bharan from my KMMC batch has beautifully programmed the song. It is a visual feast for any art lover and first of its kind in Telugu music world”, adds Phani who is now awaiting opportunities in Telugu world.
“My first feature film, Pappu was released in 2010. After Pappu, I went to Chennai and composed music for a Tamil film called Konjem Koffee Konjem Kadhal” says Phani who has been doing music for non-film projects and customised albums.
“I want my music to live forever. Even if I compose one song, it should stay forever with the listener. I have another video project that’s scheduled to be released next month. It is called Chandamama. Hope, my music is recognised and Telugu music lovers will accept me soon”, says Phani who lives in Hyderabad with his wife Hiranmayee and one-year-old daughter Eesha.