Editor’s Note:
I came across this interesting handle on Instagram – which is @sachindevt and this handle was posting such good songs with good visuals. I was sure that the person behind this handle had a good music taste. Hence, I contacted the person – Mr. Sambhu Mahendran for an interview. I had planned to start this magazine for such a long time. When I was thinking as to whom to interview first for this magazine, I thought I should interview someone who is a music enthusiast and has a good taste in music. Sarod Magazine will be different in the sense, I will be interviewing several music enthusiasts who are common people, but with excellent music taste.
Interviewed by Gagan
Q1. Dear Shambhu, thank you for accepting to answer my interview questions about music and art. I found you through your Instagram handle @sachindevt where you have posted such wonderful snippets of movies and music. What is your profession? And what role music plays in your life? (You need not answer my question about your profession).
I’m a financial analyst based in Bangalore, and music has been an integral part of my life since childhood, starting from the days of analog devices. It helps me stay calm and composed, even amidst a hectic work schedule.
Q2. Which part of India are you from? What is your mother tongue?
I am from Kerala and Malayalam is my mother tongue.
Q3. I see that you mostly listen to Tamil songs and I assume your mother tongue is Tamil. However, I also notice that you listen to a lot of music from Hindi / Bollywood cinema. You also like the music from the earlier indipop era. What are the languages and genres of music you listen to?
I make it a point to listen to music across most mainstream Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Hindi. My playlist mainly features Hindi and Tamil film music, but I also explore a wide range of genres. I actively follow Indipop, keep an eye out for emerging independent artists, and enjoy discovering their work.
Q4. Has music played a part in you traversing the borders of language and listening to other language music? Yes indeed. It helps me understand better the regional diversities spread across.
As a music enthusiast, I find it fascinating when a composer from a completely different state or cultural background creates music in another language. I see it as a process of give and take for instance, when someone from North India composes for a Tamil film, they immerse themselves in the cultural nuances, Carnatic ragas, and related elements. Later, they can carry these influences back and incorporate them into their Hindi film compositions, enriching their music even further.
Q5. Have you listened to any Kannada songs? Do you like any composers from Kannada? (I am asking this question because I am a Kannadiga. We do have decent music happening here, though I cannot say that our composers and songs are as famous as Tamil music. I wish to know what songs from Kannada are getting famous outside.)
Yes, I do follow Kannada music, though not very rigorously. If I recall correctly, my initial exposure was through Manikanth Kadri and V. Harikrishna. More recently, I’ve been following the works of Ajaneesh and Sanjith Hegde. Sanjith, in particular, is steadily emerging as the youth voice of Kerala, with many of his songs turning into chartbusters there.
Q6. Tell me your top composers from Indian film music. It may be across languages like Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu.
Ok, I list down my favourites from each language:
Malayalam – Johnson master, Vidyasagar, Justin Varghese, MG Radhakrishnan
Tamil – AR Rahman, Santhosh Narayanan, Justin Prabhakaran, Darbuka Siva (its gonnna be a long list)
Hindi – AR Rahman, Vishal Bharadwaj, Amit Trivedi, Shantanu Moitra
Telugu – MM Keeravani, Mickey J Meyer
Kannada – Ajaneesh Lokanath, Judah Sandhy, Bindhumalini
Q7. Who are the 2-3 composers about whom you have a special place in your heart and why?
It has always been A.R. Rahman for me. I grew up listening to his music, and as a kid, I vividly remember listening the songs of Rangeela and Indian on my neighbor’s music system. They would play his tracks so loudly that I could listen to them from my house. During that time, Rahman was the talk of the town, his music was everywhere you went. Naturally, my musical sensibilities have been deeply influenced by him, and he remains the biggest reason why I feel so excited and passionate about music.
The other one would be R Anandh. Below you will find a detailed write up about him
Q8. Does music add some value to the cinema? Are there any instances where you feel that the scene / movie was just normal or mediocre. And the music elevated the movie or made the movie watchable?
Many times, yes. If you look at Anirudh’s recent scores, you can clearly see how his music elevates an ordinary scene to an entirely new emotional dimension. So, without a doubt, music often has a profound impact on cinema. In fact, I believe that a few years from now, we may see fewer “songs” within films, with music primarily serving as background score to drive the narrative, while songs themselves might exist mainly for promotional purposes.
Q9. What are the top 10-15 indipop songs you like? I see that you like songs like “Woh Chali” by Bombay Vikings.
- Fazle by Kaavish
- Mohabbat by Arooj Aftab
- Aaftab by The local train
- Its okay to Die by Electronic Kili
- Katputli by Anumita Nadesan
- Kanaavile by 6091
- Nila by Keethan
- Tomorrow by Chai Lenin
- Pal Behta Jaaye by Vismay Patel
- Waqt Ki baaten by Dream Note
Q10. Name your 10 most favourite Tamil albums of AR Rahman?
- Thiruda Thiruda
- Roja
- Kadhalan
- Bombay
- Indian
- Anthimanthaarai (not released)
- Iruvar
- Alaipayuthey
- Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya
- Boys
Q11. Name your 10 most favourite Hindi albums of AR Rahman?
- Water
- Mom
- Rangeela
- Dil Se
- Taal
- Lagaan
- Rang De Basanti
- Rockstar
- Dilli 6
- Blue
Q12. Can you name a few movie albums of AR Rahman that are not well known, but are good to listen?
- Water
- Anthimanthaarai
- Mom
- Ada..A way of life
- Meenaxi
Q13. What are your favourite movie albums of Harris Jayaraj?
- Minnale
- Vaaranam Aayiram
- Ullam Ketkume
- Unnale Unnale
- Kaakha Kaakha
Q14. Is there any song that is on your playlist and keeps looping?
Oh, I have so many favorites, it’s difficult to narrow them down. But one that stands out is “Aaromale” from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, sung by Shreya Ghoshal.
Q15. Which is one song randomly you want to speak about?
Instead, I’d like to talk about the composer R. Anandh, often regarded as the A.R. Rahman of the ad film industry. Back in the 90s, when Rahman was dominating film music, Anandh created a few film scores of his own. If you listen to his work, you might easily mistake it for Rahman’s, because no one else at the time matched that level of quality except him. Unfortunately, I feel the film industry underutilized his talent, otherwise, we might have witnessed another musical genius rise alongside Rahman.
He also had a band called Aghosh, which composed the iconic pop song “Paisa Paisa” and the theme song “Come on India” for the Indian cricket team during the 1999 World Cup both of which were insanely popular in the 90s. In fact, many of the most memorable jingles from the 90s and early 2000s were his creations. Then he seemed to vanish from the scene, almost as if he never existed. I’m not entirely sure if he’s still active in the jingle industry today.
Sarod Mag editor: Thank you Sambhu for your detailed response. I liked many of your responses. Surprise was your last response about R Anandh! I have heard that song “paisa” by Aghosh band. That song used to be played on Zee tv every evening. It was a nice song. Not sure where to find that song. I do not know where the band members are! Thank you for talking about R Anandh. I have a few more questions, if you can answer them.
Q16. Can you list a few indipop songs you like from the 1990s to early 2000s time? Something around 1990s to 2005.
- Maikade – Hariharan
- Krishna Ne/ Sa Ni Dha Pa – Colonial Cousins
- Maeri – Euphoria
- Tera Mera Pyaar – Kumar Sanu
- Paree Hoon Main – Suneeta Rao
- Piya Basanti Re – Ustad Sultan Khan, KS Chithra
- Chamak Cham – KJ Yesudas
- Oh Sanam – Lucky Ali
- Ahista – Pankaj Udhas
- Dooba Dooba – Mohit Chauhan
- Ab Ke Sawan – Shubha Mudgal
- Teri Deewani – Kailash Kher
- Sayonee – Junoon
- Dole Dole – Suchithra
Q17. This is in continuation of Q4. A personal note: I am a Kannadiga and due to AR Rahman, I started following Tamil music and movies! The same way, your mother tongue is Malayalam. But you have traversed the language barrier. Do you have anything to say about how music can make us (listeners / common people) to go beyond borders?
For me, in any song, the melody always comes first while the lyrics are secondary. I don’t spend much time trying to understand the philosophy behind the words instead, I focus on the tune and the rhythm (with all due respect to the lyricists). According to me, music never asks for translation. Someone in the US might sway to our desi beats without knowing a single word, yet still feel the vibe. In that way, music creates a common ground where we’re all simply listeners, connected by sound.
Q18. How do you listen to music? Is it online streaming or you have the music files with you? Which online platforms you prefer?
It might sound unreal, but I have over 5000 songs in my offline library, collected and downloaded over the years. Many of them aren’t even available on streaming platforms. I switched to online streaming around 2020, until then, I used to manually download and listen. Now I use Apple Music, and I personally feel its audio quality is the best.
Q19. Have you found it tough to find some music on some platforms? Like some music is not listed at all.
That’s exactly why I always keep my downloaded music. I’ve noticed that some older songs aren’t even available on Apple Music. In such cases, I switch between apps. YouTube Music does have a vast library, though of course the audio quality is a compromise.
If anyone wishes to contact Sambhu, here are his contact details:
Name – Sambhu Mahendran
Email ID – sambhumahendran1992@gmail.com
Instagram username – enlightenedpsyche