Jazz it up, Jassie

Mumbai: His Malayali fans are hearing Jassie after a long time. He just made music for Masterpiece and the upcoming Rosapoo. Where did he disappear to? The Hudugaata success in 2007 made him more of a musician in Karnataka than Kerala. Apart from the occasional appearances here, he was won over by the neighbouring state.

“I shifted base to Bengaluru five years ago. After Hudugaata, success followed with Sanju Weds Geetha (2011). More films and offers have been coming from Kannada, somehow I got stuck in the place,” says Jassie.

If at all he was away from his home state, Jassie has now arrived with a reason to make us cheer – a music band. The latest from the maker of the trendsetting Lajjavathiye... is a multi-lingual music band, Speed Sanyasin.

The band would play music in  Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. It is that season when every popular composer here emerges with a music band, but Jassie wants to stand out from the crowd and make it heard.

“Music shows have evolved like never before. Ganamelas have warmed up to different language music, that help us explore and spread wings. Every regional element has a place. Speed Sanyasin,  is an electronic band playing popular music, and it keeps no language barrier. The music would, after all, be acceptable to all audiences,” he explains. He promises its arrival will be in 2018.

Prior to the launch of Speed Sanyasin, an album of the same name is on the way. In his opinion, albums have emerged these days to be a great place for composers to expand their horizon. “New artistes have more marketing strategies when they venture into the making of an album. Quality and competition wise too, they stand a class apart,” he says.

Jassie, who has one more movie in Malayalam, Ivide Ee Nagarathil, turns loquacious about a promising project in Tamil, Solli Vidava, the directorial of popular Kollywood actor/director Arjun Sarja.

“It is a bilingual in Tamil and Kannada. There’s a huge star cast where I could get Keeravani sir, SPB and G.V. Prakash to sing my tunes,” he says.

Jassie says more than being the director, Arjun has a flair for the kind of music that should go into his film. “Arjun sir is a great Anjaneya devotee. He sat with me all through the composition phase. He rejected the new style demo tunes I set for the film. His preference was that which pleases the ears, not something with the new gen vibe,” he says.

The occasional visit to the home town is also when the research scholar takes some time off for his studies and findings. Jassie is doing a PhD at the Kannur University.