Music composer Sooraj S. Kurup is perhaps in his best phase. Since his debut with the 2016 film Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti, he hasn’t turned back. Now, with the release of Tovino Thomas-starrer Luca, this 29-year-old musician cements his place in the industry. For Sooraj, the songs in Luca are his second favourite next to Sita Kalyanam in Solo.
“Luca was a special project. Director Arun Bose is a close friend of mine and I had a special feeling about the film since the day we started working on it,” says Sooraj. The hit song Ore Kannal amassed more than 2.5 million views in just four days of its YouTube release. The other song Neeyilla Neram has also been a hit. “Compared to my previous works, it was a special bonding I shared with Team Luca. Everyone had clarity about their tasks and Arun, though a debutante, had no reluctance in airing his strong opinions. The healthy communication between the team members really helped me work productively. Throughout my career, I have been lucky to work in similar situations,” adds Sooraj.
He believes that chemistry between team members play an important role in bringing a great result. “Or else, you won’t get connected and it will result in a reckless output. It’s crucial to get on the same wavelength as early as possible. Almost as in a professional courtship, the goal is to understand each other’s emotional visions and meet somewhere in the middle to bring out the best possible result. Arun never demanded anything from me. Rather, he explained the plot in detail. That really worked out. Films like Luca demand a lot from the art director and music composer; our work had to speak a lot about Tovino’s and Ahaana’s characters. It was very fun and challenging,” he recalls.
Having made his Kollywood debut recently, he explains the different atmosphere there, “I did only one Tamil movie, but unlike Mollywood, in Kollywood and Tollywood, a song release is as important as a movie release. It really plays a big part in drawing the audience to the film. The hype is bigger than expect. Composers there play a far more crucial role in connecting a film to the public. In Malayalam, songs do have a special role, but it goes hand in hand silently,” says Sooraj.
“I don’t think Malayalis are even worried about not having a song in a movie. However, our audience is very keen about the details of songs and compared to other industries. Artistically, I find it more challenging to work here.” Working on background scores is a more relaxed and stress-free activity for the composer.
Luca has Sooraj in another role too — of an actor. He really enjoyed that part and admits that he would like to act more if good characters come his way. “I had appeared in the movie Sakhavu and was part of a drama troupe during college days. I found the role very interesting,” says Sooraj, who is working on two more yet-to-be-titled projects at the moment.
