There are many names, faces that stand out. Vilakkumaram's poster shows three major faces — Bhavana, Suraj Venjarmoodu, and Manoj K. Jayan. Scrolling down the Youtube page where the songs came out, you find another — Sanjeev T., composer of the film. The name is so familiar to the A.R. Rahman loving, independent music loving folks of Kerala, and Sanjeev doesn't fail them. There are four songs, one by young Sreya Jayadeep perhaps the most moving of the lot. Sanjeev has been known for playing lead guitar for Rahman for ten years, his promotion of independent music, his new music school Rainbow Bridge in Bengaluru, and for his vocals.
"To tell you the truth, I've been dabbling with films and the industry for a long time now in various roles. I started out producing music for ad films and at the same time being a session guitarist and vocalist for films both independently and for selected music directors like A.R. Rahman, Vidyasagar, Deepak Dev and Prashant Pillai. I've been offered the position of music director for many films over the past which never saw the light of day," Sanjeev says in an interview.
In 2004 he did a Bollywood movie with prominent singers like Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, KK etc. "It never came out. I then started composing for My fan Ramu and pulled out of the project early. Even though my credits are on that film. I pulled out due to financial commitments which were not fulfilled and also the lack of direction in the movie. Like this I've gone through an array of film offers which never came out.”
“This is a side to the industry nobody talks about. As much as 50% of the films made or projects started never see the light of day. I've not been lucky to have received the right partnership to have a successful movie under my belt. I still seek the right movie and opportunity even today after being in the industry for more than 15 years. But film music is only a part of my journey. I've always managed to remain relevant to the industry with the many other roles I present myself with."
He was not born into film music. Working with his mentor ARR, his love for Indian music grew. His had been a music loving family. His taste for music was discovered by his father very early and his motivation made him take it seriously. His true calling, he says, came in college. At first it was a band called Buddha's Babies, competing in college competitions across India, winning a few. After the usual hiccups in a band, Buddha's Babies went away and Rainbow Bridge came.
The lineups kept changing, including the likes of Wayne Fernandes, Benny Dayal, Jeremaya John, Salwin Alfred, Keba Jeremiah, Shyam Rao. He then worked with veteran guitarist Baiju Dharmajan for an album called Epic Shit. "I decided to do an entirely live album, recorded at Springr Studios Kochi, in all its raw elements. It also saw a plethora of artists collaborating for various songs. In terms of money, the album made nothing — in both sales of music or shows. But it won critical acclaim and two JD awards that year. Also won the best music video award at the Calcutta world short film festival. It is sad sometimes that I still haven't been able to make a living with just my indie music. But I don't regret anything, and I don't keep trying. My strength is my love for the arts in general,and not being a mad scientist in one particular art form."
The name Rainbow Bridge has many associations for Sanjeev. "That's the name of the bridge on the Niagara Falls. Rainbow Bridge is also referred to as the heaven for pets. But for me... it started with Jimi Hendrix. Rainbow Bridge was a space he pioneered in Hawaii back in the day — a safe haven for artists to express themselves freely. For me the bridge also meant a way to fill the void between passion and reality. A bridge to help safe passage to greener pastures. I wanted to be a vehicle for people in music."
So that's what he had been upto. He promoted space for independent musicians in Springr Café in Kochi, he began a music school in Bengaluru. "The music school is a new beginning for me. It happened during a time when I was so immersed in the industry that I felt I was leading a meaningless life in music. It was all business - work and pleasing the industry. I felt I needed to spend more time on evolving more than just becoming successful in the industry. I moved places... Mumbai - Kochi - now Bengaluru. I was trying to compete with the big dogs of Bollywood at the same time - creating a haven for musicians in Kochi called Springr."
