Composer Imman celebrates Tamil in his independent track

Music composer Imman’s life has come full circle. His first film was the Vijay-starrer Thamizhan, and his first song for television was sung by Nithyashree Mahadevan.

Today, his independent number ‘Veera Thamizhan’ releases and will have both these elements – while the number celebrates everything Thamizh, it will feature Nithyashree as the singer.

It is a happy moment for the music director, who has come a long way since his early days in music. “Before entering films, I was an independent music artiste,” he recalls. But that was much before the Internet boom. “There wasn’t any exposure then, and so I couldn’t pursue it. So now, when a company like Sony approached me with the concept of an independent track, I was kicked.”

The recent Kollywood strike, which saw a ban of all activities related to the movies, was a blessing in disguise for Imman. It was during that phase he got the seed for ‘Veera Thamizhan’.

“I wanted the concept to be non-filmi,” he recalls. He zeroed in on the identity of the current-day Tamilian and the issues he faces. “It celebrates Tamil language and culture, and I hope it will be a motivational song for youngsters in today’s troubled scenario.”

Written by Yugabharathi, the song falls under the folk genre but is in an independent music style. Featuring Nithyashree, ADK and Imman, it has the music composer starring in the music video too. “It was quite interesting, with me wearing a pattu shirt and veshti.” Apart from the lead singers, the performers who’ve played local instruments will also be featured.

Even as he’s busy composing for his film projects – his upcoming project starring Ajith is much awaited – Imman feels that there’s a fresh lease of life for the independent music scene in recent times.

“I think the profile of the music consumer is changing. The fact that Sony Music is investing in independent tracks is proof enough of consumer tastes changing towards such musical experiences.” He looks at Madras Gig as a positive sign for the independent scene, and depending on its success, “composers will be encouraged to take it up more often.”

The one thing that he loved about ‘Veera Thamizhan’ was the freedom he got during its composition.

“No one asked me the scratch tune for approval, no one asked me who the singers would be. I’ve crossed 100 films, but even then, any small changes in the songs would have to be bounced to the team. In ‘Veera Thamizhan’, there was a lot of freedom.”

Here's a sneak peek into the song