It is hard to fathom a world where Sivamani isn’t popular for his percussion skills.
But there was a time when the drumming kit synonymous with ‘Drums’ Sivamani was out of the musician’s reach. “My father, SM Anandan (also a drummer) was dead against me touching the drums kit. He never allowed me to play. I used to get disturbed, go into the kitchen and start playing on all the vessels. My mom was my biggest supporter. Eventually, my father relented,” says Sivamani, over phone from Mumbai.
His first break came when he was asked to substitute for his father in the entourage of yesteryear composer KV Mahadevan.
Drums Sivamani | Photo Credit: K V Poornachandra Kumar
“He was composing for a film and I played the drums.” Then, for 35 years after that, I have played for different composers including Ilaiyaraaja, the late MS Viswanathan, AR Rahman, T Rajendar, Anu Malik, Shankar Mahadevan, Vishal-Shekhar among others.
“They are all my universities. I have absorbed different ideas working with different composers,” he adds.
Sivamani is the composer for upcoming Hindi film Atkan Chatkan, which stars musical prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram in the lead.
He calls it a special film because it is “based on percussion”. “The director (Saummy Shiv Hare) had approached me with this project many years ago but it didn’t take off due to production issues. The story touched my heart because I saw my life story taking shape in front of my eyes,” he says.
A still from ‘Atkan Chatkan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Atkan Chatkan follows the lives of four street kids with a passion for music who come together to form a musical band.
It was Sivamani who helped Shiv Hare cast Lydian. “He (Lydian) is a child genius. He participated and won The World’s Best show while shooting for the film. All the children in the movie have done great work, and it is just the kind of musical we need in this moment,” he says.
Interestingly, Sivamani convinced veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan to lend his vocals for a prayer song in the film too. The lyrics for the song ‘Daata Shakti de’ was written by Sivamani’s spouse, Runa Rizvi, who is also a playback singer.
A still from ‘Atkan Chatkan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I’m a big fan of Amit ji. It was a miracle getting him to agree. I was able to connect with the help of Dr Bhujang Pai, who is known to Amit ji’s family.”
Despite working for over three decades in cinema, the percussionist in Sivamani in still hungry. In fact, he remarks that it still is his “big dream” to be recognised as the “world’s best drummer”.
“That is my motivation and my one goal. I love working with other composers but I’m not interested in composing for movies. I have created many rhythms but still my dream is not fulfilled,” he says, adding, “I’m still a student [of music]. Never set yourself achievable goals; always set it very far. At this point of my life, I’m still swimming in an ocean.”