Being a fan of Tamil music helped me in Theera Mazhai, says Bengali musician Ray

CHENNAI: Bengali musician Ray has stamped his mark in the Tamil movie industry with Theera Mazhai from Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan. The single was Ray’s composition as well as vocal rendition that has been trending on charts for months now. He is ecstatic and reminisces about working with filmmaker Vijay Milton. “There were five music directors for the film and my discussions were with Vijay Milton. My debut in Tamil was a wholesome experience. Though we did not meet each other, we were on the same page going by what Milton wanted from us and it has reflected really well. Vijay Antony himself being a composer, liked my work,” Ray begins.

Being new to Tamil, Ray adds that lyricist Vandana Mazan helped him get the diction right. “Having worked in the Bengali and Bollywood industry quite predominantly, I was unsure of getting the lines right in Tamil. I got in touch with Vandana and we rehearsed the lines several times. Also, when I created the tune from scratch, Milton liked it and the lyrics were initially in Gibberish. I am glad that I was able to pull it off. Being a fan of Tamil music, I keep listening to a lot of songs and I can get the accent right when someone guides me. Moreover, when I was in a cab in Chennai, I asked the driver what he thought of the song when it was playing on FM radio. He said he liked it and someone with a good knowledge of Tamil had sung it. He was surprised to know that it was me, a non-Tamilian, who crooned Theera Mazhai,” says the musician.

While his song for Ganesh Chaturthi, Ganpati Ala Re is a huge hit, Ray is focusing on his multilingual indie song. “It is in ideating stages and I am planning to release it soon,” he concludes.