Competence brings you work, not honour: Oscar-winning composer MM Keeravaani

MUMBAI: He may have brought the best original song Academy Award home for the superhit "Naatu Naatu " from "RRR, but celebrated music composer MM Keeravaani believes accolades bring you honour, not work.

The Telugu foot-tapping chartbuster “Naatu Naatu”, penned by Chandrabose and featuring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, from 2022's blockbuster “RRR” is the first song from an Indian film production to win an Oscar.

“Oscar is not a criterion or a factor for getting work. Winning an Oscar is like an additional honour but honour never brings work to you. It's only competence that brings work to you, competence is very much different from honour,” Keeravaani told PTI in an interview.

In his over three-decade-long career, the musician has had a successful association with "RRR " director and cousin SS Rajamouli and filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Neeraj Pandey, with whom he has his next "Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha " lined up for release on Friday.

As someone who has scored music for films across various Indian languages, including Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil, Keeravaani underlined the importance of having a strong rapport with directors.

“If you've good rapport with the director, it reflects on the quality of the work you do. But if that rapport is from childhood itself, like I knew Rajamouli when he was two years old, that reflects even more,” said the composer, who has worked with the filmmaker on all his films including the “Baahubali” franchise, “Eega”, and “Magadheera”.

Looking back fondly at his experiences in Hindi cinema, Keeravaani said Bhatt played a pivotal role in shaping his musical journey when he forayed into Bollywood with his 1994 movie "Criminal ". His song "Tum Mile Dil Khile " from the film is a classic love ballad.

They later collaborated on Bhatt's 2008 directorial “Zakhm”, whose soundtrack features melodies such as "Gali Mein Aaj Chaand Nikla ", "Hum Yahan Tum Yahan ", and "Maa Ne Kaha ".

"For all these iconic songs the inspiration came from Bhatt sahab. He is a philosopher by nature, and whatever he says it conveys a lot of meaning. He was the guiding factor for my composition for all of his films.

"Earlier, directors had nothing to do with the music production. It was Bhatt sahab who guided and encouraged me constantly and appreciated my music. His philosophy was translated into 'sargams' (musical notes) in creating the songs,” added Keeravaani, an admirer of RD Burman and the popular Hindi film radio show “Binaca Geetmala”.

In the north, he has also worked on acclaimed films like Sudhir Mishra's “Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin”, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Paheli”, and Pandey's previous movies “Special Chabbis”, “Baby”, “Operation Romeo” and “Missing”.

The musician, who is credited as MM Kreem in all his Hindi films, said he enjoys working with Pandey.

"He narrated the gist of ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha', and elaborated on the song situations and texture he is looking for. It was a memorable journey,” he said.

Central to Keeravaani's approach is the incorporation of 'ragas' – ancient melodic frameworks in Indian music – into his compositions. With this, he said he can tap into new realms of music and generate innovative musical notes.

“Nowadays, people resort to only two-three ragas, they are otherwise called scales. There are umpteen scales available in Indian heritage. When I touch or explore a different raga, a different world opens up. Doors open to a different section of music, so that's how you come up with new ideas every time.”

According to the composer, music has the potential to evoke diverse emotional responses, ranging from romantic sentiments to stirring up societal dissent.

"Music is not just about singing and dancing, it has many purposes in life. You can see how music plays a role while singing the anthem or saying a prayer in a school at the beginning of a class. Likewise, everywhere music unites groups into a discipline and music can soothe you into calmness, when you are tired a nice lullaby can put you to sleep.

"It can evoke romantic feelings in you. Music can provoke anger... Music is a powerful tool in our culture,” he added.

“Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha” is a musical romance drama which stars Tabu and Ajay Devgn in the lead with Saiee Manjrekar, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill and Sayaji Shinde in key roles.