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 A
tete-a-tete with the low-profile composer M.M. Kreem, whose soulful
melodies in the Lucky Ali-starrer Sur are the presently craze of
the nation... Marakatha Mani Keeravani, known to the Hindi film
music buff as M.M. Kreem, is working four shifts daily, doing some
20 assignments down South. He is impossible to pin down for a while,
even on the trunk line. At the moment, he is hot on the Hindi film
music scene too. His latest and best Hindi work to date Sur, is
raking in accolades, especially for its brilliant melodies. Kreem’s
past Hindi films like Criminal (1995), Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996)
and Zakhm (1998) had won critical appreciation, but sparse commercial
success. This time, the sales figures have been extraordinary too.
When we finally ‘meet up’ on the phone, Kreem is all contrition
about the telephonic appointments that he did not keep, “Sir, I
am almost working till past midnight daily. I may not even able
to make it to Mumbai for the premiere, Sir!” The humility in his
tone is exemplary for a man who has notched up 140 films in five
languages in 12 years, and has a National Award in his bag too.
Excerpts from an interview:
With
so much quantum of work, don’t you think that quality can be
a casualty?
Yes, it can. But in films, either everyone wants you, or no one
wants you! What can one do?
So far, all your Hindi films have been connected in some way with
Mahesh Bhatt. Why haven’t you worked outside?
Bhatt
Sahab likes me very much, and it was he who offered me Criminal
in 1994 after a meeting in Chennai. Fortunately or unfortunately,
I am extremely busy in the South. So to consider doing a Hindi film,
I must be offered one.
There was one exception — you were to do Gulshan Kumar’s
Papa - The Great — but in the final album you had just one
song.
I
was not going to do the film, though I am told that they had announced
my name as music director. What they did was, they used one of the
songs from my album Guzare Zamane with T-Series. I have done two
albums for them, both sung by Anuradha Paudwal and myself, the other
one being Pehli Nazar Mein. I had also done an album titled Coffee
Or Cream, which had various singers, and was marketed by Plus Music.
The Bhatt connection again.
Right. To me, Bhatt Sahab is not just a director. He is a prophet
and a philosopher.
Apart from your Hindi albums, you also sang in Iss Raat Ki Subah
Nahin and Zakhm. What steps were taken to ensure that your accent
and diction were right?
I
think I was quite okay with my diction. Anyway, someone was always
there to check on my singing.
You scored music for a Hindi film Ashwini in 1991. You were billed
then as M.M. Keeravani. What made you change your name to M.M. Kreem?
Ashwini, Hairaan and Miya Biwi Aur Saali were dubbed versions of
Tamil films for which I had composed music. They just got someone
to conduct the music and record make-shift Hindi lyrics to my tunes
with various singers. That is why you find my original name there.
Working in
Hindi films was a dream for me. And when that dream was realised
with the bi-lingual Criminal, I decided to adopt a fancy name M.M.
Kreem.
 According
to Tanuja Chandra you used to be a rabid Binaca Geetmala buff. Is
that the reason why you are the only Southern composer whose music
has a non-Southern, almost cosmopolitan flavour?
I
consider this a great compliment. Yes, in my growing years in Andhra
Pradesh (where I belong), Karnataka, and now Chennai, for the last
20 years, I listened a lot to Hindi songs. I know more about Hindi
songs than any composer, lyricist and singer in the South.
Does your music in South Indian films too have a cosmopolitan flavour?
I compose the music according to the requirements, so the flavour
there is right for that particular film.
Who are your favourites in Hindi film music?
I like many songs of R.D. Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Shankar-Jaikishan,
but my favourite composer is Madan Mohanji. His music is divine.
I feel that it does not belong to earth but comes from some ethereal
plane. The song he composed in Mera Saaya, viz. ‘Tu jahan jahan
chalega...’ is my all-time favourite.
How was it working on a subject like Sur?
As a composer, I approached a Sur as I would a Criminal or any regional
film. A composer must get into the core of the subject. If you listen
to all my music, you will find the range from very good to very
bad. This is because composers rarely get to be themselves, and
we have to follow the dictates of the producers and compromise a
lot.
In the case
of Sur, I was allowed to be myself, to explore music and merge it
with the story.
‘Tum mile...’
from Criminal was a hit, and there were a couple of popular numbers
in Iss Raat... and Zakhm. But Sur is the first time that you have
met with great success in Hindi cinema.
nYes, and I am really thrilled and happy about this, and I must
thank everyone who made this possible. I hope that I am able to
do even better in the future.
You tend to work with quality lyricists like the late Indeewar,
the late Anand Bakshi and now Nida Fazli.
Well, they were all selected by Bhatt Sahab. I had a great time
working with them all. Like I remember Bakshiji asking me how I
compose music when I don’t take alcohol. He said that without
alcohol and sorrow, you cannot compose great music! It’s sad
that both Indeewarji and Bakshiji are no more.
You worked for the first time with Lucky Ali, who is not a trained
singer, in Sur. How do you rate him?
Lucky
has a great voice. I had to mould my style to suit his after hearing
the other songs that he had sung. And I think that I have succeeded
to the extent of 90 per cent. And though Lucky found some of the
compositions difficult because there is always a lot of classical
influence in my music, he worked very hard and he succeeded.
But there were some minor points where he was off-key.
Yes, but I did not intrude with any technical pitch-correction or
gimmicks. I wanted to maintain a natural feel.
Talking of technical aspects, would you agree that music has taken
an unhealthy track, and become too techno and electronic?
Exactly.
That’s why I preferred to preserve the soul and spirit in Lucky’s
singing. I feel that there is too much of Western and techno influence
today, especially in the South. It’s difficult to get a good
flute or dholak-player today, and all the kids who are learning
music are learning keyboards. This is unhealthy. We cannot afford
to forget acoustics if we want good music to survive.
Would you agree or get angry told that a lot of the damage to current
Hindi film music — both in musical content and picturisations,
like the 100 extras — has been due to South Indian film influence?
It
is unfortunate, but I agree with you wholeheartedly. At the same
time, please do not count me as one of the responsible parties.
What have been your musical influences?
My father Shivadutta is a well-known writer, painter and filmmaker.
He has written lyrics in many languages including Hindi, though
the Hindi lyrics have been only a hobby. He has never recorded Hindi
lyrics for a film. Among the hit films he has directed is the Nagarjuna
film Janakiramudu. As for me, I have learnt both Carnatic and Hindustani
classical music, and I play the violin. In my growing years, I have
also heard a lot of Hindi film and Western music. Today, two of
my brothers are working with me, while my sister sings in the chorus.
Can you tell us something about your career in the South?
I worked as a freelance violinist, as well as an assistant to the
late composer Chakravarthi, who was a phenomenon, and who scored
music for 1000 films. P. Ramoji Rao gave me a break in his film
Manasu Mamata in 1990, and my third film, Seetharamayyagari Manavarulu
was my real breakthrough film. Since then I have done about 140
films, including 10 films each in Kannada and Tamil, and five films
in Malayalam. I have won the National Award for Best Music for Annamayya,
and the Tamil Nadu State award for K. Balachander’s Azaghan.
Most of my Tamil films have been with K. Balachander.
What trends do you foresee?
It’s all fusion nowadays. Hybridisation has crept in just as
it has in our food habits, lifestyle and dress patterns. Music will
always run parallel to culture and lifestyle.
Tell us about your music in Jism?
It’s a romantic thriller starring Bipasha Basu and has songs
in keeping with the theme. I will also be singing in it.
—Rajiv
Vijayakar
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