Bombay Jayashri’s son Amrit Ramnath never imagined he would make his debut as a music composer through a Malayalam film though the industry had always welcomed his mother with open arms. The independent musician took ‘baby steps’ into composing music for a movie with the ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’ album. The movie will be released in theatres on April 11.
Amrit and Vineeth Sreenivasan, who is helming ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’, met through the latter's wife Divya. “She shared my music with him and we got talking after that. Though I had hoped to be a music composer one day, I never knew how to initiate it. We would meet and discuss music as friends, but after a month, Vineeth told me that he would like me to compose music for his film."
However, it is not just happy memories associated with the day for Amrit. “I remember that day vividly. It was March 23. We had food and finalised my role in the project. My mom was in the UK for her concert. I tried to reach her in the evening to share this happy news with her,” he said. However, what was supposed to be the best day of his life, soon became a nightmare. “My mom suffered a brain haemorrhage on the same night. The doctor who attended my call told me her condition was grave. I was asked to reach the UK immediately,” he added.
Amrit, who reached the UK the next day, realised his mother was undergoing one of the toughest phases of her life. “But I knew she was a fighter. She was someone who stood strong despite facing lots of ups and downs in her life. I knew she would survive this too though the chances were bleak then,” he said.
While thanking the doctors at the Liverpool hospital who worked tirelessly to bring Bombay Jayashri back to life, Amrit felt that there was a divine grace that kept her alive. “I always see it as a miracle that my mom was in Liverpool when the incident happened since the city has some of the best neuro-surgical departments in the country. Things would have been different if it was somewhere elsewhere,” he said.
The next few days, Amrit was busy attending to his mother and composing music for ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’. “When I reached the UK, I called Vineeth up to tell him about the situation and he was very understanding. Nevertheless, he gave me the necessary space and continued to put his trust in me. I am so grateful I was part of the project then because it helped me during the difficult time. I could channel all my emotions into the songs,” he said.
He added that this was the first time Vineeth was not part of the music composition. “Usually, Vineeth would sit with all his music composers while he directed his movies.” There were a total of 14 songs in the movie, of which nine were main tracks. Bombay Jayashri wrote the lyrics of one of the songs while she was in the ICU. “That is the only song I have crooned in the movie. The rest of the songs have been sung by others, though I have lent my voice in parts,” he said.
Amrit would sing to his mother when she was under treatment. “She would not respond to the songs then. But, one day, when she woke up, she told me she could hear me singing to her,” he said.
“It was fun shooting for Madhu Pakaroo, which was the first song released from the movie. I am glad it worked with the youngsters. There is a qawwali and mehfil vibe to the song. It is retro yet present-day,” he said.
Apart from music and Divya, their love for Chennai also helped the bonding of Amrit and Vineeth. “Though my parents have roots in Kerala, they are settled in Chennai after living in North India for a while. So, I don’t know where I am from. Vineeth too has this love for Chennai. Also, we bonded over our love for music. He is a musician, director and visionary, which is why it is so much fun working with him,” said Amrit.
Vineeth had visited Amrit and his mother when he came to the UK with his family and Amrit was "touched by how involved he was.”
Amrit, who grew up in a musically inclined home, began singing at the age of two. “My toys were my musical instruments. I started singing at the age of two or three, though I never thought of it as a career. Music was always part of my life. However, I decided to take it forward professionally only during school, which is why I didn’t go to college. If I did, I would not have been exposed to music the way I am now,” he said. He added he accompanied his mother on stage at times. “I was trained formally in Western classical music, but I self-learned instruments,” he added.
So, how is it being Bombay Jayashri’s son?
“It's great but I am trying to make my own space in music. I know there are expectations because my mom has achieved a lot. However, I want to break away from that identity and find my own space and name,” he said. He maintained that his parents have been very supportive, though they were a bit tensed when he told them he wanted to be part of the music industry. “My mom has faced several ups and downs in her career and she knew how difficult the industry would be. But now, they are in a happy space,” he said.
Amrit has released a few independent albums like ‘Manase’, but ‘Varshangalkku Shesham' is his first tryst as a music composer. “I have started receiving offers from the Tamil industry after the song ‘Madhu Pakaroo’ from ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’ got released. To be honest, I never marketed myself as a composer before, which is why I never received any offers before,” he said.
