His music still echoes: Priyadarshan reflects on SP Venkatesh’s timeless legacy

Music composer SP Venkatesh was a rare talent whose work continues to resonate across generations of Malayalam cinema. One of his closest collaborators, director Priyadarshan, has often spoken about the composer’s extraordinary musical intelligence and emotional sensitivity, qualities that defined their long and fruitful association.

Recalling the years they worked together, Priyadarshan describes SP Venkatesh as a composer who brought both discipline and instinct to his craft. “I have worked on many films with him, and he composed several beautiful songs for my films,” he says, noting that it was a very different era of filmmaking. What set SP Venkatesh apart, according to the director, was his exceptional skill as a guitarist. Unlike most composers of the time, who relied on the harmonium or the tabla, he composed his tunes entirely on the guitar, a method that was both unusual and fascinating in those days.

Priyadarshan also remembers him as a deeply simple and gentle person. “There was always a smile on his face. I have never seen him lose his temper with anyone,” he recalls. Over time, SP Venkatesh expanded his work beyond Malayalam cinema, composing memorable music for Bengali films as well. Yet, his approach to work remained unchanged, rooted in quiet confidence and dedication.

One of the composer’s most remarkable abilities was his mastery over re-recording, an art form in itself. During a time when technology was far less forgiving, SP Venkatesh could conduct music and write notes simultaneously while the film played on screen, before later recording the score. Priyadarshan points out that such a combination of skills was rare even then, and is almost unheard of today. Achieving this required not just technical command, but a deep grounding in classical music, a level of knowledge shared by very few composers of that generation.

SP Venkatesh’s emotional intelligence as a composer found its strongest expression in background scores. Priyadarshan still vividly remembers the re-recording sessions of Minnaram and Kilukkam, films filled with emotionally charged scenes. The music had to be composed on the spot, in real time, as the visuals unfolded. “That background score is still cherished by people,” he says, adding that many continue to use portions of it as mobile ringtones even today.

Their collaboration extended beyond Malayalam cinema. SP Venkatesh composed the background score for Priyadarshan’s Hindi film Gardish, a work that drew admiration from none other than AR Rahman. After watching a preview of the film, Rahman reportedly called Priyadarshan the very next day to ask who had composed the background score, praising the orchestration and arrangement. For Priyadarshan, this was yet another affirmation of SP Venkatesh’s extraordinary talent, particularly his ability to handle large orchestral compositions with ease.

Despite his vast body of work, there was a childlike warmth to SP Venkatesh that never faded. “He always smiled like a child,” Priyadarshan says, adding that this innocence seemed to flow into his music as well. The composer went on to create countless melodies that remain deeply etched in the memory of Malayalam cinema. On one occasion, with SP Venkatesh’s permission, Priyadarshan even reused one of his compositions in the Hindi film Saath Rang Ke Sapne.
“I had immense faith in his talent,” the director says, summing up their relationship.