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Sound orchestration
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Music Success and talent not best of friends
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engrossed Music director A. Johnson capturing sounds with his gadgets in a recording studio Photo: K. Ganesan
THE MUCH acclaimed `Soolam' serial earned A. Johnson the name and fame. His brilliant music composition came at a time when he was desperately attempting to prove his mettle in the tinseldom.
Some of his other compositions for serials `Velan', `Boom boom shakalaka', `Adhu mattum ragasiam', `Police diary', `Pasam', and Telugu serials `Nagamma', `Namo Venkatesa' and `Nimisham', speak volumes of his ability. His composition for `Kurai Ondrum Illai', a short film on spastic society, got the best music director award in short films category in Mumbai film festival. The Andhra Pradesh Government honoured him with best music director award in small screen for 2002-2003.
Despite his popularity in the ad world, he still awaits a big break in feature films. "Sincerity and dedication matter the most in your work. Umpteen number of talented people are available.
But very few get good chance to hit the box office," says Johnson, whose pragmatic approach has taken him closer to many top film personalities.
Success story
"Success and talent do not go together as far as feature films are concerned. Of course, basic music knowledge is required. But that does not mean every music composer is a big success in films. Rather, all successful music directors are geniuses," he remarks.
His entry into the glamour world is as fresh as dew in his mind. "That was a time when I was busy composing music for video games for a computer graphics company when an offer to compose music for an advertisement on theme parks came.
The advertisement became such a big hit that I got more such offers." Johnson's `Black Thunder' advertisement, is still a big rage on all major satellite television channels and now offers come his way easily.
Meanwhile, he also got a chance to work in `Bharath Rathna', a Telugu production featuring Vijayashanthi as heroine. Later, when the movie was dubbed in Tamil, he was again the music director. "It was accidental. I got this chance because the earlier music director left the production half way. I chipped in to finish the movie, which also includes songs. Later, director Aravindraj of "Oomai Vizhigal" fame got the Tamil rights for the movie and asked me to work for him."
Johnson has also worked as project director for the TVS Anthakshari programme, which was on air a couple of years ago. He does not confine his talent to Tamil alone as his forays into Telugu and Kannada have also earned him encomiums. To name a few, TV serials, `Swathi muthu' in Kannada and `Narasimham', `Manase manthramu', `Undamma Pottupedutha in Telugu.
"But for T. James Manohar, my friend, I would not have been a music composer. He inspired me while playing the guitar for my birthday party and took me to a guitar class, despite stiff opposition from my father S. Arulsamy. My aunt Sister Assumptha Mary paid my fees," he recalls with moist eyes.
At present, Johnson is working on awareness programmes for a string of projects for National Film Development Corporation, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and Consumer Protection Councils.
He has his own recording studio `Audio Video Entertainments' in Chennai, where he works for his compositions.
Having tasted success through television serials and advertisements, he is waiting to break into Tamil filmdom pinning hopes on the yet to be released feature film, `Pillaiyarpattiyum Kandhuvattiyum'.
T.SARAVANAN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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