The Ghibran Interview: “A composer’s travel with the director has a great significance”

In this conversation with Only Kollywood, music composer Ghibran, who is currently basking in the glory of rave reviews for his recent outings Aramm and Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, talks about his work, fascination for background score, and his highly-anticipated upcoming release Vishwaroopam 2.

“Right from my childhood I always have been fascinated by the background score more than the tracks. I wanted to learn that as an art. I followed the works of many composers like Hans Zimmer and John Williams. Through a contact, I learnt that after graduating from Remote Control Studios, there would be an opportunity to serve an apprenticeship to Hans Zimmer. But for that, the graduation is mandatory. So I did the course with the sole intention to work with Hans Zimmer. But somehow it didn’t turn out. And after I came to Chennai Vaagai Sooda Vaa happened,” Ghibran recalled the formative days in his music career.

Starting from Adhe Kangal, Ghibran has had a whirlwind of releases in 2017. Calling it one of the most productive years with back to back hits such as Magalir Mattum, Aramm, and Theeran, Ghibran is quite happy with the variety of content he’s able to produce in 2017. His upcoming releases include Chennai 2 Singapore and Maayavan, which are slated to hit screens on December 15th and 14th respectively.

“Before few years I was able to contemplate the possibility of songless cinema. But it wasn’t anticipated this early. These days most films have fewer tracks but effective ones. Gone are the days where a composer has to deliver more than four romantic tracks for a single film,” said Ghibran.

Ghibran believes that a composer and a director should really work hand in hand. “In my opinion, a composer’s travel with the director has a great significance. The chemistry between these two people will have a remarkable effect on the outcome. The evident example is Amara Kaaviyam. Though the film didn’t fare well at the box office the tracks were lauded unanimously by everyone,” he observed.

Ghibran’s road trip to launch the album of Chennai 2 Singapore, which he has also co-produced, in six different countries grabbed the attention of film buffs for the promising effort undertaken by the team.

“At the audio launch of Uttama Villain, Kamal Haasan sir tried something unique by going digital. I got inspired and wanted to try something fresh for Chennai 2 Singapore. I didn’t want a traditional audio launch event. Since our film is a wacky small-budget entertainer, we had the creative freedom to try out something different,” said Ghibran.

Ghibran has already sealed the songs of the long-awaited espionage thriller Vishwaroopam 2, which marks his fourth collaboration with Kamal Haasan after Uttama Villain, Papanasam and Thoongavanam. 

“The project that is really close to my heart is Vishwaroopam 2 since it was the first film I signed for Kamal Haasan sir. I cherish every moment I interacted with him. Vishwaroopam 2 has excellent action sequences and sound plays a vital role in the film. I can’t divulge more details at this juncture. Everyone in the team is working on respective deadlines, and we hope to show the movie to you all soon,” said Ghibran on a concluding note.