Is Anirudh taking over his compositions, denying opportunities to other singers?

Undoubtedly Anirudh Ravichander is one of the most sought-after music directors in Tamil cinema today. His compositions in recent times have rarely gone wrong with the audience and have always complimented the larger-than-life narratives headlined by superstars. But of late his listeners feel he is overusing his voice for all his compositions. The criticism started with the release of the ‘Anbenum’ song from ‘Leo’ which was sung by Anirudh and Lothika.

Many feel that he is snatching opportunities from talented singers by insisting on singing all the songs composed by him. An active discussion is there on social media regarding Anirudh’s megalomaniacal tendencies.
In recent films, most of his compositions are sung by Anirudh himself and that didn’t go down well with many of his die-hard fans as well. In ‘Leo’, he has sung two songs. In 'Jailer' for instance, for the popular ‘Kavala’ song he is the male voice along with Shilpa Rao.

The irony is that Anirudh himself has stated in a recent interview with the National media that he is not interested in singing and that he is a bad singer. He says it was when some of his songs became popular that he started accepting himself as a singer. “I also sing in music albums. I have often not taken remuneration when I sing for other composers. I value the experience more than the money,” he was quoted as saying. There were recent reports that he is the highest-paid music director in the country. He reportedly charges 10 crores for a film, thereby breaking AR Rahman’s record of 8 crores. However, there is no clarity regarding his remuneration when it comes to singing.