King of lullabies and his son - Vishnu Mohan Sithara

Music and only music plays in his head. A vast repertoire of the songs he heard and the ones hummed to him happened right from his childhood days. Thus happens every songs for Vishnu.

It is no coincidence that Vishnu the son of Malayalis most loved music director Mohan Sithara, was born with music within. To carry music in his breath was his destiny.

Vishnu’s debut was the infamous lullaby in the movie ‘Zachariayude Garbhinikal’, a melody never heard before. Many other hits followed from then on.

Vishnu is back again with yet another heart warming melody from the new movie 'Koodasha', directed by Dinu Thomas starring Baburaj. The song ‘aareeraro... kanne nee urangu’ has turned out to be a treat for the music lovers. The song is a lullaby sung by a father.

Vishnu Mohan Sithara shares the story about the birth of this song and his musical journey in an exclusive interview with Onmanorama.

Father’s songs

I grew up listening to the lullabies tuned by my father, especially ‘unni vaavaavo’ the most loved lullaby of my times. The song in Koodasha is sung by a father to his child in the movie. My heart was filled with the thoughts of my parents when I was composing this song. My father is the king of lullabies, and I should never compromise for something mediocre. This was the thought that I carried while I was working for the song.

Loved melody

My father always asks weather I like the song that I compose? He says that when the composer loves his tune, the listener will end up loving it at some point. If the composer is fully satisfied with it, the same feeling transfers into the audience as well. So it should be the composer, who should fall in love with his tune first. This song is my personal favourite and I am getting positive feedbacks from the people too and I am happy for that.

Musical journey

Being the son of the ace musician Mohan Sithara, is both a blessing and a challenge. At times, it becomes a responsibility. But at other times it becomes a question whether or not to be held up by it. I think it is better not have such questions within because it can become a barrier to ones creativity. Let me not succumb to any expectations, and let my creativity get wild. Only at such a point, we will shed our fear to experiment. Let me be free to make mistakes and correct them for better. This will be my journey through music.

Childhood and music

I was born in Trivandrum and my father was busy at ‘Tharangini’ studio. My childhood was exuberant with memories of myself in the midst of great musicians all the time. Those who played violins and the ones who played tabla and so on. It was a period of rich musical harmony unlike today, where so much can be done on a laptop. Though the concept of the artists and their companionship has changed to a large extent, I was fortunate enough to experience such a harmonious culture then.

The song in Koodasha

The movie had no songs in the beginning. The director Dinu asked me to compose a small tune for a scene in the movie then came the idea to include a song instead. The tune was given to lyricist Harinarayanan and it took a while for completion because of his busy schedule.

Sleep and music

I contemplate over the songs to be made while I am falling asleep. This song also happened at such a point. The mood of the song took me over initially and it evolved into a melody organically while the sruthibox was playing in the background. The whole experience of churning a tune in this way is exhilarating.

Music that surrounds 

We are in the midst of various sounds. We filter it and comprehend only what we require. But I have a habit of meditating over those minute sounds that surrounds us and tend to record it by heart. These sounds in turn becomes the tunes that I make. However, music is just a small part of me as a person.

Song that transforms

A song heard in a phone is the same every time you listen. But when you hear it being sung, the experience is different each time. Ten people can sing the same song in ten different ways. The lullaby in Koodasha sung by Abhijith is enthralling. There is another version sung by a little girl Aarsha from our music school, which emanates a totally different feel.

Gratitude

My heart is whelming with gratitude to the almighty and to all others around me. I also thank the circumstances that has led me to choose this path. And I am happy for what I am now.