The great musician M.M. Keeravani, also fondly known as MM Cream, has composed the music for Ajay Devgan and Tabu’s upcoming film ‘Auron Mein Kahaan Dum Tha’ directed by filmmaker Neeraj Pandey. This is Keeravani’s first project since he bagged an Oscar in the Best Original Song category for “Naatu Naatu” from SS Rajamouli’s 2022 film RRR.
MM Keeravani’s music career spans over three decades. He has composed some of the most memorable tunes for Tamil and Telugu films, but when it comes to Hindi films he loves hide and seek. He has composed music for only a few Hindi films and has mainly worked with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. In this interview with Indianexpress.com, he says about his Oscar win, Naatu Naatu and working in Bollywood.
Keeravani and Pandey had previously collaborated on the music of Baby in 2015. When asked how their working relationship has evolved over the years, the musician said, “I don’t see it as a changing relationship or something evolving. Our relationship is the same since day one because I was like that, working for her from day one. The way we work is always about being true to ourselves.
Keeravani then went on to explain how musicians try to impress filmmakers with their work, but he never felt the need to do the same with Neeraj. Somehow it was set up that way, started that way and continues that way. Composing music is a form of creative work; it involves a lot of self-conceit, pretension and hypocrisy.
You always try to impress others with your creations. It’s like someone is wearing a lot of makeup. So, sometimes people may fall into it, sometimes they may not, but it is a constant battle. There is always conflict regarding such things, which was never there between us. But even if some work requires a lot of time, he will do so. If it’s taking time, it means we haven’t been able to provide an answer yet. When working on a piece, sometimes it’s a matter of days, sometimes it’s just 10 minutes.
Keeravani also remembered his Oscar win. When asked whether he felt that global recognition came to him a little late in his career as he had also given music for other films like Baahubali 1 and 2, he said that he felt that he should have got an Oscar for a song like this.
He said that, “Look, sooner or later global recognition has been given to a song which is not my best. That’s all I can say. But, when recognition is to be received, it will definitely come from some corner or the other. But is it late? Sometimes you feel that it is late because your lifespan is fixed, that is how it is called late or early, when your lifespan is not fixed, it comes when it is supposed to come.
The magic of music is ending, especially film music, because people remember old film songs but rarely remember new songs. “It is paying respect to the raga. The melody can be anything, fast or slow.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha was originally scheduled to release in theaters on July 5, however it has now been delayed and is expected to release in August.
