Devi Sri Prasad: ‘I am an instrument of music, not its composer’

It may have been three years since the release of Pushpa The Rise however tracks like Srivali and Saami saami are still fresh in peoplersquos minds Devi Sri Prasad the composer who arguably put the spotlight on south Indian music with Oo antava acknowledges the popularity of the score of part one but says he doesnrsquot carry the weight of his success as he gears up to present his setlist for Pushpa 2 The Rule In this interview he discusses creating the music for the filmrsquos upcoming edition which is set to be presented in six languagesEdited excerpts of the interviewWas your approach towards this film different given that the music of the last edition gained so much attentionI find that I am blessed in that I am not consumed by pressure When you work without being stressed you can deliver your best work I treat each movie as a separate entity because to cater to any filmrsquos needs you need to have a clear mind I feel like an instrument of music rather than a composer of music When I am inspired by a narration I think of all the elements I can include to decipher what the best music for the situation could be Thatrsquos how music flows through me and I am grateful for itIn this edition the story continues from where part one ended Itrsquos not like a franchise in which the actors are retained but the characters are different Here we are continuing with the same characters So yoursquoll notice progress in the music Even then we tried to make something different from the past soundtrackAlso this time we are making the film in Bengali so we have to go through the exercise in six languages It took me more than two months to make the songs since I had to sit with the lyricists of each language to make itAll the writers flew to Chennai to work with me in my studio It was like a kavi sammelan We had a great time talking about literature lyrics and old and new musicYou had previously mentioned that the kind of songs from Pushpa that became famous took you by surprise What did you learn from that developmentAny creator will always create something with the hope that people will love it An artiste creates art so that it appeals to people Success today is defined as a song that reaches many people Once it does we need to see if it is being loved We always work in this imaginary world where we assume our work will be appreciated But there may always be songs that do not enjoy the kind of reach that we desire Other songs however have a wider reach and there is always a balance that is created So I donrsquot analyse a soundtrack too much I feel it takes away from the charm of working on new music Create music and then leave it to the audience Sometimes a song works in different instances For example I created a song called Bang bang for a film I also choreographed and directed it That song has suddenly started going viral now across India China Japan and Dubai So everything has its own journey Sometimes you donrsquot know the result and yoursquoll have to waitYoursquore also active as an independent artiste Whatrsquos in the pipelineI am doing it to encourage other musicians from the south because the independent music scene is not thriving there Itrsquos only picking up now This year there are big collaborations in the pipelineWhy do you think the indie scene has not flourished in the south Indian marketIn the north every occasion warrants a huge celebration and music is a major part of it Their culture is like that Also independent music has been thriving in the north for a long time Punjabi music is celebrated across the world and is consumed by individuals who speak Hindi Gujarati and Marathi too Itrsquos popular even in south India The penetration of the language determines its success I think it south Indian music will also have that reach in due course of time