One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain – Bob Marley
Bob Marley couldn’t have perfected that line better. Music is something that transcends lives. And only people, who understand the true essence of music, live them. Though I might not be competent enough to talk about him or this subject, you can take this as a reflection of a person, who simply enjoys the nuances of every note in music. As my friend says, you don’t have to be a musician to enjoy the music.
December is generally the music season in Chennai. Accidentally, on this day (December 1st) I couldn’t think of a better person who lived his music, however ironic it might sound. H. Sridhar, was one of the most desirable & gifted sound engineers that the world has ever seen. It would be unfair to him, if we just limited him into the Indian music scenario. H.Sridhar, was a man who read between notes & experienced the mood of the music. Not many people are aware of the fact that he was the main strength behind A.R.Rahman’s music. With over 200 films in his 20 year long career, almost all of the leading directors & music directors have worked with him & more importantly enjoyed their stints.
In my view I think his success was mainly because, he had the ability to turn simple music into an extravagant experience. He gave the right music it’s deserved due. He was a person who matched the brilliance of Rahman’s music during production. Only a person who can understand the soul of the music, and the importance of every single track involved in the orchestra can be a good sound engineer. His empathy towards every single track gave him the opportunity to understand the value of music when it came together. This could have helped his unmatchable rapport with Rahman.
Movies such as Lagaan, Dil Se, Kannathil Muthammittal & Dil Chahtha hai were pioneer movies, mainly because the music & soundtracks in the movie uplifted the entire experience. I’m sure in each of the movies mentioned above; you would have surely shed a tear at some point of the time. If you‘ve noticed keenly during those scenes, it might have been the actors who have done a fabulous job. But if you stop to recollect that moment; it’s because of the arousing music during that scene, which would have let you reach for your handkerchief. The music subconsciously plays a huge role in affecting your senses. And only music can never help you achieve that objective. If you really need to touch the heart of millions through music, you need to provide them with the right amount of music at the right levels & at the right moment. H.Sridhar was a wizard of that art, who clearly distinguished between noise & music.
You might think, a person with such a craft would have gone a long way in his studies to get to where he began. Surprisingly, he was a self taught audio engineer. It was his pure passion towards music that had driven him to where he began. He was a pioneer in introducing DTS mixing to Indian music while engineering sound. He has bagged 4 national awards for the best Audiography for following movies:
· Mahanadi (1994)
· Dil Se (1999)
· Lagaan (2002)
· Kannathil Muthamittal (2003)
Of these national awards given to him, my personal favorite is that of Lagaan & Kannathil Muthamittal. Both of these movies are of completely different genres & the music needed to be designed in distinct manners. In Lagaan, the scene where Bhuvan invites Kachra (spinner) to be part of the team & later hugs him, had music get into every neutron of your body, instigating a unanimous standing ovation, otherwise simply said as ‘Goosebumps.’
Another of my favorites is the climax of Kannathil Muthamittal. The climax is about 14 minutes, with a very volatile scene, which defines the title of the movie demanded impeccable sound engineering. With a perfect mix of the ambience sound & the characters voice, you could gradually feel the music grow on you & towards the end leaves you spell bound with tears. With due credit to Rahman, H.Sridhar’s masterpiece emerged.
Not to forget his Grammy for the best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman duly recognized Sridhar’s contribution for getting 2 Oscars. Another great distinction in my view was the way he worked with both Rahman & Ilayaraja. Both are legends in their respective rights. But both have distinct sounds & music, which have created their own trademark & authority in delivering such music. To swiftly adopt with ease is another thing that I’d always admired about him. Not many people could toggle various spaces of music at such a short span of time. It was not only the Indians that he had worked with. Musicians such as George Harrison of The Beatles, John Neptune Kaizan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar and John McLaughlin too had the privilege of working with this mastermind.
Here are few of his masterful works: (Thanks Wikipedia)
1. Slumdog Millionaire (2009) (Sound Engineer)
2. Connections (2009) (Sound Design & Final Mix)
3. Dasavathaaram (2008) (Sound Design & Final Mix)
4. Jodhaa Akbar (2008) (Music Mix & Song Mix)
5. Cheeni Kum (2007) (Sound Design & Final Mix)
6. Bombil and Beatrice (2007) ( Audiography & ReRecording Mixer)
7. Sivaji (2007) (Mixing Engineer)
8. Guru (2007) (Audiography)
9. Dharam (2007) ( Mixing Engineer)
10. Provoked (2006) (sound re-recording mixer)
11. Godfather (2006) (sound engineer)
12. Water (2005) (additional music editing) (sound engineer)
13. Ramji Londonwale (2005) (audiographer)
14. Ah Aah: Anbe Aaruyire (2005) (sound mixer)
15. Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) (music programming) (sound engineer)
16. Swades (2004) (sound engineer) [fr]
17. Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004) (sound engineer)
18. Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004) (sound designer)
19. New (2004) (sound mixer)
20. Boys (2003) (sound)
21. Saathiya (2002) (sound designer)
22. Om Jai Jagadish (2002) (sound re-recordist: Media Artists)
23. Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) (re-recording and song mixing)
24. Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) (sound mixer) (DTS mix)
25. Nayak: The Real Hero (2001) (sound recordist)
26. Dil Chahta Hai (2001) (final mixing)
27. Lagaan (2001) (final mixing engineer) (song recording)
28. Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa (2000) (sound re-recordist: Media Artist, Chennai)
29. Pukar (2000) (sound re-recordist: Media Artist, Chennai)
30. Alaipayuthey (2000) (dts mix)
31. Thakshak (1999) (sound mixer)
32. Mast (1999) (audiography)
33. Vaastav: The Reality (1999) (re-recording and mixing: Media Artist)
34. Sooryavansham (1999) (audiography: Media Artists)
35. Kaun (1999) (sound designer)
36. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) (re-recordist: Media Artist)
37. Dil Se (1998) (audiography) (song recordist: Panchathan Records Inn) (sound mixer: Panchathan Records Inn) # Satya (1998) (sound designer)
38. Kabhi Na Kabhi (1998) (song recordist: Panchathan Recording Inn, Madras) (as Sridhar) (sound re-recordist: Panchathan Recording Inn, Madras)
39. Aflatoon (1997) (sound re-recordist: Media Artists, Chennai)
40. Daud: Fun on the Run (1997) (music mixer)
41. Jeet (1996) (background music recordist)
42. Mumbai (1995) (song recordist) (sound re-recordist)
43. Rangeela (1995) (music mixer: Media Artistes) (sound effects: Media Artistes)
In my view music can never be written for it to reach the soul. It needs to be experienced. H.Sridhar was a man who provided such magical experiences along with various musicians. I trust that he was one person who took music from the ears to the heart. That’s the most difficult journey any musician/ technician would yearn to conquer. He did that in his own way of presenting music as a final product. But I’ve always wondered what this fatal connection between music & death was. A lot of legends have reached peace, much ahead of their times. Music would have been a greater journey, If only his journey had not ended.
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