At a time when tunes of popular songs of other language films are being adapted to Kannada films, music director duo Venkat-Narayan have decided not to do so. “We got many offers from filmmakers who wanted us to copy, but we declined them all because originality will be killed. There will no freshness”, the duo defend their stand.Known for the songs Dhool maga dhool (Kalasipalya), Malage Malage Gubbimari and Macha dove hodeyodu hegantha helkodu (Nalla) and Uyyale uyyale (Thimma), Venkat-Narayan have come a long way in the industry in the last eight years.
From their first film Heartbeats to Thimma, they have worked with well-known lyricists K Kalyan and directors like Om Prakash Rao and Nagendra Prasad. “We have tried to give different tunes in every film, from melodious to foot-tapping numbers, which appeal to a wide range of people”, they say.
A musical event in Chennai is what brought the two together. “We found that our interests were similar, and became friends.
“Soon, we also discovered that we could work together and thus we started composing for films as Venkat-Narayan. Interestingly, even today many people think Venkat Narayan is one person’s name”, they say.
“Heart beats launched us as music directors and the song Bannagala Loka was hugely popular,”  says Narayan who is a singer himself. “Even Dr Rajkumar had appreciated Uyyale Uyyale”, says a proud Venkateshan who is also a guitarist and keyboard player.
They feel that lyrics an important factor while composing songs. “Meaningful lyrics provide an opportunity to compose melodious songs. “And what matters most in music is melody only”, they contend.
That’s why they have come out with the new version of lyricist Shivashankar’s famous song Sirivanthanadaroo Kannada Nadalle Mereve in their forthcoming film Chenna. “We spoke to Shivashankar and have re-composed the song celebrating the pride of being a Kannadidga. We are sure that the people will love it”.
The duo is well-versed in background music too. “We give equal importance to both composing and background score. In fact, the latter is more challenging as it has to bring out the mood of the scene”, they explain.
They are more optimistic about today’s music in Kannada films. They have composed music for some private albums too. Siddaganga Kirana, a cassette brought out to mark the birth centenary of Siddaganga seer Shivakumara Swamy, has their music.
“It was a great experience to compose for this album”, they remember. Now, they are waiting for the people’s response to their new films Chenna and Lokave Helida Mathidu.