Hitting the high notes

Singer Jithin Raj on working with AR Rahman in Aadujeevitham

Amala Paul; (below) A still featuring Amala from and Prithviraj.

was a certain newness to it. Sainu’s body language and mannerisms are so different from me…I enjoyed the experience.” It was also her first experience with sync sound. Blessy’s inputs made getting into the character easy. “He facilitates a deep understanding of the story and the character, their background and backstory. Sainu is strong and ambitious; she encourages Najeeb to go abroad. Once Najeeb leaves, she takes over the responsibilities and looks after his mother,” says Amala.

She makes a special mention of Blessy’s treatment of love in his films. “The love stories are unique, not confined by age or other factors. Here too, it is love that keeps Najeeb going, despite the distance and the circumstances. It is love that brings him back.”

Due to giving birth to her baby in a couple of months, Amala calls it a coincidence that Sainu is pregnant and has a baby in the film and now, when the film is up for release, she is pregnant. “When I was shooting, I had to pad up my belly to look pregnant. And now, during the film’s promotions I am actually pregnant.”

She gets philosophical about Aadujeevitham, especially about Najeeb. “Najeeb would not have seen the big picture when he was going through what he was. He wouldn’t have known how his life would become a big film and touch so many other lives. The world should hear his story.” didn’t expect him to sing along with me.” That was singer Jithin Raj talking about sharing the stage with maestro AR Rahman at the audio launch of Aadujeevitham, Blessy’s muchawaited survival drama starring Prithviraj.

At the event, Rahman had joined the chorus in Jithin’s solo track, ‘Periyone’. “There was a whole new energy when he sang. That is his magic,” says Jithin over the phone from Chennai. Jithin has sung the track in all five languages in which the film will be released in theatres on March 28.

It is indeed a big project for the singer who debuted in playback a decade ago. The singer from Kunnumpuram in Malappuram has been active in the Tamil industry and has also sung in Telugu and Kannada.

“This is my first original work for Rahman sir. Before this I have sung for Malayalam dubbed versions of his songs in

Mom, Katru Veliyidai and Ponniyin Selvan I,” he says.

Aadujeevitham, the adaptation of Benyamin’s book that narrates the travails of a Malayali migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, has been in the making for a few years now. “I used to go to Rahman sir’s studio to record tracks or sing chorus. I got lucky that I could jam with him when he was working on this track. During our conversation, I told him that I was from Malappuram and he wanted me to sing something regional. Mappilappattu is a traditional song from the region and so I sang a few. He was impressed,” says Jithin.

“ICreative process

He remembers how they arrived at the hook lines of the song ‘Periyone en Rahmane, Periyone Raheem’, which was Rahman’s addition to the lyrics written by Rafeeq Ahamed. “He came up with those words and it was magical. I was indeed excited when I was chosen to sing for him. It is a dream of many singers to work with him,” he says.

Jithin adds that he had interacted with Blessy, personally and over the phone, while recording for the song. “He didn’t want the song to be too musical because it is about the character’s struggle and he wanted that pain in the song. I have read the book and could relate to that emotion. The character [Najeeb] is seeking the help of the Almighty to show him the way to escape from the situation” Jithin says. Looking back at his journey, Jithin says that he had his own way of learning music. He got hooked on film music at a young age, thanks to scores of cassettes that his father had at home. “I was more of a listener and that has been like a training,” says the 34yearold singer. A regular at schoollevel competitions and youth festivals, the engineering graduate was a participant in the reality shows Super Singer 3 (Vijay TV) and Indian Voice 2 (Mazhavil Manorama). He moved to Chennai looking for opportunities and the break came with the song, ‘Pidikkuthe’, a duet with Shreya Ghosal in Sigaram Thodu (2014) composed by D Imman. “I have sung the most number of songs for Imman sir. I have also worked with Ilaiyaraaja sir [in Telugu movie Gamanam], Yuvan Shankar Raja and Vidyasagar sir.” His filmography has Tamil movies such as Rajini Murugan, Wagah, NGK and Marudhu. Among the Malayalam movies he sung for are Mariyam Mukku, Thoppil Joppan, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, Parole, Meri Awas Suno and Nadikalil Sundari Yamuna.

Jithin stresses that it has not been an easy journey in the industry. “There will be a lot of ups and downs and how you handle the phase is important,” says

Jithin.

Singer Jithin Raj.