Express News Service
Music director Ron Ethan Yohann had some doubt before the release of Game Over, but he’s ecstatic now. “I knew that the audience would either love the music or not like it at all. I was sure no one was going to call it mediocre. Director Ashwin Saravanan, however, was optimistic and trusted me. Now, I am getting requests to release the background score, and I’m currently working towards that,” he says.
Ron, who was also the composer of Ashwin’s first film, Maya, feels that his collaboration with director works because he’s part of the latter’s close-knit circle, with whom he carries out discussions about films. “Ashwin pitches me an idea the moment he gets it. During the scripting process itself, even before the screenplay was finished, I loved Game Over for how crazy it is,” he says, adding that he starts composing at that point itself. “This helps Ashwin with the writing process. So, it’s a collaborative effort that goes back and forth. The title track and the masked men theme, for instance, were created before the film went on floors.”
Some would have noticed the Mario tune in Game Over. “The film was originally titled Mario and even the heart tattoos that Swapna (Taapsee) had on her hand were supposed to be mushrooms. So I actually came up with tunes resembling those of Mario’s different levels. But due to copyright issues, the script took a different direction. The Mario tune we finally kept in is actually a take on another cover that is available online,” says Ron.
Unlike Maya, during the shooting of which Ron was on location for 80 per cent of the film, he was told to keep away from sets of Game Over. “Ashwin was keen that I should be his first audience of the finished film because my judgement mattered to him. He did not even let me see the rushes, and I saw the film only post editing. Watching a film without music also helps in understanding the emotions of that scene and what that particular moment requires,” he adds.
The Sigai composer feels that his treatment of the scores for Maya and Game Over is quite different, despite both films being thrillers. “I saw Maya as a film where a mother tries to connect with her child. It was only when Ashwin heard the score I composed for it that he realised how emotional the film was. Game Over, on the other hand, is about how no one else can fight your wars but you. So, the idea was to make the women in the audience feel empowered and confident,” he said, adding, “Game Over was comparatively difficult because Swapna’s character is so restless and disturbed. Representing that personality in music is challenging, and that is why I resorted to a lot of silence in between. Apart from emotions and the thrill elements, it also conveys the shock of a lonely woman when she finds out about an intruder.” Ron next has the Telugu film Madhanam lined up.
Source: The New Indian Express