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Ghibran: The song tries to make the world a better place

Express News Service

It is a matter of fascination that throughout history, some of the best artworks have come out of places and periods of disaster. Crippled by the coronavirus pandemic, the world has turned to the arts for solace. Art is thriving. Streaming of films and series is at an all-time high, short films are being made at home, and musicians are performing live online.

From Anirudh Ravichander to Chinmayi, Tamil cinema artistes have also risen to the occasion. And now, actor-politician Kamal Haasan and musician Ghibran have come together to make their contribution as well. In fact, the two have brought together as many as 49 singers to make a song of solidarity.

Apart from Kamal Haasan and Ghibran, 12 other celebrities have sung this track, including Anirudh, Bombay Jayashree, Yuvan Shankar Raja, actor Siddharth, Mugen of Bigg Boss fame, Sid Sriram, Shankar Mahadevan, Shruti Haasan, and Devi Sri Prasad.

“Apart from these 12 lead singers, we thought it would be good to have a chorus but we didn’t know how to go about it in this lockdown. So, I posted online asking for people who have home recording systems to collaborate with us. About a hundred responded and we chose 37 from them. They will also be featured in this video song,” says Ghibran.

The idea for the song was born out of a conversation the composer had with Kamal Haasan, who suggested they make an ‘anthemic song’ on the pandemic. “Initially, Kamal sir sent me the lyrics and I was working on a tune. He then didn’t want me to have any constraints. So, he asked me to come up with a tune first. Hearing the tune, he asked two days for the lyrics. However, within three hours, he sent me the lyrics (laughs).”

Asked if the lyrics would make political statements as well, Ghibran says the anthem is about humanity and completely apolitical. “We all know that the situation is like World War III. The world is not going to be the same after this. We will classify the world as ‘before and after corona’. This song is for those new people, who will come out of their homes. It will say how as an individual they can make the world a better place. The core of the song is Anbu thaan pradhaanam.”

It was not an easy task as the composer had to get the required output from 49 singers, without losing sync. “I have been busy for several days. It has been tiresome as I have had to coordinate with each of them all by myself. I sang a rough version and sent it to them. Of course, there were mistakes and I had to make corrections and ask them to send it all over again. But looking at the output, I think it’s all well worth the effort.”

However, though the composition was hard, it was not the toughest part for him in the whole process. “The difficulty was in choosing the appropriate singer for different lines. As I am the music director, I didn’t want one singer to think someone else got a better line. I wanted everyone to feel important. But they were all welcoming and no one had any second thoughts. Yuvan sent back all the files in just a single day. Without their combined efforts, this would not have been possible.”

Ghibran apparently also approached Santhosh Narayanan, Vidhyasagar, and D Imman, but they were not in good health and couldn’t take part. The composer is currently making final touches to the song while Kamal Haasan is to come up with a title for it. “The track should be out in a couple of days,” says Ghibran.

Source: The New Indian Express