Micky J. Meyer came as a fresh brezee into Telugu films. Though his first film Pothe Poni was not a box-office hit, he was noticed with the film 10th Class and then his work for the movies Notebook and Happy Days was noticed widely, and he even won his first Filmfare Award for Happy Days. I called him before the release of Hare Ram audio and he promised to talk after the release of audio. Once I listened to the audio, I called him to say how I felt about it, and then we had a brief chit chat. Here are some excerpts from our telephonic conversation:
Sri: Tell me about yourself.
MJM: As you are aware, I was born and brought up in Hyderabad. Since my childhood, I have had a passion for music, and I used to play songs of Talat Mehmood on the Casio piano that we had at my home. I joined in Tritiny College of Music when I was in fifth standard, studied there for eight years and completed my graduation. I was composing and singing some songs in AIR when Thammareddy Bhardwaja gaaru offered me the film Pothe Poni. Though the film was a not a hit, I got noticed and other films soon followed. ...I haven't composed BGM for the films before Happy Days, but with Happy Days I started doing that too.
Sri: So, what's more difficult - composing songs or BGM for a movie?
MJM: Both are equally difficult, I'd say. A song has to elevate the movie, while the background score has to elevate each scene. Either one has its own importance. We simply cannot consider these two separate.
Sri: What's your comfort zone - composing music for lyrics or giving the tune first?
MJM: I am comfortable with both, but as of now, I can say I am more comfortable when I can give the tune first for a given situation, as I am not real good in Telugu. But soon, I'll be good in Telugu (laughs)!
Sri: Being a Hyderabadi, how come you are not familiar with Telugu?
MJM: I can understand Telugu but cannot speak as most of my friends are Hindi-speaking. I do not understand Telugu word to word, but can grasp the whole concept; I am learning the language now, which will change the situation soon (laughs)!
