The hero behind Manam’s music

Hyderabad: Anup Rubens’ name is on everyone’s lips after the release of Manam.  All of  Tollywood, including Nagarjuna appreciated the music director’s   soulful music for ANR’s last film. This film signals more success for  the music director, who has already produced smashing hits in the last three years.

Anup made his debut in 2004, as a music director for Jai directed by Teja. The film wasn’t  a commercial hit, but director Teja  gave Anup another chance  in  his next film Dhairyam. Anup has been working on films continuously, but 2011 was a turning point for him as a music director.

“Prema Kavali, directed by Vijaybhaskar, gave  me a big break as a music director. From then on many of my films were musical hits,” says the soft-spoken Anup Rubens.

Before he worked as a music director, Anup was a keyboard player with music directors like R.P. Patnaik, Chakri, Sashi Preetham and Ramana Gogula.

Talking about Manam, Anup says that he had worked with director Vikram earlier for the blockbuster Ishq. “From then on, both of us have a good rapport and have  become very close friends too. One day, Vikram narrated this story and at that time I didn’t know that he was directing the three generations of Akkinenis. I told him the story was very nice and one day he took me to Nagarjuna sir.”  

Anup adds, “The  advantage of working with Vikram is that he always narrates the story in a way that inspires me. Compared to my earlier films, I worked fewer days on  Manam.” He also added that Vikram’s inspiring narration is the main reason he came up with such good music for this film. “Another good thing about Vikram is that he never inserts songs just for the sake of making it a six-songs movie. Those are always a part of the story and he tells a small story within the songs,” says Anup.

Talking about a song picturised on ANR, Nagarjuna and Chaitanya, Anup says, “I met ANR sir and he liked the song very much. He told the director and me that he wanted to dance for the song along with Nag sir and Naga Chaitanya. But at the last minute, his health didn’t permit him to do so. I then replaced the song with another one,” says Anup. In the new song you an hear a few lines from ANR’s old classic Prem Nagar.

Anup also shares a memorable experience from the past. “I composed the background music for Buddha Hoga Tera Baap. After the film’s release, Amitabh sir tweeted about me and also called me to appreciate my work. This is the best compliment and I will remember it all my life,” says Anup.