Justin's out of the shell

Say they are both at one place, the director and the composer of Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela – both debutants. It will be an interesting conversation to listen to. For Althaf Salim, the director, talks very, very, little, no exaggeration here. And Justin Varghese — thankfully with no similarities to his namesake (first name only) from the West — makes up for all the non-talking. But then, this man, who has made two beautiful pieces of music for the film — Enthaavo and Nanavere — has quite a bit of stage fright, that stopped him from joining his mates for the band Thaikkudam Bridge. “We were all together at the SAE College in Chennai, learning Sound Engineering — Govind, Ashok, Christy, Vipin and me. After college, all of us went into music production. I joined Gopi Sunder first, and then Biji ettan (Bijibal). I have been working with him for eight years,” Justin says. It is in between those years that Thaikkudam was formed and Govind called him to come and play. But being the stage-fearing laidback fellow he was, Justin stayed away.     

Around that time, he met Althaf in a friend’s studio. “He was this quiet man who would sit in one room and watch a lot of movies. He wouldn’t talk much. I would get references of good films from him. And he would hear some random song I made,” Justin remembers those as struggling times for Althaf. “His friends would tell me to ask Biji ettan’s help to have him join a filmmaker. I have asked Biji ettan too.” By then, Althaf had joined director Alphonse Puthren and gang, not as an assistant but as an actor. Justin heard too that he was planning a Nivin film, at a time the actor had not quite become the star he is now.

Two years ago, Justin’s friend Hemanth called him to say Althaf will call. “He said I shouldn’t say no. Because I have been too laidback, I have never knocked on anyone’s doors. I’d rather wait to get offers from people I like and admire, from friends,” Justin says. And Althaf was a friend. So there was no question. He listened to what he calls the ‘colours’ that Althaf wanted in his film. Enthaavo was formed after a lot of deliberation. “I’d make too romantic songs and Althaf wanted a little toning down. So then I got our lyricist Santhosh Varma to write the lyrics and then composed Enthaavo.” But now, it is the second song, the sadder Nanavere that is more adored.

“It was at first planned as a background theme. And later made a song. I composed it after watching the scenes of the film, and after getting Santhosh ettan to write the words.” Bijibal, his mentor, listened to Enthaavo and said ‘interesting’, and called Nanavere, good. The background score, he said, had good and bad parts and Justin removed the bad parts. Given a choice, he’d prefer composing background score to songs. “There is the constant fear thinking of the legends who have composed before you. That doesn’t come much with background scores. I really want to try different genres.”