Hidden gems

A word of appreciation or recognition plays a vital role in moulding one’s future. It fuels the passion inside and keeps the person working towards her/his goal. It requires a lot of effort to do that small thing. That is exactly what music director Gopi Sundar does through his YouTube channel Gopi Sundar Music Company. He has started an initiative ‘Me With Pulikal’, where he introduces rare talents in music. It says change comes out of pain. Gopi, who worked as music associate for 14 years, says the idea is stemmed from his own painful past.

“Many people work behind a music project, but hardly get recognised. No musician has ever tried to bring them to the limelight. I have been there. So, when I came to the forefront, I decided to do this,” says Gopi, who has been getting positive feedback for his project. “When I worked as music associate, I have observed my parents and grandparents waiting to see my name on the screen. But, it wouldn’t be there. There were times people have asked me ‘even transportation credits are there, why your name is not included?’ Once my father asked a musician out of friendship if he could include my name and I had to bear the brunt for that. On another occasion, I was told there was no space on the cover to include all names.  That hurt is still there in my mind. ‘Me With Pulikal’ is an answer to that,” explains Gopi, who finds time for it, amid his busy schedule.

He works on around 27 projects in a year, but is determined to continue this. “Other musicians could have done it long ago. But, no one did. For me, this is a prayer. When I provide a musician with a platform, her/his family would be happy.” The project kicked off with the introduction videos of the brains behind the movie Comrade in America (CIA). Later, other talents came on board. “I want the public to get familiar with all those who work with me and the music talents from outside. There are so many unearthed gems, who deserve recognition,” says Gopi. They upload videos every Thursday at 7 pm. There is good research behind it. “I don’t sit inside the studio all the time. I travel around researching music. Then, we meet such people. All of them would be brought to ‘Me With Pulikal’,” signs off Gopi.