Of jokers and jasmines

It has been a great outing for K’wood at the National Awards that were announced yesterday, and this is perhaps the most interesting day in the life of Sundharayyar, who won the Best Male Singer award for his rendition of the song Jasmine-u from Joker.

In a conversation, the elated singer says, “I was traveling to Bengaluru when I got a call from my friend saying Joker won the award for best picture (Tamil). I was delighted. A few minutes later, I came to know that I received an award — and I was so taken aback that I couldn’t react!”

Sean Roldan, the music composer for Joker, says that the award came in as a sweet surprise for the team. “For them (the jury) to recognise a quirky, fun song like Jasmine-u is surprising. Sundharayyar is an amazing talent, and I literally hunted him down to sing this song, as I composed it having only him in mind. This is a much-deserved award for him!”

Sundharayyar also shares the interesting story about how he got the opportunity to sing the song. “Prior to this, I had not sung any film songs; I’d not even recorded anything! I am a stage singer, who performs Periyar-propaganda songs at public meetings. Sean happened to see me when the Joker team was shooting at Dharmapuri. The day I listened to the completed song on the day of the audio launch was the best day of my life. Now this has happened, and I have to thank my family, who have supported me and my talent despite our financial condition.”