When a local music band decides to pay a musical tribute to the star of all superstars Rajinikanth, we’re all ears. Wilfred Demoz (drummer), Sujay Harthi (vocalist), Praveen Biligiri (bassist and vocalist) and Tony Das (guitarist and vocalist) of Peepal Tree music band are avid fans of the Kabali hero and share their story on the making of Magizhchi (Tamil phrase for joy or happiness).
“Willy saw the trailer before the rest of the band and it made him feel like this movie was going to be as awesome as two of his most favourite Rajini movies combined — Baasha and Thalapathi! Amidst rumours of this being Rajinikanth’s last movie, he wanted to give something back before the superstar decided to call it a day. So, he decided that we should write a powerful song to mirror the effect that the trailer had on him. He came over, showed everyone the trailer, and said, “Guys, we have to write a song!” and we thought the trailer looked great.
Willy’s excitement was infectious and soon we started exchanging ideas and the song grew from there,” shares Tony on how it all began. The video showcases some endearing snippets of Rajini fans, his popularity and cult, that encompasses generations of fans who wouldn’t let go of the opportunity to enact their favourite hero’s moves.
Talking of how the band was formed, Tony adds, “Praveen and Sujay, being old friends decided to try something that they had both been interested in; something that would put Sujay’s otherwise unexplored Hindustani classical education to a little more use, and something that would test our ability to write about all the different kinds of music we love, while at the same time, not being esoteric or self-indulgent. We wanted to write good songs. We heard two melodies of Chetana and Tangi, sparsely recorded, and started working on making them into songs. We got busy with other things for a while after that and then after a while upon discovering that Willy had some time on hand, we took these bare-bones demos that had potential. We released Chetana and Peepal Tree was on Facebook and soon fans loved our music. It’s just been one continuous learning exercise so far.”
Taking a step ahead, the band is now trying to maintain this momentum, and trying to rack up more firsts. “We’re fairly new and have a long way to go in our careers, but we have had our share of memorable moments like launching our first demo, Chetana and subsequent demos thereafter on Soundcloud.com, our debut gig at BFlat, being chosen by All India Radio from bands across the country to represent India at the ABU Radio Song festival in Myanmar, recording vocals for eminent musicians and watching it air on MTV Indies and playing at two editions of NH7 music fest. All of us have collectively got a number of interests, ranging from animation to sports to photography.”
