Even after a stellar debut in Thegidi (2014) and following it up with a hit like Sethupathi (2016), composer Nivas K Prasanna wasn’t always the name connected to noteworthy musical hits in Tamil cinema. He says, “I had sleepless nights before Bison, and I almost gave up. I used to overthink a lot, but I worked on Bison without thinking of the results, and gave it my all.” And such passionate abandon paid off as the soundtrack is receiving as much praise as the film itself. Nivas says that his collaboration with Mari Selvaraj felt like destiny. “My friends used to tell me I would work well with him. Right before collaborating with Mari sir, I spoke to him on call and expressed my desire to work with him. Soon enough, listening to a couple of my tunes for a recent project, producer Arun Viswa called Mari sir and suggested we work together.” Nivas says it was easy for him to understand the world of Bison because he grew up around Tirunelveli, where Mari Selvaraj hails from. But this does not mean that the collaboration was seamless. “I showed him several tunes, but he was not satisfied,” says Nivas before elaborating on the key phrase that started his journey into the world of Bison. “Mari sir said, ‘There is music running inside my mind and it is your job to figure out what it is’. Until then, I had a lot of preset ideas, but once he said this, I changed my approach. I decided to empty my mind, make it a clay, and let him make a statue out of it,” says Nivas.

The first glimpse of Mari-Nivas’ successful collaboration came with the release of the film’s first single, ‘Theekkoluthi’. While the soundtrack featured a colourful mix of singers from Chinmayi to Sathyan Mahalingam, ‘Theekkoluthi’ was sung by the composer himself. Be it Anirudh or Sai Abhyankkar, recent Tamil cinema composers are being criticised for singing a majority of their own songs, effectively reducing the number of active singers in the film industry. The same criticism was levied against Nivas, too. “I don’t like singing my own songs,” confesses Nivas, before elaborating, “Directors listen to my version of the song first so they get used to it and are adamant about retaining it.” However, the composer reveals that the issue is more complicated than that. “There are so many singers, but only a handful of them sing soulfully. You cannot use any singer for any song. I get anxious while recording a singer. They will sing it with perfection, but it drains a lot out of me to make them sing with soul. Naturally, you can’t help thinking that instead of spending so much time teaching them how to sing, you can finish the work yourself,” says a candid Nivas, quickly adding, “I’m not saying the singers are bad, but something is off and I don’t know what it is. I’ve never had this problem with Sid Sriram or Chinmayi or Vijay Yesudas; they have incredible depth. Others, you have to talk a lot to get them into the mood of the song.”

Nivas reveals how he had several discussions with Mari Selvaraj during the composing sessions on how best to retain the intended ‘soul’ of the songs in Bison. Nivas says, “I had to do what actors do and just followed the lead of the story and the director’s vision.” Interestingly enough, all this seems to be perfect practice for the next step in his career. “I am planning to take up acting. It’s not like I want to become a star actor, but a lot of people have encouraged me to take up acting, including directors Ameer sir and Prabu Solomon sir. I have started listening to scripts that feature me as the lead. I almost signed a couple of projects before I got Bison,” says Nivas, who exudes confidence that his musicality will allow him to be a good actor. “Of course, I don’t think acting is easy. But I think it’s easier for a composer to get into acting because acting is all about rhythm, and I understand rhythm.” With acting on the horizon, Nivas still has ambitious plans for his journey as a composer. “I would love to do a gaana-centric film with Pa Ranjith sir,” says Nivas, whose impressive lineup includes Sivakarthikeyan Productions’ Thai Kizhavi, starring Radikaa Sarathkumar in the lead, Kumki 2, and Arulnithi-Mamta Mohandas’ My Dear Sister.