Composer Simon K King is a unique talent for keeping himself busy both with films and OTT shows. Last seen in Made In Korea, he is returning with the second season of Vadhandhi, Vadhandhi Season 2: The Mystery of Mani, which comes out on Prime Video on August 7. "My association with director Andrew Louis goes back to Kolaigaran (2019). OTT was at its nascent stage when Andrew and I collaborated for the first season of Vadhandhi. Though people were still figuring out how music worked in web series, I wanted to work on the music thinking like a writer," Simon begins, as he adds, "In Vadhandhi Season 1, I made extensive use of Western Classical music; the sounds of the second season will be cinematic and grittier."

Elaborating on how he approaches music in Vadhandhi, and broadly in OTT platforms, Simon says that he doesn't believe in scoring for the landscape or genres. "I like to treat music like one of the characters in the series. It could be tempting to score for the landscapes in Vadhandhi as they are very different and specific, take Kanniyakumari or Madurai. But I never operate like that," he remarks, to further state that the OTT shows give him a lot to work on the characters, and mapping their moods is the only way to make music interesting. "That is how I make music a character in these shows. A web series offers a lot for a music director that he or she wouldn't get in films. Like the character's arcs, even in The Fable of Velonie, Laila mam's character takes an acute turn as the season progresses. So I need to map their moods. A series takes time to develop characters, so there is a constant demand for surprises with music and silences in these spaces. Also, you have your mini climaxes and cliffhangers in every episode. So I keep myself busy working on these aspects."

Speaking of his frequent collaborator Andrew Louis, he says both are particular about what the show demands. "For the first season to transport your ears into the Anglo Indian ambience of the 18th Century, Andrew and Andrew went to Budapest to compose the soundtrack. We wanted the authentic sounds," he recalls. He then goes on to say that the second season has slightly opened up space for songs. "In addition to the theme song, there are two songs in the second season, including the one for a Karuppusamy festival. Both songs are important to understanding the story. The songs aren't placed the way they are usually done. They were part of the scenes while writing. Andrew and I built those songs from scratch."

While he agrees that there are no tangible ways to find out how audiences respond to music for a web series, he has another way to find it out. "Yes, in a theatrical film, you can see how audiences are reacting to an emotional piece and an elevation piece. With the web series, I cannot do that. However, if I get the stats that more people have crossed the third episode in the season, then it can also be attributed to my music," says Simon, who feels that music for a web series is like his personal communication to the audience. "As I said before, that is why my music for OTT shows follows the narrative. I feel music needs to navigate people towards the numerous backstories and subplots. So if a series is binge-watched, I think music too plays an important role in it.

Simon, whose OTT works are somewhat equal to his body of feature films, says the simple way he chooses an OTT show is what it offers that the films cannot. "That is what I look for in the web series. The more space I get to explore with the soundscape and do things I cannot in a film, the higher the chances of me going with that show. Since I have been working in this space for some years now, I feel music for web shows is evolving beautifully. Look at the music in series like Yellowjackets and Succession; they are so inspiring, and I would like to do something like that," he says, as he concludes by listing out his upcoming projects. "My collaboration with Prime Video and Andrew continues. For the streamer, I am doing a series starring Regena Cassandrra and a Telugu series. I am joining Andrew in his next feature film. I also have a film titled Red Rose, directed by Rajesh M Selva (Thoongavanam), starring Aditi Rao Hydari."