Composer Santhosh Narayanan has addressed why he is not composing music for Arasan, the upcoming Silambarasan-Vetri Maaran film set in the Vada Chennai universe. The film has musich composed by Anirudh Ravichander.
In an interview on Irfan's view, Santhosh was asked why he was not a part of Arasan, especially given his acclaimed work in Vada Chennai. Responding to the question, the composer said he never dwells on such decisions as he understands the complexities involved in filmmaking.
"When you're trying to put a film together and complete it, you have no idea how much a director has to go through. There are so many things happening behind the scenes. I never think or ask, 'Why didn't they work with me?' I've never looked at it that way," he said.
Explaining that such changes are common in the industry, Santhosh cited director Karthik Subbaraj's films as an example, pointing out how filmmakers often collaborate with different composers from one project to another. Take Karthik Subbaraj, for example. He worked with Anirudh on Petta. After that I came on board for Mahaan. These things happen all the time. They're just different collaborations," he added.
Despite not being associated with Arasan, Santhosh had only words of praise for Vada Chennai. "That film and its overall vibe are truly special. Hats off to that. Being associated with an artist capable of creating something like that inspires me to do better work myself," he said.
Directed by Vetri Maaran, Arasan is described as "an untold tale from the world of Vada Chennai". While it shares the same universe as the Dhanush-starrer, the film does not feature Anbu and instead revisits the world through a new story. Silambarasan leads the cast, alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Andrea Jeremiah, Samuthirakani, Yogalakshmi, Kishore, Yogi Babu and Jibin Gopinath.
Backed by Kalaipuli S Thanu under the V Creations banner, Arasan marks the first collaboration between Vetri Maaran, Silambarasan and composer Anirudh Ravichander. The film is slated for a Deepavali theatrical release.