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Music composer Sai Abhyankkar opened up about his rapid rise, working with Atlee and Allu Arjun on Raaka, and his admiration for Thalapathy Vijay at the India Today Tamil Nadu Roundtable in Chennai on Monday, August 17. Speaking at The Leela Palace, Sai reflected on his journey since his first song in 2024, the unexpected success of Katchi Sera and the pressure that comes with being hailed as one of the promising young names in Indian music. He also spoke about his upcoming song Radhimaa, his dream of working with Christopher Nolan and why he has no plans to pursue acting.
On working with Atlee and Allu Arjun
“Thinking back to 2024, when my first song came out, I wouldn’t have believed that I would work with Atlee sir. When that’s happening, that’s something I will cherish. I am working on Raaka with Atlee sir and Allu Arjun. I am happy. It’s very special. I definitely want to be more consistent and work hard. And I want to work with Christopher Nolan. They did some AI video of Christopher Nolan talking about my music. I hope one day that happens for real.”
On missing out on a dream collaboration with Thalapathy Vijay
“Don’t make me emotional. That’s a major chunk I will be missing in my life. It’s not possible anymore, so I don’t know what to do. It was an absolute dream, without any doubt. I would have given a 16-track album. He was a hero for cinema fans, but now he is a hero for everyone. That is an even bigger stage to be in.”
On his upcoming song ‘Radhimaa’
“My upcoming song is Radhimaa is a peppy breakup song. I know you people might think, I just got married with a fake thaali in my last song and now breakup song. Nothing is planned. It is a breakup song with a lot of love. It’s not a happy breakup. It’s like a state where you can do anything, or you can say, “Be happy.” It’s not from experience. I have not been in a relationship. It’s that state where you feel like saying, “I can indeed say, ‘You be happy,’ but after saying that, what will or can I do?” That is the Radhimaa song.
I am 100% sure you are going to love it. It will obviously feature a big star. I will announce that sometime soon. Of course, there is a hook step and a dance vibe to it. There are some Hindi lines in this song, and I wanted to compose a Qawwali for a long time. So there is Qawwali and breakup.”
On being just 21 and achieving so much
“I genuinely am very grateful to God for whatever He has given me, and I just get this thought of keeping it consistent with whatever I do. When you say I am 21 and have achieved this, it is all God’s blessing.
I am just starting out. I have kept my peak somewhere else. I just want to work hard towards it.”
On comparisons with AR Rahman and Anirudh Ravichander
“I want to be sincere with what I do, and I want to give people good music. I am just happy wherever it takes me. I want to be sincere.”
On whether he expected his songs to go viral
“We can’t expect such things, actually. I was producing in my small computer room with a minimalist setup. I started making grooves and sequences when I was in sixth standard. I never expected to release them. I never thought that I would be celebrated by people and showered with love in abundance. I never had that thought when I started. It eventually happened. I haven’t predicted it. Radhimaa. I am not promoting it. Radhimaa is my personal favourite right now.”
On his first fan moment
“When I saw a group of people singing my song, I thought, “I have done good work. People are liking it. Let me do this good song and people will like me more.” That was Katchi Sera.
On dealing with expectations
“If I think about that, I get scared. If I see people telling me great things about my song, it is a responsibility that I take to my grave. So I want to fulfil them happily. I go and start working happily.:
On what inspires his music
“Thanks for noting it. I think something has to inspire us. As a musician, I am looking for inspiration every day. There are legends in our industry, and across the world there is already good music out there. I listen to songs and I want them to inspire me to make good songs. So it’s healthy. I think I have a lot of inspirations, and I want to take something from them and work on my music.”
On becoming a better dancer
“I am a good dancer. I have started practising things that can make me perform well, and I want to do it outstandingly well, so I will practise until then. Paravam Malli helped me break the barrier. I want to be a good performer.”
On entering the film industry
“It’s been overwhelming, to be honest. I think because I signed my first film within the same week, by God’s grace, I signed four films. The first film I signed was Benz, and the first one that came out was Dude.
I thank all my directors who have been supporting me and giving me the support and freedom to work. Coming from the independent space, they give me a lot of trust. They say, ‘Just do what you like,” which a creator feels most liberated by. I am very fortunate to work with such directors’.”
On handling the pressure of creating music for stars
“If I start taking pressure or think like that, I will forget to make music. So I just tend to do what I like, and if it comes out well and if directors like it, they shoot it and the audience will love it. It is 100% sincerity, not luck. It’s what I deliver to my directors.”
On what makes Gen Z different
“We try to be very true. We actually don’t want to act. This generation is not pretentious. We do whatever we like, and we are very true to ourselves, and that will land our generation in a good place.
If I am sleeping tonight, I just need to think, ‘I have done justice to what I was supposed to do’. I do it, and this generation is like that. They don’t want to talk, they want to do.”
On how stardom has changed him
“It’s the same. My parents, when I go home, say, ‘Go wash your shoes after pickleball. Go serve your own food’. Actually, they keep me grounded, and that’s the most important part of what I am today.”
On choosing between AR Rahman and Anirudh Ravichander
“I have grown up listening to all their music. RD Burman, Kishore Kumar, Ilaiyaraaja, Lata Mangeshkar ji, they are all a part of me right now. Everyone is an inspiration to me. I want people’s praise.”
On how he challenges himself as a musician
“I am very fortunate to receive and live at this age. In that case, I don’t need to do anything other than practise. There are a lot of things I haven’t even touched yet. I haven’t explored them. I want to explore and share my vision with them.”
On whether he would ever act in films
“I will do whatever people want in music. If someone can act, they can go act. I can’t act. We can learn dancing, but not acting. It needs to be a part of you. That’s not my cup of tea, and I don’t have the features to do it. They will say it now, and later they will troll me saying, ‘You can do good music, why do you want to act?’ I am happy doing music.”
– Ends
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