He is all of 21 and can boast of over 38 million YouTube hits for his song. But Anirudh Ravichander, composer of the phenomenally popular Tamil-English number "Kolaveri di", is already trying to move out of its shadow.
" 'Kolaveri di' is in the past now; I am trying to move on to new projects," Ravichander said in an e-mail interview.
"Although I'm enjoying the success, I realised it was very important to move out of the 'Kolaveri di' shadow to concentrate on future projects. I'm still young and raring to make good music," he added.
The newcomer, who composed the entire music album for Tamil film "3", completed his undergraduation recently. He is pursuing music full time now.
A trained musician, Ravichander wants to bring something unique to the platter of Indian music with his talent.
"I want to be different. Every song in '3' is so completely different from the other. There are a lot of music styles and genres in the world, which are really interesting, and are yet to reach India. I plan to imbibe these styles into my music for forthcoming projects," he said.
If grapevine is to be believed, his new projects might also include a Bollywood film or two. Is that true?
"I would love to test the waters in Bollywood and Tollywood. I am really excited about composing music in other film industries. But I haven't signed anything as yet. I have been speaking to people but nothing interesting yet," he clarified.
Ravichander began learning the piano at a young age, and what started off as a hobby, turned into a profession.
He asserts that formal training always helps, and said: "It is very important for every musician to undergo some basic training to turn professional. But at the end of the day, it's the passion and hard work that brings out the best in you."
For starters, Ravichander found a golden platform in the social networking media, through which "Kolaveri di", written and sung by southern actor Dhanush, became popular. Ever since the song's video was posted on YouTube, it has received over 38 million hits on the website.
"Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are platforms for people to share their work, and for other people to know and sample others' work. It also reaches a wider audience. Social networking is very helpful and it's only going to get better," he said.
The youth believes it is important for music to come to one naturally.
"Whether one is drinking coffee or watching a movie or even while sitting in a bus, the music we hear is always inspired from our surroundings and also depends on the mood and situation one is in," he added.
