“The music of The Girlfriend is very close to my heart” – Hesham Abdul Wahab

The Rashmika Mandanna starrer ‘The Girlfriend’, which released in theatres today, has had a long promotional campaign. The music of the film, scored by Hesham Abdul Wahab, has played an important role in this campaign. The music, as the composer asserts, contributes towards taking the narrative of the film forward as well.

The first teaser of the film, which has been directed by Rahul Ravindran, came out 10 months ago. The 1-minute and 34-second long teaser featured snippets of the very melodious song ‘Reyi Lolothula’ from the film. The Hindi version of the song was titled ‘Chand Baaki Hai’. The song teaser also released in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. In the following months, one witnessed a few other singles from the film releasing.

In a short span of time, Hesham has made managed to establish himself as one of the leading composers in the Malayalam and Telugu film industry. His songs, which get dubbed in other languages, have helped him connect with listeners in other states and regions as well.

All the songs of ‘The Girlfriend’, which have released so far, have been received well by the audience. Once the film releases, one expects the entire album to come out. This has been a special project for Hesham for multiple reasons. Known to have a penchant for perfection, Hesham is quite satisfied with the way the songs and the score have come alive.

In this interview, the composer talks about working on ‘The Girlfriend’, collaborating with Rahul Ravindran, what makes Rashmika Mandanna a special actor, Vijay Deverakonda lending his voice to the teaser, love for ‘Saiyaara’, releasing a non-film album and more.

This is your first collaboration with Rahul Ravindran. How was the experience of working with him?

It was wonderful working with him. He has an eye for detail and ensures that everything is done as per his vision. He knows exactly the kind of emotions a scene needs to have. All this translated into the music we made. He had complete clarity about the kind of song that is required to be there in a particular situation and the emotion it needs to evoke. The music of this film is very close to my heart. Primarily, because of the outcome. I humbly believe that the film has songs that will stay in the audience’s heart for a long time. In today’s times, you seldom come across albums which only talk about love. ‘Saiyaara’ had such songs and look at the kind of impact it created. All the songs in ‘The Girlfriend’ talk about different emotions associated with love. The film is talking about the things which people go through in relationships these days. Anybody who is in love or wants to be in love will be relate to the songs in the film.

Which is that one quality in him as a filmmaker that you admire the most?

He is very sharp. He knows exactly what he wants. There is never any confusion in his mind. I experienced this while working on the music of the film with him. The clarity of thought in him is something you will witness while watching the film.

‘The Girlfriend’ is a Telugu film and the songs were originally made in Telugu. However, they have also been dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. You have been a part of many such films in the past. Is it challenging to create a song in multiple languages?

There is no language barrier in music. The entire process does take some time. However, I thoroughly enjoy it. You have to get different lyricists to write the song in different languages and get it dubbed in different languages. When you make a song in a certain language, you have to make sure it sounds beautiful in that particular language. For instance, when we are creating a Hindi version of a song originally made in Telugu, we have to ensure that the Hindi words are sounding good and working well for the melody. You have to be careful about this aspect.

Rashmika Mandanna plays the titular role in the film. Did you have a chance to interact with her while working on this project?

Yes, I had met her while visiting the shooting location a couple of times. We had also met each other at a couple of events for the film. She is one of the hardest working actresses of this generation. She is a dedicated professional and a great inspiration for everybody.

Vijay Deverakonda lent his voice to the teaser of the film which also featured a bit of the song ‘Reyi Lolothula’.

Vijay and I share a great bond ever since we worked together in ‘Kushi’. He recorded this part in a studio but I was not there. When I heard the final recording, I was absolutely in love with what he had done.

The teaser, which came out months ago, did not divulge much details about the film but gave us an inkling of the story featuring elements of romance and mystery in it. The trailer, which opened up the story a little bit, got a good response as well. The film seems to be quite different from anything we have seen in the recent past.

Every relationship has a sense of mystery to it. Through this film, Rahul has explored that mysteriousness very nicely. The audience will go through an emotionally intense ride while watching the film.

Chinmayi Sripada, one of the most accomplished vocalists we have today, happens to be Rahul’s wife. She lent her voice to the humming portions in ‘Reyi Lolothula’. She has also sung the song ‘Em Jaruguthondhi’.

We are blessed to have singers like Chinmayi garu in our country. Her voice has added so much warmth and beauty to my melodies in films. It was wonderful collaborating with her again on this film.

In a recent interview, you stated that ‘Kerala Crime Files’ has been the most challenging project you have worked on. Was it because of the fact that it was a long-format series?

It was primarily because of the fact that I was stepping into a new genre. I was working on romantic films and this was a thriller. Working on this project was challenging but it was great fun as well. It was very different from the kind of work I usually get to do. It has been one of the watched shows to have come out of Kerala. I received messages from people all across the country telling me how much they loved the show and the score.

Is process of creating the score for a series different from that of working on a film?

The process is almost the same. The requirements, however, can vary. Sometimes, there are no songs in a series. In such a situation, you only have to concentrate on the background score. People watch a series in their own comfort. They can pause, rewind and forward any time. Every intricate detail is important.

During the initial years of your professional career, you released an album called ‘Qadam Badha’. The album had a spiritual bent to it. Do you plan to come up with another non-film album in the near future?

Yes! I am busy with a lot of film projects right now. These projects will keep me busy for the next few months. Once I finish working on the projects I have taken up, I will start working on my independent album. I plan to do a lot of work in the independent space in the future.

Is there any film album which you liked recently?

I loved the ‘Saiyaara’ album. I loved the film also. It was wonderful to see the songs and the story blending in so well with each other. After watching the film, I messaged Vishal (Mishra) and Jubin (Nautiyal) and told them how much I loved the film and the music.

Many of your songs from Malayalam and Telugu films have been dubbed in Hindi and done very well. Do you plan to do a Hindi film soon?

Yes, I am in talks for a few projects in Hindi.

What kind of music can we look forward to you in the coming year?

The music you will get to hear will be a little more extended exploration of the romantic genre. You will get to see a different facet of me as a composer through these songs.