Mickey J Meyer, known for his melodic compositions in Happy Days, Kothabangarulokam, and Oh! Baby, to name a few, speaks to the scribes about composing music for Nandini Reddy’s Anni
Manchi Sakunamule (AMS).
Music director Mickey J Meyer is best known for his melodic compositions in films like Happy Days, Kothabangarulokam, Sathamanam Bhavati, Mahanati, and Oh! Baby. Mickey is someone who loves working with different directors. The result of the film never really bothers him. It’s the variety that he’s often concerned about. Therefore, he even worked on mass commercial films like Subramanyam for Sale, Gaddalakonda Ganesh, and recently, the less talked-about Ramabanam, which opened to lukewarm reviews from critics and the audience alike.
The Happy Days composer is back to spell his charm on the audience with Nandini Reddy’s Anni Manchi Sakunamule (AMS), which is going to be released on May 18. The trailer for the film has created much-needed hype for the film. AMS is touted to be a feel-good family entertainer and stars Santosh Sobhan, Malvika Nair, Gautami, Naresh, Rajendra Prasad, and Vennela Kishore, among others, in leading roles. The film is produced by Swapna Cinema in association with Mitravinda Movies.
AMS is apparently set in a town called ‘Victoria Puram’. Ever heard of it? Well! It’s a world that’s unique to the film. As soon as director Nandini Reddy narrated the story, Mickey immediately knew the kind of score the film would need.
“I knew that the film would need a score that would blend in with the ambience of the town. It’s got a bit of British flavour as well. The songs are different and peaceful,” expressed the AMS composer.
The film has around six songs, and the composer started working on the project in 2020— before the pandemic. “After doing one song, there was a six-month gap. After which, I kind of felt it was getting boring from time to time. That’s why we’ve struggled with every tune since then. However, we worked accordingly with new ideas,” opened up Mickey.
The Mahanati composer spends most of his time abroad. He doesn’t have the habit of taking part in the so-called music sittings. When the press asked him whether that would get in the way of his work, he said he hadn’t heard of any complaints as such to date.
“One can observe my style of work in Happy Days,” said Mickey. “I have not participated in music sitting for any film. I just used to talk on the phone and make the director listen to my compositions. My team of musicians is mostly based in London and America. I am in contact with them. That’s why I want to stay abroad, and so far, I have been doing the same.”
The job of a music director is to transport you into the fictional setting of a film. If the music doesn’t do that, it means the composer isn’t doing his job. However, sometimes, even if the composers do everything they can, the script acts as a stumbling block.
“Generally, we give 100 percent effort to any film. If the movie is not good, then nothing falls into place. If the script, screenplay, and direction are good, our job will be successful,” expressed Mickey J Meyer.
When Mahanati was released in 2018, its music topped the charts on every streaming platform. The title song of Mahanati is still fresh in our memories. Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema jointly produced the movie. Mickey’s collaboration with Swapna Cinema has proved fruitful in the past. Will he be able to create the same magic?
“Working with Swapna, Priyanka Ashwini Dutt, and Nag Ashwin is kind of a tough job (laughs), but they respect the ideas of the composers,” commented the Shyam Singa Roy composer. “Freedom is given to my opinions. After Mahanati, I’ve got a good project like Anni Manchi Sakunamule, which started two years ago. Swapna Garu and I share our opinions about the movie via texts.”
Speaking of how special AMS is to him, Mickey signed off by saying, “We started this movie in 2020. I started scoring for the title song in October 2020. Since then, I have been working on this film. It feels kind of tiring. Finally, it’s going to hit theatres. It felt really good to score this movie, and I am happy because many seniors acted in it. The specialty of this movie is that music is given appropriately for all of them.”]
Mickey J Meyer is currently working on Praveen Sattaru’s Gandeevadhari Arjuna, starring Varun Tej. He’s going to score music for another Varun Tej project. Currently, work is underway on the Dil Raju-backed Selfish, starring Ashish. Besides this, Mickey signed up for Swapna Cinema’s up-and-coming film titled Champion. And has joined hands with an American director to work on a small-budget film.
