"I have to feel it first" – SS Thaman on crafting music that gives goosebumps

MUMBAI: SS Thaman, known for delivering chart-topping albums like Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, believes that music isn’t just about composing a catchy tune—it’s about feeling it deep in his bones. He believes that if he doesn’t get goosebumps while working on a track, the audience won’t feel it either. That’s why he keeps at it, tweaking, refining, and sometimes even starting over until the music excites him first.

In a recent interview Thaman revealed his approach  “I program in the morning, take a break, maybe play a good cricket match, and then sit again,” he shares. “If I’m not getting excited, I can’t excite anyone. I have to feel it first.”

Thaman approaches every film as a storyteller, not just a composer. “It all comes from the film. If you don’t take a film properly, I can’t just make the music,” he explains. “A music director is also a narrator. I narrate through my music the background score, the highs and lows, the emotions.” That’s why he watches crucial scenes over and over sometimes 10 to 15 times to truly understand the moment before locking in the perfect sound.

Take a high-intensity fight scene leading to an interval, for example. “The hero is cutting through the villain’s men, the tension is building, and then boom it’s the interval, that moment has to hit hard. The director has placed it there for a reason, and my job is to elevate it,” he says. He carefully maps out the placement of every note where the dialogues intensify, where the music swells, where the silence makes the biggest impact to create a score that doesn’t just support the visuals but enhances them.

His process is intense, sometimes even chaotic, but it’s what makes his music stand out. “I sit with my team, put everything together, and listen again. I have to place the music where it hits right,” he says. “It’s crazy, but when you get it right, you just know. You feel it first, then the director feels it, and then you know the audience goes crazy over it.”

As Thaman pushes boundaries with his music, he’s also gearing up for Jaat, starring Sunny Deol, which is set to hit theaters on April 10. Following that, he’s composing for The Rajasaab, starring Prabhas, and OG, the much-awaited Pawan Kalyan starrer, where he’s crafting a powerful soundtrack to match the film’s intensity.