On A Learning Curve : Karthik believes that his best is yet to come

Playback singer and music director Karthik is in an upbeat mood. Ekaveera ( Aravaan ) was his film as a music director and he's being flooded with compliments for the background score. The 30-something youngster says there is hardly any place for socialising in his schedule and he loves his solitude. “Life is pretty crazy; I pack a lot of things into my schedule. I'm a playback singer; I do music, record for Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films, all big productions. I worked hard, nearly for a year for Ekaveera and am happy that I got good reviews for the background score. Now I'm working for Nara Rohit and Srinivasa Raaga's Okkadine . The work has just begun; we have recorded one song and the second too will be wrapped up soon. I shuttle between film shows, semi-classical shows and rock band.” Sometimes the music is fabulous but the film tanks at the box office, how does it feel then? “I apply the same concept to my singing too. Once my song is done, I'm happy, I don't think beyond that and anticipate other things which are beyond my control. People like my music and that's about it. I don't surround myself with too many people, it's me and my solitude and for a few people who work with me. I don't party at all and spend the little time with my wife and my three-year-old daughter. I have a very few friends.” He adds, “ Ekaveera is my first film as a music director and I've never worked as an assistant music director so when I started I had no clue, it took me about a week to figure out, how it works. It's no rocket science either and if you apply your mind you get it. If you use your instinct as to what applies for a particular scene, it is an enjoyable process. I love doing the background score. If you do it the right way you can see the scene come alive instantly.” Karthik says one cannot separate him from music, everything about him is that and he is always connected to it. “Either I'm singing, performing, recording or composing. Music did shape my personality; it made me a happier person in life. Whenever I have a high or a low I listen to a song or compose. It's a fantastic outlet to express happiness or sorrow. It fills the void and it is the best companion I ever had, my wife knows what it means to me.”

Karthik has sung for many films recently Brindavanam, Dhookudu, Love Failure; he avers that the bifurcation into Tamil and Telugu, Chennai and Hyderabad ...the lines are all blurred. “People work in both places and it is just a one-hour flight, it really doesn't matter as the sensibilities are very similar. The world is small it doesn't matter where you record the song, we have so many bilinguals and we all work for each others' films. However, my best output is yet to come as I want to correct a lot of things in my second project that happened due to my inexperience.”