The Art Of Storytelling Through Music With Maris Vijay

Maris Vijay, a film composer and Best International Music Director Awardee at Cinefest Malaysia Awards believes that music should be a counterpoint of sorrow and grace, to express sentiment.F

The founder of M-Music, an independent record label, Maris Vijay refers to the work of legendary Charlie Chaplin and makes a bold statement: “It may seem strange to say that one of the world's most well-known entertainers is underrated. But Charlie Chaplin is. Not necessarily as a comedian, actor or director, but as a composer.”

“The advent of sound might have meant the end of silent movies that had made Chaplin a star, but it gave him the chance to compose his own scores. And what scores they are, full of lovely and catchy tunes, the exquisite timing and contrasts that make his comedy so moving, brilliant use of motifs, and a wide range of magpie inspirations that provide rich variation.” He adds further.

Hailing from South India and working in multiple Bollywood and international projects, Maris Vijay feels that language is not a barrier when it comes to bind the new audiences with music. He shares, “I consider myself fortunate to have the privilege to watch Charlie Chaplin and the famous cartoon show Tom and Jerry for hours during my childhood days. It had big influence on my art. I was inspired to see how they narrate the story with music without involving any words and hence I try to compose elegant and romantic music to frame my films in contrast to the tramp character.”

Recently awarded with Nation’s Icon Award 2022, Maris Vijay has progressed to enjoy international fame while winning numerous prestigious honors.

Speaking on the art of storytelling through music, he refers to Tom and Jerry and says, “In Tom and Jerry, both the characters do not use words to tell the story or express any of their feelings. Press play and watch it. This cartoon actually rely a lot on the background music to explain the story. They use a louder sound when Tom is walking and a softer and more animated sound effect when Jerry is walking. This is related to their size obviously. The soundtrack will alter to reflect the character's mood, whether they are pleased, sad, afraid, angry, or shocked.”

Maris Vijay informs about his latest movie “The Future Is Dark” which is to be released soon. He says, when the director, Raj Kumar Das narrated the story, I've been enamored with his concept ever since. So, when I started working on the project, I didn’t go for conventional methods of composition. Instead, I chose to reflect the sentiments through music that I perceived from him. And now I waiting for its release.

A lot of his work and projects have gone haywire as a result of the pandemic, but he's keeping his fingers crossed that everything will fall into place. The young musician is pleased that a handful of films will be released in 2022.

“As predicted and scheduled, Vattakanal, a Kollywood film, is my next release. Aside from that, I'm on a French project and some other significant Bollywood projects. As I just released “Sab Jhoote Hai” album song featuring National Film Award Winner, Savaniee Ravindrra through my music label M-Muzik. I feel 2022 will be a defining moment in my career.” he concludes