April 2, 2012
It was by sheer coincidence that I met V Manohar, a well established and popular name in sandalwood having made his presence felt in important aspects of film making - as music director, lyricist, film director and actor. Though I had known him during his stint as a cartoonist in “Mungaru”, Kannada Daily in the mid 80’s having worked in the same organization, it was the first time I was meeting him face to face ever since he has acquired an aura as a celebrity in sandalwood.
V Manohar who hails from Vittal (V stands for Vittal) was in Mangalore recently for the music CD release of the Tulu film “Bangarada Kural” for which he has provided music and has written lyrics to 4 of the 7 songs. We had gone to meet Paki Hegde and happen to chance upon him before we could talk to Paki.
Bald yet beautiful he was dressed in a checks shirt and shorts and was just returning from a programme in a FM radio, a promotional exercise, when daijiworld.com team drew him into a conversation. A multi-faceted personality that he is, having established himself as a music director, lyricist, film director and actor both in films and small screen, Manohar comes across as a down-to-earth personality. Though he began his career as a cartoonist soon after his B.Sc from Vivekananda College, Puttur, his focus was films and he entered the media world to reach his destination.
Due to his unswerving determination he succeeded in getting an entry into the competitive world of Kannada cinema making his debut as a song writer in the much acclaimed movie of Kashinath “Anubhava” released in 1984. The song “hodeya doora o jothegara” picturized on Kashinath and Abhinaya became a hit and V Manohar had arrived in the Kannada film scene with a bang. It is not just cinema that beckoned him. He is quite busy in the small screen also as music director and even as an actor in T V serials. Who can forget his role as Narada in the tele-serial “Danda Pindagalu” and even the title song which was penned and sung by Manohar himself?
“Anubhava” movie and also the real anubhava was just the push Manohar wanted and it can be safely said it was just the beginning of a long and celebrated career bringing him name and fame. Lot more was to come from this talented personality who had his fingers in every pie as far as the Kannada film industry is concerned. Talking about his life as a cartoonist he says he first started to work in a Bangalore based Kannada paper Janavani before his stint as a cartoonist in Mangalore in “Mungaru”, Kannada daily of V Raghurama Shetty. “I was bent upon getting into the film industry and thought working in the media would give me that opportunity and I was proved right as I came in contact with film personalities like Kashinath and Upendra during my work in the media” he recalls. It was this contact with Kashinath which gave him an opportunity to write the lyrics of that popular number of “Anubhava” and make a successful foray into the into the film field.
While he was determined to get into the film industry his stint as a cartoonist was a mere co-incidence or providence if one can say so. His father used to bring magazines like Chandamama when he was a kid and Manohar used to draw caricatures by looking at those pictures. Quite impressed by his drawings his father encouraged him to draw more and that paved the way for his becoming a cartoonist, though he did not have any formal training in drawing. “My lines were not straight and I thought cartoon would be appropriate for me because cartoons require only zigzag and haphazardly drawn lines”, he chuckles.
Manohar attributes his talent for writing lyrics to the exposure and experience he got from writing lyrics to Tulu plays during his college days. “Very often I was given the responsibility of writings songs for Tulu plays that were staged and that background helped me to deliver when opportunity knocked at my doorstep”, he reminiscences. While Kashinath gave him the first opportunity to write lyrics it was Kundapur boy Upendra who convinced producers of Jaggesh starrer “Tharle Nan Maga”, the first movie of Upendra, that Manohar is capable of proving music to the movie. It was audio album released by Manohar at the same time made Upendra realize the potential in him. Upendra liked the songs and Manohar eventually scored music to the movie making his debut in “Tharle Nan Maga”.
That proved to be his swan song as a music director in Sandalwood. Today he sits pretty having composed music for more than 100 films that include blockbusters like Janumada Jodi, O Mallige, Anuraga Sangama, Mungarina Minchu and many more. He has also written lyrics for more than 1000 Kannada film songs.
Giving some insight into how he clicked as a music director despite not having any formal training Manohar contends “I have this intuition of a tune and I used to provide dummy lyrics for such tunes. Remembering a tune is not easy so I used to put dummy lyrics. Once that is done even if I go back to the lyrics after many years I can recall the tune. I had a good repertoire of such dummy-lyric tunes which came in handy for me as a music director”.
Apart from composing music and writing lyrics Manohar tried his hand in film direction also. “O Mallige” starring Ramesh Aravind and Charulatha directed by him ran for more than 100 days across Karnataka. He has directed 3 films so far.
Working for Tulu film Bangarada Kural is like homecoming for Manohar though this is the third Tulu film for which he has composed music. “Maribale” and “Koti Chennayya” were the other two Tulu films for which Manohar composed music. “Working with Ram Shetty has been an enlivening experience”, he says. There is an element of sadness when he says that though he worked hard as a music director for Koti Chennayya giving songs in Tulu Paddana style, the movie was a utter failure and his hard work went unnoticed. “Even if the songs are good if the final product comes out badly it does not create any desired impact”, Manohar explains.
For Bangarada Kural Manohar has written lyrics for 4 songs whereas Machendranath Pandeshwar has written lyrics of three songs. “I got inspiration from Machchendranath Pandeshwar who wrote beautiful lyrics and the songs have come out really good. Drawing inspiration from him I wrote the remaining songs”, he reveals.
He admits that the music field has given him utmost satisfaction and after coming to the field he has been experimenting with new tunes. He equates the search for tunes and getting it to the experience of a pregnant mother. He says searching for tunes and getting it is quite a thrilling and gratifying experience. “It is quite galling when I don’t get a tune but once I see the final product all the frustration and hardships are forgotten. The experience is like a mother giving birth to her child who forgets all her discomforts and pains she has endured after seeing her child”.
There is no time regrets as he takes life as a challenge though he does feel a trifle sad that he would have attained perfection in his drawings if he had formal training in drawing. Nonetheless both the film filed and serials keep him busy and he has no time to be doleful.
He says working in Bangarada Kural was quite challenging because Ram Shetty is quite particular about quality. “I had to work hard to give him what he wanted and if the songs become hit I feel my work is worth”, he declares.