Santhosh photographed with Rajinikanth and Meenakshi Iyer. (Image Courtesy: iflickz.com
A 29-year-old youngster made his debut in 2012 with a delightfully unorthodox album
Attakathi, which had everything from whacky
gaanas to earthy melodies. His name was Santhosh Narayanan. He followed it up, the same year with background scores in
Pizza and
Soodhu Kavvum, which both incidentally had some of the best pop beats ever used in Tamil cinema.
Santhosh has consistently created magic with his signature crossover style with the poignant
Cuckoo, the eclectic
Jigarthanda, the rustic
Madras, the funky
Enakul Oruvan and the restrained 36
Vayadhinile albums. With less than ten films in 4 years, Santhosh seemed to be in no hurry to climb the ladder of success.
But come 2016, the man who composes music for Rajinikanth's
Kabali, might come out all-guns blazing with ten prestigious projects lined up continuously for release.
Irudhi Suttru/ Saala KhadoosThis bilingual sports drama featuring Madhavan as the boxing coach has hit the right notes with the music-buffs, as a couple of tracks have already gone viral online. Santhosh will also make his debut in Bollywood with
Saala Khadoos, with both the versions releasing next week.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comIraiviKarthik Subbaraj's
Iraivi, which comes with the tagline 'The story of few women,' would be Santhosh's third association with the maverick director after
Pizza and
Jigarthanda. That's quite enough to send all expectations soaring.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comManithanA remake of Subhash Kapoor's 2013 Hindi film
Jolly LLB,
Manithan is directed by Ahmed, who earlier made
Endendrum Punnagai. It would be interesting to see the difference how Santhosh's background score makes to a court room drama.
Kadhalum Kadandhu PogumA romantic comedy directed by Nalan Kumarasamy, the film is already in the news for its youthful teaser. Would we get another quirky anthem like
Kaasu Panam?
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comKashmoraInsightfully named as the House of Spirits, Director Gokul's next film after
Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara would a supernatural horror thriller. Now, that's one genre Santhosh hasn't experimented yet.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comKabaliThe biggest film of all, Rajinikanth's
Kabali might well be Santhosh's one-way-ticket to the big league. Director Ranjith is known for extracting the best from the musician, and we can't wait to watch what Santhosh has in store for superstar.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comKodiKodi, directed by Durai Senthilkumar, would be Santhosh's first association with Dhanush. Billed to be a political thriller,
Kodi might be yet another addition to the musician's rustic albums.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comServer SundaramSanthanam in a Santhosh Naryanan musical. Named after the superhit K Balachander movie starring Nagesh,
Server Sundaram is directed by newcomer Anand Balki.
Untitled Vijay-Bharathan Project/ Vijay 60After superstar, it's Vijay for the talented musician in 2016. The star's 60th film, to be directed by Bharathan of Azhagiya Thamizh Magan fame would be a realistic thriller, according to sources.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comUntitled Selvaraghavan - SJ Surya- Gautham Menon projectSelvaraghavan and Santhosh Narayanan are said to be teaming up for a yet-untitled horror film, which would feature SJ Surya in the lead. This project is believed to be funded by Gautham Menon under his own banner. This would be the musician's second tryst with horror after
Kashmora.
Image Courtesy: iflickz.comWith such infinite opportunities for radically brilliant soundtracks, it's surely an exciting time ahead for Santhosh Narayanan and Tamil cinema.