Legendary Indian Composer ILAIYARAAJA Scores Music and Songs for His First English Film

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Sep 30, 2015, 05:15 ET

SYDNEY, Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Love and Love Only, a cross-cultural romantic drama that premiered at the San Francisco Global Movie Festival in August, features the musical score of Ilaiyaraaja, who has composed over 1,000 Indian language films. It is the first time the legendary composer has composed songs for an English language feature film.

Featuring the first Ilaiyaraaja English song and musical score, Love and Love Only is a cross-cultural romantic drama that tells the story of love between an Indian international student and a working class Australian girl. Ilaiyaraaja has composed original songs and background score for a world record of over 1,000 Indian language films. Ilaiyaraaja has also worked as a singer, conductor, songwriter, and instrumentalist, and has primarily worked in South Indian Cinema since the late 1970s. He has won four Indian National film awards for his music, and is the first Indian to compose a full symphony.

In addition to a small production crew and micro budget methodology, the film stands out with the emotional connection between the music and the scenes. According to director, writer, editor, and producer Julian Karikalan who funded the movie himself, Ilaiyaraaja completed the entire background score in just five days. Each composition perfectly highlights the emotion and subtext of the scenes. In fact, Julian says the composer was able to write the music spontaneously as he was watching the movie. Being a film set in contemporary Australia, Ilaiyaraaja wanted an Australian singer to render the voice for his songs. Australian singer Rachael Leahcar, signed with Universal music, got the opportunity to lend her voice to Ilaiyaraaja's first English song for an English film.

The script has received much praise so far. Richard Walter, Chairman of the University of California, Los Angeles graduate program in Screenwriting, said, "Dear Julian, I was going to set the script aside until I had a little more time available but took a look at the first few pages and got caught up in it and read right through, no small testimony to your skill. You ask whether or not 'this is something that the western audience would relate to' given its cross-cultural aspects. My view is that there are only two kinds of movies: not cross-cultural romances and others but good movies and bad movies. Yours is clearly in the former category, and I say: Congratulations."

Love and Love Only follows the story of Kris, a boy from a wealthy Indian family who goes to Australia as an international student. While there, he meets Stacey, a school drop-out with a difficult family life. Family oriented vs. individualistic culture is a prevalent theme in this love story. The film deals with the universality of human emotions and love, despite the cultural differences. It is a mainstream romance film for mainstream audiences spanning different cultures.

The movie premiered at the San Francisco Global Movie Festival in August, 2015. It was filmed in and around Sydney, Australia and at the University of Wollongong. A scene at the Sydney Murugan Temple was shot from outside the building while the actors were performing inside, as cameras were not allowed inside. Most of the actors are newcomers to film, but are well experienced in theater. In addition to a minimal crew (never more than 10 people in a day), the female lead was chosen from a list of extras, prepared for the role, and according to the director, has surprised many with her performance. The male lead is played by Rohit Kalia, who was Mr. India Australia, in 2014.

Tait Brady, producer and distributor, said, "The script is very solid in terms of basic structure. The cross-cultural observations are astute and often amusing and the whole script has the ring of truth, no doubt due to the writer's first-hand experience. It wouldn't be the first Indian-Australian story filmed by any means, but as a film it would still be very different from the Indian/Bollywood productions that have used Australian locations as glossy backdrops, and aren't really engaged in Australian life."

The use of Western and Indian instruments is another highlight of the film's score. In fact, Ilaiyaraaja was one of the first Indian film composers to blend Western classical music harmonies and strings with Indian film music. He is the first Asian to compose a symphony for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Large orchestral arrangements integrate electric guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, violins, cellos, violas, base and flute. He has also used traditional Indian instruments like the Veena, Nadaswaram, and Thavil. The composer's trademark style helps accentuate the cross-cultural theme of the movie.

For more about Love and Love Only, visit www.facebook.com/Loveandloveonly.Movie

Please check out the trailer on https://youtu.be/Q8xYKEirzaA

About Lens Films

Lens Films is an Australian company run individually by writer, director and producer Julian Karikalan. It's debut project is Love and Love Only, a cross cultural romantic drama featuring the musical score of Ilaiyaraaja, a legendary Indian composer for over 1,000 Indian language films. The 100% self-funded movie is the composer's first English-language film with his original songs. Made with a micro budget, the movie is focused on good writing and the universality of love rather than a large crew. However, the team hasn't compromised on production values and guarantees a memorable movie experience to the audience.

Please check out the trailer on https://youtu.be/Q8xYKEirzaA

Our Wiki page is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_%26_Love_Only

Contact Details:

Julian Karikalan
Phone: +61-430-993-101, +61-401-069-230
Email: [email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150930/272298

SOURCE Lens Films