'Karthik, just Karthik!'

Though we’ve asked him a million times before, we try our luck again and ask singer Karthik if he has a second name to which comes the practiced reply, “No, I’m Karthik, just Karthik!” and we burst into laughter.

Karthik has often been told that he should consider joining the film industry as an actor himself, all thanks to his good looks, but for now, the humble and amiable musician chooses to stick to his music-based career. So what’s new, we quickly jump right into our interview, as Karthik is on a tight schedule and he indulges us,

“I just signed on Prem Sai’s new film, Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum, produced by Gautham Menon and it’s a huge honour. I am extremely excited, as I have always shared a great rapport and friendship with Gautham. The film is being shot in two languages — so that means two soundtracks in Tamil and Telugu for me. The Telugu version has been titled Courier Boy Kalyan.”

Prem Sai’s latest directorial venture will see Richa Gangopadhyay play the lead female role in both Tamil and Telugu, while the male leads will be essayed by Jai and Nitin in Tamil and Telugu respectively. The first look of the Tamil film was released a few days ago.

With the music of Karthik’s previous, Aravaan, being highly-acclaimed, we’re wondering what the sound of the new film will be. “Well, this soundtrack will see a huge change from my first film, Aravaan, as I have been asked to portray a more urban scenario through this film. I’ve just begun work on it and so I can’t say much — but expect to be pleasantly surprised,” Karthik enthuses.

With his career on the right track, we’re tempted to ask Karthik what he does in all his free time, because the singer/music director always appears to be busy!

“I’m not that busy, come on (laughs), but yes, I do have my hands full. I am still singing and that’s still the core of my career. I’ve recently sung for films being composed by Harris Jayaraj, Yuvan Shankar Raja and more interestingly, the maestro Illaiyaraja himself. I’ve sung two tracks in the upcoming Neethaane En Ponvasantham, also being simultaneously made in Telugu as Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu and interestingly enough, a Gautham Menon film, too!”

“Once, I’m done recording or composing, I also manage a band that performs all across the country. We play rock, semi-classical, more popular numbers and are always open to experimenting,” Karthik adds.

With hardly any time left, we quickly squeeze in our last question — any news on the Bollywood front? “Yes, there’s something coming up, but I can’t talk about it right now, I’ll let you know as soon as I can,” Karthik concludes, before we exchange pleasantries and he gets back to making fantastic music for a fantastic film.