Meet Vijaynarain Rangarajan, an Indian-Australian singer-songwriter and composer who’s known for songs like Ei Suzhali, Aiyo Kadhale, Kaarkuzhal Kadavaiye, and the Bhairava Anthem. His music is rooted in Indian melody with elements from various other genres like country, blues, RnB, and acoustic-rock. This World Music Day, we chronicle his journey with music and share some stories behind his songs.

His journey with music began when he was in second grade. While in Delhi, he was enrolled in Carnatic vocal classes and learnt under the guidance of the late Sri O.V. Subramaniam for about two years and then took a break in between. “My dad had a transferable job,” he stated, “So, there was a break for two years or so when we shifted to Salem, and then I started again in eighth grade.” He was in Mumbai at that time, and there, he continued training at the Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha. After moving to Chennai, he returned to his first guru in his 11th grade for about six months. He later decided to focus on his academics.

Vijayarain talks about how the music around him shaped his journey as well: “Growing up in my household, we did not listen to a lot of film music, at least not until we shifted to Mumbai. That was when the indie-pop culture revolution happened. Eventually, I was exposed to a lot of music.”

When he came to Chennai, he heard how a phone call from A.R. Rahman could change people’s lives. “So, that piqued my curiosity and I started listening to more of him, which really inspired me.” He did his engineering in Chennai and got exposed to a lot of other genres, including rock music.

“At one point, my sole aim in life was to sing for Rahman. So, it sort of got obsessive, like that.” And so he began a band with some college mates. “Apparently, we were the first Tamil rock band in Chennai at the time. I don’t know how sure I am of that, but we enrolled in this televised band hunt.”

The television show was called Ooh.. La La La… It was telecast on ‘Sun TV’ back in 2006 or 2007 and was judged by playback singer Vasundhara Das, percussionist Sivamani, and bass guitarist Paul Jacob. The finale of the show was judged by A.R. Rahman. “A lot of established musicians today like Anirudh Ravichandar and Kalyani Nair were part of that show,” he said. “We continue to have a great relationship with all these musicians, and they all remember this contest.” It was poorly organised, but Vijaynarain and the other musicians on this show fostered a network where now everyone works with everyone.

Routine and riyaaz

You may think a musician’s life is filled with discipline, strict schedules, and a lot of practice time. But Vijaynarain Rangarajan doesn’t claim his life to be like that. “To be honest, there is no structure in a musician’s life. That is the truth,” he stated. “The discipline part is just things like regular practice or prep for a show. But there are stretches where nothing happens, and then there are days which are just packed with work.” We should note here that he also balances a day job as a tech consultant (work-from-home) although his main focus is music.

“I have a pretty boring routine, to be honest,” he jokes. “But then I love the fact that I get to, like, you know, do these musical escapades now and then go for a recording and all of that.”

Tales behind the songs

Vijaynarain was also kind enough to share some tales behind some of his most famous songs. He shared the backstory on his song ‘Ei Suzhali’ from the 2016 Tamil film Kodi (or maybe it was ‘Poyi Vazhva’ from the 2016 film Manithan). “I can’t remember which song it was, but I used to live in a tiny studio apartment in Sydney, Australia,” he recalls. “I had to do a remote recording of the song. I was recording well beyond nine p.m., and the next morning, I found a letter slipped under my front door from a neighbour who was disgruntled with the fact that I was singing. It was about how council laws are against noise after 10 p.m. and that my singing was a nuisance.” Irrespective of the tone and content of the letter, he still keeps it as a reminder of a fond memory. “Back then, I was quite naive. I thought as and when I recorded the song, I would slip a CD of it under their door. I never got to know who that said neighbour was though.”

He also recorded the Bhairava Anthem from the 2024 film ‘Kalki 2898 A.D.’ with the very rocking Diljit Dosanjh. “I have Santhosh Narayanan (film composer and music producer) to thank for the song. My parts were recorded entirely in Chennai. And as much as I would have loved to meet Diljit Dosanjh, I did not get the chance to. But, that’s just how the industry works. Everybody records their parts from wherever they are,” he says. “What I did get to do was dabble in a language I had never sung in before: Punjabi. When the scratch was being made, Santhosh Narayanan called me up and asked if I would be able to sing those lines as a reference for Diljit. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be in the song.”

Having a fair fluency in Hindi, he was able to pick up the Punjabi intonations from a voice note. The note was then sent to Dosanjh, who sang the parts in Punjabi. The Hindi portion was done by Vijaynarain. “So, I have my name on a track with Diljit Dosanjh.”

In tongues

And speaking of languages, a lot of singers in the film industry sing in multiple languages. Vijaynarain is no exception. When asked about the easiest and most difficult language to pick up, he said, “My mother tongue is Tamil, so that has been very easy. Hindi is quite easy as well, as I picked up the language during my childhood in Delhi. It is still functional enough to sing in, although I do not get to practice it enough.”

The toughest language was Malayalam. “It is incredibly hard to convince Malayalam speakers that you have sung in their language, as they will know whether the singer is Malayali or not,” he says. “I have tried it. I have a couple of releases in the language, and when I play it to a native speaker, they can tell I’m not a native speaker.” He also says it’s not just about pronunciation, but also the context of the word and using it in the right places with the right intonation.

Indie vs film

As we know, Vijaynarain has dabbled in both film and independent music. He shares the differences between both industries. “The making of film music is very straightforward as far as I am concerned,” he shares. “You have a composer, who calls you to the studio. He or she then teaches you the song you deliver. You’re given context of the situation the song revolves around. You record it, get paid. And if it is a hit, happy days. But there are also times when your voice doesn’t make the final cut.”

He also shares the challenges of recording. “The recording can be pressuring as there is usually not a lot of time. There are also moments where you and the composer do not have a good equation with each other. At times, you have not worked with the composer before. So, it feels like an exam where you have three hours, a song, and you have to learn it within that time frame,” he says. “Your throat also has to be perfect on the day of recording. You should also be in the position to refuse a song, or postpone recording for certain reasons.”

Indie music, on the other hand, sees no commercial or corporate restraints. It’s about doing a song on whatever you feel like it can be, like traveling, “You just start writing something, and then you could just stop and then develop it a year later when you’re traveling again. And then that culminates in a song. You could take your own sweet time working on the song before releasing it,” he explains.

“And I feel like an artist’s true expression of themselves comes through in their independent music, because that is when you know who they are and what they’re thinking about. Because at the end of the day, artists are people who should have more interests than just music. I feel musicians should have a wide variety of interests outside of music, which is when they can get inspiration to feed back into their songwriting. It’s also a process of self-discovery.”

Career advice

Here’s a few words from the expert himself. “There is no straightforward or easy answer to this. But my advice would be to treat music as something that makes you happy, because at the end of the day, it is art. And when you make a career out of art, there’s money, and there are also a lot of ups and downs to it,” he says. “But at the end of the day, art should be a means of channeling your creative energies and expressing yourself. So I would say keep that always as your primary focus rather than, you know, wanting to make it as a career. And that frame of mind sets you up trying new things without fear, otherwise you could, you could very easily be swayed by what is commercially successful.”

He also highlights the importance of learning fundamentals, especially in music. “We are in the world of AI where a simple prompt can give you anything. But it is extremely important to understand the fundamentals of music. Understand what the theory is. And if you’re into classical music, dive deep into that.”

Vijaynarain also encourages actively listening to a wide range of music. “Have an open mind to all sorts of music and listen to as much music as you can. And then you will start to understand what appeals to you and what doesn’t. that will form your influences and the base for any creative work that you do. All creative work is derivative, but to be able to derive good stuff, you need to have actually listened to a lot of good stuff.”

Whether it’s navigating the structured world of film music or the boundless freedom of indie creation, Vijaynarain reminds us that music, at its core, is not just about perfection or popularity, but about honest expression and the courage to keep experimenting.