The Score Magazine - Archive August 2009 Issue | Page 51

Hungary for more folk? Paul Jacob’s fetish for folk music hasn’t ended with unknown South Indian towns. Seen along
with Abhishek, the director of Kathai, the jolly old gypsies in the picture helped with recording parts of the score
Kathikappal. To those who only speak music and bands, he’s one hell of
a bass guitarist. And if none of the above makes much sense, then he’s
the guy in the brightly coloured kurta-shirt at the Alliance Francaise, the
next time there’s an interesting concert!
Paul is one of those select few people who still believe in the power of
the musician as much as the music “Just as the music has its own life,
the guy creating it also has his unique touch,” he reasons “Why take it
away from him?”
He has also thrown much into the promotion of folk artists from un-
heard of parts of South India. He recognizes that as time goes by, so will
a valuable music form pass into ashes and dust. “Its crazy that though
they’ve passed on their music from generation to generation, the lure
of city life is pulling the kids away and killing the knowledge” he says
sadly “I was sampling some stuff in this remote village and the bunch of
chaps begun playing a watered down version of some film song when I
asked them to play their music.” clear distress signals “And THAT is what
cinema has done” he ends.
So what’s a man with his disposition dabbling in films for, I wondered
aloud. “It all began with Allari in 2003. The director was an ad-maker
friend of mine and we did the entire composing in a hotel room in Hy-
derabad for tax cuts!” he chuckles “I am careful about the story first, the
director next and the amount of freedom I’m given,” That explains his