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Saturday, 3 October 2026
Music director Ajay Arasada has made a mark among Telugu audiences with projects such as Aay, Save the Tigers, Vikatakavi and Gurthukosthunnayi. With a string of new opportunities coming his way, Ajay spoke about his musical journey, challenges, working with different directors, the impact of AI on music and his recent meeting with Pawan Kalyan. Here are the highlights from his conversation.
“My family has always had art and music in our blood. I am from Visakhapatnam and also worked at TCS for seven years. While working, I got an opportunity to work on two films. Devi Sri Prasad is one of my inspirations. With the support of my mother and wife, I was able to enter the film industry. My good friend Sri Charan, whom I know from Visakhapatnam, gave me an opportunity to work as a keyboard programmer for Goodachari”.
Ajay said he never faced major difficulties while working on smaller films. “The productions I worked with were good, so there were never any issues regarding payments. I did not face any major challenges in that regard”, he said.
“I want to work across all genres and with different kinds of stories. My aim is to do justice to every story that comes to me. If I get a mass story, I will create mass music. Some people here believe that if a project comes from Tamil cinema, the music will be different, and if it comes from Malayalam cinema, it will be fresh. I want to break such perceptions through my work”.
Ajay explained that his choice of singers depends more on what suits a particular song than on their fee. “Every singer charges differently. I choose the singer who I feel is the right fit for my song. Ultimately, it is my song, and I want it to remain memorable for a lifetime.”
He recalled an incident from the beginning of his career when a producer objected to his choice of Anurag Kulkarni as a singer. “Today, that same producer is not even in a position to get Anurag to sing for his project”, he said with a laugh.
Ajay said there is a major difference in how music and background scores are designed for theatres and OTT platforms. “We create music and scores keeping the theatrical experience in mind. But when the film eventually comes to OTT, all the effort we put into the theatrical sound gets affected. If you watch Vikatakavi in a theatre, the sound will be on a completely different level. On OTT, it feels like only around 50 per cent of what I created remains”.
According to Ajay, AI has not significantly affected music yet. “No matter how much prompting you give AI, the output often feels similar. Some producers send us AI-generated tracks and ask us to create something like them. At times, it makes us wonder why they don't simply make the music themselves”, he joked.
He added, “Any technician can use AI as a tool, but people should not assume that anyone can become a music director simply by using AI”.
Ajay revealed that he recently met Pawan Kalyan after working on music for Jana Sena-related programmes. “I create music for Jana Sena programmes. When Pawan Kalyan recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I composed a score for it. After seeing my work, he called me. He spoke to me personally and said we could work together, whether for political projects or for the PK Creative Works banner”.
Ajay said the opportunity came through his friend Venkat Chikkala, who works as an editor there. “He is my friend, and that is how I got the opportunity. Bunny Vasu sir also gave me many opportunities to work. That eventually led to Aay”.
Ajay described himself as an introvert who does not enjoy self-promotion. “I don't like coming out and talking about my own work. I am an introvert and don't speak much. I rarely attend events, and I don't know how to promote myself”.
“I initially wondered why he would personally want to speak to me. When I received the call again about the meeting, I thought I would just speak to him for five or six minutes, take a picture and leave. But when I arrived, he was alone. We spoke for nearly half an hour and discussed many things. He also spoke about projects we could work on together”.
Ajay recalled a funny moment from the meeting. “I have a Bose speaker that looks like a coffee mug. He asked me what it was and picked it up while joking about its shape. He asked whether I had brought coffee. I was secretly thrilled that he was joking around with me so casually”.
Ajay feels that some directors today struggle to clearly communicate the musical requirements of a project. “Earlier, directors would explain the situation or concept and ask for a tune. But many people today don't communicate that way. They explain the scenes but sometimes cannot clearly explain what they want to convey, what the concept is or what kind of song they need.”
He added, “Unless the concept is properly explained, a lyricist cannot write the lyrics and I cannot compose the tune”.
Ajay revealed that he faced a credit-related issue with Aay. “Ram Miriyala sir also composed two songs, while I worked on the rest. But his name was often shown as the sole music director. The information was incorrectly reported in some media outlets. Bunny Vasu sir made sure to mention my name at every event and tried to correct the reports”.
He also said a similar issue occurred during Save the Tigers, when someone else's name appeared instead of his. “I always make sure to give credit to every member of my team”.
Ajay said he is satisfied with the confidence he has gained over the years. “It has officially been around ten years, but a lot of that time was lost to COVID. During this journey, I developed confidence in myself. Today, I believe I can compose music for any kind of film. I can even create excellent music for a big commercial movie. That confidence is something I gained over these ten years. Now, I am waiting for the right opportunity”.
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