His caller tune is a 1931 jazz composition by Duke Ellington called It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). He does death metal vocals, directs television music shows, acts in films, enjoys anything with a turn of phrase, swears by bands like Deftones, authors Erle Stanley Gardner and John Kennedy Toole, the film Mr. India and wears his Hindi film influences on his sleeve. Meet Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, 31, a musician who “doesn’t act like a musician when he is performing, and doesn’t act like a director when he is directing”! He was in Calcutta to perform at Princeton Club on Mahalaya-eve.

Who is he: The vocalist of post-hardcore Mumbai-based band Scribe who has directed the first season of the music show The Dewarists (Star World) and the mini series Bring On The Night (MTV). He is set to direct his first Hindi feature film, “a gritty thriller”, next year. He will be seen in the film Shaadi Ke Side Effects, starring Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan.

What’s he doing now: Looking forward to the release of Scribe’s forthcoming album Hail Mogambo, later this year. Inspired, of course, by Mr. India. “Films like Mr. India and Andaz Apna Apna made a lasting impression on us. These films not only had original stories but also a characteristic sound. The music was a significant part of the film-viewing experience. The album title is more like a tribute to those filmmakers,” said Vishwesh, whose group is known for the song I Love You, Pav Bhaji.

Taste for extreme music: “We like Marvel comic books more than horror films and we like fruits more than booze! And we like to play music that has some sort of power in it, which kind of takes charge of you, something that is real. Since the music is complex, it’s fun playing it,” explained the lead singer of Scribe.

The Dewarists Connection: “The best part about The Dewarists is that I got to watch gifted minds at work. For the Zeb & Haniya, Shantanu Moitra, Swanand Kirkire episode, a cinematic connection was built between these musicians, a connection of films that perhaps are forgotten. And we shot them performing in the century-old Capitol Cinema hall in Mumbai.”

Arindam Chatterjee
Picture: Pabitra Das

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