How Samuel Nicholas, Harris Jayaraj’s son, is making a mark in music

Samuel Nicholas Harris, musician
| Photo Credit: Thamodharan B

The year was 2001. AR Rahman was ruling the roost, not just in Tamil film music but also dishing out memorable albums like Lagaan in Hindi. Ilaiyaraaja was still sought-after, working on films like Vikram-starrer Kasi and the Vijay-Suriya-starrer Friends.

And that is when Minnale hit screens. The sound of ‘Maddy O Maddy’ echoed in theatres, even as the melodic strains of ‘Vaseegara’ captured the imagination of many. Gautham Menon had arrived as a filmmaker, and with him, brought along an exciting new composer called Harris Jayaraj.

Minnale released in February 2021, when Harris was looking forward to becoming a father. When he was basking in the success of the film, he became a father to a baby boy named Samuel Nicholas. “I was a toddler then and was oblivious to the impact this film had on our lives,” says Samuel, “Growing up, I used to take Minnale for granted, but as the days have gone by, I am revisiting these albums and wondering how this person packed so many good songs in it,” he says, referring to the early work of his father.

The right noise

At Studio H, the composer’s studio-cum-residence in Valasaravakkam, Samuel Nicholas has had the best seat in the house, during the making of many superhit Tamil film albums. “In my formative years, I didn’t see my father much, because he was working day and night on his films,” he recalls, “I used to take my PSP wherever I went, and if it made some noise in the studio, I’d get angry stares from my dad.”

Once he reached an age where he “would behave”, Samuel would be let in for a recording session but with a strict diktat: to stay completely silent. “I would observe who’s coming and visiting. Sometimes, just to amuse himself, he would record my voice.” Samuel’s first music contribution was in Suriya-starrer 7aum Arivu, where Harris recorded a chorus of children. He has since, been actively involved in many film albums, assisting his father on musical work. “As I became more aware and musically inclined, I listened to many songs and kept thinking about why they chose to do some things, and why they didn’t. I soon started making tunes of my own.”

Harris Jayaraj with his son, Samuel Nicholas
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Keep it young

Samuel Nicholas is 23 now. Much like his father did way back in the 2000s, Samuel also harbours dreams of making it big in the music industry. The first big step towards that is his recently-released independent single, ‘Aiyaiyo’. Part of the Think Indie series and directed by Sanaa Mariam, the catchy melody – a song that Samuel has composed, sung and danced in as well – is representative of all things young.

“I am very camera shy. The real challenge in ‘Aiyaiyo’ was dancing in front of the camera,” he recalls, “We tried to rehearse my reactions to things as little as we could and still try to nail the expressions.”

Samuel is aware of the expectations from an artiste in today’s Instagram-first world, where one has to, apart from composing and singing, also package a music video with a dance hook step to go with it.

“I think it’s exciting. I’m going for dance classes too, apart from improving my music. My father regretted not learning to sing, and so he pushed me to train my vocals. In recent live shows, where I played the guitar and sang, we tried a choreographed dance-music routine for which the response was overwhelming,” says Samuel, who is also inspired by AR Rahman and Yuvan Shankar Raja, apart from being influenced majorly by his own father’s work. He is now listening a lot to dance music and Anirudh’s tracks, a composer he feels “is killing it” at the moment. “I love ‘Chaleya’.”

Samuel is not the average struggling music composer; he sits in a posh music studio, probably one of the best in Asia, and has access to the best of singers. All this because he is Harris Jayaraj’s son, a fact he repeatedly acknowledges in conversation. How does he react when people call him out on grounds of nepotism? “I would totally agree with them,” he states, “But I also think it’s not a bad thing if it results in good music. It’s also bizarre that while children of doctors and lawyers are encouraged to take up the same professions, children of film industry professionals are not looked at in the same way. At the end of the day, whoever makes good content will be rewarded.”