Kaavaalaa song starring Rajinikanth and Tamannaah Bhatia, is all over the internet. It created a sensation of its own. While everyone is admiring Tamannaah for her sexy moves, we believe the voice behind the song, Shilpa Rao, was one of the key reasons for the song’s success. In this week’s Celeb Talk, the singer converses with The Pioneer’s Shikha Duggal about coming on board Kaavaalaa, her musical journey, and more.
Singer Shilpa Rao is making so many headlines in the south; her songs Kaavaalaa and Chaleya are on top of the charts.To be outspoken, it has become a national trend! Recent viral videos showed the Japanese ambassador grooving to her hit track, so who could have stopped us from talking to the viral sensation of the hour?
Formerly known to be a jingle singer, SHILPA said, “I have grown up with my grandparents, and the time spent with them was the most pure memory of my life. My brother and I were my grandmother’s ‘jigar ka tukda’. The way they took care of us, nothing could be more virtuous in my life. Then, hailing from Jamshedpur, I really got connected to nature, and I miss it so much back here.”
Elaborating further on this note, the singer stated, “My hometown used to be a forest when I was growing up — it has now been carefully planned into townships. Still, on a road trip to my hometown, you’ll cross as many forests as you can. Thank God for afforestation! Most of the locals work there for the TATA industries; that’s when the cosmopolitan hub hits us. But we also have strong Tamil and Marathi theatrical roots coming from there, which are lesser known.
Music and art have been an intrinsic part of our culture from the beginning. A lot of the stalwarts of classical music come down to the town for live shows, and I keep hearing tidbits here and there about how our locals like to learn from them and know more about classical music.”
Now that we have touched the folio of music, we wanted to dive deeper into the Tose Naina’s musical career, especially this fusion of Tamil and Telugu that brought a superstar on board. “The turning point still hasn’t arrived.The narratives we hear about a celebrity’s life are not that honest because getting a break doesn’t ever change your life for the better. You have to continue to give chartbusters! I had to keep changing the kinds of films I was making to keep up with the trend. The actors I was meeting every day while doing a playback for them all mattered.
For example, in the Kaavaalaa song, (we take a deliberate pause)” and the playback singer proceeds, “The musical atmosphere is changing so rapidly — the composers are trying to figure out the code to go viral. Anirudh Ravichander had a specific vision for the kind of vocals he would like to have for this song, picturing Tamannaah in it. I didn’t understand why he chose me to do a playback for a raunchy song like this. He is becoming such a maestro that his visualisations are hitting the mark these days. To him, his songs are not just a musical melody; listeners should be able to jam on them!
During the recording session, I was reacting to his energy levels, which were so high, just as you see the actress performing.That special nuance was his idea! After the song was released, I still had to catch up with Tamannaah because she outperformed herself in the choreography. I saw that warrior attitude in her. She didn’t compromise on any of the hook steps given to her; she was at it like a real champion.”
She took a lot of inferences from the shooting locations covered in the movie Jailer that helped her improvise on this song. She harked back to the tribal touch of her hometown too, so that she gave a unique touch to the brilliant song. Ultimately, she wanted to make this song no less than a music festival, and she succeeded.
Reminiscing about the time when SHILPA was actually a jingle singer, we hear her recall, “Shankar Mahadevan suggested I begin with or as a jingle singer. He found my voice extraordinary in those times! I had to learn a lot about recording to be one of the prominent recording artists that I am today. I know about those quirky additions because of his suggestion. Many aspiring singers are singing songs, but they really become inspiring when they create their own style from those lyrics on the sheet!”
Sharing her initial stint with Tollywood, she pursues, “There are like-minded people here in the Tamil industry that always make me come back here and do a collaboration without any hesitation. In this case, I’ll name Anirudh as the one! Whenever we are recording together, our energies are always so high. He lets me improvise! Whenever I am in Hyderabad, Anirudh is my partner in crime.
When Chalaya came to me, I insisted on recording the song with him, and I found out how much he loves to work with different vocalists across the country. We wrapped up the song in just twenty minutes for Shahrukh. And Hyderabad has always been another home to me; my extended family is there. I have a lot of childhood memories spent in the city.
There is a misconception that their cuisine is so limited. There are an endless number of cuisines here! My grandparents’ unconditional love actually came from here, so Hyderabad will always have a special place in my heart.”
Tutored by her father, who holds a musical degree himself, she summons back very dearly, “He is a strict parent! He just wanted me to ace my musical career. He continues to keep a check on me even today: ‘Are you practicing your vocals, Shilpa’? I never want him to change! But still hasn’t got that sense of achievement in spite of doing playback for A-listers.”
Blurb: Shankar Mahadevan suggested I begin with or as a jingle singer. He found my voice extraordinary in those times! I had to learn a lot about recording to be one of the prominent recording artists that I am today. I know about those quirky additions because of his suggestion. Many aspiring singers are singing songs, but they really become inspiring when they create their own style from those lyrics on the sheet!
