That voice behind the hit song "Andankaka kondakaari"...is it really her?? It's quite surprising when you look at her, the child in her still pretty visible for anyone to see! Yes, we're talking about none other than Saindhavi, the voice behind the famous number in 'Anniyan' that has taken her places!! We did a small 'background check' on her and here's what we came up with!!

Saindhavi's father is a General physician who is also a Drug and Alcohol De-addiction specialist; her mother who was working for a bank, opted VRS five years back, to help her daughter with her career. She has two elder brothers too, and none of the family members had an inclination towards music until they discovered the latent talent in her. Now the inevitable question that immediately sprouts is how her parents named her after a raaga. "When I was born, my parents wanted to give me a unique name and when they came across this interesting name of a raaga in a book, they immediately decided upon it", says Saindhavi, with a smile.

When asked how she fared in her studies, the young singer who is doing her Bachelors in Sociology in M.O.P.Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai, replied saying she was definitely an above- average student and is happy that she gives equal importance to both her passion for singing and her studies. When asked how she thought she sang, she replies with a crooked grin, "I can't judge myself, you can do the honours!!"

Speaking on how she landed her first shot at playback singing, she said that many people assume that 'Anniyan' is her debut in singing for films. The film, 'Uyirezhuthu' for which music director Deva composed the music, was her first film, she clarified. "When I went to give Deva sir a demo he told me that since my voice was good enough, I myself could sing the song. But that film has not yet hit the screens. Before that 'Anniyan' came out and it sure got me a good reception in the field".

On the day your song in 'Anniyan' was released, how did it feel? "That song came out six months after I had finished recording it, so when it did come out, I'd almost forgotten about it! When my friends complimented me on my song, I didn't initially believe them...thought they were pulling my leg!! But when I came to know that the song had really come out and that they were genuinely complimenting me, I felt what they call, "real good"!!!" she says with a reminiscent smile.

The question, "Who would you attribute your success at this young age to?" drew jus a single word in response, "God"! Moving on, we asked her if there was any difference in the treatment her friends gave her before and after her stint in playback singing. She replied saying that there was absolutely no change in the way her friends treated her because she behaved the same way she had always behaved around them, giving them no reason for a change in attitude towards her. But they often taunted her with "don't forget us!!"

When we asked her the following question, she was diplomacy personified!! "Under whose (music) direction would you love the most to sing?" and if you haven't guessed the reply by now, here it is!! "I really can't pinpoint any names here...there's a special talent in everyone and I wish to sing under the guidance of all the music directors in the field!" (We told you!!!)

"Is there an incident in your singing career so far that has got you a little upset?" "Hmmm...I sang the title track for a Tamil serial, 'Idhu oru kaadhal kadhai', but my name wasn't mentioned. I was a little down about that, then, but I'm no longer upset by it", she said. When asked why, she replies with a smile that radiates confidence that though her name wasn't mentioned in the title video, people came up to her and asked her if it was her voice that was behind the title track! "The fact that people were recognizing my voice even when my name wasn't mentioned, gave me a profound satisfaction and I have no more complaints!"

By
Aruna.V.Iyer