Busy attending functions and shuttling between Coimbatore and Chennai, life has totally changed for D. Sathyaprakash in the past 15 months. The second runner-up in the Vijay TV's “Super Singer 3” is a household name now.
For a hardcore Carnatic vocalist it was a challenging task, but he came out with flying colours.
Contesting top talents, he made a mark with his soulful singing. “It all depends on how you adapt to film music. I tried to be different throughout the competition. I sang for self satisfaction and wanted people to acknowledge my effort. I never went after the prize. Probably, that helped me to attempt tough songs even during make-or-break situations,” he says.
Those who watched the final have little doubt about his abilities. Especially, “Omana Penne…”, which he sang, still resonates in their minds. His courageous rendering, attempting a fusion of Carnatic music alapanas and western RnB inflections got a standing ovation from the judges.
But the Coimbatore man is large hearted. He has taken the loss to Saicharan and Santhosh in his stride. “I was too inexperienced at that time to choose songs that did not appeal to the audience. But no regrets now as I have got the recognition I longed for,” he says gracefully.
This mechanical engineer has a Madurai connection, which he still believes the reason for his endeavours in music. “Becoming a musician is the dream of my maternal grandfather M. Ramiah Pillai, a Tamil pundit of Sholavandan. He was the one who showed keen interest in sending me to music class. He even supported me financially depositing an amount in my name. Legendary singer T.R. Mahalingam was his contemporary,” he reminisces nostalgically.
Sathya was introduced to Carnatic music at the age of 8. The advanced training he got under Pandanallur Chandrasekara Bhagavathar from the age of 11 moulded him into a singer. “I can never forget Chitra aunty who introduced me to this master. But for her, I would not have been what I am now,” he says.
Seeing his talent, Rajalakshmi Fine Arts provided him the opportunity to explore his abilities. Sathya now has four albums released under the banner of Rajalakshmi Audio, ‘Padatha Pattile', ‘Jananam', ‘Pazham nee' and ‘Soundaryam'. “I feel more responsible now as I have to make my presence felt before the next set of super singers emerge. I am working hard for that. I am also looking for a job that gives me enough freedom to pursue my career in music.”
For a person with limited exposure to film music, 21-year-old Sathyaprakash's achievement is commendable.
Though he did not win the competition, he stole the hearts of many musicians. Already, music composer G.V. Prakash has offered a chance to sing in his next movie, while actor Dhanush made clear his intention to make him sing for his movie “3”. Popular director Selvaraghavan too tweeted that he would offer Sathya a chance to sing his next movie.
