Anju Joseph and pals from Kerala, who had released their rendition of ‘Dheevara’, the track from Baahubali , the A capella way a few days ago, are yet to come to terms with the huge appreciation they’ve been showered online.
The track that has received close to 60,000 views to date, performed without the use of any instrument, was shot by the lead singer’s husband in the interiors of Kottayam and Athirapally forest areas in Kerala.
“We had begun work on the track nearly six months ago. It was supposed to be a part of another album, but things didn’t quite work out. We initially approached Mejo sir (Mejo Joseph-a Malayalam composer) for the musical arrangement. My husband and his friend, Sunil later chipped in. Given, it was a song that was so popular on the national level, it was mentally challenging to match up to the standards. Though we were nervous while making it, after listening to the musical output, we had goosebumps.”
Anju is overwhelmed with the support she got during its making and from music enthusiasts now.
She makes it a point to credit Mejo for this. “We were wondering if we were wasting his time initially when we approached him, but I feel he deserves every bit of the credit we as a team have been getting.”
Anju’s been flooded with calls from everyone with appreciation, some of them even called to confirm if there was any instrument used, secretively too.
“I had to do a lot of convincing to tell them, it was all vocal,” she says, citing the American A capella band Pentatonix as her inspiration.
Anju has a strong classical music background leading to this. “It is the basis for everything little I go onto achieve,” she says with a certain amount of sincerity.
She had begun singing in competitions and youth festivals, ever since she was five till her graduation, after which she took a small break.
In the midst of it, she has been among the top 5 in several state-level competitions, organised by television channels like Asianet, Kairali, besides crooning in a couple of films.
Thanks to her newfound-popularity now, she is confident enough in approaching composers for opportunities.
