Not many playback singers have forayed into dubbing and television anchoring, but Sunitha Upadrashta has not only ventured with ease but also made her presence felt quite visibly.
Sunitha made her entry into Telugu film industry with the unforgettably-silky number ‘Ee Velalo Neevu…’ in the 1995 film ‘Gulabi’. The year 2015 marks her entry into 20th year of singing career. In an interview to The Hindu after inaugurating the Lepakshi handicrafts expo in Tirupati recently, she expressed satisfaction at being a bridge between the previous generation of wizards and the current crop of budding talent, with a never-before keenness to pass on the mantle.
Unlike her predecessors P. Suseela, S. Janaki or K.S. Chithra, Sunitha did not get the opportunity to bulldoze her way through and dominate the industry for several years at a stretch, which is attributable to the emergence of fresh talent at that time among singers and music directors as well, who evinced keen interest in experimenting. But, she has no regrets as she kept diversifying to allied areas like dubbing and anchoring to keep the show going.
As the music and recording industry shifted to Hyderabad from Chennai, many artistes found themselves under a cloud of uncertainty. While offers came her way in Chennai with no reference to her linguistic background, the situation turned different when she moved to Hyderabad, where the nascent market offered a much smaller pie of the music cake. Braving all odds, she has left an indelible mark on Telugu, Kannada and Tamil industries.
An expert in melody, Sunitha is flooded with offers to sing mellifluous numbers. But, is it confining her to songs requiring soft and silky voice? “Not so. The ‘Egiripothe Entha Baguntundhi’ song in the film ‘Vedam’ is an energetic and racy one, which did prove that I can handle songs of any genre”, she was quick to point out.
“Whatever I did in my career was to my satisfaction. Be it singing, dubbing or TV shows, God kept me busy and I am thankful to him,” thus she signed off.
