With a break from the rigours of deadlines and daily chores, the lockdown, for most people, meant more time with their loved ones.
That, however, was not the case with Chennai-based musician Pravin Saivi.
His family left for Singapore on a vacation just a week ahead of the nation-wide lockdown. “Everybody turned to their families for comfort. I could not do that,” says the 37-year-old singer.
Pravin turned to music instead. In the last few months, he has probably been more productive than before, having churned out five singles and having taken part in a television show as well.
His latest single, ‘Vaanam Angey’, releases this evening. Under four minutes, it is an “Ed Sheeran-like Tamil song” according to him. “The song speaks about unconditional love,” says Pravin, of the single that revolves around two people from different countries and a relationship that unfolds during the lockdown.
‘Vaanam Angey’ is special not because it is his latest, but also because it is probably among a few music videos that National Award-winning film editor Praveen KL has worked on. “We [Praveen and I] go back a long way; he edited my very first music video when I was in Singapore. For ‘Vaanam Angey’, I wanted him to edit the trailer but when he saw the rushes, he wanted to do the entire song. Initially, the video ended in a certain manner, but thanks to Praveen’s vision, it was cut in a different way... and looks great.”
The other thing that is looking great for the singer is his recent appearances in Star Vijay’s Super Singer: Champion of Champions , a show that brought him and his colleague Sakthi Amaran together after several years. “Coming back as a contestant was like rebirth,” says Pravin. The show saw the duo giving its own interpretations to several hit numbers, “It was great getting back with Sakthi. We realised how much we had to learn from each other.”
The way forward
The lockdown has seen a number of artists dabbling in independent music and Pravin is not an exception. Apart from the Mohamed Raffee-composed ‘Uruthi Kondu’, a musical tribute to frontline heroes that he put out during March, Pravin came out with ‘Kaargala Megam’ which was completed in under 24 hours, an English song titled ‘It’s Okay’ and the ‘Jobless Anthem’, penned by Premgi.
“Tamil independent music is finding its way to listeners through the Internet. However, it has to be supported by radio channels for it to find the masses. I remember a time in Malaysia when there was a rule that every third song on air needed to be a non-film track. I’m hoping that, that day comes here soon.”
He hopes that people see him in a different light henceforth and stop stereotyping him as “the guy who sings acapella and harmonies”. Pravin did that one last time — on a TV show for a tribute to the late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam — but that will be it.
“I am hanging up my acapella boots,” he declares.
So, what’s next? “More music videos and of course, connecting with audiences.”
