Tanvi Shah is known for the international flavour she brings to her tracks. Every time a music composer calls her, it is probably to bring in the ‘world music’ vibe to a number.
When composer Girishh Gopalakrishnan called her one day during the pandemic-induced lockdown, the request was something similar, but it had to do with a Tamil classic number. For Carvaan Lounge Tamil, a concept by Amazon Prime Music and Saregama, which re-imagines hit retro Tamil numbers, Tanvi and Girishh have taken on a 1965 track, ‘Unnai Kaanadha Kannum’ from Idhaya Kamalam , sung by P Susheela and composed by KV Mahadevan.
“I was very scared because it was a Susheela amma classic. The minute you think remix, you think EDM and club music. But composer Girishh has an eclectic musical sensibility. He understood my strengths as a singer and has combined that with the aesthetics of the Tamil classic,” says Tanvi, adding, “We kept it soft and gave it an old-school Latin feel. Even the harmonies were tuned that way.”
Tanvi, whose recent work can be heard in the Yuvan Shankar Raja composition ‘Scream of Darkness’ song from the Vishal-starrer Chakra , is very much an accidental singer. In the early 2000s, AR Rahman heard a CD of hers and gave her an opportunity to sing in Yuva . She subsequently teamed up with him for Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and Sivaji , but her biggest claim to fame is undoubtedly ‘Jai Ho’ in Slumdog Millionaire that fetched her international popularity.
The song, which she co-wrote with AR Rahman, won her a Grammy, and life has not been the same since. “If I wear that crown and walk around, that would be the beginning of my end. I always keep asking, ‘Now what?’ and push myself more. As a singer, I have learnt and grown, and take every day as it comes.”
