“A trained Carnatic singer can sing any other form of music, but singers from other genres need to undergo training to recite the nuances of the Carnatic in a perfect manner,” feels P. Unnikrishnan, popular Carnatic and film playback singer. “I would love to introduce myself as a Carnatic singer and practice music at least for a couple of hours everyday without fail,” he points out. Unnikrishnan was in Kakinada to give a concert during the 70th round of the annual Sankranti Music and Dance Festival conducted by Sangitha Vidwat Sabha.
A Carnatic singer from his childhood, Unnikrishnan was introduced to the film world by none other than A.R. Rahman for his film Prabhudeva-starrer Kadalan (dubbed into Telugu as Premikudu ) and there was no looking back for him in Southern film industry for more than a decade. “Now, new singers are being introduced for almost every Southern language film. This is the post-Rahman scenario, where the career span of playback singers has reduced to a few films. I consider myself lucky, as I am able to lend my voice for a good number of film songs,” admits the singer, whose entry into the tinsel world is, according to him, ‘an accident.’ “In those days, my entire focus was on Carnatic music and never even thought of singing for films. It was Rahman who came to me with an offer and the rest is history,” recalls Unnikrishnan. “Rahman is a friend of mine. Over the years, there has been no change in him. But, there is a lot of change in his music,” he observes.
Presently, Unnikrishnan is striking a balance between musical concerts and music reality shows on television channels, as he is one of the permanent judges for one of the shows. “I am able to see huge pool of talent because of the shows. Children are getting instant fame by participating in the shows. Similarly, they are subjected to a lot of pressure as the series reach the grand finale,” he says, adding that the pressure comes from the parents’ side in many cases.
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“We can’t fault the parents, as they want their child’s talent to be the cynosure of all eyes. At the same time, we should not allow the children to carry the pressure, as it may affect their interest and enthusiasm in music in the long run,” points out Unnikrishnan. Considered a prodigy, the singer’s son Uttara Krishnan is already making waves in the music field. “I am not letting my child feel the pressure,” he smiles. The singer, who loves the raga ‘Charukesi’ and practices two hours a day, is taking classes in Carnatic music for the youngsters, besides evincing interest in music direction.