On the right note

Soumya Ramakrishnan is set to make her presence felt with her song in ‘Vikramadithyan’

FINDING HER PLACE Playback singer Soumya Ramakrishnan. Photo: K.K. Mustafah

Soumya Ramakrishnan’s ‘Mazhanila … ’ hasbeen ringing in households much ahead of the release of Lal Jose’s Vikramadithyan. The lilting duet with Najim Arshad is for Soumya the defining moment. “The reviews have been good and I feel, this really is my break.” The singer, who completes her tenth song in films with ‘Mazhanila … ’ says the journey so far has been “wonderful”.

Her association with composer Bijibal earned her the first break. She sang a jingle for a TV commercial (for Lunar) and a string of other jingles followed (including Club FM theme song and Dhatri). These slowly paved the way for her first brush with playback singing. For someone who had kept away from reality shows, the break was unexpected.

Bijibal, whom she refers to as her mentor, gave her ‘Thaane paadum veene

… ’in

Arabikatha. The song wasn't in the film, but she received some good feedback. “Biji sir has groomed me. The inputs he has given me have helped me improve a great deal. From my first song to my latest, my tonal clarity has improved,” she says.

An MBA, Soumya is an HR professional at Xerox Services, Infopark. “Though music has always been part of my life the thought of discontinuing studies and professional aspirations never once crossed my mind.” Her weekends are packed with recordings. With a bunch of supportive colleagues, Soumya says juggling two careers does not feel like a chore.

After her studies, she worked in Hyderabad for a while. “The fate of film music is very uncertain. One cannot really pin one’s whole life on it,” she says. Especially in a day and age when playback singing is no longer considered sacrosanct. Recording techniques have changed and listeners’ sensibilities have changed. “You cannot tell what your fortunes will be,” Soumya says. While in it, hard work is important. “When a music director gives you a song, you should be able to deliver it. A chance is hard to come by and when it does, you don’t mess it up.”

Music always plays in the background at her home in Tripunithura. Soumya’s mother, Jaya Ramakrishnan is a singer herself and used to teach students Ashtapadi. Soumya’s sister, Sreevidya too is a trained Carnatic singer.

Soumya has learnt Carnatic music under Cochin Vishwanathan and Hindustani for a brief while under Mohan Kumar. In addition to film singing, she hopes to devote her energies to Carnatic music. “Learning is a constant process. It has to go on.”

She devotes at least two hours a day to music. Just as practice is important, listening plays an integral role in shaping a singer’s musicality, Soumya says. “It helps in comprehension and developing expressions and a style of your own.” She has just finished recording for Anoop Kannan’s Homely Meals.

Some of Soumya’s notable songs are: ‘Aathirarakkudilil…’ from Apoorvaragam , ‘Vaakkinullile…’ from Ozhimuri and ‘Neelakaarmukil…’, a semi-classical number she sang with Manjari from Cleopatra. Soumya has sung a full-length Hindi song, ‘Zindagi…’ with Yasin Nisar for Angry Babies in Love. “Listening to Hindi songs and singing them are two very different experiences,” Soumya laughs. “It was extremely difficult to get the intonations right. But lyricist Praful helped me a lot.”

For now, Soumya is happy soaking in all the appreciation that is coming her way. “Music is an inseparable part of my life.”