UnniKrishnan

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Unnikrishnan had not fully recovered from the jet lag for only hours before the interview, he had returned from the U.S. The news of his being the recipient of the national award was p73 conveyed to him when he was in the U.S. Soft spoken Unnikrishnan started singing at the age of six. ``I used to put the talam correctly at a tender age of three itself and at six, I started singing devotional songs. My first guru was V. L. Seshadri. After learning for a few years I lost interest in Carnatic music. Cricket was my passion. My mother insisted that I must learn music. So I started learning music seriously. I joined Dr. S. Ramanathan as his student. I learned a lot from him. After his death his student Savithri Sathyamoorthy was my teacher.

Unnikrishnan said he was a founder member of the Youth Association for Classical music. ``This Association helped me know more about Carnatic music. T. Vishwanathan and T. Brinda selected me for a workshop which was very useful and made me understand the aesthetic sense in Carnatic music, particularly the Veena Dhanammal style.

How did he get a break in films? Music director Rahman after hearing his classical singing offered him the ``Kadalan song ``Enavale Adi Enavale. The first song itself has got him the national award. ``As far as the award winning two songs go, the credit goes to Rahman and the lyric writer Vairamuthu. I am happy that Vairamuthu has also bagged the award this year.

Why do you sing only melodious or serene songs but not the popular variety of pop or rap? He feels that only certain types of song suit him. ``If I think the song will not suit me I tell the music director concerned or the director of the film that the song can be recorded with some other singer. I choose the song or my music director selects the songs for me. They all know that I am basically a classical singer.

But why sing film songs? ``What is wrong in singing them? Pat came the reply from Unnikrishnan. ``When the song has a Carnatic base, I love to sing it. In terms of classical music you are saved as long as you maintain the tradition. I used to sing light music numbers before becoming a classical singer. Now I have decided not to sing film songs on stage but only Carnatic music. For me classical singing is meant for the stage and film songs only for the recording theatre. Both are different in their own way.

Is it easy to sing film songs? Certainly not, says Unnikrishnan. He feels that after every song, he feels he should have done a better job. ``It is not very easy to sing film songs. You need some experience. The mikes are really sensitive. You must learn the song and give your best in two hours.

It is not surprising that Unnikrishnan is a fan of singer Jesudas the man who sings both Carnatic and film songs with equal felicity.

Contents

Tamil Films/Songs

  • song 1 (film 1)
  • film 2

Other Language Films/Songs

Non-Films/Songs

Awards

External Links

Personal tools