Express News Service
Singer Hariharasudhan shot to fame with the track Oodha Colour Ribbon in Sivakarthikeyan’s Varuthapadadatha Valibar Sangam. And now, four years later, he has lent his voice to a Superstar film — Kaala. The phenomenal response to the single Semma Weightu released on May 1, has made the six-footer feel ten feet tall. “I’ve been getting so many calls from the Superstar’s fans, who’re going bonkers over the catchy lines. I sung the track along with Santhosh Narayanan, and every effort was taken to not give a political connotation.”
Interestingly, Santhosh had not revealed to Hari that the number was to feature Rajinikanth. “He narrated only the lines which did not reveal the Kaala factor,” he says, adding that it took him a few takes to get the song right. He sums it up as a “fusion of hip hop, rap, and folk, mixed with lines in English and Hindi.” Hari is thrilled that this cocktail is topping the charts in YouTube well ahead of the film’s release.
In more ways than one, he feels that Kaala will be a milestone for him. “As singers, we get lost in the background of the film. The real value of singing such hits realised during stage shows abroad, where Rajinikanth songs are in huge demand. Honestly speaking, stage shows are our bread and butter.”
He is grateful to composers who are willing to experiment with new voices like Santhosh. “He liked the way I sung the title track in Madras. Though it took him a while to give me my second opportunity, it could not have been a better one!”
Hari believes that the success of a song largely depends on how it is shot. “Oodhapoo was such a big hit mainly because of the effective picturisation. There are, of course, other factors that determine the reach of a song. As singers, we can only pray that our song reaches the masses. These days a singer cannot be sure of his number getting retained what with the last minute changes made to a film.”
Every singer has a personal favourite number from among his discography, and Hari’s pick is Thaaayum Konja Kaalam from the film Kangaroo. “It’s a philosophical track based on the famous Sindhu Bhairavi raga, and it won me rave reviews from carnatic music aficionados. Unfortunately, the film didn’t do well and so the song did not get a good reach.”
These days Hari gets many offers for stage shows. “There was a recent one in Tokyo where the Tamilians there surprised me calling out my name and making requests. A good number of requests were for golden tracks of TM Soundararajan and PB Srinivas. It was a pleasure to sing those evergreen numbers,” he signs off.
Source: The New Indian Express