Hyderabad: Daughter-in-law of the legendary P. Susheela, singer Sandhya has not done too many projects in recent times.
Talking about her connection with music and art and why she has been keeping a low profile, the singer says, “I do sing a lot of devotional songs and also sing at concerts. But I come from a family that has certain parameters… I might sound arrogant but the image of my family doesn’t allow me to go and ask for work. If a director wants my kind of voice then they approach me.”
When asked if the name P. Susheela impacts her career, Sandhya replies, “I believe that all singers have to go through a lot of struggle initially; even just to let the music company know you sing, has become a big task nowadays. But thankfully I didn’t have to do that as I used to accompany my aunt (now mother-in-law) P. Susheela. Once she took me along for A.R. Rahman’s recording and Rahman Sir asked her if anyone else in the family sings and my aunt introduced me to him; later I was called by him to sing. I sang Pookodiyin Punnagai for Iruvar and it was a hit. This was my dream debut. Now music is a part of my life.”
Along with music, art also plays an important role, says Sandhya. Talking about how the idea of the Muse Art Gallery came about, Sandhya says, “It happened in a strange way. I was invited for an art gallery inauguration and I happened to meet Kaali Sudhir a couple of times. One day he called and invited me for the inauguration of an art exhibition. By then Kaali Sudhir was freelancing and he expressed his desire to open an art gallery and I kept that in mind.”
“Once I was at a star hotel and was talking to the director of the hotel… passing by the corridor, I saw some empty spaces which he was keen to fill up. We came up with a couple of ideas like handicraft or an art gallery. The concept of an art gallery clicked as not many hotels had art galleries. That’s how the Muse Gallery was formed. At that time I had no clue about how a gallery worked. But I would definitely like to point out that I have an eye for art,” she adds.
Talking about people expecting her to have a voice like P. Susheela, Sandhya says, “We are not mimicry artistes; we are genetically blessed to have the same kind of voice. I am under a big shadow and the expectations are big, but expecting a similar voice from both is not right.”
About her future projects she shares, “I am in talks with bands from Mumbai and Kerala. I can only think of singing in different genres.”
And about venturing into Bollywood and Tollywood , she replies, “I have no plans for Bollywood. About Tollywood, I feel it’s yet to call me. I am yet to get my due.”
