This was Chinmayi’s first proper item song in 15 years of her career
Chinmayi Sripada
Hyderabad: Kareena Kapoor’s item song Mera Naam Mary from Brothers has been trending ever since the teaser released. But the person who sang it, Hyderabad’s Chinmayi Sripada, had no clue that it was going to be picturised on Kareena.
This was Chinmayi’s first proper item song in 15 years of her career. Chinmayi was brought up in Chennai but has been in Hyderabad for the longest time and is married to actor Rahul Ravindran, from the city.
“I got a call from Amitabh Bhattacharya one day saying that they were looking for a different voice for a song. I then got in touch with music composers Ajay-Atul, who asked me to watch a particular song, sing it and send a voice note. And that is how I was zeroed in for the project,” says Chinmayi, who is also a dubbing artiste.
“I knew that the song was going to be big but had no clue that it would be picturised on Kareena Kapoor Khan. It was only later that the director of the movie, Karan Malhotra, told me about it. No matter who sang it, if Kareena is doing the song it is bound to be on a huge scale. So I am happy that it came to me,” she adds.
Since the release of the teaser, Chinmayi has been getting a lot of appreciation. She also got a call from Shekhar Ravjiani of Vishal-Shekhar who said that he couldn’t believe that it was the same girl who sang Titli (Chennai Express).
“I am a trained singer in Hindustani and classical music. It is ironical that now I am being recognised for an item song, a genre I am very new to. But though item songs are the flavour of the season, people always come back to the soft and melodious tracks,” says Chinmayi, adding, “Singing an item number requires a particular voice projection that I am not used to, even few words used in the song were new and I had to learn how to make it sound seductive. I kept apologising and told my composers that I was nervous; but they were patient and guided me well.”
The voice behind many Bollywood hit songs like Tere Bina (Guru), Maiyya Maiyya (Guru), Titli (Chennai Express), Mast Magan (Two States), Main Rang Sharbaton Ka (Phata Poster Nikla Hero) and Zehnaseeb (Hasee Toh Phasee), Chinmayi has sung a lot for Dharma Productions, but the 30-year-old singer hasn’t yet met Karan Johar. “But I am sure that I will meet him someday and thank him,” says Chinmayi .
Having sung so many Bollywood tracks, would Chinmayi want to shift her focus to Mumbai? “I agree that when you sing for Bollywood the reach is bigger. But I don’t want to concentrate on any industry in particular,” she concludes.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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