Melodies from young-istan

It was a jam-packed concert, full of cheering fans. But something special happened at Nenje Yezhu, AR Rahman’s live show — “Let me introduce you all to a budding singer, he won’t sing though,” said the Mozart of Madras. A shy boy walked on stage; it was Ameen, his son. The little one just waved, maybe too overwhelmed to say anything and ran off stage in a jiffy.

We’ve all heard of celebrity children getting into acting, but the Indian music industry is seeing a crop of celebrity musicians’ kids, carving a niche for themselves. Just like 13-year-old Ameen, who already stole hearts with his rendition Maula Wa Salim in OK Kanmani, other prominent musicians’ kids too are making their mark in music.

With a mop of curly hair on his head, Siddharth Mahadevan towers over his father, but has the same spirit of music in him. This 22-year-old has fans all over the world, sings in various languages including Tamil, Hindi and Marathi, and composes music as well — we’re sure papa Shankar Mahadevan is a proud man! Similarly, Unnikrishnan, who continues to charm us with his mellifluous voice once wrote, “My first time on the red carpet at the filmfare awards-thanks to my daughter (sic),” on his social media page. There he was, standing next to Uthara, who at the tender age of 10, bagged a National Award for her song Azhagu, from the  Tamil flick Saivam.

Being the child of a celebrity is not easy, Sharanya Srinivas says, “It is definitely not a walk in the park because you often get compared to your parent; my dad in this case. Even after I got my first big break in 2014 — I sung for Ambikapathy, under Rahman sir — I still got compared to my dad.”

However, “My passion for singing teamed with hard work, and patience has taught me that I can take care of myself in the field of music. In fact, my father hasn’t recommended me to any music director till this date,” Sharanya says.
Asia’s fastest drummer and one of the youngest musicians to have been granted a Doctorate, child prodigy Siddharth Nagarajan performed his first stage show when he was just two-and-a half years old. The now 18-year-old says, “My interest and passion towards drumming grew thanks to my father Nagi, a rhythm programmer and percussionist. He taught me music,” he says.

Sharing his most memorable concert experience, Siddharth says, “I was invited to play at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan when late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was in power as President — it was his birthday After the event, he even served me an extra laddoo from his personal tea tray!” It’s the support his family has given him that makes Siddharth unique. “Comparison to my father never affects me as I know he and I are special in our own ways. While he is considered as the ‘ethnic king’, I’m into western drumming and world percussion,” says Siddharth in conclusion.