Singing away to success

Anjana Padmanabhan, the winner of the first season of ‘Indian Idol Junior 2013’, has broken the myth that singers remain unsung after participating in reality shows. She recently took baby strides into the glitzy Bollywood industry, where she recorded the lullaby — ‘Nanhi Munni Chidiya’ for the film ‘Aise Yeh Jahaan’, which stars a galaxy of talent such as Palash Sen and Ira Dubey.

Though this young Bengalurean had already recorded a few songs during her stint with ‘Indian Idol’, the experience of recording for a Hindi film was a whole new one and had a different feel altogether. She says, “A few friends had seen me on television. The word spread around that I could record this song and I am happy that I got this opportunity. The lyrics were given to me and I learnt it with the help of my father. I went to Delhi and recorded the song, extremely excited and nervous at the same time.”

Anjana ventured into ‘Indian Idol’ when her music teacher in school recognised her talent and pushed her to participate in the contest. She recalls that she never thought of winning the show but only hoped to gain a wider exposure to music.

Her goal was to just enter the semi-finals but as the rounds slipped by, she found herself close to the finals and holding the trophy.

 It was initially difficult and intimidating for her to adjust with the other participants as she didn’t know Hindi. Despite being a South Indian, Anjana’s fluent pronunciation and effortless diction while rendering the songs left the judges impressed.

Despite the pressure in the contest and the challenging rounds, Anjana emerged unscathed.

But communication with other participants proved a barrier in the show as she says that most of them conversed in Hindi. However, her spunk and energy won her number of friends and she recalls that they all gelled really well and became a close-knit family towards the end. She is happy that more South Indians are being recognised on ‘Indian Idol’ and believes that the platform is a democratic space to recognise talent, which will also help singers build their portfolio in music later.

She recalls, “‘Indian Idol Junior’ is very close to my heart. All of us became great friends throughout the show. I still watch the show even today and the contestants are extremely talented.”

A seventh grader in Delhi Public School (South), she has learnt Carnatic music and is currently training in Hindustani classical music as well.

She says that she has ample time to practise music and doesn’t find it difficult to focus on her studies, despite her endless schedules of shows and concerts.

She has a number of concerts lined up in Bengaluru and Chennai. Confident about her singing, she hopes that this Bollywood break is a big step in achieving her goal – playback singing.