When Indian singer-songwriter, performer, playback singer and vocalist Shakthisree Gopalan gets on stage, sparks fly. From creating a place for herself in the hearts of her listeners to making an impact with her charming stage presence and her unique voice, Shakthi is an absolute entertainer.
She was in the city to perform at BFlat with the band Mad Shakthi Cherryworks featuring Michael Dias (from Mad Orange Fireworks), Cherian Koshy (formerly with the band Touchwood) on bass, keys and vocals, and Kaushik Kumar on bass and Deepak Raghu on drums. Shakti performed some original versions of re-harmonised and rearranged popular covers.
Excited about performing in the city, Shakthi says, “This is my first time in BFlat. It is a nice venue since it seems to be a spot dedicated to keeping music as the main attraction.” She adds: “I like Bangalore. It is a chilled out city. I think there are a lot of bands from here that come up and the independent music scene is active here. There are also a lot of venues which are pro-indie music and open to have live bands playing. That is good and other cities could really follow the same.”
On the name Mad Shakthi Cherryworks, inspired by Michael Antony Dias (MAD), Shakthi and Cherry, the singer says: “We don’t know if people will get it. We tried breaking our heads and realised we can’t think of a name. So when Cherry came up with this name, we just went with it,” she laughs.
Shakthi points out that the three of them go a long way. “We know each other from our school days and the songs we do are our spin on some of our favourites. We also trade off our original compositions and sit down to jam on them, often putting our signature in them. What we play is mostly easy listening acoustic music that pitches in a little bit of indie and pop. It’s a small setup.”
Best describing her musical journey as adventurous and interesting, Shakthi says it’s taken a lot of unexpected turns but there have always been pleasant surprises. Having dabbled in movies as a playback singer, she points out that it is a completely different ball game altogether. “You are almost like an actor. There is a story and script and you need to go and play your role. Even within those parameters, there are things that you connect to. That’s when you transcend boundaries and connect with something tangible. Creatively, there is an aspect I can contribute and the film industry has given me a chance to learn a lot and explore a different side of me I didn’t even know existed.
She adds that the live music scene for movie songs is completely different.
“I’ve done a few shows at colleges and it is insane. It becomes so much more. It’s like sharing a giant pizza with thousands of people. You feel happy! That’s where I connect best.”
Hailing from Kochi and making Chennai her home with frequent visits to Bengaluru, Shakthi also juggles a career as a freelance architect with one of her first projects — designing A.R. Rahman’s music school.
“Of course it’s a good time to be a fulltime musician since the scene looks interesting. It is only an imbalance for me since I take projects depending on my schedule but I’m passionate about it. Somewhere along the way I’ll need to make a choice especially since I feel I don’t give enough time to playing live music.”
Looking ahead, the 26-year-old hopes to do more independent music. “I will put out an EP and start doing more live gigs of my songs.”
Shakthisree’s rendition of “Nenjukkulle” for Mani Ratnam’s Kadal went viral. “When I perform, especially to the college crowd, I really want them to take back one of the best evenings of their lives. I want them to look back and remember that day when they had fun. So I make zero compromise. What I take away is their love. For them to be standing two hours for a concert, is unadulterated love. I just want to hug all of them together!” she says gleefully.
To those she inspires, she suggests they listen to their heart. “Don’t shy away from dreaming big. You have to be a dreamer. I read somewhere that the world needs dreamers and the world needs doers but more importantly, the world needs dreamers that do. It’s not going to hurt you to chase after your dreams. It only takes some courage, but it’s worth it.”
