Shakthisree Gopalan's new indie single Begin releases today

Shakthisree Gopalan's new indie single Begin releases today

Shakthisree Gopalan is hot property. In the past year, she has sung for films like Madhavan's Vikram Vedha, Mohanlal’s Villain, Mammootty’s Parole and the Siddharth-Andrea horror flick Aval that releases today. The latter is the romantic duet Kaarigai Kanne, with Vijay Prakash, which is receiving rave reviews. “It was really nice working with music composer Girishh Gopalakrishnan and Vijay. The song sounds surreal and is arranged differently,” she says, adding, “Also from the looks of the trailer, Aval looks super scary and I love horror films, so I’m definitely catching it this weekend.”  
   

<em>Artwork from her new single Begin</em>
Artwork from her new single Begin

With the release of Begin, her new single also coming out today, it’s clear that this artiste is not letting star power put her independent pursuits on the backburner either. “An important part of staying fresh is getting to know yourself better, because as your personal journey evolves, so does your aesthetic,” says the singer, showing us that she has grown up a fair bit since her breakout track Nenjukulle with AR Rahman, five years ago. From the looks of the video of her latest indie track, which is black and white and sees Gopalan walking through a field carrying a shard from a glass mirror, fans are are about to peek into a very dystopian window into the singer’s creative soul. “This song is about those moments of chaos in the mind, about inner demons and parasites that take over sometimes,” she shares. Hence the dark lyrics: ‘My insides disintegrate, parasites proliferate...’ which are in stark contrast to the cheerful persona that you associate with the singer otherwise.

<em>A still from the video with Shakthisree sporting a persona we have never seen her in before</em>
A still from the video with Shakthisree sporting a persona we have never seen her in before

Gopalan is careful not to go into specifics, but does reveal that like everyone else, her struggles have included dealing with insecurities, the loss of a loved one and spells of being de-motivated. Her remedies, she says, include everything from trekking to a Netflix binge for a quick reset. 

The track is in collaboration with friend Prashanth Techno, who is one half of the composer duo Madley Blues that created the Bigg Boss soundtrack.  And there is more to come. “I’ve spent most of the year working on my own music, so there is another video underway, and a few more songs that I plan to release in the coming months,” she tells us. We switch gears from work mode to birthday celebrations spent at home in Chennai last month, after nearly four years, with the rigour of travel and shows, and the more loaded marriage question. 

With the wedding season around the corner, it had to be asked, we tell her. “The wedding season is always around the corner,” Gopalan responds with a lighthearted laugh. At this point, the feminist in her seems to be kicking in, as she follows up with, “I don’t think men get asked this question, so I’m going to choose not to answer that.” Falling in loving with a tune, however, is a different story. One that she’s more than happy to talk about.

Currently, she’s hooked to the most unlikely combination of songs. “I can’t stop listening to the Stranger Things theme track, Enna Naan Seivan by Pradeep Kumar and Elton John’s Tiny Dancer,” she tells us. Her eclectic playlist is also reflective of her overflowing bucket list that includes working with everyone from the duo of Vishal-Shekhar to James Blake and Mark Ronson. That ought to make for a whole lot of Uptown Funk.

Begin releases today and will be available on itunes, Apple Music, Spotify and Saavan.

sonali@newindianexpress.com | @brightasunshine
 

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