Indulge one-on-one: Indie artistes Sofia Ashraf and Maalavika Manoj discuss music, childhood, fans and more

Indie artistes Sofia Ashraf and Maalavika Manoj are pushing the boundaries of entertainment
Maalavika Manoj, Sofia Ashraf
Maalavika Manoj, Sofia Ashraf

Chennai girls Sofia Ashraf and Maalavika Manoj are both musicians now pursuing successful careers in Mumbai. And, their music is as unique as it gets. The 31-year-old Sofia shot to fame as the ‘burqa rapper’, after she rapped to her own lines questioning stereotypes, negligence of corporate entities, and such. The 25-year-old Maalavika (known by her moniker, ‘Mali’) on the other hand, creates songs for the soul, in which compositions are inspired by the changes in her own life. While their music remains ever-engrossing, bringing the two of them together for Indulge’s one-on-one special edition cast some interesting insights on topics from childhood, priorities, to dealing with persistent fans.

Maalavika Manoj: Did you ever want to be anything besides a rapper or a writer?
Sofia Ashraf: When I was a kid, there used to be a show on TV called The Pretender. It was about a guy who could master any skill and pretend to belong to any profession. I was in love with his life. Imagine being able to put on a stethoscope one day and DJ headphones the same night! I love learning new skills and new software. I’m a sucker for tutorials and lectures. Yes, I’m that annoying hand-raising, note-taking first bencher in the school of life. I’ve wanted to be so many things, and had the luck and privilege to try them out too. From dubbing for anime, to writing greeting cards. Event management, PR, designing, editing, cookery shows, theatre, dance, teaching. I shallow-dove into so many professions, I’ve grown gills.  In this smorgasbord of careers, the one profession that has always called out to me was filmmaking. I have a dream of becoming a director one day, and who knows, I might get there.

MM: I see you’ve got your hands full doing so many things. What’s on the top of your list?
SA: Writing will always be at the top of my to-do list. Currently, I’m writing two web series. A feminist web series in English and a rural social satire in Tamil. I want to create mainstream art that is entertaining and accessible while remaining nuanced.

Sofia Ashraf
Sofia Ashraf

MM: In school, did you belong to a clique? 
SA
: I always claimed that my school never had the popular girls gang. But now I’ve realised, if you don’t know who the popular girl was in school, it probably was you. I was part of the “dance clique”. The bunch of girls who took part in every dance event in school. We were such dance nerds, we would record Backstreet Boys’ music videos on VHS and play them over and over again, learning the steps.

MM: What breaks your heart the most?
SA
: When I see women with talent give up their careers for ‘family honour’. I know it isn’t my place to tell them to do otherwise. They have chosen family over their art and that is their prerogative. But, there is a part of me who sees a younger version of me in their stories. A girl who cried herself to sleep wishing she would wake up as a boy, just so she could take part in inter-school dance competitions. I don’t say anything to these women, but it kills me on the inside to see good talent go to waste.

MM: What’s your go-to workout song?
SA: I’m embarrassed to say, I don’t work out. But, music plays a huge role in my life. I need music when I shower, when I’m on a date and most importantly when I work. And, my all-time favourite work-to song is Ibrahim Malouf’s Beirut.

Maalavika Manoj
Maalavika Manoj

MM: If you could be fluent at any other language but English, which one would it be?

SA: I grew up as a “Peter” in Chennai. I never studied Tamil in school. Hindi was my second language. Then, I went to college and fell in love with Tamil. But, I fumbled through it. Every time I tried to speak in Tamil, I was ridiculed. I went to the Tamil Department in my college and asked them if they could teach me the language. I got laughed at. In fact, the “konjam konjam tamil theriyum” taunt I was subject to almost made me detest the language. I gave up on it. Then I met beautiful people like Kutti Revathy. They reintroduced me to the love of the language again. They wouldn’t make fun of me when I slipped up, but instead, would help me learn. I bought myself a book and taught myself to read Tamil. I bought 3rd standard school textbooks off my maid’s kids and sat up nights, struggling through children’s stories. I love the language. The lyrical quality of it. The world of literature it could open up to me from the Silapathikaram to the Thirukural. My dream is for Tamil to flow easily off my tongue so that my art can speak to my people.

MM: Do you imagine a life post-retirement or do you think you’ll work one way or another right till the end?
SA: I used to live day-to-day, project-to-project. I worked three jobs simultaneously. I never took even Sundays off and worked every Eid and national holiday. Then I turned 30 and my body decided to take a long overdue sick-leave. I broke down physically and emotionally. I used to be someone who over-romanticised the hustle. Now, I value rest. I would like to retire someday, but I do hope I always write.

MM: What’s the most significant change you hope to see India in the near future?
SA: I hope to see the absolute power of politicians come under question and for civil servants to put the interest of the people first instead of behaving like their positions allow them to bully the masses.

Sofia Ashraf
Sofia Ashraf

MM: What’s the one most significant change you can hope to see India making in the next few years?

SA: I hope to see the absolute power of politicians come under question and for civil servants to put the interest of the people first instead of behaving like their positions allow them to bully the masses.

MM: Rice or rotis?

SA: Rice, anyday! Show me a bowl of hot steaming rice and I’d be all over it like white on...well… rice.

MM: The biggest difference between Bombay and Chennai.

SA: Bombay has a spirit of live and let live. People are too busy to care about what you do, so they let you be. This frees up a lot of space in your mind to create art. Also, it’s a city that expects you to know your job and know it well. It is not a city for mediocrity. Chennai is artistically where Mumbai was, 8 years ago - before the arts became a thriving business. So, the artists are more open to collaborations. Yes, the struggle is more here and art is taken for granted. But, there is a spirit of innovation without the pressure to impress people or make money out of it. There is rawness and a soul in our art that I haven’t felt elsewhere for a while.

MM: Favourite travel destination?

SA: Tokyo outside India and Pushkar inside India.

Maalavika Manoj
Maalavika Manoj

Sofia Ashraf: Can you tell us a funny anecdote about your experience within the film industry?
MM:
I once had to write english lyrics for a song in a tamil film. I remember preparing two drafts of lyrics I was extremely proud of, but then I had them both turned down because they were 'too sensible' and wouldn't appeal to the masses. So I ended up having to negotiate lyrics word by word throughout the recording just so that it would be simple enough for anyone with a basic enough understanding of the language to understand and sing along. Not my proudest moment as a songwriter, but that's how the industry works.

SA: Do you picture someone in your head when you write love songs? Is it tough to perform those songs once that person has moved out of your life?
MM: I actually haven't written a love song in over eight years. There have been break up songs which were hard to perform at first, but I got a little used to singing them without crying over time.

SA: Have you ever faced a bias in Mumbai, as you are from Chennai and vice versa?
MM: I’ve been fortunate not to have faced any biases being from Chennai, but I do find it amusing to know what stereotypes exist of South Indians in other parts of India. I sometimes defy people’s notions 
of what a Chennai girl is and introduce them to other interesting aspects of ‘madrasis’. After moving to Mumbai though, I sometimes feel like I’m neither a Chennai person nor a Mumbaikar — like someone who belongs to and is an alien to both places. 

SA: Which piece of yours are you most proud of?

MM: Currently, I'm most proud of a song of mine called Absolute that I wrote about the current government and people in power in general.

SA: Which artist's work inspires you the most musically?

MM: I really love Fleetwood Mac as a band. No matter where I am, I feel at home when I listen to their music.

SA: What’s the longest you’ve gone without doing anything musical?
MM: I’ve gone almost a year without writing songs and that’s something I struggle with at times. It’s not as if I lose my capability to write or compose altogether, but I pressure myself to write something I can truly be proud of and if I don’t make that cut, it doesn’t count. I once took a year’s break from music just because I’d hit a real low point and almost convinced myself that I didn’t want to play music for a living, but shortly after, I got back into it.

SA: Who would play Mali in the biopic about your life?

MM: This is such a meta question. Technically that person would either be someone who isn't born yet or someone I don't know yet. Also, its going to take decades for me to achieve enough for anyone to make a biopic about me!

SA: If a young girl wants to do what you're doing, what tools, software, and life skills would she need to equip herself with to be prepared for what lies ahead.

MM: There's no rule book for what I'm/we are doing as independent artists. It's such a nascent industry in India that we can forge our own paths just by being a little creative and putting ourselves out there a little more than we're encouraged to. As a girl, the fight can be even harder since music is still a male dominated industry and for some reason women are underrepresented in it. It takes a lot of courage and a solid support system to be able to make it work.

Sofia Ashraf
Sofia Ashraf

SA: What’s the sweetest thing a fan has ever said?
MM:
I’ve had fans tell me that my music has gotten them through really difficult times—their parents’ divorce, their own breakup, stressful exams and long periods of time spent away from home. A couple of them have even said that they were inspired to write songs and use music as an emotional outlet to cope with mental illness because of me. It’s stuff like these that make me continue doing what I do.

SA: How do you draw the line between a fan and a creep who’s hitting on you?
MM:
I'm the kind of person who likes to write to people I'm fans of, and I know how much I value them taking the time out to respond to my message(s) when I do. That said, there are people who just write in to ask questions and say things because they can and if I feel like they're getting too familiar or creepy I draw the line right there and don't respond any further. There are also many fans I've become good friends with because I've recognized that they're genuinely good people who have good intentions.

SA: What can we do to make Chennai’s indie scene better?
MM
: I think Chennai is a real powerhouse of talent, but it lacks two things - live venues and a discerning audience. People (by and large) still go out to gigs expecting to hear either film music or covers of popular English music. I really believe students and young people in Chennai don't have places to go to in order to check out bands from other cities who come to town and a lot of my musician friends from other cities don't even consider Chennai an option for their tours since the market just doesn't exist. Someone's got to break that cycle somewhere, and I'd love to be involved in doing so.

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