The song Gaganam Nee from the hit movie K.G.F: Chapter 2 has conquered the hearts of many. The song portrays the struggles protagonist Rocky’s mother faced raising him, while working as a help in paddy fields under the scorching sun.
The voice of playback singer Anna Baby beautifully captures these emotions. The Pala native is elated to have rendered the Malayalam version of the song, which is already a hit among music buffs. It was an emotional project for Anna too, as she is a new mother of a six-month-old baby.
The song has a big part in communicating the hero’s backstory to the audience. It was Anna’s friend and musician Simon George who asked her to send an audio clip for the audition. “Simon is a friend of Ravi Basrur, the music director of K.G.F: Chapter 2. Ravi was on the lookout for fresh voices to render the songs in respective languages. I sang the Malayalam version of the song Dheera Dheera from K.G.F: Chapter 1 and sent it. Luckily, Ravi liked it and said my voice is full of life. After a few days, I was asked to record the song in Mangalore. The lyricist Sudhamshu was of great help. He explained the song’s meaning in Malayalam to me,” says Anna.
Anna is a BTech graduate. But the former university-level Kalathilakam dropped that career and became serious about singing in 2015. “I find happiness in singing, even if it was small projects or independent albums. I look at each of them as an opportunity to polish my skills. My first Malayalam project was the movie Sthanam in 2017 with Sam Kadamanitta as the music director. I also sang a duet with Padmasree KJ Yesudas. Ever since, I was hopeful of signing for a big project and K.G.F: Chapter 2 is just what I had in mind,” she adds.
Anna is now getting recognised in the South Indian music industry for her melodious voice. But Gaganam Nee will always be close to her heart. “I was on the journey of becoming a mother when I got selected to sing the song. The track features the emotional bonding of little Rocky and his mother. The lyrics are very powerful. I would tear up when I sang it, as I was in my early stages of motherhood,” says Anna. The trained Carnatic singer is now taking Hindustani music lessons from Ustad Fayaz Khan in Bengaluru.