Singer Charulatha Mani’s PhD in Opera leads to a dream collaboration with AR Rahman

Charulatha mani is on cloud nine. The singer has just sung her maiden song for music director AR Rahman in Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam. “It was the most exciting collaboration of my life,” she says, describing how a casual email from Rahman led to a studio session.

From Italian Opera to Tamil Cinema: Charulatha Mani’s comeback with AR Rahman in Anju Vanna Poove

Back in 2019–20, while pursuing a PhD in 17th-century Italian opera at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Australia, Charulatha began uploading her Isai Payanam series on YouTube, exploring connections between ragas in classical and film music. In December 2023, while in Chennai for the Margazhi season, she received a message from Rahman, “Will you come meet me today?”

After her concert, she visited his studio — expecting a quick chat — and was surprised to find Mani Ratnam, lyricist Karthik Netha, and AR Rahman waiting. Minutes later, she was recording what would become her dream song.“I didn’t even know I was going to sing that night,” she says. “But everything just fell into place.”

Charulatha’s training in early Italian opera helped with a vocal technique, particularly a tremolo — a quivering, emotional vibrato — that Rahman loved for the lullaby.

“There’s a line, Kaatha Vaaraen in the song, and Rahman sir said it should feel like a soul-shaking wind. So, I used a technique called cantar alla gorgia—singing from the throat—rooted in Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi’s compositions,” she explains. “It’s subtle, but it lifts the emotion. I never imagined my PhD research would find its way into a film song.”

Anju Vanna Poove marks her return to playback singing after a six-year break, her last being for Thandhaay in Nadigaiyar Thilagam. “That gap allowed me to grow, research, and explore. Now I return with fresh energy,” she says.

sangeetha.p@newindianexpress.com

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