Carnatic chanteuse Charulatha Mani returns to Bengaluru, next weekend!

When carnatic chanteuse Charulatha Mani arrives in Bengaluru next weekend, she isn’t simply bringing a concert. She’s bringing an argument. Not an angry one, admittedly. More a melodic, raga-filled, film-song-laced argument for why carnatic music deserves to exist far beyond the polished wooden halls of the sabha. Performing in the city at the much-celebrated Sangamam Thaala Utsav 2026 — a two-day celebration of India’s diverse musical traditions — by Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives (SFPI), the event will also feature performances by Siddhartha Belamannu, Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma and others; and feature free workshops and lecture demonstrations.

The acclaimed vocalist, playback singer and composer returns to the city after quite the hiatus with a programme similar to her much-loved Isai Payanam format, which she describes as, “a nice synergy between my classical repertoire and my film songs.” Charulatha plans to move seamlessly between classical compositions, cinema music and Kannada favourites, creating connections that audiences may never have noticed before. The evening will include beloved Kannada songs such as Indu Enage Govinda in raga bhairavi, the classic Ilaiyaraaja hit Jotheyali and the evergreen Yaava Janmada Maitri in raga mohanakalyani, paired with classical compositions in the same ragas.

“I have some synergies in mind with Kannada songs,” she says with obvious excitement, adding, “I hope to bring some of that into the fore.” The idea of finding classical music hidden inside film songs has now become almost commonplace online. Scroll through Instagram long enough and someone will inevitably tell you which raga inspired your favourite soundtrack. Charulatha was doing it decades ago. “It started out in 2006 when I was doing a lot of carnatic concerts,” she says. “But I felt that the audience for carnatic music had to have a presumption of knowledge.” That, she argues, creates barriers. “When knowledge is presumed, we automatically gatekeep the knowledge from others who don’t have it and therefore think they are not worth being in the auditorium,” she explains.

Her solution was simple. Whenever she heard film songs, she instinctively recognised the ragas hiding beneath them. Why not use those familiar melodies as entry points into the classical tradition? “We are building a bridge between what is known and what people aspire to know,” she tells us. “People come in with that film knowledge and then they’re like: oh okay, so this ragam, this kriti is from there,” she breaks it down for us. The approach worked. “There are people who have told me over the last fifteen or twenty years that they never thought they would understand carnatic music, but because of this Isai Payanam format they’re now able to see ragas and appreciate carnatic music better,” she avers. The mission, she says, goes beyond accessibility. Not everyone appreciated the experiment.

Charulatha admits the decision to step outside traditional expectations came with consequences. “I’ve been a maverick in the sense that I had to risk everything to do it,” she shares. For years, sections of the sabha ecosystem viewed the blending of film and classical music with suspicion. “I’m not invited to perform at the Music Academy in Chennai and I haven’t sung there for fifteen years for this very reason,” she tells us matter-of-factly. Then comes the line that perhaps explains her entire career: “I’m serving the public. I’m not serving institutions.” Ironically, history itself supports her argument. “A lot of the songs that are sung in the carnatic repertoire now have appeared in films earlier,” she points out, citing examples from early Tamil cinema and artists such as MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and MS Subbulakshmi. “The divide is much more recent than people realise,” she tells us.

As for younger audiences raised on TikTok clips, streaming platforms and algorithm-generated playlists, Charulatha remains optimistic. Her explanation may be the most memorable metaphor of the interview. “We have to give carnatic music to them surreptitiously,” she laughs. “It’s like blending broccoli and making it into a pancake with jaggery and honey — a lot like what music directors like Anirudh Ravichander are doing with songs like Raga of Revenge from the upcoming DC,” she explains with a giggle. The recipe, fortunately, seem to be working. Alongside concerts and playback singing, Charulatha has increasingly turned to independent music that carries unmistakable carnatic undercurrents beneath contemporary production. “My first indie track (Thendralil) came out with Divo a month ago and the second one (Uyirthee) just dropped yesterday,” she says. The next release arrives in August — a composition in the raag jaunpuri that she has also written, produced and sung herself. “I’m being disciplined and dropping one every two months,” she concludes.

INR 449 onwards. July 11 & 12, 10 am onwards. At Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Konanakunte Cross.

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