Sikkil Gurucharan is in Bengaluru soon to present a Carnatic music-themed play in English!

It’s impossible to overlook his captivating smile! Even harder to resist his commanding voice and remarkable stage presence. Dashing and immensely talented, Sikkil Gurucharan stands out as one of the few carnatic singers with a devoted fan base both within and beyond the sabhas. Today, Gurucharan is regarded as a luminary in the next generation of carnatic music maestros in India. An ‘A’ grade artist with All India Radio, his melodic genius has earned him admirers from across the globe.

Hailing from the vibrant cultural heart of Chennai, his musical journey began at Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School and continued at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, where the encouragement and guidance of his professors fuelled his passion for music. By the time he entered the world of carnatic concert performances, he had already begun to cultivate his own distinctive style. While music had firmly become his calling, Sikkil’s dedication to education led him to pursue a Master’s in Financial Management from Loyola College, Chennai. He also enjoyed a brief yet fascinating stint as a radio jockey for Worldspace Radio’s 24-hour carnatic music channel, Shruti, where he hosted shows and interviewed fellow artistes.

His silver screen debut came in the form of a cameo where he played himself in Rajiv Menon’s Sarvam Thaala Mayam (2019), followed by a role in Reunion, part of the anthology Putham Puthu Kaalai on Amazon Prime Video, also directed by Rajiv in 2020. We caught up with this versatile singer and multi-talented artiste ahead of the premiere of the English play Kamalakshi in Bengaluru, where he portrays the role of a carnatic musician in 18th-century Tiruvarur. We also had the privilege of shooting him for the cover of this edition — styled by Ramola Krishnaraj in Tasva and photographed by Thivakaran M at The Leela Palace Chennai. Excerpts from the interview:

You’re in town on February 28 for a very unique play that marries carnatic music and an English play — do tell us more?

The Madras Players, the oldest English theatre company in Chennai, have come up with a wonderful play called Kamalakshi, directed by theatre veteran PC Ramakrishna. During Margazhi 2022, he came up to me after a concert and said, “Sharan, I want you to act in my next play.” I was thrilled because acting was something I enjoyed, thanks to the two cinematic experiences I had had with Rajiv Menon earlier (Sarvam Thaala Mayam & Reunion; Putham Pudhu Kaalai). Ramakrishna said that he had a role tailor-made for me, as it was a story set in 18th-century Tiruvarur, about a devadasi who is a dancer and a young musician who sings at the Tiruvarur temple. Of course, I agreed to do the role. The play was written by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and we premiered it in October 2023 in Chennai. It has been doing well and now we’re finally bringing it to Bengaluru for the very first time at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on February 28 at 7 pm. I will not reveal more but we promise an experience to remember.

Shifting focus, do tell us how this journey into carnatic music began?

The journey began when I was eight or nine, when I started informally learning from my mother, as music was all around me. My mother used to teach the flute to children who came to our house for lessons, as well as to my sister. I was just happy to be a fly on the wall, learning everything involuntarily. I would also accompany my grandmothers to concerts and they realised that I had the potential to sing. They probably didn’t want me to follow in the footsteps of the rest of my family, who all played the flute. Everyone in my family also sings, so I guess they were happy that I, too, was inclined towards singing. I don’t think I realised I was cut out for singing, however, until I went to Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai, for my graduation. I finally made a set of friends who were also musicians and we got together, hopping from sabha to sabha to listen to concerts, exchanging many cassettes of past stalwarts, analysing their music. Everything went into my subconscious and when I started singing, it surfaced in different forms and shades. When I received positive feedback after performances and began seeing people come to my concerts expecting something interesting and new, I realised that perhaps I was in this for the long haul and that I should take this more seriously. I decided not to juggle it with any day job and around that time, concerts started picking up for me. Word of mouth spread and people started calling me to perform at small venues, temples and wedding functions. Every opportunity was a learning experience — it helped me understand how good or bad I was and how much better I needed to get.

You are one of the few sabha performers who also has a very contemporary non-sabha audience, how did that happen?

I believe carnatic music is an art form that speaks to all audiences. I have worked with many artistes who have taken carnatic music outside the usual sabha setting. As artistes, we consciously work to present carnatic music to a more contemporary audience in more contemporary ways. This has shaped my understanding of carnatic music even further and, in a very subtle way, helped me stay relevant to several generations. I’m enjoying the process of being a musician now — being as traditional as possible, while also presenting my music in a new form to a new audience, all while staying true to my core.

What keeps you drawn to carnatic music as a form?

I started my concert career when I was 12, but I didn’t sing again for maybe eight years, as I was more focused on my studies. Once I finished my graduation, I began venturing into the Margazhi concerts, singing perhaps three or four concerts at a time. But those four concerts would often be spaced within three days. That was my first exposure to singing concerts under pressure. You know, your voice may or may not perform the way you want it to on all those days. I think, that’s one fascinating feature of carnatic music that has kept me going. I’m sure it’s true for other artistes too. There’s an element of suspense — the X factor. You never know how your training will manifest itself in a particular concert. It could be a day concert, a morning concert, a noon concert, a recording, an evening concert or just a half-hour digital concert — you simply have to channel all your training and experience of singing in front of an audience, letting the music take over. This quest for the unknown is what makes live concerts so exciting — that’s why I’m a huge fan of them. Not that recordings aren’t my forte, but I love the suspense and energy a live concert brings, where we stumble and rediscover our strengths. Music is the only language that keeps us going and that is what I look forward to — it has been my constant learning.

How does a rasika or fan delve deeper into carnatic music?

Film music is a great starting point. Even for me, my foray into carnatic music and the very fact that my grandmothers thought I could sing was because I was humming a film tune. At that age, I wasn’t humming anything carnatic. That was my initiation into carnatic music as well. But just as we do as music students, if the rasikas went a step further and tried to learn the basic forms of swaras and the world of talas, starting with the basics, that would be enough. Just spend about half an hour every day. Try to pick a raga and once you’ve heard it in films, go a little beyond that. Find out what it is in carnatic music and how it compares to hindustani music. Then listen to a song and identify the talam, understanding how to maintain the beat — I think, that’s all you need to do. If you do this regularly, it will get you hooked to live concert experiences in no time!

Finally, how is 2025 looking?

It’s looking great, with some exciting projects lined up. I have a very interesting US and Europe tour coming up, where I’ll be doing both traditional concerts and a spin-off of my YouTube series Jannal Oram in different settings. I hope to meet many new rasikas and fans of the form across the globe. Making carnatic music as relevant as possible within its traditional framework has been one of my biggest objectives and favourite goals, so everything that pushes me towards that is a great motivation.

CREDITS:

Photography: Thivakaran M

Assistant to photographer: Oliver Felix

Styling: Ramola Krishnaraj

Make-up & hair: Srima Jagadeeshan

Wardrobe: Tasva

Location: The Leela Palace Chennai

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel. INR 250 onwards. February 28, 7 pm onwards. At Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Vyalikaval.

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