Playback singer
Maalavika Sundar is an excited woman. After all, the 'Dang Dang' singer has just completed her maiden Carnatic Kutcheri in Coimbatore. A thrilled Maalavika says, "I have performed cine and Carnatic songs at private events in Coimbatore, but, this was the first time that I performed a kutcheri here. I know Coimbatore crowd loves cine music concerts, but, was astonished to see so many turning up for a Kutcheri. We don't see such a turnout in sabha concerts in Chennai. The hall was packed."
Maalavika Sundar was hitherto known as Carnatic singer, until she broke the tag after she sang the hit rendition 'Dang Dang' in D Imman's 'Manam Kothi Paravai'. The singer's popularity soared after her debut song and people started associating her more with the song and not only as a reality show contestant. "After Dang Dang, wherever I travelled people called me
Dang Dang Maalavika. I was scared to sing the folk number in a recording studio, as I come from a Carnatic background. But,
Imman Sir made me feel so comfortable. I was completely into Carnatic music until 2010, after which I took part in the singing reality show Super Singer. Dang Dang was right after the show."
Maalavika has sung number of cine songs including a few hits like 'Karuppu Nerathazhagi' from 'Komban', 'Gum Zaare' from 'Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru'. "When I was part of Super singer, people used to tell me there is a lot of Carnatic music influence in my cine songs, but, I didn't realise it then. Now, when I look back at what I used to sing to what I am singing now, there is a huge difference. I am happy with the progress. "
So, what kind of preparation does she undergo for Carnatic concert and a cine music concert? "When you are preparing for a Carnatic concert, you have to be quite spontaneous. You have to prepare the different ragams and thalams. You need to understand that you will be the only person on stage singing for hours together, which is not the case in cine music concerts. While performing a cine music concert, you have a set track and there's isn't much scope for improvisation."
Maalavika was in the top four of another reality show contest Indian Idol this year. "It was the best experience I ever got in my life. It was challenging not knowing the language. In the first audition, there were nearly 20,000 people, but I was directly put into top 24. Meeting different people from different culture, I learnt a lot in few months. My life completely changed after that- including my idea about music. I want to explore all kinds of music now," says Maalavika.
When quizzed about her online covers, Malavika says, "I was not aware of these covers until two years back. My first cover was 'Ey Sandakara' from 'Irudhi Sutru'. I had a good producer for the video and it came out really well. I got a lot of appreciation from music directors Imman Sir,
Santhosh Narayanan Sir and actor
Madhavan as well. Some of the music directors do much research on YouTube before calling a singer for recording. I think the days of giving demos are long gone. While checking online, one gets to know about the skills of the singers instantly. A lot of youngsters who don't have the right opportunity are able to reach music directors by doing such covers. It is becoming a huge platform to exhibit your talent and you also get many fans after a successful video."
