Shashaa Tirupati is probably packing her bags to go back to her family in Vancouver. The Canadian-Indian singer told Metroplus that she’ll be repatriated by this week. The Indian government had announced the nation-wide lockdown to mitigate the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic before she could plan her trip to Canada in March. So, for about a month now, she was confined to her flat in Mumbai. Even her neighbours have left to their hometowns. But Shashaa is actually enjoying the isolation. “I have so many things on my bucket list that I am ticking off one by one. I have also managed to record a lot of pending stuff,” she cheerily tells us over the phone.
Shashaa’s varied activities are evident from her social media pages. On her YouTube channel, she uploads song covers, hosts chat sessions with her fans and posts a video of her reading, cleaning and cooking. On her Instagram page, she has started a new series, Friday Knight, wherein she speaks to “unrecognised stars outside entertainment” on Fridays, 9 pm. On Twitter, too, she frequently posts song covers. She’s also part of a few online concerts. On April 27, she will perform for the 'Hungama Artist Aloud #StayAtHome #StayEntertained 2.0'. But online concerts, she says, are just “like a lifeboat”; they won’t be needed once normalcy returns.
Shashaa has sung over 200 songs in 13 languages. Many were hits, some fetched her accolades, one even got a National Award. But there are seven songs (one of them sung by someone else) that define her journey so far. She fondly talks about each of them:-
‘Jao Re Jogi’ from Amrapali [1966]: https://youtu.be/XsnRJFYfh4Q
(This Lata Mangeshkar song, composed by Shankar-Jaikishan, is the one that started Shashaa’s journey in music. When she was about five, she’d picked up the song from the tape recorder and, one day, sung it for her parents, just like that. The parents were stunned with their child’s singing.)
I talk about this song in all my interviews. It means so much to me. It’s the song that showed me this direction [of music]. After all these years, I still love the song. Now when I think about it, some parts of the song are similar to ‘Naane Varugiren’ [from OK Kanmani, sung by her]. I never realised it when I sang it... Wow!
‘Tere Bina’ from Guru [2007]: https://youtu.be/9JDSGhhiOwI
(Shashaa was 17, doing a pre-medical course in Canada when Mani Ratnam’s Guru released. This song, composed by AR Rahman, spurred her to quit her course, leave Canada and pursue a career in music in India.)
Oh, this song just cast a spell on me. I would just keep listening to it. There’s something about the melody in ‘Tere Bina’. And, the way Rahman Sir sang it… it was a cathartic experience listening to it. But yeah, the song messed up my mind. I told my parents ‘I can’t study anymore. I wanted to do music. And, I want to sing for this man one day’. They thought I was out of my mind. There was a lot of screaming, crying, vessel-banging (laughs). But I used my scholarship money to get my flight tickets and I came to India. And… I guess there was no looking back after that.
‘Vaada Vaada’ from Kochadaiiyaan (Hindi) [2014]: https://youtu.be/V39s5mE0cKc
(Shashaa’s dream-come-true song. Her first for the man who she wanted to sing for when she left Canada.)
I remember listening to the melody of ‘Vaada Vaada’ and immediately thinking ‘Oh, this is Rahman of the ‘90s’. Especially the late ‘90s, when he made Sangamam, Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). The temperament of the song, the vibe of it… it felt like a throwback.
‘Aye Mr Minor’ from Kaaviya Thalaivan [2014]: https://youtu.be/gUcSm8A-bgE
(This was the first song that she recorded with Rahman; he wasn’t there for the recording of ‘Vaada Vaada’.)
We were in a hotel in either Malaysia or Singapore for a concert. And, [Rahman] Sir wanted to record the song in his suite. There was someone setting up all the equipment, someone was getting food… it was like a fish market (laughs). And, Sir was like ‘give her the lyrics sheet’. I saw a chunk of Tamil words and I thought, ‘I am so screwed today’. He also had this really pretty, vibrant green headphones, which I wanted to steal. So, we started recording. I wanted see his reaction to my singing. But he sat facing the wall. Though there was a mirror on the wall, I could see only the upper portion of his face. So, during the recording, I stood on my toes occasionally to catch a glimpse of his face… but I couldn’t. Within 20 minutes, the recording was over. He just turned back, smiled and gave me a thumbs up. That was it. I’d won an Oscar that day!
‘Vaan’ from Kaatru Veliyidai [2017]: https://youtu.be/2JVg8j9w7Mg
(Perhaps the most significant song of Shashaa’s career. Her favourite. The one that fetched her the National Award. Once again, an AR Rahman composition.)
It’s very close to my heart. I had gone through a break up, then... It was the end of a seven-year relationship. And, the melody of the song was very affecting. Especially the part, ‘garvam kondaal kallaai uraivaan’... I choked while singing that. I had an asthma attack. I got out of the studio for a while and came back to finish it. So, it was an emotional song for me. And, Vaan is such a beautiful word. I am planning to adopt a child. And, I would probably name her Vaan.
‘String of Air’ [2019]: Embed: https://youtu.be/uCMeiGRtYiY
(First independent release)
I had actually composed over 100 songs before String of Air. But I was too shy to put them out. I didn’t know if people would accept it. I put out song covers on my social media pages on Tuesdays. A friend of mine asked me to put out my own composition instead. So, the same evening, I recorded the song with the help of a friend and put it out. It taught me how we are capable of doing so much but we don’t do them because of procrastination. I am grateful to my friend for pushing me to do it.
‘Sleeping Bag’ [To be released]
(Shashaa’s upcoming independent single)
‘Sleeping Bag’ is my baby. It’s about my struggle with depression for 15 years. Sleeping bag is where I go to for comfort. It’s supposed to be a part of my EP, Stitched. Humans are broken emotionally several times. But we pick up the pieces and try to put it together. That’s what Stitched is about. I was supposed to release it this month. Once the lockdown’s lifted and everything’s normal, this is the first thing I would be working on.
(Shashaa Tirupati will perform at the 'Hungama Artist Aloud #StayAtHome #StayEntertained 2.0' online concert on April 27, 6 pm on Hungama Music’s Facebook page)