On road to lasting fame

KOCHI: If you have watched the much-discussed Malayalam movie ‘The  Great Indian Kitchen’,  you are sure to remember the track ‘Oru Kudam’. What you might not know is that the mellifluous voice behind the song, which has garnered praise from all quarters, is that of Haritha Balakrishnan, an IT employee.
Kottayam native Haritha who is currently a software engineer at UST Kochi is a playback singer and dubbing artist trained in Carnatic music. “I began singing at the age of six. I participated in singing competitions and performed at various shows since I was in Class II,” says Haritha who was tutored by KPAC Ravi for 15 years.

After completing her graduation, she moved to Kochi to learn a software course with the aim of joining the IT sector. In 2019, while continuing to work with UST, Haritha joined AR Rahman’s Chennai-based Institute, ‘KM Music Conservatory’, to learn vocal techniques.

Haritha made her debut as a playback singer with a song in the Mohanlal-starrer ‘Oppam’, directed by Priyadarshan. Since then, she has been invited to sing for movies, music albums and jingles. Some of the tracks to which she has lent voice include ‘Pala Naallayi’ and ‘Chirimukilum’ (female version) from the movie ‘Oppam’, ‘Pathiye Nee’ from ‘Villain’ and ‘Kannil Kannonnu’ from ‘Chemparathippoo’.  Haritha recently won the Mangalam Music award for best female singer for Pathiye Nee. This has made this young playback singer a familiar name among movie music lovers.

Sharing her experience of singing for ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, Haritha says, “A crucial aspect of the song is that it was written in Paluva, a scriptless language popularly spoken by the Dalit Paraya caste. The lyrics are quite interesting and the melody was also catchy. We were sure that the song would be an instant hit. This was one of my most unique projects, not just because of its theme but also its language. The recording was completed in two days.” The young artist is working on her latest project, a Carnatic EDM experimental track which has some of the top musicians in the industry associated with it.