Shweta Mohan on how AR Rahman experimented with her voice & comparisons with her mother
In this brief chat with Only Kollywood, popular singer Shweta Mohan talks about how AR Rahman experimented with her voice, comparisons with her mother and alternate platforms like YouTube.
“Rahman sir experimented a lot with my voice. Boom Boom from Enthiran, Macho from Mersal to name a few experiments. But I will never demand my composers to give me different genres other than melodies. I would be ready to try what they offer me. Intentionally or unintentionally there may be slight variances when we sing – you can name it improvisation too. If it is good, Rahman sir will appreciate it, but if it is not, he will avoid it in his track but never utters something negative that will make us feel less confident about our work. Most of the new age composers like Yuvan, Anirudh and Imman are like that. But what makes Raja sir happy is when we sing what he has given us,” she said.
Comparisons with her mother Sujatha Mohan
There was no pressure as such. It was a pretty strange experience for me when people mistook my mom for the first few Malayalam songs I did. Whenever I go for a recording or when some fans meet me, it was quite an unavoidable compliment that they gave me, “You just sound like your mother.” Though it’s a compliment, I always wanted to carve my niche. So when I tried different genres and styles other than melodies people started to differentiate me from my mom.
On alternate platforms like YouTube
To be able to sing for a film lies upon a lot of people’s decision like the producer, director, composer and after all that the singer’s voice should suit the artist on screen. But digital platforms like YouTube make it easier for musicians to attain the needed exposure. It’s a happy trend that musicians are trying to exhibit their talents outside the film industry. From a time when a movie had a dozen songs to the time of having songless films, music lovers and musicians have adapted themselves to the changing avenue.
