CHENNAI: Reeva Rathod believes in the saying, “One must continue to pursue his/her dreams even if everyone else says it’s impossible” and has finally made her singing debut at the Bryan Adams concert in Pune recently.
“It was a dream debut for me. I grew up listening to Bryan Adams’ numbers and his Here I am and Run to You are my all-time favourites. I was glad to watch and hear him perform the same in Pune,” says Reewa, “Twenty minutes is what I got for my performance and mine was a tribute to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.” She also performed her own composition titled Crossing Limits, a blend of fusion and hip-hop which will feature in her first, yet-tobe titled album.
“It will be a blend of Indian and Western music,” informs the daughter of music duo Roopkumar and Sunali Rathod and the granddaughter of the late Pandit Chaturbhuj Rathod.
“My musical journey began at the age of four when I gave my first public recital of the famous Meera Bhajan Paayoji Maine to the packed audience of Tejpal Auditorium, Mumbai. My Piano classes started with the renowned Shanti Seldon at the age of seven and I completed all the eight grades of Piano from the Royal Associated Board-London,” she gushes.
With knowledge in Hindustani vocal, love for Ghazals and obsession with Western music, Reewa’s i n t e r e s t didn’t spare C a r n at i c music ei- No stone unturned After her singing debut at the Bryan Adams concert in Pune, Reewa Rathod is focussing on launching her debut album ther. “I learnt classical Carnatic music from Prasanna Varrior, a senior disciple of Balamani Aiyyar. I was also a formal disciple of Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra of the Benaras School of Music.
Ranjani is my most favourite raga and I can even compose songs in the raga,” she says.
Reewa talks of her other admirers. “Lora Jones is my icon. Somehow, my love for music strikes a parallel with that of hers. I want to be like her,” she asserts. Reewa wrote and recorded her first set of songs at the age of nine and has been composing songs in English, Hindi and Tamil ever since.
“Ilayaraja sir’s compositions are where I get inspiration from. AR Rahman’s Tu Hi Re is my most favourite number and I love listening to Hariharan’s voice. Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy trio also leaves an impression on me,” says Reewa, whose love for south Indian music is more than anything else.
Now after her debut performance, Reewa is busy with her first album and wants to perform down south. No wonder, she is keen on playback singing, too.