It was a quiet evening in September for Merin Gregory, until her phone buzzed. That led to a a drive all the way to Chennai the next day, and she was able to catch her breath only when she was ushered in to meet music director Vidyasagar.
“The phone call was from Vidyaji’s manager, Murugan sir. And it was to tell me that I had to meet them to do a recording the next day in Chennai,” said an excited Merin. And that’s the story behind the now famous song, ‘Nokki nokki’, from the Dulquer Salmaan-starrer, Jomonte Suvisheshangal.
For Merin, the happiest moment occurred when she was told that Vidyasagar had heard her song ‘Badraa’, originally done by Ricky Kej, featuring Jataveda, which is a meditative song. “I’ve been sending my demo tracks and a few cover songs to music directors. But what were the chances that Vidyaji would listen to one!” she said.
Vidyasagar played the ‘Nokki nokki’ song on his harmonium and sung it to Merin, which she recorded on her phone. “Since we had driven the entire night, he wanted me to get some sleep first, which was a huge relief to me, as I was quite nervous at the time,” said Merin. “We went in to record the next day, and I was literally shivering.”
However, Vidyasagar turned out to be very patient and even asked her not to look at his face if that made her nervous, but at his hands that moved alongside the tune.
Within the first four days of its release, the song had over two million views on Youtube. “When I sang the song, I didn’t know it was for a Sathyan Anthikkad movie. It was only after a month, closer to the release of the song that I came to know,” said Merin. The winner of the reality show Idea Star Singer Season 6 in 2012, she added that it was a triple treat scenario when she came to know it was a Dulquer Salman-starrer as well.
While there are more offers, the singer feels it’s too early to talk about them. And who was most happy about her latest song, other than herself? “My fiance,” she laughs.