KOCHI: Singer Sanah Moidutty was in Kochi last week to record a Malayalam song with composer Prakash Alex for the film ‘Varayan’. It is a soulful song with beautiful lyrics, she says. The recording was over in a day, giving her some time to relax. “It is always good to come to Kerala,” says the Mumbai-based singer, whose father hails from Pattambi, and mother is from Areekode. According to Sanah, she is the typical ‘outsider’ Malayali.
She can speak Malayalam but can’t read or write. In Kerala, the artist enjoys the food and the greenery. “The traffic jams are much less, than Mumbai, where we can be stuck on the road for hours,” she says. “I also get a chance to breathe fresh air, although, in Mumbai, I stay near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali, which is one of the few major national parks in the world within city limits.”
These days, Sanah is practising as hard as ever. She admits that competition in Bollywood is very intense. “There are many talented singers around,” she says. She has a dedicated YouTube channel where she does covers of hit songs, but sometimes, adds her innovations. For the classic Malayalam song, ‘Karuthe Penne’ from ‘Thenmavin Kombath’ (1994), she added a rap section in English and Malayalam. Sanah made her name with the songs, ‘Tu Hai’ and ‘Sindhu Maa’ that she sang for AR Rahman for the film, ‘Mohenjo Daro’ (2016). This happened through her own initiative. She had sung a song on her channel and her manager Ben Thomas suggested she send the link to Rahman. The song must have caught his attention, as he called her back after two years to rope her in for ‘Mohenjo Daro’.
When asked about her impressions of the two-time Oscar winner, Sanah says, “When Rahman sir calls someone, he believes in that person’s talent. So, he will present something to the singer and say, ‘Make this beautiful.’ He is always in a creative ferment but gives a lot of freedom to the singer. He comes up with new ideas all the time so you have to be on your toes,” she says. But Sanah has been on the toes since the age of seven, when she joined the children’s troupe ‘Bacchon Ki Duniya’ and performed in over 500 stage concerts across India.
“It helped develop my self-confidence” says Sanah, whose mother, a home-maker, had accompanied her to every show. “I am a different person on stage—lively and outgoing. There is a subconscious switch. Offstage, I’m an introvert,” adds the computer engineering graduate. The highlight of Sanah’s career was performing at the‘Star of Asia’ international festival at Almaty, Kazakhstan in September 2017.
There were bands from all over Asia representing their respective countries. Following suggestions from the organisers, Sanah sang old retro songs like ‘Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja’, and ‘I am a disco dancer’, both from Mithun Chakraborty’s films.
“They were having so much fun,” says Sanah. “The people of Kazakhstan are big fans of Bollywood. That’s when I realised music has no boundaries.” Meanwhile, Sanah, who is trained in Carnatic and Hindustani music, ensures that her voice is in good fettle. Every morning, she does vocal exercises for one-and-a-half hours. “Regular practice is very important,” says Sanah, who has sung for ‘Always Kabhi Kabhi’, ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’, ‘The attacks of 26/11’, ‘24’, ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’ and ‘India’s Most Wanted’.