Ahead of her concert in the city, renowned singer Usha Uthup speaks about why Bengaluru feels like home, wanting to sing more songs in Kannada and acting in the upcoming Indian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes
BENGALURU: For renowned singer Usha Uthup, coming to Bengaluru is like ‘coming home’. “I mean, what I feel about returning to this city is a foregone conclusion now, isn’t it? I have always loved coming back to Bengaluru. One of my first shows happened in an auditorium here. Since then, I have performed so many shows here from the big Ganesh Utsavs to my concerts at many city clubs. Bengaluru is a fantastic venue for anybody to come. It’s like a small big city. It has everything you would look for in a big city yet is small enough to be personal and warm,” shares Uthup, who is based between Kolkata and Mumbai. On July 8, Uthup will be performing at the Prestige Srihari Khoday Centre for Performing Arts.
The audience of Bengaluru, Uthup feels, has always been fantastic. “There is such a cross-section here. Whenever I perform in a club, you will find people who would love to listen to songs in English, Hindi and of course, Kannada. The audience has been really wonderful to me. This is why I keep coming back, and they’ve been asking me to come back. Thank God for that,” she says.
Uthup, who has sung for Kannada films before, would love to do more of them. “Of course, I want to sing in more Kannada films. I would be really thrilled if I get an opportunity. South Indian films are now becoming not only nationwide hits but also international successes, and I would love to be part of it,” says the 2011 Padma Shri awardee. Her last Kannada song was Jhoom Jhoom Zara for the 2012 film Parie.
With a career spanning a whopping 54 years to be precise, Uthup says it’s the audience that is keeping her driven. “Without the audience, I’m absolutely zero. The sooner an artiste realises that the better it is for them. And of course, all the musicians and technicians who have stood by me all these years. As I have always said, the song is much bigger than the singer. It is very important that the song lives on,” concludes Uthup, is presently working on multiple songs for films in different languages.
Movie in the making
Outside of performing throughout the country and singing in numerous languages, she has also been cast in director Srijit Mukherji’s web series, an Indian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. “Sherlock is played by Kay Kay Menon, Ranvir Shorey as Watson and I will be playing the role of Mrs H (Mrs Hudson, Sherlock’s landlady). So, that’s something to look forward to and am really excited,” says Uthup, who has previously acted in films like 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) and Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu (2022).