HYDERABAD: Sunitha Upadrasta needs no introduction. Her over 25-year successful career speaks for itself. The singing sensation is gearing up to perform live after a gap of almost two years! This time, she will share the stage with renowned pianist Stephen Devassy, who has performed on around 2,000 stages in over 60 countries. The duo’s collaboration has piqued people’s interest, especially with the musicians wanting to remain tight-lipped about the setlist.
If you are someone who follows the singer on social media, you would know two things about her -- 1. That she is a huge admirer of the late legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam and 2. She has a soft corner for independent musicians. Speaking about the latter, Sunitha opens up about what led to her encouraging and supporting independent music. “The pandemic showed how crippled artistes can become, when they have no shows lined up. Cancelled shows, uncertainties post the announcement of a gig, have all become a norm post-2020, leading to many giving up music and taking up something more ‘stable’. This realisation did two things — teach me to be grateful for the opportunities I got that brought me here and two — inspire me to do whatever I can to be of help to good talent.”
Sunitha has another reason to promote independent talent. “In India, music for most people has only been songs from cinema. There have been very few artistes and bands that have enjoyed good fandom and houseful concerts. A hard pill to swallow is that not every good musician out there is going to get his or her big break in Tollywood or any other film industry. That doesn’t mean they must suffer, their talent deserves the same kind of applause and recognition, which is what I’m striving to work towards.”
Sunitha, who sang over 3,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, has been going all out to not only promote, but also collaborate with several bands in the city. She points to Stephen and his band, with whom she will share the stage soon, as one of the perfect examples of where independent music can take an artiste, if given the right support. “Stephen is so crazily talented. I was amazed by him and his band’s performance when I went to Kochi for a rehearsal. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve carefully put together for the show.”
Revealing a little about the upcoming concert on January 8 at Shilpakala Vedika, she says, “The concert will have many of my songs from my two-and-half decade-old career. There will be a few songs in Kannada, Tamil and Hindi too. Stephen has done a great job at rearranging some of the best classics to present something unique yet nostalgic for everybody.”
Neeli Neeli Aakasam, Chivaraku Migiledi and Em Sandeham Ledu, among others, are some of the songs she’s looking forward to performing at the concert.