KOCHI: It’s impossible to be in South India today and not hear someone sing the refrain from this song. Singer Dhee’s Enjoy Enjaami has gone viral on most social media platforms and is on its way to hitting the big one billion!
We first heard of this Sri Lankan Tamil’s amazing alto voice in 2013 when she contributed her vocals to Disco Woman (a song from Pizza II: Villa, composed by her father, Santhosh Narayanan). This 22-year-old Chennai-based musician’s popularity however rose to new mercurial heights when the song Rowdy Baby from Maari 2 released in 2018. Dheekshitha Venkadeshan, or Dhee as she is popularly known is a singer who’s on her way to superstardom and we catch up with her for a quick conversation about her first single, Enjoy Enjaami (that’s crossed over 100 million views in less than a month on YouTube) on the brand new maajja platform.
How has this experience been, watching your song take over people’s social media feeds and playlists?
What makes me the happiest is that Enjoy Enjaami is being celebrated not just as an Arivu, Dhee and Santhosh Narayanan song but as something that belongs to each listener. As our collective song. There’s nothing that makes me happier than to see that. It’s an actual dream. Watching children and grandparents enjoy the song has also been the most wholesome thing.
How did the collaboration with Arivu and maajja come about?
The collaboration with maajja came about when they asked if I’d be interested in doing a song for the YAALL festival (that maajja is also managing and producing) prior to my album. I was super excited and I thought it’d be amazing to do my first independent song in Tamil. Meanwhile, Arivu and I had spoken about collaborating and this felt like the perfect opportunity for us to work on a song together. Arivu’s absolutely amazing and maajja has also been supportive in every way imaginable.
You have a unique voice, something that Tamil Nadu has stood up and taken cognizance of. Did you always know you would be known for a distinct voice? Did you ever worry about sounding ‘different’?
I have never thought of my voice in that way. To be honest, I have never really even given much thought to my voice. I sing the only way I know how to sing and that’s about it.
My amma, my grandmother and my great-grandmother all had very similar singing voices to what I have now, which is why I don’t particularly see myself as different and there are so many unheard, uniquely beautiful sounding singers with so much to say all around Tamil Nadu and India that deserve to be captured in the same way my voice has been captured. I hope to see those voices being recognised, being heard, and being celebrated.
When did you decide to be a singer and who were your biggest influences in terms of styles and music?
Ever since I remember, I’ve been in love with music and I’ve always wanted to be part of music. I didn’t see it as a job or anything. I still don’t but I remember feeling like music was ‘it’ for me from a really young age. More than to be a singer, I always just wanted to create music.
Singing was part of it. When I was very young, I grew up hearing what my paati and amma heard. MS Subbulakshmi and PB Srinivas are some of my favourites. I love and I’m hugely inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Santhosh Narayanan, Billie Holiday and Kendrick Lamar. I also love Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s songwriting. Both individually and together.
Were you professionally trained in music?
My mum and grandma taught Carnatic music but I never sat and learnt with them properly like I should’ve and they’ve never pushed me to either. I’ve listened in on the lessons but I’ve never been professionally trained.
You live in Australia — how much has international music and trends influenced your personal style of singing? How did that impact what you listened to or were drawn to musically?
Growing up in Australia as a Sri Lankan Tamil girl, gave me different perspectives in the way I viewed music and politics. It exposed me to all different types of music and artistes. Coming to Chennai made me realise that no matter where we go or how different a place might be culturally, human experiences are always the same.
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