Sreya Jayadeep is just 10 but the film and devotional songs to her credit are more than 50. The little singer had conquered Malayali audiences through her sweet voice and cute performances in a television reality show and later through devotional albums. Now, she is on cloud nine because her song, ‘Enno Njan Ente Muttathoratathu’ in the movie, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ is a hit.
“Getting the chance to sing the song itself was a surprise,” says Sreya. “My family and I met [director] Nadirsha Chettan while having a meal at his restaurant, ‘Dhe Puttu’ in Ernakulam. We had stopped over before returning to our home in Kozhikode after attending a programme.” So they stayed back for the recording. But later it was re-recorded at Kozhikode as her voice sounded tired because of her stage performance that day. “And now after the release of the song, I have been receiving many calls, and good responses at the various programmes I attend,” she says. “Such a marvellous response was indeed surprising.”
And among the compliments, it was the one from music composer M Jayachandran that Sreya considers precious. “I am a big fan of MJ uncle (M Jayachandran) and was really happy when he said that I sang well when we met at a TV programme,” says Sreya. “I was thrilled when I got the chance to sing the devotional song, ‘Mele manathe Eeshoye’ in his album, ‘God’ and the first portion of the song, ‘Minnaminunge’, in the film, ‘Nirnayakam’.”
A Class Five student of Devagiri CMI Public School at Kozhikode, Sreya debuted as a playback singer in the movie, ‘Weeping Boy’, when she was in Class Three. The offer came through her performance in the ‘Surya Singer’ reality show which she won even though Sreya was the youngest participant.
Two duet songs, ‘Athmaviletho Mridhu Manthranam’ in ‘Kranthi’, and ‘Sky is Smiling...’ in ‘Malgudi Days’ are her upcoming releases. Sreya is also performing at M Jayachandran’s show, ‘Jayaragangal’ which will be held at Thiruvananthapuram.
When asked about whether she is selective in choosing songs, Sreya says, “Be it devotional or film songs, I will sing them if I receive an offer. When I was planning to learn Hindustani music, MJ uncle had advised me to concentrate on my singing and to accept whatever offers I get.” Sreya began learning music at the age of four, thanks to the encouragement of her parents Jayadeep and Praseetha who accompany her for each of her performances and recordings. “My younger brother Saurav is also a good supporter,” says Sreya. “He knows each of my songs by-heart.”