KOZHIKODE: "You are a very special talent. God bless you. You have brightened my day in the hospital like never before. Mixing Carnatic and Western pop... amazing," tweeted Amitabh Bachchan from Nanavati hospital in Mumbai, where he is undergoing treatment for COVID-19.
He attached the video of a girl's fusion music. Though Bachchan didn't know who she was, Keralites knew her as Arya Dhayal from Kannur who sang the poetic song "Sakhavu''.
The ace-actor shared the two-minute video of Arya rendering Ed Sheeran's pop number 'Shape of You' playing on her Ukulele.
"I was surprised by the tweet. The video was recorded in June at my home at Nadal, Kannur. I had just bought the Ukulele during the COVID-19 lockdown period and was experimenting on it," said an elated Arya to The New Indian Express.
Surprisingly, Arya's another fusion video, a blend of Carnatic, Western and Kathakali Padam, had won more recognition than the one shared by senior Bachchan.
The former had two million views on Instagram and was shared by singers like Hariharan, Sreenivas, Govind Vasantha and actors Parvati and Reema Kallingal.
"This video has got three lakh views on Instagram. I think the music might have struck a chord with Bachchan in the hospital bed. I am on cloud nine after his tweet," said Arya, who had just completed PG in Statistics from Bengaluru.
'Sakhavu' song
The 23-year old girl shot to fame three years ago through her rendetion of the poem 'Sakhavu'.
Arya had learned Carnatic music for 20 years under Jayashree Rajeev and MA Rajeev Kumar in Kannur and under SR Krishnamurthy in Coimbatore. She has also won many prizes in state school kalolsavam in events like Kathakali Sangeetham and classical music.