The last time we checked, Kaavaalaa had over 111 million views on YouTube. The superhit Tamil song, pictured on Tamannaah Bhatia and Rajinikanth from the recently released Jailer, has vocals by Shilpa Rao. The singer, who has also lent her voice to A-listers such as Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Katrina Kaif among others, says she has never sung anything like the groovy track. It combines the melodies of a flute with the thumping rhythms of percussion instruments, and lyrics that talk of desire. “When I got a call from composer Anirudh Ravichander, I was a little apprehensive because the song has a unique vocal technique and style,” she adds.
A defining characteristic of the viral song is the use of thavil beats, popular in Carnatic music. Her mise en place involved mimicking the playful elements from a voice recording Ravichander had shared before recording. “The song uses beats distinct to south Indian music, and recreates them for present-day tastes,” she says.
Keeping in tune with the times, all of Shilpa’s songs in 2023 are from the highest-grossing films. She began the year with Besharam Rang in Pathaan. Then there was Ruaa Ruaa in Ponniyin Selvan 2, followed by Saanjha in Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, and Ro Lain De in Rocky aur Rani kii Prem Kahaani. Anyone who has heard Shilpa knows that she does not have the sweet feminine voice that has dominated the playback singing scene in Bollywood. It is deep and has a sultry quality to it, lending even her peppy songs a touch of mysticism. “If the music has lyrical value and its melody is in place, it will find its way to the audience,” she says. Some of her other popular numbers include Woh Ajnabi (Train), Mudi Mudi Ittefaq Se (Paa), Ishq Shava (Jab Tak Hai Jaan), Malang (Dhoom 3), Manmarziyaan (Lootera), Ghungroo (War) and Bulleya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil).
The 39-year-old began her career with Tose Naina in Anwar (2007), but soon started singing in multiple languages, including Telugu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, and Gujarati. “Every language has a certain rhythm and ring to its words. Understanding that is key,” she says, adding that the approach helped her crack the “vibe” of Kaavaalaa.
The earliest musical influence on the Jamshedpur-born and raised Shilpa was her singer-father S Venkat Rao, who introduced her to the nuances of different forms of music. The decision to pursue it professionally, however, only happened after she trained under veteran singers Hariharan and Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.
Though the playback singer has not had much opportunity to explore the semi-classical genre in Bollywood, she turns to its core technique now and then, bringing the flair of its lilt in film songs as well. “Directly or indirectly, all training in music helps. For instance, I have used many techniques of ghazal singing in Besharam Rang,” she says, adding, “Which is why I always advise the younger generation of singers to devote time to training.”
Another thing Shilpa swears by is originality. At a time when there is much noise around auto-tune, the singer believes there is no substitute for the texture or tone of an artiste’s voice. “When it comes to the emotions in a song, no technology can save you,” she says.