As her chulbuli and chilipi track titled ‘He’s so cute, he’s so sweet, he’s so handsome’ on actor Mahesh Babu trends on video sharing network YouTube with 27 million views, you would think singer Madhu Priya Peddinti would sit back and enjoy the success. But the 23-year-old confesses that she is a ‘music maniac’ who needs to sing all the time to stay sane.
Incidentally, her previous song Vachinde mella mellaga from the movie Fidaa featuring actor Sai Pallavi is the ‘most-watched south song on YouTube’ till date, with 174 million views so far.
“The Fidaa song needed authentic Telangana accent and as I was into folk singing, I was picked for that number. However, I could prove my versatility by singing this naughty song now. Every girl has a crush on actor Mahesh Babu and I was lucky to be able to express the same through my song in Sarileru Neekevvaru. There are umpteen songs describing the beauty of women, but this one is a tribute to the actor known for his chocolate boy look,” says Madhu.
Needless to say, she is grateful to music composer Devisri Prasad for picking her for the song and actor Rashmika Mandanna for emoting so well for the song. “Definitely the peppiest song in my repertoire of 100,” she exclaims about the song, for which she spent about a day in a Chennai studio to record it.
While Madhu may come across as a bindaas girl, she has had a roller coaster life.
She started singing when she was six years old and rose to fame when she wrote and sang the heart-touching song Aadapillanamma about the plight of a girl child in the country.
Later, she played a prominent role in the cultural dynamic of the Telangana struggle alongside folk singer Gaddar.
She also made news for getting married in the public eye, as media channels telecast the event.
Madhu admits the decision to not pay heed to her parents, who warned her against getting married at such a young age (she turned 18 the day she got married) was the worst in her life.
“The lesson I have learned in my life is that parental love towards their children is the purest form of love and only when we lose our sense that we reject and harm our lives. My request to the girls of this country is to invest in themselves and not into relationships that may or may not last. You alone will be your best friend and support when bad times hit you,” she adds.
Madhu is also someone who is frequently targetted and trolled in social media for her personal life. Does it rankle her to read those comments?
She says that she could have never come to this stage in life if she heeded to what random people said. “When a girl goes up to the stage and sings a song, there are people who judge her saying she is desperate for attention. Yes, I get terrible comments in my feed and it has been over two years since I stopped read ing or reacting to it.”
She almost chokes with emotion when she talks to Hyderabad Express, but the spunky girl manages to bounce back and talk about the excitements lined up for 2020. Right now, she is busy promoting the new song she sang and shot for Sankranthi. “My heart beats for folk music as I believe these songs come straight from the heart and are pristine with emotion,” says Madhu.
She adds that she managed to channel her emotions of being discriminated against for being a girl in her family and that took shape as Aadapillanamma. She spends her days listening to the latest Telangana songs on her iPhone. “Music has given me life, fame, house, car and all other things that girls of my age aspire for. Although I am not someone who maintains a bucket list, I’ve always given my 100 per cent to whatever I’ve taken up,” she says when asked about what her big dream in life is.
“As you know, the last few years have given me several rude jolts. But last year, I realised that I am stronger and wiser now. When that happens, problems get transformed into lessons. Every experience, be it good or bad, is a value addition to life,” she says on a philosophical note.
Is there a song that inspires her when she is feeling low? “It’s ‘Chal chalo chalo, life se milo, idho kotta chapter just say hello’ by lyricist Ramajogayya Shastri,” she says.
January, she adds, will be about going home to spend the festival with her parents Mallesh and Sujatha in Godavari Khani and taking them for a drive in her new Jeep Compass (hard-earned, she says) around town and flying kites with her sisters Supriya and Shrutipriya. “Of course, we will be playing Telangana teenmaar songs in the background. What is life without some beat? Paata vuntey zindagi jabardasth vuntadi (music makes life exciting)” she signs off.
kalanidhi@newindianexpress.com @mkalanidhi