I was a star even in college: Karthik

Singer Karthik says he’s here with his band to rock the city tonight at the Times Hyderabad Festival....
You started off as a backing vocalist, became the most sought after singer. And now you are scoring music for the film “Aaravan”. How was the evolution like?
I have loved every stage of the process. I was studying in the second and final year of college when I started off as a backing vocalist.I was a star even in college because I was working with Rahman. At that age it was a cool thing to do and the transition was beautiful. By the time I had graduated I had the opportunity to go solo. Coming to scoring music it’s too early to talk about it. I am still in the process of self discovery and as eager as everyone else to see the outcome. I’m always trying out new things — I learnt the piano and also learnt sound engineering — all this helped me in a big way.
You sing in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. How do you manage to get the accent right for each language?
I don’t know. I write down the Tamil songs in Tamil script and the rest I write in Devanagari script. I know Hindi and I know what the southern languages sound like, maybe it’s because I now have about eight years of experience. But I have to say Malayalam is the most difficult!
Do you think training in classical music gives you an edge, making it easier for you to blend classical music with pop as you did in the award-winning “Oh My Friend”?
I’ve started off with Carnatic music and then learnt Hindustani music. I even learnt Urdu. I think god has been kind to me. Can you believe I got the Nandi Award, something I couldn’t accomplish in my own state. I am lucky to have worked with Telugu composers who have given me great songs to sing - Koti, Keeravani, Mani Sharma and Devi Sri Prasad.
You’ve made a mark for yourself in Bollywood too.
I love Mumbai and its energy. I have worked with Amit Trivedi and Sailm-Suleiman. The Mumbai composers are very chilled out and I love the quality of their work. Reaching out to a wider audience is a very rewarding experience.
What’s the effect of the burgeoning technology in music?
The only flip side is that the charm of a lot of people meeting each other and jamming together is lost. Otherwise there is a huge list of benefits. You save on lots of time, you get to carve your composition and work on it many times till you are satisfied. Thanks to the internet you can collaborate with any musician in the world.
What are you performing tonight?
I’m here with my band. We are doing film songs that have been restructured and tweaked a little here and there. We are going to have fun.
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