The interview which appears below, was originally published on Deccan Herald in February 2016. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
Only a couple of months after 24, Sanah Moidutty has lent her voice for three songs of Mohenjo Daro, A.R. Rahman’s latest, starring Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde. All three appear along with A.R. Rahman, the man she calls her biggest inspiration. She’s sung with him for Tu Hai and Sindhu Ma, and Mohenjo Mohenjo is mostly a chorus.
Sanah, who hails from Kerala and is now based out of Mumbai, says, “Working with Rahman sir has by far been the best experience of my life. It was more than just a dream to meet him and work with him,” says Sanah adding, “He took me out of my comfort zone while recording for Tu hai. When I heard myself at the end of the recording, the first thought that came into my mind was ‘Wait, I never knew I could do that!’ His vision is extraordinary.”
Sanah also has another guide who had led her into the world of music as a child — her mom Razia. “My mother was a singer herself so she used to train me in singing — Hindi and Malayalam. Since my childhood, I learnt to balance music and my studies. All thanks to my mother. She gave me the strength to not compromise one for the other. She enrolled me in a music class when I was five as she felt I had an inclination towards music.”
It was Carnatic music at first with guru Sundari Gopalakrishnan, for six years. Then there was Hindustani music for seven years with guru Madhuvanti Pethe. She also trained under Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan saahab for a few months. All this happened during her school and college days. “I remember taking up shows before exams and during the crucial Class X, XII and engineering exams. There were times I used to sit backstage and study.”
Sanah has a YouTube channel where she regularly posts videos. Her covers of Manmar-ziyan from Lootera and O Rangrez from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag are quite popular. “I plan to keep that consistent irrespective of the film music scene,” she says.
Watch Sanah’s version of ‘Kehna Hi Kya‘
