The interview which appears below, was originally aired on Rahmania - Aaha FM in May 2008. Interview excerpt is written by V.R. Vithur from the A.R. Rahman Yahoo Fans Group. ©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.
May 16th marks the birthday of Pop Shalini, a talented singer who has been recording jingles since the tender age of five. While she has not sung any solos for A.R. Rahman, she has contributed her voice to harmonies for some of his songs, including “Yakkai Thiri,” “Maramkothiyee,” and “Ilamai,” among others.
Pop Shalini has always had a passion for music, having participated in numerous school competitions and being a part of the musical troupe Alpha to Omega. She grew up listening to and singing songs from “The Sound of Music.” She has also been known to improvise during recording sessions, as long as the music director allows her the freedom to do so.
Studio recording has always been significant for Pop Shalini, and she cherishes the experience of wearing headphones and the plastic belt, which feel like toys from her childhood. Her first movie song was for the film “Thulli Thirindha Kaalam” during her XIth class. She has also sung for “Appu” and “Panchathanthiram.” To date, she has lent her voice to approximately 500 songs.
One of Pop Shalini’s most memorable experiences was being called from A.R. Rahman’s studio to record “Ayidha Ezhithu” (Yakkai Thiri song). When she received a call from Mr. Samydurai, who called from A.R. Rahman’s studio number, she couldn’t believe it. Mr. Samydurai asked her to come to the studio by 7:30 PM, and when she entered the studio, she saw the black keyboard first and was wonderstruck seeing it (ROJA Keyboard on the wall). On one side was A.R. Rahman, and on the other side was Mani Ratnam sitting there. That moment was very special to her, like a dream come true.
After she did that song, and after it was approved, she was called for the “Maramkothiye” song (Ah Aah). She got reassured that she could do something, as her voice had been approved earlier. S.J. Suryah, A.R. Rahman, Vasundhara Das were present at that time. She heard the song, “Mayilerage” being played there and was told that the “Maramkothiya” song would be a different version of that song. That itself was something new for her, and she felt happy for that new experience. She says that A.R. Rahman never shouts for any mishap from the singer’s side, in making any mistakes, etc. He is always down to earth and just smiles whenever any singer makes any error while singing. He laughs and tells them to try again.
Pop Shalini’s experience working with A.R. Rahman didn’t end there. She also sang harmonies for “Varalaaru” with Tanvi (Ilamai). Pop Shalini says that she was very happy for that opportunity, as she believes that singing harmonies enhances the beauty of the song.
While Pop Shalini has done only one pop album in her life, she has gained recognition from Magnasound and has even been featured on Star Plus and NDTV. When she began singing, Baby Shalini (Actor Ajith’s wife) was also singing, and to differentiate both of them, she got the title Pop Shalini. She says that she doesn’t want to accept a pure Classical song because she has been used to singing Hindustani classical music. Apart from that, her hobbies include reading novels.
Pop Shalini also shares some of her favorite songs of A.R. Rahman. She loves “Yeh Jo Desh Hai tera”, “Dheeme Dheeme”, “Udhaya Udhaya”, “Malargale”, “En mel Vizhundha”, “Thamizha Thamizha”, and “Netru Illadha Maatram.” The last song is especially meaningful to her, and she used to listen to it daily after coming back from school during her school days. It was her all-time favorite for many years.
