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A passion for singing
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Music is her passion, but family comes first for Renjini
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"WHEN I am singing, I forget the rest of the world," says playback singer Renjini Harikumar. If her name is not very familiar, blame it on the distance. She splits her time between Kerala and Coimbatore, visiting Chennai only to sing.
Her latest ditty is Koothu kummi paatedhuthu (Music: Ravindran) from the Malayalam movie Chakram, starring actor Prithviraj and actress Meera Jasmine.
A little into the interview at her Coimbatore office, Renjini tells you she holds a master's degree in Carnatic music from H. H. Maharaja College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram. Her guru is renowned classical singer Omanakutty. But, Renjini gets to sing more light numbers in movies.
She enjoyed a short stint in Malayalam films in the 1990s, but took a long break to raise her family. Her second innings was through the popular Tamil number Mayilu mayilu mayilamma in VIP. She has sung in more than 30 Malayalam films and 10 Tamil movies.
"My first offer was Nagapanchami (Malayalam) and it came from my guru's brother, M.G.Radhakrishnan," Renjini recalls.
"I like all kinds of music. Be it Hindustani, classical, rap, rock n roll or salsa," she adds. That quite explains why she had a blast singing the youthful Vaanam, boomi with Harish Raghavendra for music director Yuvan Shankar Raja in the Tamil movie Punnagai Poovae. "It's quite interesting to watch the younger generation compose music. You sing in bits and pieces and the way it shapes up finally is just mind boggling," Renjini adds. She has also sung with SPB, Mano and Sukhwinder Singh for the Shivaji Ganesan-Arjun-Soundarya starrer Mannavaru Chinnavaru. She struck pay dirt when music director Ravindran gave her an opportunity in Ezhuthacchu. "In the beginning, I was a little scared because he is a perfectionist. Later, I grew comfortable," Renjini says.
Lots of offers followed from music directors like Johnson.. She was also part of Ravindran's music troupe that travelled abroad for music shows in European countries.
Any regrets? "I had auditioned for Maestro Illayaraja. But, I couldn't stay back in Chennai to further my career." The singer says she is most comfortable singing fast numbers in high pitch.Her next project includes singing for Ravindran in Malayalam. "I also intend to go to Chennai next month to renew my contacts," she adds. Good luck to that!
K.JESHI
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