Count her for her chutzpah

Everything about our interaction was testimony to the boisterous and bubbly girl that she is. At 32, Mathangi is a recognised voice in the Indian music industry, having sung in regional languages like Malayalam, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada for over 10 years.

“I have to thank my parents for helping me recognise my strengths at a young age.” Even today, Mathangi goes back to her charanas and keerthanas every once in a while. She believes it is this foundation that trained her young voice and rewarded her with a colourful career in music.

Having spent much of her life in Calcutta and New Delhi, Mathangi is more than “just fluent” in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. Born into a South Indian family with deep-rooted interest in Carnatic music, Mathangi was exposed to “good music” from a very young age.

“The radio was always switched on in our house, and it was invariably Carnatic music. In fact, my relationship with music began with learning Carnatic and Hindustani classical from various gurus. My mother, Prema Rajshekar, who holds a Master’s degree in music, made sure that I started training from the age of six,” adds Mathangi. At the age of 13, she received a government scholarship to further her training in Carnatic music, till she turned 18. “What I am today is because of that funding. That’s when I truly realised my potential in singing and decided to pursue it as a career.”

Somewhere between attending college in Mount Carmel, Bangalore and learning Carnatic music, Mathangi reveals that she was drawn towards a variety of musical genres. From Ghulam Ali to Hariharan, Celine Dion to Mandolin Srinivas, Madonna to Balamuralikrishna, Michael Jackson to Ustaad Rashid Khan —  she wanted a piece of it all.

In school, she confesses growing up on a “diet of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and Mohammed Rafi.” The last years of college was a heady mix of A R Rahman and Ilayaraja, which she claims, further increased her thirst for regional tunes. “During my stint in advertising, I was spotted by music director Deva while doing a jingle for a client. It has been a whirlwind since then,” says a nostalgic Mathangi.

That opportunity gave her a break in Tamil films, Chocolate, to begin with. Her solo, Anju mani, and the duet, Kokkara kara giri, were instant hits. That first solo and duet led to many more offers for playback singing. It has been 10 years since she left advertising and Mathangi has sung over 350 songs for Tamil films, 40 for Telugu, six for Kannada and one for Malayalam and Hindi each. She has also worked on many albums, four of which are fusion collaborations with artists from across the country.

Within a year of playback singing, she began to get noticed by the media, which helped her grow professionally, she says. “After I was featured by the media in Chennai and Bangalore, I was invited to anchor musical shows and judge talent hunts. The television medium, more than anything, has given a real boost to my confidence.”

Mathangi claims that she still gets butterflies in her stomach before she grabs a microphone and there is no mistaking it for general jitters. But she works through it by seeking her husband out from the audience, for a nod of reassurance. “The music industry has been very welcoming. But I do feel the need to stay on top of my game. I think it’s a healthy mix of confidence and nervousness.”