<p>Bengaluru: Aishwarya and Saundarya, great-grandchildren of the classical music icon M S Subbulakshmi, are debuting in film music. Their singing is featured in two songs in <em>Akhanda 2: Thaandavam</em>, a Telugu film starring Nandamuri Balakrishna. The sisters live in Bengaluru, and recorded the song in Hyderabad for composer Thaman.</p>.<p>“This is our first film recording. We have performed and recorded classical pieces before, but stepping into playback for a big commercial film definitely felt like a new chapter,” Saundarya told <em>DH</em>. The film was to release this week, but a last-minute dispute has stalled it.</p>.<p>The sisters are open to more work in films, and don’t feel film music is a distraction from the rigours of classical music. They perform on the stage widely, and in 2022, reprised their great-grandmother’s ‘Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatham’ recording with one of their own. The sisters are following in the footsteps of Subbulakshmi, who had sung in five films between 1937 and 1947. In ‘Meera’, made in Tamil and subsequently in Hindi, she donned the titular saint-poet’s role, and her songs enjoyed all-India appeal.</p>.<p>“Classical music is our foundation and playback is just another way to express ourselves. In fact, our classical training helped us bring more depth, clarity, and emotion to the recording. As long as we stay rooted in our training, exploring film music only adds to our growth,” said Saundarya.</p>.<p>The sisters like songs from <em>Kantara</em>, as they are “rooted in folk culture, with intense percussion and spiritual energy.” Their playlists are replete with classical standards and film songs based on ragas. Aishwarya particularly likes songs from the Tamil film <em>Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2</em> as they blend “Karnatik melodies with rich orchestration.”</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Aishwarya and Saundarya, great-grandchildren of the classical music icon M S Subbulakshmi, are debuting in film music. Their singing is featured in two songs in <em>Akhanda 2: Thaandavam</em>, a Telugu film starring Nandamuri Balakrishna. The sisters live in Bengaluru, and recorded the song in Hyderabad for composer Thaman.</p>.<p>“This is our first film recording. We have performed and recorded classical pieces before, but stepping into playback for a big commercial film definitely felt like a new chapter,” Saundarya told <em>DH</em>. The film was to release this week, but a last-minute dispute has stalled it.</p>.<p>The sisters are open to more work in films, and don’t feel film music is a distraction from the rigours of classical music. They perform on the stage widely, and in 2022, reprised their great-grandmother’s ‘Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatham’ recording with one of their own. The sisters are following in the footsteps of Subbulakshmi, who had sung in five films between 1937 and 1947. In ‘Meera’, made in Tamil and subsequently in Hindi, she donned the titular saint-poet’s role, and her songs enjoyed all-India appeal.</p>.<p>“Classical music is our foundation and playback is just another way to express ourselves. In fact, our classical training helped us bring more depth, clarity, and emotion to the recording. As long as we stay rooted in our training, exploring film music only adds to our growth,” said Saundarya.</p>.<p>The sisters like songs from <em>Kantara</em>, as they are “rooted in folk culture, with intense percussion and spiritual energy.” Their playlists are replete with classical standards and film songs based on ragas. Aishwarya particularly likes songs from the Tamil film <em>Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2</em> as they blend “Karnatik melodies with rich orchestration.”</p>