JOIN USAnanya Bhat’s folk song ‘Sojugada’ inspires covers
It was during her graduation that singer Ananya Bhat was fully convinced that she wanted to be a professional singer. She set out to follow her passion after completing her BCom and today, she is a successful playback singer who has created a niche for herself.
Bhat is the voice behind songs like ‘Garbadhi’ (solo) and ‘Dheera Dheera’ and ‘Koti Kanasugalu’, from Yash-starrer ‘KGF’. She recorded the songs in five languages — Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi.
When she rendered ‘Sojugada Sooju Mallige’, a Kannada folk song, it went viral on YouTube and other social media platforms, fetching her well-deserved attention. The song was such a sensation that artistes like Guna Balasubramanian and Agam Aggarwal made their own versions of it.
In a candid conversation with Metrolife, Ananya talks about how she was surprised by the sudden fame and more.
What made you choose the song?
It was an easy song to sing. However, I didn’t have a band of my own till then, and I wanted to explore what could be done with such a song on my own.
There are many folk songs that people are familiar with but this was a song not many knew about. I never thought it would reach so many people.
What does the song convey?
The song is about offering prayers to Lord Mahadeshwara. It talks about one’s internal chaos and questions why one’s thoughts are still with their family when they are approaching the lord.
It is relevant for all times, especially now, when people are chasing after fame or money. In this chaos, they have forgotten to surrender themselves to the higher power.
Some artistes have recreated their own versions of the song...
It is amazing to see artistes reproducing the song; some in their own language too. Though music has no limit, a regional song crossing boundaries make me proud.
Did they approach you?
Most of the artistes didn’t approach me when they did their versions of the song. Some have given me credits and some haven’t; but it’s entirely up to them. Though my favourite is my own version, I also loved Agam Aggarwal’s work.
He is an extremely humble person. Despite being a Gujarati, he sang the song in Kannada itself, which was heartwarming.
Who is your inspiration?
I am inspired by good music and not just by a musician. I perform well in the folk genre but I can work with the semi-classical and classical genres too. I miss my guru, Raju Ananthaswamy. If he was around, he would have pushed me beyond my comfort zone.
Your favourite musicians...
I love listening to Kaushiki Chakraborty, Sid Sriram, Rihanna and Adele, among others.
What kind of songs would you like to work on in future?
My goal is to be on par with international artistes such as Taylor Swift and Adele. I would like to meet them someday. I also want to work on songs about peace, nature, disasters and work with social causes.
Many colours of a folk melody
Ananya Bhat
The one that started it all. Ananya sang verses from a folk epic in praise of Maadeva, deity of the Male Madeshwara hills. A runaway hit with seven million views
Guna Balasubramanian
The singer rendered a Tamil version beginning with the line Sojugada soodum malliye. It has already garnered 3.84 lakh views.
Agam Aggarwal
He confesses he doesn’t know Kannada, but renders a soulful version of a song that started haunting him the moment he heard it. His video has garnered 3.62 lakh views.