For music that is soulful

“It’s definitely wonderful, and I am delighted. It’s not an easy job to do a Hindi show continuously in Tamil Nadu. In the beginning it was really difficult as no one was bothered. But after a couple of successful shows, word started spreading and it became what it is now. I am so happy with where it has reached,” she shares.

She has had the likes of the renowned Amit Kumar come all the way from Mumbai to attend her shows. “It was overwhelming,” she adds. Though regular followers will continue to be her strength and support, she reminisces about an 86-year-old man as her favourite audience member so far. “He is a music critic and has been a follower on my Facebook page. He used to write to me saying that one day he would attend my show. He came on the 100th week and was cheering for me is my my happiest moment so far. He passed away recently though,” she says. She also has international audiences, from Nigeria and other countries who are ardent followers of music.

Ask her what’s her dream? “I want to achieve my 1,000th week at the show. I have a great sound team with me and my co-singer Sudeep Sangameshwaran and I don’t think it is impossible,” she says.

Jaya has sung more than 200 songs in Hindi, Telugu and for over 40 Tamil movies and for several dubbed films. She is also the recipient of the Kannadasan award, where she was recognised as a successful upcoming singer.

Talking about how the music scene has changed in the past couple of decades, she comments, “Right from the recording set up, everything has seen a drastic change. Initially, there were just a handful of singers, but now with technological advancements and reality shows, a lot of talented singers are coming to the forefront. The one unfortunate bit is that they don’t sustain for too long. They get a couple of offers and sometimes owing to competition, they disappear.”

Her current favourite singers are Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh. Her favourite rehearsal partner is her son Sharath Rajagopalan, who takes after his mother when it comes to music.

“He has sung for the movie 180 in both Telugu and Tamil. He also composes music and writes songs. He and his friend, who form the band Jigarthandas, brought out a song- Namma Chennai as part of their album,” she says.

Also, known as the ‘Asha Bhonsle of south India’, she said that she was speechless when she met her icon at Kolkata recently. “I took her blessings and she told me that I sound really good. My joy had no bounds,” she concludes.