Brought up in Fremont, California, the Indian American playback singer, Pragathi, finished as runner-up in the reality-based singing competition Airtel Super Singer Junior in 2012. She has since worked on soundtracks of film albums composed by Anirudh Ravichander and G. V. Prakash Kumar.
Did you anticipate this level of success as playback singer?
Absolutely not! I never expected it to have catapulted into what it has grown to be today and being an international contestant, this is the last thing I expected even though the show had gone really well. Each and every day is a surprise for me in terms of being here and facing the limelight.
Who do you owe your success to?
I think the biggest portion of it would be my family and I would have to say that because the industry and the field that I’m part of is very unconventional to my family and nobody has been in the media or in music more specifically. I think it’s rather a risky step to take especially for a child because of its uncertainty and the fact that we don’t go to work regularly and get a regular pay cheque. Your face is put up in a lot of situations and a lot of people know what you’re up to and what’s going. My family is my strength especially because of the freedom and support they have given me to be here and to pursue a career like this. The evolution of social media has also definitely impacted my level of success. When I started my social media handles 6 years ago, I was on Super singer and I feel it’s been a great journey especially since people get to know what I’m up-to and are able to relate to me.
What were you like in high school?
Funnily enough, in high school, music was always an extracurricular activity and something I did for enjoyment even though it always happened to be a serious part of my life.
What do you study right now?
I’m about to finish my second year of university at UCLA majoring in political science and law. My mom is a paralegal which has been one of the reasons why law has always interested me, more particularly entertainment law.
Have you considered acting?
I did sign with Bala sir’s film and as of now, I think it’s not happening. But with the number of offers that I’ve gotten and the number of people who have told me that I should act I’m definitely interested to try it out. If I find it to be something that I enjoy doing and I’m good at, I’ll definitely take it up full time.
What is your favourite book?
To kill a mocking bird is my all time favourite since that’s the book that I read in high school that kick-started my love for reading for a multitude of different reasons. But I think that a book everyone must read is Outliers. It has really motivated and inspired me to go out and do better. With high school and college I think I ended up reading for the curriculum more than for pleasure but I think my biggest new year resolution this year was to read a book a month and I’ve been trying to stay on track as much as possible.
How do you handle all the male attention that comes your way?
Hahaha! Yet again, it’s something I never anticipated and I find it to be extremely interesting (any kind of attention is obviously nice) but there’s no particular way to really handle it. It’s just there and you just need to go with the flow.
How do you manage travel, university and your life as a performing artiste?
It has definitely been difficult but I think that I’ve been conditioned to manage it since high school. It’s been all the more difficult after I started university because I moved out of the house and been managing myself. College life specifically in the US is a social setting. so everything you do is with your friends and you meet a lot of people and spend a lot of time with them. I don’t think I’ve cracked it in the last two years, I’ve still been experimenting as to how much travelling I can be doing and how much of my professional life I should be giving importance to while trying to be that normal college kid. There have been numerous all-nighters and studying on flight scenes and instances where I forget to pack things (I still think I’m kind of a mess but from the outside it looks all rosy and great like I’m doing a fantastic job but it’s really not true!)
Have you ever been negatively influenced in any way?
I think that being in an industry like this comes with a lot of positives and negatives. The whole world just can’t love you and make it beautiful and rosy as it is. Right from me being on super singer or me starting to model, there has been a lot of backlash. They say “You’re a singer, stick to your domain.” My base and structure is primarily leaning towards Carnatic music and a lot of my followers who attend my concerts in the Magzhazhi season are taken aback by the various areas I’ve put my foot into. Any decision I make is always watched by the public’s eye, but at end of the day, I do what is suitable for me and what works for me. There’s been a lot of negativity in my pathway; leaning to just take it with a pinch of salt and knowing how to handle it is the only way to go.
What concerns you the most about yourself?
Sometimes I’m afraid that my dreams and what I want to achieve in life is too far. A little part of me is undoubtedly scared that I am not capable or I won’t have the resources to materialise those things. My parents always say “you reach for the moon and you’ll land in the stars” and I think that for me, “it’s reach for the moon and you land on the moon”. I always have to set a middle ground between “if you want something you go get it” versus “if it’s meant to happen, it will”.
Being a woman, has the industry treated you differently?
I think being a woman in the industry definitely has more cons than pros. Being a young woman in the industry is more difficult because I have been treated differently and many have had different intentions in mind when they approach me. Most music directors are male and in a male dominated industry, you can never be one of the “bros”, chill or have fun with them. Moreover, being safe and home on time is one of the aspects that take away from the experience of being in the industry as a whole and it’s a huge disadvantage.
What is your favourite album?
I’ve done a couple of independent albums along with movie albums and I think my most favourite piece of work would be the song with Teejay, Thean Kudika. We also have a new song coming up which I’m very excited about!
