The name Ramesh Chandra doesn’t ring a bell with Malayalis, but for Kannadigas, he is their melody king. A two-time recipient of the Karnataka State Award for Best Playback Singer, this Malayali singer from Kasaragod has been singing in Kannada movies for over two decades. The awards and accolades that poured in all these years couldn’t however fulfill that little dream of his – to lend voice to a Malayalam film song. The wait has ended now with a double delight as he bagged not one, but two songs in the upcoming Malayalam movie She, directed by Pravi Nair.
“It has been my big dream to be a playback singer in my mother tongue. Finally, I got to realise my dreams through the songs Kurukka Kurukka and Kuttikkurumba composed by Sasi Krishnan. I have rendered Kurukka in a very different style. Since the movie is about gender identity, the song was conceptualised as one rendered by a transgender and hence I had to change my voice. The recording was fun and I think it came out very well,” he says.
Listening to his Kannada songs, especially the Mappilappattu-based Kadala Theragalu from the 2001-film Munnudi, which earned him the state award, one can’t help but notice the uncanny similarity of his voice with that of Yesudas. All humble about the mention, he says, “Dasettan is my first guru. Listening to his songs on the radio was my first music training.”
As a young boy, Ramesh found his love in music, but didn’t tell anyone that he could sing. When in Class X, he enrolled himself for a music competition at the youth festival and won the first prize. His teachers, friends and family were all surprised and congratulated him. “I then realised this was my path. The only Carnatic music exponent in Kasaragod in those days was Kalmady Sadasiva Achar. I went to him and expressed my interest in learning and he took me in,” he recalls.
The passion took Ramesh to Bengaluru where he spent years knocking on the doors of musicians for a playback singing opportunity. Without losing hope, he found a job at a printing press to keep himself and his dreams alive. The big break happened in 1994 when music director
V. Manohar gave him a chance. His debut song O Mallige from Anuraga Sangama bagged Ramesh the Karnataka State Award and thus began the successful journey of a playback singer.
“All these years, I have been dreaming of a Malayalam film song. I have done a lot of devotional songs and stage shows and have worked with many Malayalam artists like K.S. Chitra, but hadn’t approached anyone for a chance. I always feel that my opportunity will come to me at the destined time. And now, the time has come,” says the glad singer.
His family – wife Chandra Jyothi and son Akshay – is equally excited about the turn of events. They are all awaiting the release of the song, which will most likely happen in a month.
