At back stages, after her music shows, someone coming to meet her will ask that question: Are you really a Malayali? Sayanora Philip says she is, she is from Kannur.
The many English songs she sings on stages and films from her early days bring that question. But all that should stop when the first single she's bringing out as an independent artiste is launched on February 14, Valentine's Day.
It's not only her voice, but her words as well — a Malayalam song called Uyire. “I like writing in Malayalam. I stay awake in the nights sometimes from 12 to 4, and write or compose songs," she says. Uyire had come to her one such night, on the spur of the moment. But Saya, as she is fondly called, never thought it will be released as a music video.
“It is 100 per cent because of the encouragement of my friends I did this now." One of them asked her to play it at a birthday party where, Nikhil J. Menon, the music director of Nee-Na, heard it and said she should do it.
“He roughly key programmed it and sent me.” More friends came along. Two of them — Nitin Vijay and Deepu Joseph — took over the direction and concept of the music video.
“At first we thought of making the video with a model but Nitin said, 'you composed, wrote and sang it, why don't you be the face of it'.” Saya's husband Ashley was too shy of the camera to play her partner in the video, so another friend from Dubai, Zan Hussain came to do the role.
‘uyire enne vittu pokaathe
Thalirayi tharuvayi thanalayi nee vaa
Alayayi thirayayi kadalayi nee vaa’
Her words are about unprofessed love. “It was not actually written for Valentine's Day, it just got made around the same time.”
The indie song was shot in Kochi by Satheesh Kurup, and Vivek Thomas did the music production. “The family support was also great. My husband Ashely and little girl Zena, my father was very happy I was doing this."
Sayanora has also sung for Gopi Sunder in the film James & Alice and for M Jayachandran in Mohavalayam. She's just getting out of the image of a singer specialising in western. “I liked it at first but then I am someone who's learnt Carnatic for 12 years and Hindustani for three. I would love to handle all three.”
