In 2015 when the Vikram starrer I released, everyone had one song on repeat mode — the Ladio song. There was the obvious magic of music maestro A.R. Rahman behind the composition. But then there was also a new voice that listeners fell in love with — the electric voice of Nikhita Gandhi. The singer was in Kochi recently with two back-to-back performances this month.
Unlike a full time singer Nikhita has an entirely different profession backing her. She is a dentist by profession who just happens to love music just as much. Starting with how her journey as a musician started, Nikhita says, “I went to Chennai after my schooling to pursue dentistry. But then I got exposed to a lot of music. I got a lot of opportunities there starting with being part of a choir troupe to performing with a German orchestra.”
Then, Rahman individually auditioned her for a commercial project, which finally landed her the song Ladio. “It was not part of a plan to become a singer or a full-time musician,” she reveals. Nikhita later on worked with musician Anirudh Ravichander for Thanga Magan. She also worked on an independent project with Rahman, and the latest one is the international project Pele, a movie based on the life of the legendary footballer.
“More than being mainstream projects, these international projects are actually very cool. ARR did a project called Muahmmed (SAL): The Messenger of God. Such stuff is really interesting for its offbeat music,” she says. About the kind of music she loves singing and composing, Nikhita says, “I enjoy singing a lot of blues and jazz. I’m also trained in Hindustani, so I like Sufi as well.”
Despite being a Bengali, Nikhita has learnt to handle Tamil quite well. “I’ve been in Chennai for a few years. I don’t know enough Tamil to speak fluently, of course (she laughs). Funnily enough, I think the song Ladio is complicated even for a Tamilian.” So what about her career in dentistry?
“It is definitely a challenge to maintain a full-time career in both, especially when you are travelling a lot. I do love the subject and don’t want to lose touch. I take part in dentistry camps, where I get to help people," says the doctor. On Monday, Nikhita released a single along with her junior in college — a rap artist from Iran. “The song is open for listeners’ interpretation,” she says before signing off.
