During the pandemic, when most people were confined to their houses, plenty of young talents started using the internet to purvey their artistic talents. And a few of them managed to catch the national attention with their skill and passion. The singer Antara Nandy (along with her sister Ankita Nandy) with their zestful crooning became viral on many social media platforms. For instance, their mashup of the romantic Sinhala song Manike Mage Hithe and the rambunctious Tamil song Rowdy Baby was all over the internet. Their dancing cover of the rousing song from RRR, Natu Natu, was another of those viral clips.
But many of these internet stars tend to fade away imperceptibly. But not Antara Nandy. In fact, she has had a career step-up. The comely singer from Assam has debuted as a playback singer. And it is not in any nondescript film. It is under the baton of the maestro A R Rahman, and for Mani Ratnam's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan Part 1.
Surreal experience for Antara Nandy
In the film, Antara has voiced the track Alaikadal in four languages — Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. The soft melody is among the big hits already, and is being lapped by the fans. The film also features five other songs sung by various artistes,a nd the one sung by Rahman received some criticism too.
The classically-trained singer is understandably overjoyed at the turn of events. She has been quoted as saying: "It was a surreal and splendid experience recording Alaikdal in Chennai. I hold AR Rahman sir and Mani Ratnam sir in such high regard because of their creative legacies and humanity that it is a very blessed opportunity for me to be making my playback debut with Ponniyin Selvan. Alaikadal is a very special song that charts the journey of a unique character in the film." The song is sung by character Poonghuzhali in the film.
Nandy was ranked in the top 10 of AR Rahman’s YouTube Original show ARRived (2019) and a finalist on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil’ Champs.
She says she was guided by both Rahman and Mani Ratnam before the recording. The director would even narrate the scenes to her so that she could grasp its essence. Nandy is currently working on her own original music. It is not clear when it will drop. But before that, Alaikadal's success will doubtless get her more chances in Indian films.
Ponniyin Selvan 1, based on one of the most loved Tamil historicals of the same name, is set for theatrical release on September 30. Helmed by ace director Mani Ratnam, the Tamil film stars, among others, Vikram, Karthi, Trisha, Jayaram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi and Sobhita Dhulipala.
