Naan illai en vasam..

10.30am, Undisclosed office complex, a slightly uncomfortable cubicle.

I was making constructive use of the excessive free time at office listening to music, drinking coffee and browsing. I was reading a news article about the India-Pakistan matches when I found myself checking Winamp to see what song was playing.

"Chellame Idhu Irava Pagala.." from Kalaba Kadhalan

A wonderful duet by Karthik and Sunitha Sarathy. Do you remember Sunitha? Let me refresh your memory.

"Hey.. Goodbye Nanba.." Thats her.
[She's on "Yakkai Thiri.. (Fanaa)" also]

In ""Chellame Idhu Irava Pagala..", Sunitha emotes so well in her voice , she almost outshines Kartik. Listening to her sing on my headphones takes me away to a faraway place.
Women with husky voices always do that to me, but Sunitha's in a whole new league.

Just listen to this small clip.

You're probably thinking 'Nice voice, her Tamil is good'.

But you haven't heard anything until you've heard this.
Its a song from the movie "Kisna" called My Wish Comes True. A heartwarming track sung beautifully.

Wait, there's more.
ARRahman composed music for a Chinese film called "Warriors of Heaven and Earth". Sunitha is featured in the soundtrack on the song Warriors In Peace (English Version). I couldn't find the link to the full song, you're gonna have to make do with the 30 second demo from Amazon.

Too soft for you?

Listen to this one from Hollywood Bollywood. The track is If The Shoe Fits.

Ain't she adorable !!

Here's an excerpt from her interview to Femina(Reproduced without permission!).

"I have no formal training in music. I come from a musical background... my talent is the Lord's gift to me. I have never wanted to get voice trained either as I feel that certain characteristics in the voice could be lost by specialised training. And I never was the type to get pinned down by rules and classes... I was busy playing in the dirt and climbing trees.

A lot of my film work has been with Rahman. He's a genius (Gosh! I know I sound like every other person talking about him). He's also a wonderful person - simple, devout, and funny. He knows exactly what he needs. I knew 'Fanaa' would be a hit. In fact in that song, I do vocal bits over Rahman Sir's voice. I felt like I was gliding over a beautiful place. He lets you experiment and at the same time, knows how to get that 100 per cent out of you - even if it's at four in the morning.

I sing along to R&B, Soul and Hip-hop. But my influences are strongly R&B. I like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Barbara Streisand - there are so many wonderful voices out there, I can't name them all. "

Not everybody would like her songs instantly but like all music, she grows on you too. I'm sure she's one of the best female vocalists around.

You might also like her other tracks:
EnnaiThedi - Jithan
Thoodu Varuma - Kakka Kakka
Ennai Pidikkum - Sathurangam
Ivanthan En - Kaadhal
I just hope she'd stop singing songs with weak lyrics like "Gori Tera"(from Saravana) or just plain weak songs like "Thottutae"(from Aaru).

But there's something about her raw untrained voice I can't really describe. I just love how high her voice can go, her hushed whispers, her seductive vocals.. they're so haunting! She's immensely talented and I'm sure she'll be appreciated in a really big way someday.