MUMBAI: Charulatha Mani is soaring. The acclaimed singer has just recorded her first-ever song for music maestro AR Rahman, featured in Mani Ratnam’s upcoming film Thug Life. Titled Anju Vanna Poove, the track marks a powerful comeback for Charulatha, who last lent her voice to a film six years ago. “This was the most exciting collaboration of my life,” she beams, recalling how an unexpected email from Rahman led to an unforgettable night in the studio.
In 2019-20, while pursuing a PhD in 17th-century Italian opera at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Australia, Charulatha was also running her popular Isai Payanam series on YouTube a unique musical journey that explored how classical ragas influenced film music.
Fast forward to December 2023 – during a visit to Chennai for the Margazhi season – she received a message from Rahman: “Will you come meet me today?” After wrapping up her concert, she went to his studio, assuming it would be a brief conversation. To her surprise, AR Rahman, filmmaker Mani Ratnam, and lyricist Karthik Netha were all there – and within minutes, she found herself behind the mic. “I had no idea I’d be recording that very night,” she says. “But everything just clicked.”
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The lullaby required a delicate and soulful touch, and Charulatha’s operatic training came in handy. “There’s a line in the song – Kaatha Vaaraen – and Rahman sir said it needed to feel like a soul-stirring wind,” she explains. To evoke that emotion, she turned to a rare vocal technique known as cantar alla gorgia, a style rooted in early Italian opera composer Claudio Monteverdi’s work. “It’s a subtle, throat-based vibrato – and I never imagined my PhD research would end up shaping a film song,” she reflects.
Anju Vanna Poove is Charulatha’s first playback number since Thandhaay from Nadigaiyar Thilagam. But she views the break as essential. “Those six years gave me space to grow, reflect, and dive deep into my musical roots,” she says. “Now I’m returning with renewed purpose and this collaboration has been the perfect new beginning.”
