Dear Readers,
Wish you all a very very happy 2011. We start this year with a very very special guest for CWS show. Please join me in welcoming Chinmayi – A playback singer in tamil movie industry who made a sizzling debut with Kannathil Muthamittal. A young woman, a multi-dimensional personality, Chinmayi is also a voice actor in Tamil films, a television presenter, a radio jockey, an active blogger, and founder and CEO of a translation services company called Blue Elephant.
Watch the rising star in acti
Wish you all a very very happy 2011. We start this year with a very very special guest for CWS show. Please join me in welcoming Chinmayi – A playback singer in tamil movie industry who made a sizzling debut with Kannathil Muthamittal. A young woman, a multi-dimensional personality, Chinmayi is also a voice actor in Tamil films, a television presenter, a radio jockey, an active blogger, and founder and CEO of a translation services company called Blue Elephant.
Watch the rising star in acti
Name Chinmayi Sripada
Profession Singer, Translator, Psychologist
Native place Paramakudi
Date of Birth September 11
Sun Sign Virgo
Nationality Indian
Mother and Guru Mrs. T Padmasani.
Education * Studied in Children's Garden, Chennai and The Hindu Senior Secondary School ( Indira Nagar)
* Has passed all the 6 levels of German from Max Mueller Bhavan
* BA(Psychology) from the University of Madras.
* Currently pursuing Masters in Guidance and Counselling Psychology from the University of Madras
Languages known English, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, German and French and have a working knowledge in Spanish, Malayalam, Punjabi.
Music Has learnt both Hindustani and Carnatic Classical music but more interested in Hindustani music
Earlier worked in Sify.com, studentconcepts.org
Presently * writing a column called Chinmayi's choice in Chennaionline.com
* presenting ''Namma Ooru Angels' for Aahaa 91.9 FM
Discovered by When participated in Sapta swarangal, Mr. Srinivas who was a judge in that program and introduced her to A.R.Rahman
Debut 'Oru Deivam Thanda Poove' from 'Kannathil muthammital' under music director A.R.Rahman.
Role Model Her mother
Favourites Authors: Paulo Coelho, Richard Bach, Michael Sparks, Brian Weiss
Books: Alchemist, Message in a bottle, Swami Rama, Autobiography of a Yogi,
Mejda and books on paranormal happenings
Comics: Amar Chitra Katha, Archie's and Tinkle
Movies: Forrest Gump, Life is beautiful, Shakespeare in Love, LOTR, Anjali,
Kannathil Muthamitaal
Food: Indian, Chinese and Thai
Place: Switzerland
Scholarship Got the CCRT scholarship from the Government of India which helped to pursue her musical training under a Guru.
Unforgettable moments * Meeting A.R.Rahman for the first time
* Singing "Kannathil Muthamittal" song in the presence of then Chief Minister, J. Jayalalitha.
* When presented a shawl by Nookala Chinna Satyanarayanagaru
Awards * All India First and Best Performer Award from Sangam
Kala Group in the Year 1999
* All India First from the All India Radio for Ghazals in the
Year 2000.
* Best Female Playback Singer Award for the year 2002 for the
Movie Kannathil Muthamittal from Best Media Associates
(Variety Entertainment) Awarded on 18.1.2003
* Jewel of Sangam Kala in the Year 2002
* Award from Ajanta Fine Arts for Kannathil Muthamittaal
* Pride of Sangam Award for the year 2003.
* ITFA Award for the Best Upcoming Playback Singer for the Year 2002 for Kannathil Muthamittaal awarded at Genting Highlands, Malaysia.
* Tamilnadu State Government Award for the Best Playback Singer (2002) for 'Kannathil Muthamittaal'
Albums * ‘Swandam’ in Malayalam by East Coast Audio Entertainments
* 'Old is gold', a Hindi Remix album by Aagosh
* Many songs for Hindu and Christian Devotional albums
languages Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, Hindi
Owns A Company called 'Blue Elephant' which does translation services.
Dream To complete her Ph.D in Psychology and to sing in under all Music directors
Facts * learnt Odissi with Kshama Rau ji,
* voice behind Bhoomika in the movie 'Sillunu Oru Kadhal' and for Tanisha in Unnale Unnale
* Is a regular blogger
Profession Singer, Translator, Psychologist
Native place Paramakudi
Date of Birth September 11
Sun Sign Virgo
Nationality Indian
Mother and Guru Mrs. T Padmasani.
Education * Studied in Children's Garden, Chennai and The Hindu Senior Secondary School ( Indira Nagar)
* Has passed all the 6 levels of German from Max Mueller Bhavan
* BA(Psychology) from the University of Madras.
* Currently pursuing Masters in Guidance and Counselling Psychology from the University of Madras
Languages known English, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, German and French and have a working knowledge in Spanish, Malayalam, Punjabi.
Music Has learnt both Hindustani and Carnatic Classical music but more interested in Hindustani music
Earlier worked in Sify.com, studentconcepts.org
Presently * writing a column called Chinmayi's choice in Chennaionline.com
* presenting ''Namma Ooru Angels' for Aahaa 91.9 FM
Discovered by When participated in Sapta swarangal, Mr. Srinivas who was a judge in that program and introduced her to A.R.Rahman
Debut 'Oru Deivam Thanda Poove' from 'Kannathil muthammital' under music director A.R.Rahman.
Role Model Her mother
Favourites Authors: Paulo Coelho, Richard Bach, Michael Sparks, Brian Weiss
Books: Alchemist, Message in a bottle, Swami Rama, Autobiography of a Yogi,
Mejda and books on paranormal happenings
Comics: Amar Chitra Katha, Archie's and Tinkle
Movies: Forrest Gump, Life is beautiful, Shakespeare in Love, LOTR, Anjali,
Kannathil Muthamitaal
Food: Indian, Chinese and Thai
Place: Switzerland
Scholarship Got the CCRT scholarship from the Government of India which helped to pursue her musical training under a Guru.
Unforgettable moments * Meeting A.R.Rahman for the first time
* Singing "Kannathil Muthamittal" song in the presence of then Chief Minister, J. Jayalalitha.
* When presented a shawl by Nookala Chinna Satyanarayanagaru
Awards * All India First and Best Performer Award from Sangam
Kala Group in the Year 1999
* All India First from the All India Radio for Ghazals in the
Year 2000.
* Best Female Playback Singer Award for the year 2002 for the
Movie Kannathil Muthamittal from Best Media Associates
(Variety Entertainment) Awarded on 18.1.2003
* Jewel of Sangam Kala in the Year 2002
* Award from Ajanta Fine Arts for Kannathil Muthamittaal
* Pride of Sangam Award for the year 2003.
* ITFA Award for the Best Upcoming Playback Singer for the Year 2002 for Kannathil Muthamittaal awarded at Genting Highlands, Malaysia.
* Tamilnadu State Government Award for the Best Playback Singer (2002) for 'Kannathil Muthamittaal'
Albums * ‘Swandam’ in Malayalam by East Coast Audio Entertainments
* 'Old is gold', a Hindi Remix album by Aagosh
* Many songs for Hindu and Christian Devotional albums
languages Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, Hindi
Owns A Company called 'Blue Elephant' which does translation services.
Dream To complete her Ph.D in Psychology and to sing in under all Music directors
Facts * learnt Odissi with Kshama Rau ji,
* voice behind Bhoomika in the movie 'Sillunu Oru Kadhal' and for Tanisha in Unnale Unnale
* Is a regular blogger
Contacts chinmayi@gmail.com
Me: Hi Chinmayi, Welcome to the special show on Coffee With Sundar.. Can you please walk us through your journey of playback singing.. How you got started.. Who is your role model..
I belong to a classical music family. My mother is my Guru and training started very early as is the norm with families with Classical music lineage. My first opportunity – Kannathil Muthamittal came because I took part in Saptaswarangal on Sun TV. Srinivas who was my judge then, took me to Rahman sir. The main reason for my success is my mother.
Me: Can you share of your most enjoyable moments when singing for movies.. What are some of your best experiences..
CS: I wish I had made a log of these experiences. But I have loved this experience of working in Mangal Pandey when Javed Akhtar saab was reciting poetry, explaining his work and was also listening to Ashutosh Gowariker and Mr Ketan Mehta at Rahman sir’s studio.
Recording for Srikanth Deva is a lovely experience for every singer. He has a practice of giving a standing ovation, with everyone else in the room for the singer after a recording session.
Me: What do you think were your most important turning points of your life..
CS: Winning the All India Radio awards for Hindustani Classical and Ghazals.. Singing in Saptaswarangal.. Kannathil Muthamittaal.. Growing with Blue Elephant and winning the SAARC woman achiever’s award..
Me: Of all the song which you have sung, do you have any special favourites? Can you tell us why..
CS: Not really. Its hard to play favorites in the songs that I have sung :) I guess I ll be partial to Kannathil Muthamittal because it is my first song.
Me: As a youngster who has achieved quite a lot.. ofcourse we all know that the best is yet to come.. how do you deal with the weights of expectations and celebrity life status..
CS: I don’t perceive myself as a celebrity at all. It seems to be a by-product of what I do which is singing. There are goals that I have set for myself in terms of music and learning. As for expectations of others, which I am not sure who the said ‘others’ in this context are, I cannot take so many opinions into consideration when making decisions about growth in life. My mother is my guide and I take her words as gospel in this aspect.
Me: What are the other challenges you have faced.. How did you cope with them..
CS: Every single performance and every single recording is a challenge to do your best. Otherwise you cease to exist and that is about it. So far I guess I have coped well though there is no step by step process of doing it :)
Me: We all know the singer in you.. But let us explore of the aspects which people are not aware of.. Let us start with your profound mastery of various languages.. You have learnt so many languages.. When did you start.. What keeps you going.. I think you know about 9 languages right?
CS: From School. By the time I had finished school Telugu, Hindi Tamil and Sankrit had all been by electives for languages at various stages. I had also finished a Diploma in German by the same time. Learnt a little bit of French. Urdu was also something I began learning due to my interest in Ghazals. So I guess I can safely say I know 6 languages well.
Me: CEO of BlueElephant.. Can you tell us more about your translation services company.. When did you start.. what is the story of BlueElephant..
In 2005 Blue Elephant was floated because I was already freelancing for the sake of gaining better experience and working knowledge in German. It started there when clients asked me for other languages and service. Blue Elephant was started with that notion to provide interpretation and translation services. We work only with native speakers of a language and have established a network of over 2500 linguists around the world for various specialities, dialects and languages. Today we continue to grow and expand our scope of services which will be announced soon.
Me: How did you enjoy your experience of voice dubbings.. What were some of your interesting learnings from them..
CS: Happened by chance again, with Sillunu oru Kadhal. I realized how much of effort goes into the film making process and started to respect the breed of film makers and the creative people involved in the entire process. They all are an amazing level of people. No matter what sort of films they make, I believe they are all special.
Me: Chimayi, the dancer :) Can you enligten us more about your interests in odissi..
CS: I had always been interested in the dance form. Its beautiful and has lovely music as well. Though, unfortunately its currently on the backburner. But the embers are still glowing :)
Me: What else do you do..
CS: Blog sporadically, tweet often. Read a lot. I am a voracious reader. Otherwise I m unable to think of anything.
Me: Wow! Thats quite a lot.. What are your dreams & aspirations.. Where do you see yourself 5 or 10 years down the line…
CS: I have always believed in not discussing about my dreams or announcing my aspirations. I’d rather surprise people than let them know what to expect :)
Me: Absolutely! We are really eager to be surprised by you! Is there anything else you would like to add..
CS: Its been quite extensive. Guess you haven’t missed out anything!
Me: Thank you very much Chinmayi! It is a pleasure to host you on this interview show! Wish you a very very happy new year and all the very best for future endeavours!
I belong to a classical music family. My mother is my Guru and training started very early as is the norm with families with Classical music lineage. My first opportunity – Kannathil Muthamittal came because I took part in Saptaswarangal on Sun TV. Srinivas who was my judge then, took me to Rahman sir. The main reason for my success is my mother.
Me: Can you share of your most enjoyable moments when singing for movies.. What are some of your best experiences..
CS: I wish I had made a log of these experiences. But I have loved this experience of working in Mangal Pandey when Javed Akhtar saab was reciting poetry, explaining his work and was also listening to Ashutosh Gowariker and Mr Ketan Mehta at Rahman sir’s studio.
Recording for Srikanth Deva is a lovely experience for every singer. He has a practice of giving a standing ovation, with everyone else in the room for the singer after a recording session.
Me: What do you think were your most important turning points of your life..
CS: Winning the All India Radio awards for Hindustani Classical and Ghazals.. Singing in Saptaswarangal.. Kannathil Muthamittaal.. Growing with Blue Elephant and winning the SAARC woman achiever’s award..
Me: Of all the song which you have sung, do you have any special favourites? Can you tell us why..
CS: Not really. Its hard to play favorites in the songs that I have sung :) I guess I ll be partial to Kannathil Muthamittal because it is my first song.
Me: As a youngster who has achieved quite a lot.. ofcourse we all know that the best is yet to come.. how do you deal with the weights of expectations and celebrity life status..
CS: I don’t perceive myself as a celebrity at all. It seems to be a by-product of what I do which is singing. There are goals that I have set for myself in terms of music and learning. As for expectations of others, which I am not sure who the said ‘others’ in this context are, I cannot take so many opinions into consideration when making decisions about growth in life. My mother is my guide and I take her words as gospel in this aspect.
Me: What are the other challenges you have faced.. How did you cope with them..
CS: Every single performance and every single recording is a challenge to do your best. Otherwise you cease to exist and that is about it. So far I guess I have coped well though there is no step by step process of doing it :)
Me: We all know the singer in you.. But let us explore of the aspects which people are not aware of.. Let us start with your profound mastery of various languages.. You have learnt so many languages.. When did you start.. What keeps you going.. I think you know about 9 languages right?
CS: From School. By the time I had finished school Telugu, Hindi Tamil and Sankrit had all been by electives for languages at various stages. I had also finished a Diploma in German by the same time. Learnt a little bit of French. Urdu was also something I began learning due to my interest in Ghazals. So I guess I can safely say I know 6 languages well.
Me: CEO of BlueElephant.. Can you tell us more about your translation services company.. When did you start.. what is the story of BlueElephant..
In 2005 Blue Elephant was floated because I was already freelancing for the sake of gaining better experience and working knowledge in German. It started there when clients asked me for other languages and service. Blue Elephant was started with that notion to provide interpretation and translation services. We work only with native speakers of a language and have established a network of over 2500 linguists around the world for various specialities, dialects and languages. Today we continue to grow and expand our scope of services which will be announced soon.
Me: How did you enjoy your experience of voice dubbings.. What were some of your interesting learnings from them..
CS: Happened by chance again, with Sillunu oru Kadhal. I realized how much of effort goes into the film making process and started to respect the breed of film makers and the creative people involved in the entire process. They all are an amazing level of people. No matter what sort of films they make, I believe they are all special.
Me: Chimayi, the dancer :) Can you enligten us more about your interests in odissi..
CS: I had always been interested in the dance form. Its beautiful and has lovely music as well. Though, unfortunately its currently on the backburner. But the embers are still glowing :)
Me: What else do you do..
CS: Blog sporadically, tweet often. Read a lot. I am a voracious reader. Otherwise I m unable to think of anything.
Me: Wow! Thats quite a lot.. What are your dreams & aspirations.. Where do you see yourself 5 or 10 years down the line…
CS: I have always believed in not discussing about my dreams or announcing my aspirations. I’d rather surprise people than let them know what to expect :)
Me: Absolutely! We are really eager to be surprised by you! Is there anything else you would like to add..
CS: Its been quite extensive. Guess you haven’t missed out anything!
Me: Thank you very much Chinmayi! It is a pleasure to host you on this interview show! Wish you a very very happy new year and all the very best for future endeavours!
