Not possible to deprive me of singing: Antara Nandy

She is all of sixteen, but Kolkata-based Antara Nandy’s voice has taken the Internet by storm as her video tribute to A.R. Rahman goes viral

When you hear her sing, you’ll find it hard to come to believe that she’s so young – she only turned 16 in December last year! But that’s Antara Nandy for you; age is not a factor when you’re pursuing your passion. Her most recent cover of Agar Tum Saath Ho from Tamasha, was a tribute to AR Rahman, who composed the soundtrack for the film. The response was overwhelming. All it took were six musicians – pianist Keethan and tabla player Nish Raj from London, cellist Ábel Libisch from Hawaii, Abhishek Borkar from Pune on the sarod, Antara, and also violinist Manoj Kumar from Chennai! With the exception of Keethan, with whom she has collaborated in the past, Antara didn’t know anyone else, and vice versa. Yet, the beautiful video, shot in the respective cities has gone viral on the Internet.

“We’re hoping that AR Rahman himself has seen the video, but I’m almost certain his sister Raihanah has seen it because we sent it to her,” grins Antara, who is currently in Assam for a show. “It was a great experience because as musicans, we need not restrict ourselves to Bollywood music. In the video, Ábel plays the cello in his unique Hawaii-inspired style!” She goes on to add that the video would not have happened without Keethan, who was the major ideator. Antara has also appeared in the hit reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs in 2009, even qualifying as one of the top three finalists. As of now, the 11th standard girl is juggling academics and the wish to become an engineer, while pursuing a career as a professional singer. “It’s not possible to deprive me of singing. It is my passion and has been one of the main things in my life. Only after 2009, did I think of taking it up professionally,” she states confidently, crediting her parents Jui and Animesh Nandy for her success.

After the ARR tribute, it shouldn’t come as surprise that she is a huge fan of the Mozart of Madras. But imagine our shock when we learn that she was actually his student at KM Music Conservatory as part of the academy’s summer programme. “(Laughs) I had never dreamt of meeting him! Anyone who takes up singing wishes to work with ARR – he’s on everyone’s minds,” Antara pipes up, adding that her objective every vacation would be to join the summer programme.

Deeply rooted in Hindustani music, even though she has trained in western classical (opera music), her career is on a steady rise. Tamil is also deeply ingrained in her, as she has crooned to Ennodu nee irunthal in accapella style and has just finished recording a song for a Tamil movie, which she keeps hush about as it’s still under production. “But keep a close watch on my Youtube page for my first official Tamil music video release – Sunrise, which we will release on Friendship Day!” she signs off.