People often say they find it difficult to understand what my actual voice is

Sithara is like none other. She has a versatile voice, and can sing any genre like a pro. Kannaram Pothi Pothi of Elsamma Enna Aankutty is in a strong bass and Pakalin Pavanil of Traffic is husky and sweet, Yenundodi of Celluloid is rendered in a folk voice and Sadapalaya of Mr Fraud sounds like it was rendered by a classical vocalist! No other singer in the industry has been as versatile as her of late, and Sithara explains how she does it.
Excerpts from a conversation:
How do you manage to be so versatile?
I would say it���s because all these songs were extremely different. My basic training is in classical music, which lets me modulate my voice for songs easily. When composers set the particular shruti for the song, design its flow and mood to suit the story situation, my voice turns out to be as novel as the composition. That said, people often say that they find it difficult to understand what my actual voice is. I feel that over time, listeners will be able to recognise and connect with my voice better.
Your latest hit, Sadapalaya, is discussed a lot in music circles. Can you recall the composing process?
It is B Unnikrishnan sir, the director of Mr Fraud, who called me to give the basic idea of the song. He said that what is expected is the light rendition of a keerthana. Sadapalaya is in Mohanam raga of Carnatic, and also has flavours of the Hindustani raga Bhoop. I was both excited and anxious, as the requirement sounded unique.
Once at the studio, composer Gopi Sunder asked me to give a bit of aalap and also sing notations. I delivered, thinking that he is doing a bit of sound check! Later, I also gave the keerthana a light rendition. I sang all of it with just shruti as the BGM. In about 15 minutes, the process was over and he said I can leave! I was scared and was not sure whether that would be enough, and even offered to sing again. He literally had to drive me away from the studio (laughs).
Unnikrishnan Sir sent me the final song later. I was quite happy to learn what the song turned out to be, as a Gopi Sunder product, with strains of cello incorporated in the BGM. It was also heartening to see the song gaining popularity on various online forums. I got tremendous positive feedback for it from various quarters.
You are also a Hindustani- Gazal stage performer, and is pursuing Khayal music academically. Tell us about it.
I am pursuing MA in Hindustani music and is specialising in Khayal, from Ravindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Ustad Faiyaz Khan is my guru. I have to be in Kolkata for about five days every month, as part of the training.
Being a Hindustani music performer, learning it academically helps a lot. Moreover, the cultural involvement with native performers and the audience attending music festivals comes as part of the studies. All these boost my confidence as well.
You have also been singing in other South Indian languages. What has been the experience like?
Music has a universal language and film music is similar in most of our film industries. It is the language part that is tricky, and many times, what I do is mimic the way the words sound. The toughest language so far has been Kannada.
Tell us about your band.
It���s a few months old and the name is Eastraga. The name is derived from a combination of words like East, raga and even Estrogen, the female hormone! I am the sole vocalist and the music has many themes, for instance, I present music by female Sufi singers. I am trying to give a contemporary space for these songs.
What are your upcoming projects?
In Malayalam, I will be singing in Ennu Ninte Moideen, Once Upon a Time There Was a Kallan, and Moonnam Naal Njayarazhcha, among other projects. There are a few projects from other industries as well.