Harshika Gudi, a singer well known for her melodious voice. She is presently working for the movie “20.11” Directed by Vamshi Krishna.
Background:
I am from Hyderabad. I finished my Masters in “Psychology” and presently working as a Part time lecturer in a college and Singing is my passion. My father is a Business man and mother is a Home maker. I have an elder sister and a younger brother. My siblings encouraged me always.
How were you inspired towards Music?
My whole family has music sense. Everyone loves and sings music at home. All my childhood passed listening to Ghazal and music albums. My great grandfather Hanumanth Bhatt was a musician. He was a Courtyard violinist in Gadwal when Nizams ruled the deccan region. Everyone in my family are inspired by him. I used to watch and sing the background score of TV commercials. At that time my parents realized that I do have a singing talent and they put me into music classes.
Who gave you the first opportunity?
As a singer my first movie was “Notebook” (2004), and then “Happy Days” (2007). Then I sang for “Nachavule” (2008) Directed by Shekar Chandra, Ramoji Rao Production, followed by “Leader” (2009) in which I sang some background bits. Then, I took a break for two years because I moved to Bangalore for masters. I completed my studies and got back to Hyderabad recently when I sang in Nuvvila (2011). And present project is “20.11”.
Have you been to any music institute?
At the age of 11, I started learning Carnatic classical music. I was never so serious as a kid but slowly got into the pace. I am a student of “Little Musicians Academy” of Sri Ramachary Garu. Almost all the singers at present are from the same academy.
What kind of response did you get after singing for “Happy days” movie?
The response was really good and everyone appreciated my work. I sang the farewell song in the movie and it’s pretty famous now. Almost In every college and school it can be heard. Because of Happy Days (2007) fame, I got the opportunity to sing in Telugu movie Drona (2009).
Tell us about your present movie 20.11?
Actually, I already sang a song for Harinikesh, its “Manasa Telusa”. I think there are a very few composers who actually understand the tonality of a singer and then give a song to them. The song which I sang was very apt for my voice. When it is so, you will definitely do it best. After that Harinikesh again called me for a breathless song.
You’re the first female to sing a breathless song? How do you feel about that?
I feel very obliged and honored to do this. I got a mail from Music Director Harinikesh informing me that I need to sing one more song for this movie, a breathless one. Nearly 20 days I practiced for the song. I used to think about the song tune and composition all the time. I took it as a challenge because the first song composition is really beautiful and present one is a breathless song. I am done with the song and hope listeners will appreciate my work. I would like to share the credit of the song with lyricist and composer.
What are your upcoming projects?
I sang in “Hari” movie Directed by Neelakanta Garu. I am waiting for it.
Did you sing for any other regional movies?
Previously, I sang for both Telugu and Kannada Version for Happy Days (2007) movies. And I also sang for “Ninna Nedu Repu” (2008) in both Tamil and Telugu versions.
Your Hobbies:
I Listen to different kinds of music, I blog. And whenever I am upset or happy, I write. I love cooking and baking.
Does your Family’s love for music, relation to music help you in any manner?
Yes, of course. The awareness that people have that a particular person can be a singer or not is at home, that’s the reason I am here. If I was born in some other family, probably I wouldn’t be a singer because they wouldn’t recognize that I can sing. There is a lot of encouragement because they all love music.
Who is Your Favorite Singer?
As a kid I always used to listen to Lata Mangeshkar’s songs. The cassettes were my friends, I used to continuously listen to them, learn and sing all the time. Presently I really love Sunidhi Chauhan, kunal ganjawala. They have beautiful voices.
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