Shakthisree Gopalan

Shakthisree Gopalan grew up in Kochi, Kerala, juggling school at Rajagiri Public School and thirteen years of Carnatic music training—yeah, thirteen. She later shifted gears, moving to Chennai for architecture studies at Anna University, but music was always buzzing in the background. Her break into playback singing started back in 2008, thanks to Guruprasad Subramaniam, who spotted her on ReverbNation. That first track never saw daylight, but fate had its own playlist—while recording at a Chennai studio, she scribbled some lyrics by the coffee machine, just as A.R. Rahman happened to be around. He heard her, liked what he heard, and wanted her number—only, she was so hyped she gave the wrong one. Classic move. Still, Rahman’s team tracked her down, and she ended up singing backup on “Lattoo” for Ghajini. Fast-forward a bit, Shakthi’s architecture thesis was all about designing a music school, which ended up syncing perfectly with Rahman’s plans for his KM College for Music and Technology. She worked on the design, and during that time, Rahman finally asked her to sing a solo. Armed with her ever-ready demo CD, she handed it over, and boom—“Nenjukulle” from Kadal was hers. That track not only landed her on MTV Unplugged but also snagged her the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer (Female) in 2014. She’s since sung for composers like Anirudh Ravichander, Harris Jayaraj, Santhosh Narayanan, and performed in multiple languages. Beyond films, she’s dropped original music, done live gigs, and played with bands like Off the Record and Pyjama Conspiracy.