‘TAMIL BROUGHT US ALL TOGETHER FOR IDHAI YAAR SOLVAARO’
Musician Keneeshaa and Actor Siddhartha Shankar go all out in this interview with DT Next perform and talk about their hit music video Idhai Yaar Solvaaro, produced by Jiiva’s Deaf Frogs. The duo also spares time for a fun photoshoot in which Siddhartha brings out the musician in him
The midday heat was scorching but that didn’t stop Keneeshaa and Siddhartha Shankar from putting up a great show for DT Next. The music video, Idhai Yaar Solvaaro featuring the duo, has clocked over 1 lakh views and has received overwhelming responses. “We are grateful for the predominantly positive responses. There are multiple factors that contributed to the success of the video. First reason being Jiiva
because it is groundbreaking to come up with such an initiative. We see a lot of aspiring talents on social media, who do not get recognised which demotivates them, which refrains from showcasing their skills. Then we have such music platforms, which work on a specific algorithm helping them get their due attention. For a leading actor to come up with such a platform and setting up a path is commendable,” says Siddhartha Shankar.
Keneeshaa agrees with Siddhartha and adds that Deaf Frogs is closely working with each artiste that they are now a closeknit family. “Jiiva’s passion has translated well with each of the artistes that the label is associated with. We are not treated based on monetary factors. We all mingle well and are a close family,” adds the musician, who is performing across the globe.
Coming to the song, Idhai Yaar Solvaaro, that features Keneeshaa, and Stony Psyko with Siddhartha Shankar as the male lead, is a song for all seasons. “There was an entire team behind the song. Yanchan Produced from Canada is the music producer and Stony Psyko has delivered the rap portions. Of course, there is Keneeshaa in her beautiful voice,” he says. Keneeshaa looks at SIddhartha and with a smirk on her face, she says, “Finally, there is a compliment for me from Siddhartha. He can get on your nerves sometimes. Jokes apart, it has been lovely working alongside him.” Keneeshaa is also the composer of the song. “My genre is mainly Afro-Cuban and I bring in some Indian and Arabic influences in my songs. When making this song, we wanted to promote the thought of self-love, self-attestation of the traits an individual is known for. Being a practising Pschyologist and a spiritual healer, and having heard my clients out over the years, I have understood that closeted behaviour comes across as a hurdle in the lives of most people, and there is a lot of insecurity, which stops them from acknowledging even small things in their life. So, when I wrote it, I wanted to convey to people that love is an unconditional feeling, that can help anyone achieve anything they set their mind to, because love starts within first,” she explains.
Siddhartha says that the love for Tamil has brought an exciting pool of global talents together for this song. “Our producer Yanchan is from Canada, Keneeshaa from Kenya, I am from Malaysia and Stony from Mumbai and the crew from Chennai. It is Tamil that united us and we all wanted to listen to more such stuff in our language. The audience too have become receptive to this. Thanks to musicians like Santhosh Narayanan, who nurtures indie music and other platforms as well to have taken the scene to the next level,” adds the actor.
We now move to the photoshoot and handle Siddhartha some props. But he makes the best out of it as he plays Beethoven’s Fur Elise, followed by Idhai Yaar Solvaaro. “It has been a while since I tried my hands on the keyboard,” he says modestly. We then give him the guitar and the duo performs, Thangame Unnai Thaan from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan before we wrap up the session.
Being a practising Pschyologist and a spiritual healer, and having heard my clients out over the years, I have understood that closeted behaviour comes across as a hurdle in the lives of most people, and there is a lot of insecurity, which stops them from acknowledging even small things in their life. So, when I wrote it, I wanted to convey to people that love is an unconditional feeling, that can help anyone achieve anything
— Keneeshaa, musician