One of the most sought-after vocalists in movie industries across Southern India, Sid Sriram wowed crowds in Singapore recently at his live show Share the Love, which took place at Singapore Expo Hall 7 on July 13.
A day before the show, Sid sat down with Connected to India’s Himanshu Verma for a chat encompassing his life, collaboration with the legendary AR Rahman and growth as a musician.
The 34-year-old, who grew up in the US, took a jog down memory lane to recall his initial meeting with the Oscar-winning composer.
Sid said he wrote a mail to Rahman and attached samples of his work in 2010. He did not expect a reply but was excited to get one 10 days later. “He responded very positively and fast forward two years after that, he called me to record my first song for Mani Ratnam sir’s movie Kadal.”
The song Sid recorded was Adiye, which launched him to stardom overnight. With successive hits, there has been no looking back since then.
Despite all the success, Sid, however, has remained grounded. He has attributed this to his mentor, Rahman.
“You know sometimes they say don’t meet your heroes, ’cause they might not live up to the expectations, he shattered that cliche for me,” Sid said. “He is as gracious, as humble, as grounded, as inspired and will inspire you.”
Sid said Rahman had called him to join him in LA before Adiye was release. The two met at a restaurant, where Rahman was approached by an enthusiastic fan who asked him questions.
“To me it felt like they were irritating questions. After the car ride back, I asked him does he ever get annoyed, and he said ‘no, because you don’t know what you can learn from someone.”
That lesson has stayed with Sid for over 10 years now.
Listen to the full conversation below.
