Kaveri Kapur, daughter of filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and actress-singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, has already taken the internet by storm with her latest single. Yet she keeps quite a level head, finds Unnati Joshi
She is 16 and has penned down two songs already, both of which have gone viral. Kaveri Kapur has broken out of the shadow of her famous parents, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and actress-singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. People may attribute her talent to the gene pool but listen to her words and voice and you know it is coming from somewhere beyond her known reference points. A fact corroborated by Kapur’s recent tweet: “She’s an old soul. At 16, she’s writing and composing songs one might expect from someone ten years older. She is turning out to be a talented singer. Half a heart has all the soul of her first track Did you know and amazing melody.”
Born in london, Kaveri has been a music lover and composing her own songs from an early age. “My mom first trained me in Indian classical music when I was about six. When I was 11, I started writing my own songs and shifted to Western classical vocals. I think it was when I went to a studio for the first time that I knew that music and singing had to be my career.”
Just like two sides of a coin, even her celebrity pedigree comes with pros and cons. The 16-year-old hopes her voice and her songs get people talking rather than her famous parents. “That has always been at the back of my mind. I hope people are showing appreciation because they like my music and not because of where I come from. It’s very difficult to sift the real from the unreal,” she told us.
Asked about her sound, she said, “I have no idea about my sound. I don’t know how to define my music. I think to define is to restrict and I don’t want to restrict myself. I like experimenting with my music; this is what being an artist is about.” Half a heart, she said, was about “respecting yourself in a way. Respecting yourself enough to walk away from an unhealthy situation or a person. I don’t know why I have written the song. I take personal experiences and exaggerate them because I have not been through a lot yet and life am sure is ready to throw its challenges at me. I have no explanation for my writing process. The words, the melodies come to me at the most random times. I haven’t been through any of the stuff that I write about. The only explanation I have is maybe they come from my sub-conscious. I tend to write a lot when I am alone, that’s when I can execute my thoughts better.”
With the advent of online forums to showcase one’s musical inclinations, it looks like new-age music might just break all established norms. “I think social media is great. I think it’s one of the best platforms to be recognised and get the much-needed popularity that an artist needs. It is now easier to reach out to the people directly and get a verdict. It was harder earlier,” she said.
Talking about her inspiration, she promptly said, “My parents are my biggest inspiration. My mom is a singer herself and other than them, I love Adele.” Quiz her about the changing music scene in Bollywood, she said, “I like Bollywood music too but I sing and think in English. So I don’t see myself much there as of now.”