Gopika S: I could sense the pain of the flood-hit, through Aaro Irulil’

Her happiness knew no bounds, for it was a golden debut opportunity – the chance to sing for a film directed by Jayaraj, that too a song composed by veterans

Arjunan Master

and Sreekumaran Thampi. Gopika, who was still in school at that time, also told a few of her friends about the chance to sing in the film Bhayanakam. Everything from audition to recording went well, but something backfired at the last moment – the voice of the teenager wasn’t suiting the film’s character, a 40-year-old woman.

She was a bit disappointed at that point, admits Gopika. However, the young singer from Thripunithura, who is currently pursuing MBBS, didn’t know that she is destined to debut with another Jayaraj film a year later. A few weeks ago, when the song Aaro Irulil from his film

Roudram 2018

was released, it was in the voice of Gopika, along with that of its composer Sachin Sankar Mannath. “I got this opportunity again, through an audition, just like the previous time. It was in Chennai and took around 1.5 hours.” She fondly remembers that when Sachin sent the song to Jayaraj soon after the recording, he loved the track. “At first, I felt I have to improve it tremendously, but the composer was happy with the output and so, I didn’t want to trouble him further,” she says.

The song is an ode to those who lost their lives and property in the

Kerala floods

. “I was quite touched by its lyrics, which were penned by Jayaraj himself. To be honest, at first I hadn’t concentrated much on the lyrics. But once I did, they were hauntingly beautiful and helped me connect with the pain of the flood hit, better,” Gopika says.

Gopika, who has many prizes from music competitions across the county, says she misses them now. “My teachers in Kendriya Vidyalaya even used to say, ‘Gopika you should focus on your music, rather than pursuing courses like medicine and engineering,” says the young singer, who loves to sing melodies, the most.

But she wants to juggle both music and her studies, going forward. She has another big dream too. “I also want to venture into composing one day. It might be too early to say that now, but I feel that’s the ultimate peak of musical achievement. I wish to climb it one day. Alongside that, if at all I don’t become famous, I want to be a good singer who has a place in people’s minds,” she signs off.