Antara Nandy makes playback singing debut with AR Rahman's score in PS -1

Antara Nandy is making her debut as playback singer with Mani Ratnam’s PS -1 (2022) for composer AR Rahman with the song ‘Alaikadal’.

Nandy has sung the track in four languages, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

The singer, who shot to fame during the lockdown with the Balcony Concert series on social media, is known for making the top 10 of Rahman’s YouTube Original show ARRived. She was also a finalist on the reality TV series Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil’ Champs in 2009.

Born in Assam, Nandy is a classically trained vocalist. She was rediscovered by Rahman on his 2018 talent show ARRived, where she was named the best performer of the day, and Rahman also described her singing as being “fantastic and confident”.

Now, Nandy reunites with the award-winning composer again, singing for the character Poonghuzhali in Ratnam’s highly anticipated magnum opus. In the film, ‘Alaikada’ is the song that introduces Aishwarya Lekshmi’s character to the audience.

The song, which expresses pain and love, is said to be recorded at Rahman’s studio in Chennai in under an hour. Both Rahman and Ratnam guided the singer with the pronunciations. Ratnam even narrated the scenes to her so that she could grasp the essence of the vignettes.

Speaking about her experience, Nandy shared, “It was a surreal and splendid experience recording ‘Alaikdal’ in Chennai. I hold AR Rahman sir and Mani Ratnam sir in such high regard because of their creative legacies and humanity that it is a very blessed opportunity for me to be making my playback debut with PS – 1.”

“‘Alaikadal’ is a very special song that charts the journey of a unique character in the film. I hope it inspires empathy in listeners and that this song connects with audiences worldwide. I’m beyond grateful to have sung a musically rare track such as ‘Alaikadal’,” she added, stating that nothing is impossible if you dare to dream.

Based on Tamil writer Kalki’s classic novel Ponniyin Selvan, the film is due to be released worldwide in theatres on 30 September in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.