Pop and playback singer-songwriter Shakthisree Gopalan was born in Kochi, Kerala, India on October 25, 1987. She is best known for collaborating with music director, producer, and songwriter A. R. Rahman. Most of her songs are performed in Tamil, but she has also performed songs in the Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and English languages. Although she studied Carnatic music for 13 years, she initially focused on earning a degree in Architecture. While attending school, she auditioned for the televised talent show SS Music Voice Hunt but was not accepted because she was too young. She finally competed on the second season of the show in 2008 and won the competition. That same year, she made her debut as a playback singer with “Sorgam Madhuvile” (from the film TN 07 AL 4777). Shakthisree Gopalan continued to record songs for films such as Rajadhi Raja (2009), Dam 999 (2010), and Naan (2011) before she began her collaboration with A.R. Rahman, one of the most successful music directors in India cinema history. In 2012, her recording of “Nenjukkulie” (from the film Kadal) earned her the Best Female Playback Singer award from both the Filmfare Awards and the Vijay Awards. Other well-known songs by Shakthisree Gopalan include “Imaye Imaye” (from 2013’s Raja Rani), “Poonthikale” (from 2014’s Mr. Fraud), “Remember You” (from 2015’s Neena), “Aararo” (from 2016’s 24), “Bhaga Bhaga” (from 2018’s Nawab), “Payanangal” (from 2020’s Dharala Prabhu), and “Aga Naga” (from 2023’s Ponniyin Selvan: II). Outside of her playback work, Shakthisree Gopalan has also recorded several independent recordings including the singles “By Your Side” and “Begin.”
