India-West News Desk
NEW YORK, NY- Vocalist Swetha Subramanian, who performs as Sweta, is developing a concert format that encourages audiences to pause and engage deeply with Indian film music. Drawing on her Carnatic training and South Indian musical upbringing, she describes the approach as “classically inclined Bollywood,” positioning film compositions within a framework typically associated with classical performance.
Since moving to the US, Swetha has focused on building an audience around intentional listening. Speaking to attendees at past shows, she recalled the early 2000s era of album culture, noting how families spent time repeatedly listening to entire cassettes. “There was a time when people lived with albums,” she said at a recent performance, citing the soundtrack of ‘Lagaan’. “We just sat with that music, absorbing every detail.” For her, this was less nostalgia and more a reminder of what attentive listening can reveal in film compositions.
At a Jersey City concert titled ‘Less Loved Bollywood’, the setlist highlighted under-recognized songs. One segment featured a vocal interpretation of the flute solo from ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’, a gesture that audience members later described as emotionally resonant. Divya Kumar, founder of Ayursome Wellness, said the arrangement transported her back to memories she “hadn’t revisited in years.”
Swetha’s next show, ‘Reel in Raga’, is scheduled for March 7 at Barzakh Café in Brooklyn. The concert will examine Bollywood and regional film music through Carnatic ragas, moving raga by raga to underline shared melodic threads. “Maybe someone in the room has never heard a Carnatic kriti before,” she told listeners at a prior event. “But they know the film song. That’s the doorway.”
She will perform with Aakash Pillai (harmonium), Adi Pillai (tabla), Deshik Iyengar (ghatam), and Vinay Giridhar (guitar). The ensemble format aims to present raga-informed journeys that move through varied moods—from devotion to romance—while underscoring that slowing down to listen remains a compelling social experience.
Born and trained in Bengaluru, Swetha studied Carnatic music under Vidwan Sri Guruvayur Radhakrishnan and light music under Kannada playback singer Sri Badari Prasad. The dual foundation, she says, enabled her to shift comfortably between raga-based expression and cinematic melody. Her work in India included performances with live production houses such as Bryden & Parth Productions and a collaboration with National Award–winning composer Mickey J Meyer on ‘Gagana Veedhilo’ for the film ‘Gaddalakonda Ganesh’, which has registered more than 17 million YouTube views.
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