Nakul Abhyankar switched from engineering to music

He is the voice behind songs such as 'Gira Gira', 'Jaya Bharatha Jananiya' and 'Janumagale Kaayuve'

A graduate in mechanical engineering, Nakul Abhyankar, decided to pursue his passion for singing and went on to compete in the Kannada ‘SaReGaMaPa’.

He made his debut as a playback singer in 2013 with ‘Usiragu Baare’ from the movie ‘Janma’. He rose to prominence with the 2018 song ‘CEO in the House’ from the Tamil movie ‘Sarkar’. Abhyankar has lent his voice to many songs in the south Indian film industry such as ‘Neeli Kanumallo’, ‘Azhage’ and ‘Gira Gira’ in the past seven years.

Metrolife caught up with the singer to find out more about his love for music, singing in other languages, and upcoming projects.

What was it like making the switch from the IT industry to music? What motivated you to make the change?

Switching wasn’t an impulsive decision. It was something that grew over a period of time and I finally took the leap of faith. After working for an year in the IT sector, I realised that I didn’t belong there. My family was supportive during this period. I think winning the Kannada SaReGaMaPa and being one of the top nine contestants in the Hindi SaReGaMaPa, gave me enough motivation to take this up as full-time career. A lot of goodwill and encouragement from the music directors in the Kannada film industry also helped me take the plunge.

Have you always been musically inclined?

I have always had music in me; I loved singing and playing the synthesisers, which we had at home. Both my granddads were agriculturists by profession, but musicians by passion. My older brother, Nachiket, and I would always have random jam sessions; he taught me a lot of songs. Our dad took us to several competitions, as well.

You sing in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tulu. What are the challenges you face when you sing in different languages?

I started my schooling in Mangaluru and we all know how many languages are spoken in Dakshin Kannada. By the time I was in fourth standard, I could speak Marathi, which is my mother tongue, as well as, Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, English and Hindi. I think this made my life a lot easier. I love to learn languages and I tend to pick them up very quickly. So singing in different languages has never been a problem for me.

I do struggle with the 1,000 n’s that I have to pronounce while singing in Malayalam, though (laughs).

Who are your favourite musicians?

Rafi Sahab, Kishore Kumar, SPB sir, Lata Tai, Mehdi
Hassan are some of my all time favourites. When it comes to composers, it is AR Rahman, Shaknar Jaikishan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Hamsalekha, Rajan Nagendra, and Ilayaraja.

Any dream collaborations?

I want to work as a music producer for a Marvel film.

Any projects in the pipeline?

I sang two songs, ‘Love you Chinna’ and ‘Janumagale Kaayuve’, for ‘Love Mocktail’. I got the opportunity to work as a music producer for Raghu Dixit, who was the music director, for the film. It has received some fantastic response so far.

I have done three songs for ‘Bicchugatthi’, which is releasing on February 28. I worked as the music director for a Tamil and Telugu bilingual movie called ‘College Kumara’, which is releasing next month.
I am also currently working with AR Rahman sir as music producer/singer for few films, which will release this year and in 2021. I am also working on my EP.