Shweta Mohan ’s journey has carried her across many languages and musical worlds. From playback and pop concerts to devotional and classical music, she keeps finding new ways to reach the hearts of her listeners. In a candid conversation with Bangalore Times , she speaks about bringing devotional music to the stage, carving out an identity that shines beyond being Sujatha Mohan’s daughter, and the lessons she has treasured from AR Rahman and Ilaiyaraaja. Excerpts from the chat:
There’s no monotony in my profession,” she says. “Every stage I go on, I thank the universe for that platform,” she adds. ‘Every stage I go on, I thank the universe for that platform’ Trained in Carnatic classical music, Shweta has been exploring retro music with orchestras alongside playback and pop concerts. More recently, she has been delving deep into devotional and classical music with her group, SVARA. “I am absolutely enjoying this trichotomy. Talking about her deepest wish, she shares, “I want to transfer my energy onto the stage and pass it on to music lovers who want to be healed through music. She has also begun composing and releasing her own music, though a busy playback schedule and constant travel mean original songs may come less often. Whether it’s a film, a private album or her own work, she brings the same sincerity to every song.
Because listeners found similarities in their voices, early in her career, some of her Malayalam songs were mistaken for her mother’s.
“People never knew it was a new voice who was singing,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to be written off as a nepo kid,” she says. If people are touched by your singing, they will go, dive deep and look into who the singer is,” she says. She believes AI cannot replicate that “energy and emotion.”
The daughter of veteran singer Sujatha Mohan, Shweta reveals her journey came with its own pressure. Moreover, she did not want her opportunities to be attributed to her mother’s name. Television appearances eventually helped audiences connect the voice with her face and name, but she has never felt that a singer must be seen to be known. “I think the quality will speak for itself. For Shweta, the biggest difference between a human singer and AI is emotion. “When I sing, the audience receives the energy that comes from my soul. It’s what translates into people’s ears and into their hearts.