You've heard people doing covers of trending songs, but have you ever heard of a whistle cover? No? Then clearly you haven't met Karra Sesha Sai who has been whistling songs since he was in class II. And under the guidance of the Whistling Wizard himself, Komaravolu Sivaprasad, he perfected his skill. Komaravolu has whistled many kirtans and movie songs like that of NTR's at more than 15,000 concerts. (Listen to his covers of Jana Gana Mana and Vaishnav Jan Toh and you'll know why he's called the Whistling Wizard.) So, it's not hard to imagine how Sesha and his art must have flourished under his wing. "I owe him everything," says Sesha, humbly.
When we called Sesha, he was shooting for his latest video in Haridwar, a tribute to one of his all-time favourite singers, Hariharan. In fact, to Sesha's luck, the acclaimed vocalist happened to be in Hyderabad a few weeks ago for a performance at the Qutb Shahi Tombs and Sesha had the chance to meet him. "I've been planning to do a whistle cover on Tu Hi Re for a long time now and it's finally set in motion," says Sesha, who was particularly fascinated by Hariharan's Coke Studio version which makes the song sound like a ghazal. "I am in touch with his manager and I will definitely send him the link to this song," gushes Sesha, who has already whistled hits songs from across languages like Poovullo Daagunna (Telugu), Mental Manadhil (Tamil) and Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein (Hindi).
Whistling is only this Deputy Manager at DCB Bank's weekend passion, but he makes the most of it to record his songs. Venkat, a friend who has stood by him through thick and thin, helps him out with the video shoot and the audio recording. "Honestly, I've been lucky because my parents and friends have been extremely encouraging," says the recently-married Sesha. In fact, it was his father who called Komaravolu and requested him to train his son. But it has been a long yet fruitful journey for Sesha, who has also learnt to shoot and edit on his own because, as they say in showbiz, if Venkat is busy, the show must go on. "Shooting professional videos has helped me reach a wider audience," says the 28-year-old.
Ask him who his inspiration is and without missing a beat he says, Komaravolu Sivaprasad. "He has won prestigious awards and performed so many times. I am nothing in front of him," he says. And as soon as we get off the phone with him, we find ourselves listening to his songs again and humming along.
Some of the songs he has whistled:
- Breathless by Shankar Mahadevan
- Priyathama Neevachata Kusalama from the movie of the same name
- Tere Sang Yaara from the movie Rustom
For more on him, click on facebook.com/seshasai.
