Sunitha Upadrasta: The voice that earned LOVE of millions

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

Sincere thanks to everyone who helped me discover
The Sunitha Upadrasta…

To make me realize that her songs were always part of
my life in every thick and thin, but just didn’t
know it was her all the way long until recent few
years ago...

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

Contents

1. 2014: Anaamika....................................................................3
2. 1996: The Quest Begins.......................................................7
3. 2017: Discovery of Ruturagalu ............................................9
4. 2017: Stumbled upon Raagam ...........................................12
5. 2018: Revisiting the playlist from 1997-2020.....................16
6. 2019: I felt like I found my herd .......................................22
7. 2019: Hyderabad Live Show .............................................28
8. 2019: Vizag Live Show ......................................................31
9. 2020: Conclude ..................................................................38

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

1. 2014: Anaamika

The scorching summer generously rained the hell of a heat
wave with bright sunlight that was blinding the view.
Anxiety of hot summer on one side and the impatience of
EU visa delay on the other side was becoming a noticeable
bother for me. Me being the kind of person who does not
keep much of track on release dates of new movies. But
this one movie I did keep a track for three main reasons;
the director of the movie Shekar Kammula, Nayanthara
and I was intrigued because it was a remake of a Hindi
movie “Kahaani”. Shekhar Kammula’s movies have been
quite a hit and gathered all age group audiences to theaters.
I searched through the online movie booking app, hoping
to get at least one seat for immediate show which was too
optimistic of me. But by the time I wanted to book the
tickets, the time was less than 45 mins to the show hence
I couldn’t book online. I was doubtful to get the ticket yet

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

I wanted to give it a try by going to the theater and try to
buy it from the box-office. As I reached, I saw a houseful
board, I was surprised to see a houseful for a noon show.
Well the surprise was short lived as I went to the counter
of box-office.

The lady in the counter saw my surprised face and she
understood very well if the houseful was for the current
show. She nodded and said it was evening show and night
show and there were seats available for the current show.
Just what I was hoping to hear. I took a ticket for myself
and went into the theater as the show started my phone
started buzzing as if it knew I was in a relax mode. A
situation where I couldn’t come out, nor sit and watch the
movie. I had to take a middle ground of replying the other
person on WhatsApp instead of call and choose to listen
to the movie as long as it took. Some random, but serious
discussion going on exchange of messages. I completely

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

lost the track of the movie when it started and how it was
proceeding.

But then about 30 mins from the start of the movie I hear
a hum and followed by a bit of song. The humming music
made knots in my stomach and the voice of who sang
seeped right into my subconscious. The soulfulness of the
voice blended with lyrics superbly as if the singer she was
going through the turmoil in real life. With a lump in my
throat, I couldn’t dare to lift my eyes to the screen. A
moment where I felt as if I was living the pain and didn’t
want to dilute it anymore. I carry the same feeling every
time I listen to that song ever since. The very moment I
put my phone on airplane mode abruptly discontinued the
conversation that felt important until a while ago which
started to become a disturbance there after. The song got
over, but it did not leave me, it got stuck at the back of my
head haunting me through the movie. I was so tempted to

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

browse about the singer, right then and there but couldn’t.
The movie ended and by the end the voice of the singer
had made a place for itself in my head.

“Where does the song go once it is over? Does it get separated
from the music and only lyrics stay back? Or is it just the tone
of voice that sang is left behind…? Or the voice with the same
lyrics keeps haunting you without the music…? Or does it turn

into ashes and the just the melody that lingers behind? Or
maybe simply the song lives within you and echoes in the mind

forever…”

I left the theater with so many questions about one song
and one voice. My brain couldn’t even wait until I reached
home to search for the singer. Instead, I started making
comparisons of voices to singers whom I knew by face.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

2. 1996: The Quest Begins

As soon as I reached home my very first job was to find
out the name of singer. I searched for movie name and
looked up for jukebox of songs, I found out the name
“Sunitha Upadrasta”. The next immediate task was who
is “Sunitha Upadrasta”? I googled her name found
Wikipedia page almost empty. The tabloids and blogs that
I found wrote the same content from Wiki. My search
was for her exclusive work as a singer but hard luck. Then
the search moved to YouTube. As I searched for her name
the very first song, it showed was “Ee Vellalo” from the
movie “Gulabi” which was released in 1996. When that
movie released, I was in 5th or 6th grade.

Being brought up in a non-Telugu speaking state of India
for me the Telugu songs were to be seen only in the
Chitrahar & Rangoli on National Doordarshan. The wait
for that two Telugu songs per week was like a treat to the

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

ears and not always did they play the new songs of that
time. May be hardly once or twice a month the new
released songs were played. Absolutely no chances of
knowing the singer.

I remember listening to this song on FM radio few times
and again I had no clue who sang it. I listened to song
again in 2014, I understood the gravity of the lyrics and the
demeanor of the singer, the music and everything about
the song. But for me it was tough to match the transition
in her voice. The tender voice for “Ee Vellalo” and the
matured voice for “Kshanam Kshanam” from Anaamika
was difficult to accept. May be if had the opportunity of
listening her songs on a regular basis since 1996, It
wouldn’t have felt so difficult to accept her voice when she
herself was a kid. My search stopped there…

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

3. 2017: Discovery of Ruturagalu

After a couple of years sometime in Feb-March 2017,
randomly on a silent night when my insomnia was at its
peaks and I couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. I started
developing this habit of putting YouTube on auto play
next, plug my earphone. Start with one song and let the
YouTube suggest and play next songs. One of such times
I remembered few Marathi songs and while listening to
one of the songs that reminded me of a Ruturagalu title
song. When Ruturagalu was aired on TV; I was in my 8th
grade. It was only one Telugu channel we got that too with
the mercy of our cable tv guy. I was never the kid who
watched tv serials. Almost every day when I used to
return back from school the end titles of Ruturagalu used
to play. I was drawn to the title song because the starting
humming of the song and the mood of the song reminded
me of “Dil hoom hoom Kare” from the movie Rudali. The

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

first Hindi song of which I could understand the lyrics
and the deep meaning of them.

In Feb - March 2017 when I searched for the title song and
played it, I repeated the same song for few times and in
the next play queue there was a video with a group. My
curiosity didn’t let me stop and I played the video. I see
singer Ms. Sunitha Upadrasta with a mic in her hand. The
video started, I thought she was anchoring the show, it
was some award function, but in no time, she started
singing the title song and a few more people joined her on
the stage. I was in the supposed assumption that she was
singing the song on some request or something like how
singers sing other’s song.

But when she started talking about her experience of
singing that song for the first time and how it reached
audience that was when I understood It was her who sang

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

this title song. I couldn’t stop myself but think about the
cycling rush I made to reach home just to listen that 1.40
mins titles song at the end. Maybe it was where I started
listening something on loop and I could tolerate a voice to
listen on loop for countless times.

“The irresistibly saccharine voice that purred my soul and
pierced through my thoughts, engulfing the words laced one
after the other; the invisible symphony strings pulled me to the
very last note of the song and I slowly curled into the sleep”.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

4. 2017: Stumbled upon Raagam

In the process of discovering Ruturagalu’s title song, this
time my search for “what all songs did Sunitha Upadrasta
sing?” didn’t stop there. The quest had to continue because
by then the insomnia and the sound induced Migraine
badly needed a therapeutic voice. There were very few
singers who’s sound of voice I could bare during the
migraines and surely her voice was one of them and at
times also felt soothing to fall asleep. I continued for
another day and it was the day of listening to her
interviews on YouTube. Watching something was never
my interest, I simply let my ears get engaged with some
audio to keep my wandering brains in one place and my
eyes fixed to some reading or the other work related to my
technical research or innovation.

When searched online I found a few playlists but most of
them were centric to the actors of that induvial movie but

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

not exclusively her best work. The playlist that I found on
YouTube was the same collection of 20-30 songs from very
famous movies back then. The alternative that I found
was to watch / listen to her interviews and from that find
out the rare collection of songs.

One fine day in the process of listening to one of her
interviews, where I conveniently neglected the discussion
part and only focused to the part where she rendered some
songs. In that interview she hummed a few rare songs and
to my surprise I knew those songs earlier and the story
repeats I didn’t know that she sang them. Got to know
about her participation in Annamayya Pataku
Pattabhishekam, her shows like Jummandi Naadam
among others. But the most interesting part was she
venturing into acting. I was yet to think on that if I did
want to watch it or not.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

Some distraction and I lost track of that interview never
realized when the interview ended and “Raagam” the
short movie started playing next in queue. The first
dialogue “Naa Peru Pravallika” when I heard that I was a
bit in doubt what was happening. The regular habit of
minimizing the chrome pages or docking them to side so
that YouTube keeps running at the background. I fished
out the page from a pile of opened webpages. The short
film had started playing already I replayed it from start
and I actually watched it entirely without any
distractions.

By the time song started I was convinced the singer
definitely was an artist and actress material. When it
came to end, I wanted to search who was this director.
Honestly, I scavenged through the internet to see who was
this director who could make this beautiful tale from an
everyday story. The story felt simply like a situation or

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

events happening around our own house and within the
family. But the way this director portrayed it and made
this singer live through the scenes was charming.

Found out online YouTube video extraction platforms
and stripped out the song part and then converted it to
Mp3 and that song from Raagam was my next song on
loop for months. Randomly one fine day I sent a
congratulations message to the director for her dare and
vision to cast the singer in her short movie. I was
impressed by the way it was made and shown. Rest is
history and eventually the director and I became close
friends.

“It starts with the first note of music that seeps in, then the
lyrics that connect to thoughts with a blend of soulful voice …
and then it’s the silence between the notes that haunts till the

ends of eternity…”

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

5. 2018: Revisiting the playlist from 1997-2020

Growing up in Maharashtra made me aloof from the
telugu movies and songs. It was only during the vacation
time where I got to watch a movie or two in theaters.
Knowing the names of the movies was a challenge with
no reading ability of telugu script not a proud moment
though. Getting to know who the singer was impossible
in all the ways. But after I joined BTech near Vijayawada
I made a few friends and one of them became really close.
One of the reasons I got close to that one friend was
because we shared similar taste in music and movies. It
was her who actually introduced me to a wide range of
Telugu Cinema and the vast set of songs. Every weekend
we watched at least 2 movies in theater and to my
advantage she would read out the names those written in
telugu. That was when I started making note of names of
movies.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

It did not stop there at all; my friend kind of gave me an
extensive course in remembering and identifying some of
the finest movies and songs. The songs with great lyrics
and took the effort of explaining me the lyrics too. Then
there was FM radio every evening I would go on to the
terrace of my hotel with a mountain sunset view every
evening I spent a quality time in listening to random
songs and the songs which I like I made a note of them by
sending an SMS to myself from my own number. Crazy
times when I think of it now. But that was how I learnt to
understand telugu cinema and songs. The time of my life
where I got to know about movies made by Mr. K
Vishwanath, Mr. Balchander, Mr S.V. Krishna Reddy and
contemporary Directors like Mr. Teja & Mr. Shekhar
Kammula.

2018 was such a time where I felt to revisit the list of songs
from almost a decade ago. Searched through backup and

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

super backups in my storage. And the list consists of songs
from:

Egire Paavurama, Letha Manasulu, Yes, Gowtham SSC,
Boss, Ee Abbai Chala Manchivadu, Gangotri,
Shivaputurdu, Radha Gopalam, Sangamam, Kokila, Gita,
Rainbow, Anthaka Mundu aa Tarvatha, Lakshmi Raave
Maa Intiki, Oohalu Gusagusalade, and a couple of more.

There is a funny yet embarrassing incident for me the title
song of Letha Manasulu sung by Ms. Sunitha Upadrasta.
My adamant, pessimist stubborn brains was blindly
convinced and decided that the song was sung by someone
else who had decades of experience because the voice
rendering was quite well and even better in matching the
high notes of violins. I have known her for singing melody
and soft songs I could not even begin to imagine that she
must have sang the song. But In 2019 while writing her

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

wiki page I was corrected by a friend and I proudly stand
corrected now.

A mention of another song from Malli Raava, only
because I wanted to listen to that song in Dolby Digital
acoustics so I went to the theater. My patience was tested
to extremes as they didn’t include the song anywhere in
the movie but only at the end titles. Of course, my wait
was fruitful and I got to listen the song with some good
acoustics.

Then comes the Mahanati, May 9th, 2018 watching movie
in theater, fully engrossed, almost to the end there starts
the humming and montage of “Chivariki Migiledi…”. Pin
drop silence in theater the voice resonated across the
theater felt chills in spine.

Like any other music lover living in influence of
Bollywood, I grew up listening to Lata ji’s songs. The two

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

songs at the top of my playlist are “Dil hoom hoom kare”
from Rudali and “Meeri Awaaz hi Pehechan hai” from
Kinaara. The two songs for me are the top peaks of Lataji.

This song from Mahanati sung by Ms. Sunitha Upadrasta
for me reached to that level and I don’t think any of her
other songs can take that place ever in future. A special
place is etched in my thoughts for this song and for her
rendering it soulfully.

Almost a year later I had the privilege of meeting her in
person and also got the chance of adding a tiny bit of
content to her Wikipedia page. Had an honor of knowing
more and more songs, rediscovered some song which I
used to listen them regularly in FM radio during my
BTech days. Listened to her sing in live, covers of Hindi
classics and re-rendering of other’s songs for TV shows
where I loved her version more than the original singers.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

More than 3000 songs over a period of 25 years covering all
the genres and moods at same time.

“Music, lyrics and the rendering of song pave paths to
unexplored places in one’s soul. A song begins where words stop
and expressing of emotions become easy… listening is just done

once at the first and later we keep dwelling in the feeling of
that song…”

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

6. 2019: I felt like I found my herd

In the times where everything is just so fast and instant
where it looks like those people who were joined at the
hips become strangers in no time. On a breezy evening in
an unexpected situation and circumstances where it was
not my business to be present there, I happened to meet
Ms Sunith Upadrasta. Without any plans at times we just
fall in the wrong place and wrong time where you happen
to tag along with your friends. You are there with your
friends and your friends are visiting their friends and they
ask you to go along is somewhat an odd place. Precisely
the odd feeling increases when this hardly known person
happens to be a people’s person. The person whom you
have only seen on a screen and may be spoken countable
times. So being there that evening was definitely a wrong
timing. While I was tagging along with my friends with a
bundle of inhibitions and insecurities of meeting a person

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

that too on a friendly front felt heavy as it can get to
anyone. It’s a surprise to have such a heavy feeling,
whereas on the contrary, people get excited and jump
around like a jack when they are going to meet a celebrity
that too in a friendly space.

As we were reaching to her place there were a few
instances, I mentioned to my friends, maybe it was not
the right time to meet or maybe I should meet in a social
circumstance that would be respectful of her. A creepy
feeling, I carried in me of myself that maybe I was taking
an advantage of the reach or maybe I was just letting
myself get embarrassed. It was not how my friends
portrayed, but it was somewhere my preconceived notion
based on the public appearance where people tend to
protect themselves from the bitterness they face in the
society. I had no say but just to follow my friends, I was
making up my mind that I would be exchanging the

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

pleasantries and simply cook up some excuse and take my
leave, get back to my place. We reached the door was not
locked and my friends swung it open, they all walked
directly inside I was a bit hesitant to go so I took a little
slow steps, tried to keep my distance but eventually I had
to go in as I was called. Some other friends whom my
friends knew were already inside chit chatting got
introduced to them; I was enjoying the fun chit chat all of
them were having as a new comer all I could do was listen
and smile. A minute after another she was not to be seen
around and I was thinking I should leave once I meet and
exchange my “hellos”. We all were sitting may be like a
circle and she walked into the room, when realized I stood
up and turned to face her.

There she was dressed in white so serene and wearing a
broad smile. I was hesitant to leave from my place and I
just smiled and said hello. But she wasn’t going to just take

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

that she walked to me with open arms to hug me, yet it
was a social hug but that was new to me. A person like me
who is rigid and keeps my distance with people someone
coming to me with open arms was definitely a sweet
surprise to react to. Seeing her there with open arms felt
as if she is open with her heart and warm enough to
welcome a new person. Looking at her like that and the
way she kept chit chatting later it felt like as If I knew her
my entire life and I was restricting myself for nothing.
The facet that she puts up on the screen or for public was
never to be seen on that day. It was a bit difficult to leave
in the middle all of a sudden, but again I did try to and
again I couldn’t. Sometimes, without your knowledge
even the nature conspires to some things to happen and all
of sudden heavy rain started with thunder and lightning.
With such a storm even, the electrical power went off so
there absolutely was no point in me leaving anymore.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

She simply got up and started lighting up the candles and
created an ambiance whereas I was hoping like any other
urban clan all of them would start bickering about the
power going off. The crimson, orange color of the candle
the shadows and the reflections just washed off my
inhibitions. The choice of scented candles a blend of
berries and lavender took me back a few years when I used
to have the same collections of scented candles. It was
simply the gesture and the way everyone took the
darkness and made a memorable time out of it. As time
passed it felt like old Polaroid pictures were being
developed, slow and nice filled with fun and laughter
around. I was glad that my friends made me meet her and
she made me part of that late evening and I had a memory
etched in the back of my head. A feeling of content with
no wish to have another such moment, maybe it was to
turn into a friendship that might last a life long or maybe

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

will remain just like a memory to which I can go back and
find myself smiling for a moment. But apart from all
thoughts I felt like I had found my herd….

“Friendship is two-way street; one takes a forward step
towards the other to building a bond of trust and affection.
Only when both trust and affection are in proportions the
bridge of friendship holds a strong place to walk together…”

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

7. 2019: Hyderabad Live Show

The day had come when she was performing her very first
show of the silver jubilee year. Her very first solo show in
Hyderabad. She had that proud feeling of performing for
her people and all her people could be witnessing her
perform live. Seeing them sit there in audience which she
missed while performing in other places means her
massive. The whole clan would be there.

I got the privilege to be part of pre-show final practice
session in the auditorium. As I reached there, she was
there reciting the same “Kshanam... Kshanam” from
Anaamika movie. The acoustics of the auditoriums took
me back to 2014 when I was sitting in that theater listening
to the movie, I simply lost my sense of reality. In my mind
I was repeating “you heard it before … you have been
there... you know it already…” I carried the strong ache of

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

familiarity and as the song came to an end, I mumbled to
myself “Déjà vu” …

In few hours the actual concert began. In a fleeting
moment of familiarity, I was living in the moment. I have
been to a couple of concerts in India and abroad but there
was something different about this one show. May be
because this was the first time, I knew the artist in person
and other I had only known them for their work. Her
admirers were pouring in houseful from faraway places.
She sang vivaciously in front of massive crowd and yet let
the crowd cheer her in full voices. Though her voice felt
slow at the beginning but the astonishing transformation
she made when on stage was worth watching in live. A
familiar famous music started but was surprise. She sang
one of my most favorite song “Kammani Prema Lekha” as
if secretly she knew it was my favorite song. Her
demeanor of rendering that song made me spellbound.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

The song in her voice was only the version I could listen
to pleasantly with an overwhelming feeling. Everything
after that a conscious fogginess and marvelous.

“She sings with all her love & passion, the song that lives in the
minds… It stays in there inspiring & echoing in the

subconscious… Her expressions thrills with pleasant emotions
& makes us relive it every time we reply…”

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

8. 2019: Vizag Live Show

On a misty rainy morning when the stars looked smudged
covered by a thin layer of clouds. The sleepy monochrome
was turning into colorful hue as the sun rose and the
journey towards the airport was descending. A long new
day ahead started with the cheerful freshness of the golden
yellow rays of the sun. In the early hours of the morning
the airport is a serene place depicting the quiet flow of
humanity and the floor reflecting the early rays of the sun
along with the artificial lightening. The joy of travel got
pumped me up, but I had to constantly remind myself it
was not my day. The day was dedicated to her, for once
the wanderer in me had to be on the sidelines and let the
day go as per her. Post boarding formalities we, a dear
friend of mine and I were waiting for her, though the
wanderer in me was on the sidelines but couldn’t keep
myself calm. I started monkeying around with my camera

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

clicking random yet interesting pictures. In the sea of
faces those moving in unseen currents I found this face
right at the entry gate. Through my lens I saw the fullness
of life and cheerfully smiling woman draped in honey
drop colored saree.

I had a tiny window to click a picture of her, but
somewhere I was engrossed looking at this joyful six-year-
old at heart adult whose face lit up brighter after seeing us.
It was not the first time she was traveling and airport is
something like a second home to her, but the joy of seeing
us immeasurable on her face. To have the luxury of
knowing and traveling with a frequent flyer and a group
of well famous people in the town has its own perks of
getting to get passed by the fast track security check. This
chirpy one went all gaga gaa with silly banters and pulling
each other’s leg at a point I felt as if I was the only one

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

wearing the grown-up frown but she was just unstoppable.
Just when I thought after reaching the destination may be,
she will get composed but that only remained as I thought
and this upbeat female was on her streak. After reaching
the city of beaches, the air was heavy and salt was felt on
the layer of skin. As we walked to the exit and the
remaining friends of the clan joined, her energy just
doubled it felt like the same six-year-old was pumped with
a load of sugar candy and skyrocketing happiness.

We took a small detour on our way to the hotel, I had the
faintest of the information about exactly where the detour
was towards and the purpose of that, again because the day
was not about me. As we reached the destination, she was
the utmost composed person whom I have been seeing all
through the morning. The endless chit chatter was
suddenly the calm, humble and gracious, an adorable

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

transformation as I observe. The detour we had was to a
talented female painter who made a portrait of her with
charcoal. Without any doubt the artist was simply the
master in her craft, but when this lady saw her portrait
made in charcoal her eyes glistered looking at it as if she
was admiring her own self looking in the mirror. The
humbleness of gratitude towards the artist in her tone, but
the pride in her eyes to have brought herself to the place
of deserving this was evident. For whatever I have known
her, she is the master of deception (she is ) she is very
well capable of masking her thoughts and feelings with
her words and tone. Her tone was full of gratitude for the
art made, proud of herself looking at the art, in the dust of
charcoal she mirrored herself and couldn’t stop the
torrential thoughts running on the back of the head. Here
was that one moment I didn’t want to miss and captured
it with my camera.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

As the journey continued to the hotel, she switched back
to her previous mode, which knew no boundaries for her
peace and excitement. It all looked like she had come for a
picnic just one too many times and there were no one to
stop her from doing anything and everything. In between
all the chatter and clutter it was almost the time for her
live show and she generously took her time to dress up and
look like a diva herself. The master deceptive all happy
and cheerful, but somewhere deep in her heart a hint of
nervousness. As she reached the venue and when she
proudly walked on the stage, she was this beast with full
blown confidence and that transformation I witnessed
was simply awestruck. She stared with her regular set of
cover songs, some predictable and some previously heard
in her voice already. The enjoyment of the live show is
unique every single time, be it same singer and same songs

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

because the energy is always different and unique in its
own way. The houseful crowd in the auditorium clapping
and whistling and cheering her took all her attention, but
she made it a point every time she leads her eyes on her
clan of friends and every time she saw the smiling faces
of her clan her eyes glittered from the joy she couldn’t hold
to herself.

It was all going smooth sailing with several songs few
requested by the crowd and some wonderful numbers
from her own basket of collection. As it was feeling the
obvious end of the show and I was getting the feeling of
predictable, she surprised with the most unexpected
number “Maan Mohana”. Until then I was happily
clicking pictures and smiling for the choice of songs and
the cheering from the audience. But when she started with
“Man Mohana” a cover of hind song, unknowingly my

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

camera came down and so did my eyes shy down. My eyes
were filled with the tears of immense joy and everything
around was fading except for her voice resonating in my
head. It was that time when I realized the day was not
about her but me, for me to experience this ecstatic
emotion which I totally fail to express in words…!

Which was possible only for her to make it true,
the ocean lover in me couldn’t hear the crashing sound of
waves that night and only kept replaying the song in my
head until it got into my subconscious and that made a
place for itself in there. The joyful six-year-old whom I
met in the morning suddenly started seeming like the
magic in reality….!!!
“She tunes the colors of her soul for every situation she faced &

only brings out the most exquisite sense of thankfulness
towards the life with everyday rhythms & melody that makes

her whole…!!!”

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

9. 2020: Conclude

Writing conclusions are the most difficult part when there
is so much more left to write. The journey of discovering
Ms Sunitha Upadrasta was nothing less than a joyful
activity. In the process I made a few kind hearted friends
and learned the art of expressing by vocal words and not
just written words.

Her silver jubilee year entirely was packed with
celebrations, she sang to celebrate; her admirers came to
see her sing and celebrated with her. The smiles broaden
one show after another and she kept out performing her
own self. I was privileged and honored to have witnessed
two of her live shows.

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta

The voice that earned LOVE of millions

“ She sang for massive crowds, she learnt the knack of reading
the pulse of her audience even before she met them … in the
multitude of faces, there is always one face that sees through
her soul and she secretly sings at least one song for that one

soul’s joy … the joy that she sees in that one soul is reflected in
her glistering eyes… the smile that she wears then speaks
volumes of soul satisfaction ….”

Congratulating this Songstress on gloriously completing
the milestone of 25 years of singing career. Wishing her
all the success and joy she deserves along with her kith and
kins.

THE END

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Celebrating Glorious 25 Years of Sunitha Upadrasta