Sai Abhyankkar Plans More Releases and Film Music After ‘Katchi Sera’ Success

Among the top music videos on YouTube right now, Chennai-based artist Sai Abhyankkar’s “Katchi Sera” marks a strong debut release via Think Indie, a branch of the South Indian label Think Music. It also hit the top spot on Global Viral Songs on Spotify earlier this month, currently standing at nearly 18 million streams on the platform.

Coasting on rock-solid dancefloor-friendly and Tamil folk-informed production, “Katchi Sera” has ornate lyrics about longing and making a connection by Adesh Krishna that adds to the relatability factor. Then, there’s a slickly shot music video by filmmaker Ken Royson with actor/model Samyuktha Viswanathan as a female lead alongside Abhyankkar, featuring choreography by Anusha Viswanathan.

Abhyankkar – the son of established South Indian singers Harini and Tippu – says in an email interview that the response for “Katchi Sera” has made him feel “ecstatic” and the 19-year-old is grateful for the love and support it’s received. The song first took shape during the peak lockdown periods of the pandemic a few years ago, building upon the artist’s habit of “creating music grooves every day.” He says, “Once the groove was set and the composing work was completed, I brought in my friend Adesh Krishna to write lyrics for this song. Post multiple discussions and edits, we finalized on the quirky lyrics that we hear now. Post this, I approached Think Indie with my song and they approved immediately.”

From instrumentalists to dancers to the team involved in making and pushing “Katchi Sera” to the masses, Abhyankkar says there was “great care” in bringing people to the project. The main criteria, according to the artist, was “not only capability and passion but also people with a frequency to give their very best with utmost commitment and take pride in creating the best possible.”

With colorful and well-crafted sets for the music video and dance moves that also helped the song grow on social media due to its visual appeal, Abhyankkar recounts that the production standard is set “pretty high” since this was a Think Indie release. He repeats his thanks to everyone involved in the success of the songs.

“Katchi Sera” is his first big release as a composer and Abhyankkar points out that his previous track “Valam Varavendum” was not an “independent composition” but more of a rendition of an existing krithi [composition] by his guru Sriram Parthasarathy.

Now, there’s more music in the works, with the sonic direction leaning towards “quirky, raw and musically-rich compositions,” according to Abhyankkar. He’s already booked for his first international show, performing in London on April 12th, alongside powerhouse vocalist Anthony Daasan and rapper-lyricist Ratty Adhiththan.

Like several artists in the Tamil industry – and perhaps his parents, too – Abhyankkar says it would be a dream to be a composer for film soundtracks if an opportunity came along. He’s so far worked as an instrumentalist and producer on some film songs, but composing film songs might just happen soon enough. He says about the rest of his plans for 2024, “With God’s grace, I have around six new independent tracks lined up for release. A couple of production houses are in touch for film music as well.”

Watch the video for “Katchi Sera” below.