Ankita Kundu is a 14 year old who is already garnering a lot of attention and applause from the stalwarts. This Bangalore girl is a finalist on Colors Live singing reality show Rising Star. Just before the finale shoot that will be telecast live this weekend on April 22 and 23, Ankita speaks to us about her journey so far. After months of hard work and awe-inspiring performances, Ankita has finally managed to cement herself in the finale of Rising Star, impressing all the three experts of the show- Shankar Mahadevan, Monali Thakur and Diljit Dosanjh. Music maestro Shankar Mahadevan was so floored by Ankita’s performance that he has even recorded a song with her from his upcoming movie ‘Halka’. But this isn’t the first time Ankita has tried her hand in playback singing, before coming on Rising Star, Ankita has lent her voice for many music stalwarts of the Kannada film industry. Her forte lies in singing in different languages like Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Malyalam, Hindi and English. She has learnt music from her uncle Late Arun Kumar Chakroborty who was a well-known music director down South.
Recalling a highlight this class 10 student of Prakriya Green Wisdom School whose biggest inspiration is Lata Mangeshkar, shares, “It was when Vidya Balan was the special guest on Rising Star. During the ‘Retro’ round, after listening to me sing ‘Rangeela Re’, Vidya Di (Vidya Balan) was so impressed that she along with Rising Star expert Monali ji (Monali Thakur) came on stage and picked me up on their shoulders. Another moment I can never forget is when Shankar ji (Shankar Mahadevan) offered me to playback for him on his upcoming project, Live during the show. It has truly been a wonderful learning experience so far. I have made many friends along the way. It is a bit challenging due to the live format. Also as we approached the finals, the levels got tough to cross but I am very thankful to the audience with whose support I have become the finalist of Rising Star.”
Talking of how she balances studies and music and her future plans, she adds, “It is very tough to balance both but I make sure that one take precedence over the others. But after finish my 10th exams, I plan shift my entire focus to build up my music career. My biggest support has been my family and my maternal uncle, the Late Arun Kumar Chakraborty who was also my music teacher. Post completing my 10th standard I plan to move to Mumbai and concentrate on my playback singing full-time. I want to take proper classical training to hone my craft further.”
