Dhee | |
---|---|
Birth name | Dheekshitha Venkadeshan |
Born | Jaffna, Sri Lanka | 26 June 1998
Origin | Sydney, Australia |
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 2012–present |
Labels | Maajja |
Dheekshitha Venkadeshan (born 26 June 1998), known professionally as Dhee, is an Australian singer known for her work as a playback singer in Indian cinema. [1] [2] [3] Born to a Sri Lankan father and mother, she was raised in Sydney and has sung songs mostly in her stepfather Santhosh Narayanan's albums. She has won a Filmfare Awards for Best Singer, [4] [5] and is known for her distinctive alto voice. [6]
Dheekshitha was born on 26 June 1998 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka[ citation needed ] to a Sri Lankan Tamil father Venkadesan and mother Meenakshi Iyer who is a Carnatic musician. [7] [8] She was raised and did her schooling in Sydney, Australia where her parents were based. [9] [3] [10] [11] She has an elder brother Sudheekshanan. Dheekshitha is the stepdaughter of Indian music composer Santhosh Narayanan. She began her playback singing career by performing songs in two of his albums, Pizza II: Villa (2013) and Cuckoo (2014), during breaks from her education.
Since based in Chennai, Dhee made a breakthrough by singing "Naan Nee" from Pa. Ranjith's Madras (2014) alongside Shakthisree Gopalan. Her work on the song saw the pair garner nominations for Best Female Singer at the Filmfare Awards and Vijay Awards. [12]
She received critical acclaim for her work in Sudha Kongara Prasad's sports drama film, Irudhi Suttru (2016). [8] Being used as the lead singer for Ritika Singh's North Madras-based boxer character in the film, Dhee recorded two solo songs titled "Ey Sandakaara" and "Usuru Narumbuley". [13] Behindwoods.com stated that the first song was "another classic Santhosh number that gets your attention in no time", while noting the "pathos song by Dhee is a revelation sorts" about the latter. [14] [15] [16]
Dhee later worked with her stepfather in critically acclaimed albums including Kaala (2018) and Vada Chennai (2018), before collaborating with Yuvan Shankar Raja for the song "Rowdy Baby" in Maari 2 (2018). Singing alongside Dhanush, the film garnered popularity soon after its release. The song garnered more than 1.5 billion views on YouTube making it the highest viewed Tamil music videos and one of the most-viewed Indian videos of all time. [17]
Dhee made her debut as a pop singer, under the A.R. Rahman-helmed label, Maajja, with "Enjoy Enjaami" featuring Arivu (from The Casteless Collective) on 7 March 2021. [18] The song was produced by her stepfather. The lyrics were penned by Arivu. [19] [20] The song was immediately popular, with the music video having gained over 398 million views and more than 4.6 million likes (as of March 2022) since it premiered on YouTube. "Enjoy Enjaami" is the first song to be released under maajja. [20] Dhee's first studio album which is also being produced by maajja. [21] The album is expected to be released by the end of 2021 and will be largely made up of contemporary jazz songs. It will also mark her first English-language release since debuting in the (Indian) music industry. [22] In March 2023 she debuted in Telugu cinema with the song "Chamkeela Angeelesi" from the movie Dasara . She gained popularity from that song among the Telugu audience.
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
UK Asian [23] | |||
"Enjoy Enjaami" (feat. Arivu, produced by Santhosh Narayanan) | 2021 | 5 | Non-album single |
Year | Song title | Film | Music Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | "Disco Woman" | Pizza II: Villa | Santhosh Narayanan | |
2014 | "Enda Mapla" | Cuckoo | ||
"Naan Nee" | Madras | co-artist Shakthisree Gopalan Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Female Playback Singer | ||
2016 | "Ey Sandakaara" | Irudhi Suttru | Nominated—SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer | |
"Usuru Narumbeley" | ||||
"Thoondil Meen" | Kabali | |||
"Dushta" | Iraivi | |||
2017 | "Oo Sakkanoda" | Guru | Telugu | |
"Gundelothulalo" | ||||
"Rathina Katti" | Meyaadha Maan | |||
2018 | "Kannamma Kannamma" | Kaala | ||
"Maadila Nikkura Maanutty" | Vada Chennai | |||
"Rowdy Baby" | Maari 2 | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Won - SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer | |
2019 | "Vaanil Irul" | Nerkonda Paarvai | ||
"Idharkuthaan" | Bigil | A. R. Rahman | ||
2020 | "Yedho Maayam" | Dagaalty | Vijay Narain | |
"Manamengum Maaya Oonjal" | Gypsy | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
"Kaattu Payale" | Soorarai Pottru | G. V. Prakash Kumar | Won - SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer | |
"Kaatuka Kanule" | Aakasam Nee Haddu Raa | Telugu | ||
"Rakita Rakita Rakita" | Jagame Thandhiram | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
2021 | "Uttradheenga Yeppov" | Karnan | ||
2022 | "Anbarey" | Gulu Gulu | ||
2023 | "Chamkeela Angeelesi" | Dasara | Telugu | |
"Mainaru Vetti Katti" | Tamil version | |||
"Jujubee" | Jailer | Anirudh Ravichander | ||
"Maamadura" | Jigarthanda DoubleX | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
2024 | "Kombari Vettapuli" | Captain Miller | G. V. Prakash Kumar | |
"Viduthal" | Anweshippin Kandethum | Santhosh Narayanan | Malayalam | |
"Ta Takkara" | Kalki 2898 AD | Santhosh Narayanan | Telugu |
Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian film composer and musician who has worked predominately worked in Tamil cinema, while also having some Telugu and Malayalam films to his credit.
Irudhi Suttru is a 2016 Indian sports drama film written and directed by Sudha Kongara. Filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi, with the latter being titled as Saala Khadoos, the film stars R. Madhavan as boxing coach who is ignored by the boxing association, tries to accomplish his dream by training an amateur boxer, Madhi, played by Ritika Singh in her acting debut. Both the Tamil and Hindi versions are produced by S. Sashikanth for YNOT Studios and UTV Motion Pictures, while C. V. Kumar's Thirukumaran Entertainment and Dream Factory distributed the Tamil version and the Hindi version was jointly distributed by Madhavan himself under the Tricolour Films banner along with Rajkumar Hirani Films.
Sudha Kongara Prasad, known professionally as Sudha Kongara, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil. She made her directorial debut with the Tamil film Drohi. In 2016, she directed the bilingual Irudhi Suttru for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil. She subsequently directed the film's Telugu remake, Guru (2017). In her career, working over 3 languages, she has won two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and two SIIMA Awards.
Joker is a 2016 Tamil-language political satire film written and directed by Raju Murugan of Cuckoo fame and produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu, under the banner Dream Warrior Pictures. The film stars Guru Somasundaram, Ramya Pandian, and Gayathri Krishnaa in the lead roles, while Mu Ramaswamy, Bava Chelladurai, and Bala Murugan are in supporting roles.
Sai Shravanam is an Indian music producer, recording and scoring engineer. He is a self trained tabla player and one of the few classically trained sound engineers in the country. He is the owner and founder of Resound India in the city of Chennai.
Ritika Mohan Singh is an Indian actress and former mixed martial artist who predominantly features in Tamil films, in addition to Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. After competing for India at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games and then participating in the Super Fight League, she played a leading role in Sudha Kongara Prasad's Tamil film Irudhi Suttru alongside R. Madhavan. She won Special Mention at the 63rd National Film Awards for her performance in the film. She received Filmfare Awards three times for the same role in three languages: Tamil, Hindi and Telugu (Guru). She has won a National Award, one SIIMA award, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award special Prize and three Filmfare Awards respectively.
Pradeep Rangaswamy Kumar is an Indian playback singer and music director who has worked in Tamil language films. After beginning his career as a Carnatic musician, in the 2010s, he has regularly collaborated with composers Santhosh Narayanan and Sean Roldan.
Kabali is the soundtrack album, composed by Santhosh Narayanan for the 2016 Indian Tamil-language action crime film of the same name written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, starring Rajinikanth, Radhika Apte and Winston Chao. The soundtrack album featuring five songs with lyrics written by Kabilan, Vivek, Umadevi and Arunraja Kamaraj was released on 12 June 2016, at Chennai and was also released in Telugu, Hindi and Malay languages. Santhosh Narayanan won the Best Music Director Award at the 2017 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards. Initially, he was nominated for the Best Music Director – Tamil award at the 2017 Filmfare Awards South, along with Arunraja Kamaraj, for Best Lyricist – Tamil, Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil for the song "Neruppu Da". However, Shweta Mohan won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil for "Maya Nadhi".
Kaala is the soundtrack album for the film of the same name, starring Rajinikanth in the title role, produced by Dhanush and directed by Pa. Ranjith. The album composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his second collaboration with Rajinikanth and Ranjith after Kabali (2016), features nine songs written by Kabilan, Umadevi, Arunraja Kamaraj, Arivu, Dopeadelicz, Logan and Roshan Jamrock.
Arivarasu Kalainesan, more commonly known as Arivu, is an Indian composer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his independent singles like Enjoy Enjaami, Sanda Seivom, Kalla Mouni and for film numbers like "Vathi Raid" from Master (2020), "Single Pasanga" from Natpe Thunai (2019), and "Neeye Oli" from Sarpatta Parambarai (2021).
Karnan is the soundtrack album for the 2021 Indian film of the same name, directed by Mari Selvaraj and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film features music composed by Santhosh Narayanan with lyrics written by Yugabharathi and Mari Selvaraj.
Jagame Thandhiram is the eleven-song soundtrack album composed by Santhosh Narayanan for the 2021 Tamil film of the same name, starring Dhanush and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. Continuing his association with Subbaraj after Anirudh Ravichander being roped in for Petta, the film also marks Santhosh's third collaboration with Dhanush after Kodi, Vada Chennai and Karnan. The album which featured lyrics written by Vivek, Dhanush, Arivu, Anthony Daasan and Madurai Babaraj was released by Sony Music India on 6 June 2021.
"Enjoy Enjaami" is a Tamil-language song recorded by singer Dhee featuring Indian rapper Arivu and Indian producer Santhosh Narayanan. It is written and sung by lyricist Arivu, Dhee debut single, composed and arranged by Narayanan under the music label/management Maajja, an independent platform launched by Indian producer A. R. Rahman. The song was released on 7 March 2021.
Irudhi Suttru is the soundtrack album for the 2015 bilingual film of the same name starring R. Madhavan and Ritika Singh. The film directed by Sudha Kongara, is produced by YNOT Studios and UTV Motion Pictures.
Vada Chennai is the soundtrack album for the 2018 action crime film of the same name directed by Vetrimaaran, starring Dhanush in the lead role. The film featured music composed by Santhosh Narayanan in his maiden collaboration with Vetrimaaran. Vada Chennai also marks the 25th film of Narayanan as a composer in his career. The album in its entirety was released on 23 September 2018 to positive response from critics and audiences. At the 12th Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards held in Chennai, Santhosh received an award for Best Music Director also for his work in Kaala and Pariyerum Perumal.
Made in Jaffna is a 14-song studio album curated by Toronto-based Tamil artist Shan Vincent de Paul which released on 6 September 2021. It is Shan's third studio album after Saviors (2017) and Kothu Boys (2020). The album describes about identity, perseverance, and reconciliation and learning to embrace the tenets of an outsider juggling multiple identities in a foreign land.
"Neeye Oli" is the 2021 Tamil song composed by Santhosh Narayanan and Shan Vincent de Paul, who also recorded the track along with Navz-47; with lyrics for the track being written by Arivu and Shan Vincent de Paul. It is the second release from the upcoming studio album Made in Jaffna curated by Shan which was under production for four years. It released on 30 June 2021 by the music label/management Maajja, an independent platform launched by A. R. Rahman. The song is used as the theme track for Pa. Ranjith-directorial Sarpatta Parambarai.
Cuckoo is the musical album composed by Santhosh Narayanan to the 2014 Tamil film Cuckoo, directed by journalist-turned-filmmaker Raju Murugan in his directorial debut. The film starred Attakathi Dinesh and debutant Malavika Nair in leading roles, and was jointly produced by the companies Fox Star Studios and The Next Big Film Venture. The soundtrack album has six tracks, five of them being written by Yugabharathi and one song by Gaana Bala and R. K. Sundar.
Kalki 2898 AD is the soundtrack album composed by Santhosh Narayanan to the 2024 Indian Telugu-language epic dystopian science fiction action film of the same name, directed by Nag Ashwin, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Deepika Padukone. The lyrics are written by Ramajogayya Sastry, Chandrabose and Krishna Kanth in Telugu, Kumaar and Siddharth-Garima in Hindi, Vivek in Tamil, Varadaraj Chikkaballapura in Kannada and Shyam Muraleedharan in Malayalam. The soundtrack album which consisted of six songs was released on 10 July 2024.
Chithha is the soundtrack to the 2023 Tamil-language drama film of the same name directed by S. U. Arun Kumar starring Siddharth, Nimisha Sajayan and Anjali Nair. The film's soundtrack featured three songs composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas and one song composed by Santhosh Narayanan. Preceded by three singles, the soundtrack was released through Think Music on 27 September 2023. At the 69th Filmfare Awards South, both composers won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Tamil.
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