The School Song

But did her school ever encourage her to sing? The surprise answer is ‘no’. ‘‘I never sang in school, except for once at an annual function,’’ says Sunidhi. ‘‘People used to urge me to participate, but I was already a professional, how could I compete with amateurs? It was only right to let others come up.’’

That’s right, Sunidhi’s career is already nine years old: Her first song featured in a film called Shastra in 1993, when she was still in school. But fame had come calling much earlier, when she took part in Meri Awaz Suno, a talent-hunt television show. ‘‘It happened like this — I was always crazy about Lata Mangeshkar, I always sang her songs at stage-shows, and when I learnt she would be handing over the trophy to the contest winner, I decided to take part,’’ says Sunidhi. ‘‘As luck would have it, I got through the quarters, the semi-finals and then the finals. And when I finally saw Lataji before me, my dream came true. That was the most memorable day of my life.’’

It probably made for the most memorable day of her principal Manisha Soni’s life when she saw Sunidhi among her class VIII students. Though the girl repeated the class, Soni is unabashed in her admiration: ‘‘I was thrilled when I knew I would be teaching her, since she was already famous through Meri Awaz Suno.’’

Making her way to her old classroom, Sunidhi ruminates, ‘‘I wish I were back in school. There were just eight students in my class, so we really bonded. I loved civics, history and geography, but in subjects like algebra, I never got more than four marks!’’

Her flop show in school didn’t particularly bother the folks at home, who had immense faith in her talent. Success came early, but Sunidhi missed out on all the things that teenagers do. ‘‘I sometimes wish I was a normal 19-year-old, worried only about homework. I am constantly tense about tomorrow’s song,’’ she broods. ‘‘Sometimes, I think it would an ordinary job, a fixed salary, not too many ambitions, would have been much better.’’

But the Leonine side to Sunidhi surfaces immediately, and she growls, ‘‘I know I am a very strong woman, sorry, girl. I know what I have to do and where I’m going. I believe talent and luck go hand-in-hand.’’