It must have been part of their daily routine. A break in between work when they sat down somewhere and talked or relaxed. That day, however, Rakesh Unni sang.
Unai kaanadhu naan indru naal illaye.
The dance song from Vishwaroopam, beautifully sung by this unknown Kerala man, unknown until Friday.
A video went up. The man is seen singing. There is a red towel wrapped around his head, his clothes are muddied.
“I cut rubber and carry it on my shoulders and load them onto a truck. That’s my job,” he tells TNM.
Shameer, the truck driver, shot the video of his friend singing, sitting among rubber trees. His sister Shameela put it online and the song got heard, far and wide.
Shankar Mahadevan, who sang the original, shared it on Facebook and asked who this man is.
“This is called fruit of labour! When we hear this, it just makes me feel so so proud of our country that produces so much talent and is so rich in culture,” he wrote.
Shankar Mahadevan then managed to get hold of Rakesh’s number, and called him.
“I consider it my biggest blessing. He told me I have a good voice, a good future. I said I just want to see him once. He said we will not just see, we will sing together,” Rakesh says, the sound of the roads of Nooranad, Alappuzha drowning out his voice.
He is going for a recording, he says, before cutting the call. Life is already changing for Rakesh.
“The video did that. That’s when I started getting so many calls,” he says. The list of people who called Rakesh includes singer Pandalam Balan, violinist musician Balabhaskar and music composer Gopi Sunder. But, that’s not all.
Tamil composer Ghibran has also been in search of Rakesh. He put up a tweet asking ‘does anyone have this person’s contact’.
Rakesh’s phone has not stopped ringing since. He speaks in hurried tones. “I have not learnt music before, but for the last few months, I have begun training in classical music.”
He is a natural then, effortlessly switching to vibratos. The people in his town know, they have seen him for Ganamelas. Lately, however, there have not been many stages.
But then, luck may have new plans for Rakesh.