Singer Abhishek Venkatachalam, more popularly known as Abby V, who crooned the lone melody in Indian 2, titled ‘Neelorpam’, with Shruthika Samudhrala, is not new to doing live shows. Yet rendering the song to a jam-packed audience at the audio launch of Indian 2 made it extra special for him. “It is like presenting your baby in front of the whole world.

It is different from singing in the studio because here you do not have the option of retakes. Besides, you had all these legends of Indian cinema in attendance, including Shankar and Kamal Haasan. My parents also flew all the way from Canada. All of this made the whole experience slightly nervous yet very exciting at the same time,” says Abby.

On how his perceptions of the film industry changed after working in Indian 2, Abby says, “I spoke to Shankar sir after the audio launch, and he was very sweet. While working with Anirudh, too, there is a great sense of creative liberty, and he does not act like the composer telling you how to do it. So this all goes to show that, despite reaching such heights, they are encouraging new talents, which explains why they are where they are.”

The live performance at the Indian 2 audio launch was also a case of life coming full circle for Abby, whose first stage performance was with his father, Venky Venkatachalam. “My father has always been performing. When I was about nine, I said I would like to sing, and he took me along with him for one of his live shows. This is how it all started. Now, I do many shows where he and I perform as a special act. I love performing with my father. He is my greatest musical influence,” reveals Abby.