The Voice Behind ‘Kundi Lagalo Saiyaan’: Dr. Pallavi Shyam Sundar

“Kundi Lagalo Saiyaan,” a song from Raan Baazaar, an Indian political Marathi crime thriller web series, has been doing the rounds and trending on social media for a while. Consumers have embraced the tune, sampling it for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts ever since. 

In the aftermath, its vocalist, Dr. Pallavi Shyam Sundar — who has been a playback singer, voice-over artist, model, anchor and dentist — is now more popular as the “Jannat Girl,” a moniker derived from the song’s catchy lyrics. Learn more about her and her experiences through the condensed and edited extracts from the interview that follows.

From Music Shows to Playback Singing: The Journey

I started my journey as a professional singer after finishing my graduation.

As a child, I had the opportunity to try out all the possibilities in both sports and cultural activities thanks to my parents — my father, who was extremely interested in sports, and my mother, who was particularly interested in music and dance. At the tender age of three, I began learning Carnatic classical vocals. Because I come from a Tamil Brahmin household, music and dance were valued just as much as academics. My mother believed that her children should participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible so that our hobbies might keep us engaged. Because of her, I started singing, dancing and playing instruments.

She also encouraged me to participate in sports while still ensuring that I had the proper degree. She never wanted a doctor or an engineer in the house, which is ironic given that I am a doctor and my sister is an engineer. I chose dentistry because I loved biology more than any other subject. I was about to pursue MBBS when my parents intervened, saying that with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), I could finish my degree and instantly start working in a clinic.

Music has always been my passion and an integral part of my life. My mother is a Carnatic classical vocalist who was a GRADE B artist on AIR Thirunelveli Station in devotional music. My sister is a veena player and singer. I’d never be able to escape the realm of music with so much of it surrounding me. As mentioned already, I began singing when I was three years old and trained until I was in tenth grade. Later, I moved to Pune and began studying Hindustani vocals with my guru, Shri. Ravindra Parchure. 

When I came to Mumbai, I studied Western singing at the True School of Music while also pursuing Carnatic and Dhrupad music. In my final year of college, I thought to myself, “How beautiful would it be if I could turn my passion into my profession?” This led to my journey to becoming a playback singer. Initially, I had no idea about how to go about things. In fact, I began doing Bollywood and Western retro and pop music shows at weddings, corporate events, and also in a few south Bombay clubs.

Meanwhile, one of my friends, who was then an arranger, told me to try my luck in the voicing industry. My passion for learning new languages led me to sing and give voice-overs in more than 13 different languages. I believe the best way to connect with the locals and learn more about their culture is through their language, which I truly enjoy.

As a playback singer, my career began with the song “Kaise Banegi Sarkar” (from the movie Motichoor Chaknachoor). Later, I collaborated with major composers like Ajay-Atul sir, Hitesh Modak sir, A.V. Prafullachandra sir, Chinar-Mahesh sir and others on feature films and web series such as Super 30, the Kaun Banega Crorepati title song, Antim, Dhurala, Crash Course, Raan Baazaar and more. My most recent project was the film Brahmastra (music by Pritam sir), for which I worked with vocal arranger Arjun Chandy sir as a part of the choir for the background score.

An Overview of “Kundi Lagalo Saiyaan”: Its Background and Anecdotes

This song came to me out of nowhere. One day, I was chilling at a friend’s place when I received a call from A.V. Prafullachandra sir (to whom I will be eternally thankful). It was 10.30 pm. He said, “Listen, I have a song to submit in the morning. Are you free to record right now?” That phone call and my decision to accept the offer changed my life.

I reached his studio at 11 pm when he was still working on the song’s structure. There was no prior information provided to me about the song. He made me listen to the scratch (which was recorded in his voice). To be honest, I was startled because that was a genre I would never attempt in my life. However, Prafullachandra sir reassured me, saying that selecting me as the vocalist for this song was indeed the best decision. “Agar tum yeh gana nahi gaa sakti toh aur koi yeh nahin gaa sakta,” he reiterated.

Sir’s remark added to the pressure on me to execute the song to his liking. The brief for the track was to sound like a street worker or a vendor who has finished his day’s job and is attempting to relax by singing songs. I was also asked to sing as a non-singer, someone with no musical knowledge.

Prafullachandra sir was writing the lyrics as I was working on the tune. The mausi’s voice that joins mine at the end of the song is none other than Prafullachandra sir’s voice. When he pitch-shifted the scratch to my scale, I was ecstatic to hear his vocals — it sounded amazing. By 6 am, the song was recorded, mixed, and mastered!

The Song’s Growing Popularity

To be honest, I had no idea this song would become so successful. I feel that the song is atypical, unlike the majority of songs that become successful either because they are commercial or because they are extensively promoted. Then two of my closest friends assured me that this tune would go viral (I wasn’t too sure). It was originally heard as part of the trailer for Raan Baazaar (actually, it is the end credits song of the series’ second or third episode) which prompted its success. In my estimation, the rustic vibe of the song piqued people’s interest, and gradually, they began to listen to it in a loop and started sharing it in Reels.

I became aware of its popularity when Ashish Patil sir, also known as the Lavni King, created a stunning dance Reel on it. I was grateful to the universe. I hadn’t told anyone in my circle of friends or family about this song because I wanted to see how far it could grow organically. When gradually I started getting DMs on Instagram inquiring if I had performed this song, that’s when I realized this track was gaining attention naturally. This cemented my belief in the power of social media, which can propel a work of art to new heights by connecting artists and audiences all over the world.