Singer Padmaja Sreenivasan – Passion and Perseverance
Singer Padmaja Sreenivasan was born and brought up in Chennai. She pursued her early education at Rosary Matriculation School and later completed her undergraduate studies at Ethiraj College. For her postgraduate studies, she attended Meenakshi College, and she earned her Ph.D. in Nanoscience (Physics) at Loyola College (Madras University).
She began her recording career while still a student and used her earnings to pay her college fees. Despite not coming from a musical background, Padmaja developed an inclination towards music at an early age. She saved the pocket money her parents gave her for daily expenses to buy music cassettes, through which she self-trained and nurtured her passion for singing.
She believes that individuals from non-musical backgrounds must put in 150% effort compared to those with a musical background. Her advice to aspiring singers is never to miss an opportunity and always be prepared.
Her first movie song was Enna Maayam in Utharavu Maharaja. She later sang Idhuthaan (Telugu version) in Sivappu Manjal Pachai, a duet with Naresh Iyer, composed by music director Siddhu Kumar, which marked the beginning of her collaboration with him. She later worked on the movie Trip and sang in Kanguva, Adiye, and Irugapatru. She has worked with renowned composers such as A.R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Justin Prabhakaran, Santhosh Dhayanidhi, Devi Sri Prasad, Hesham Abdul Wahab and many more.
In Telugu, she sang for the movie Kushi alongside Haricharan. She got this opportunity when the team was searching for a Tamil female singer on Instagram, and after hearing her sample, they selected her. She also participated in the Kushi audio launch event amidst film personalities Samantha and Vijay Deverakonda.
Padmaja is fluent in Tamil, while she enjoys learning new languages and often takes notes on pronunciation. She has also sung in Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada & Hindi. She worked on Paachuvum Albhuthavilakkum by Justin Prabhakaran, recording both Tamil and Telugu versions of the song. Some of her songs are yet to be released. Apart from singing, Padmaja has an interest in dubbing and has lent her voice to several advertisements. She enjoys the process and wants to explore it further.
Padmaja has also been a part of a few reality shows like Radio City Super Singer (2013), Hello FM Singaara Singers (2014), 7up ARR live (2018) & Vijay TV Super Singer Season 10 (2023).
Padmaja got married to her longtime friend from school, Aadit who is also a part of the Film Industry as an Editor & VFX Supervisor. Padmajaʼs journey is a testament to perseverance and passion. She emphasizes the importance of hard work, being ready for opportunities, and never giving up on oneʼs dreams. Her inspiring story serves as motivation for many aspiring musicians.