Taking A Good Look At Shanthini Venugopal: Actress/Singer Does First Solo Gig In Years!
AT some point in her lengthy career, Shanthini Venugopal‘s own sultry, baritone voice pretty much slipped her mind.
“I had forgotten, really. I kind of forgot that I did sing as a solo act,” Shanthini confesses, relaxed in the comforts of her own home.
“Although I always had plans to sing solo again, I guess the time wasn’t right yet; it just never happened.”
It was a chance encounter in Okinawa with fellow Malaysian representative E-Jan Tan of Space Toccata which led to the inception of upcoming performance Look At Me: An Evening With Shanthini Venugopal.
Selling coconuts as part of a shoot back in September 2015.
Many should know Shanthini from her 26 years with The Instant Cafe Theatre Company, or as the founder of children’s theatre group The Jumping Jellybeans.
Film buffs will recognise her as the sharp Beebe in Anna & The King (1999), starring alongside local acts Mano Maniam, Sean Ghazi, Harith Iskandar, Deanna Yusoff to name a few, as well as Hollywood mega stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat.
She’s the younger sister of performing artist Sukania Venugopal while her mother Nalini Venugopal is the first Indian Malaysian female singer to appear on Malaysian television and radio. But for those keen on knowing her on a deeper level, she’s put together a “solo singing gig” that will take place from 13 – 14 November.
“It’s not a comeback,” Shanthini insists, “because a comeback means you have not been performing. I have been performing — it’s just a revival more than anything else.”
Ever since the 80s, this optimistic, passionate woman has been showcasing her full, warm voice to crowds.
From singing in hotels to appearing with Sukania and singer/actress Sandra Sodhy on stage for Instant Cafe, Shanthini’s voice was one of the many gifts that helped her survive in an ever-changing world.
Looking Within With Jo Kukathas
Since kickstarting children’s theatre company The Jumping Jellybeans, Shanthini Venugopal has often taken on the role of story-teller. It’s always been one of her biggest strengths, so when given the chance to stage something in Space Toccata she leaned towards story-telling.
Upon returning from Japan and having E-Jan’s words still ringing in her head, she had a change of heart and considered singing instead. Eventually, she planned to make the opportunity about her voice.
“Now, however, it’s grown to become much more than that because I’ve taken a different view on what this show is all about,” Shanthini reveals, “and that happened because I got Jo Kukathas as my artistic director.”
A photo of the Instant Cafe troupe from 1990.
Instead of finding a musical director to tighten up loose ends, Shanthini thought she could use some input from her longtime friend and collaborator. She already had the music in place; she just needed someone to help it “take shape” under the spotlight.
Acclaimed theatre director Jo Kukathas is one of the founding members of The Instant Cafe Theatre Company. She was last involved with the immensely popular Another Country, a play co-directed with Ivan Heng for W!ld Rice. Another Country received rave reviews during its run in Malaysia and Singapore.
Jo also wrote Raj and The End of Tragedy, a play that nabbed several BOH Cameronian Arts Awards last year.
“We didnt really have a title for the show, and then Jo asked me why I was doing this,” reminisces Shanthini.
“I said I wanted to sing, but she kept on probing. Eventually I realised I was doing this for myself and for all the people that I love, and my mum. My mum is the biggest influence in my life.”
Jo’s questions made Shanthini reflect deeply, and the process of getting her to understand her own motive was an emotional one.
“I was keeping it deep inside me for a long time. So I said, ok, let’s do this with that kind of approach because then the songs you pick and how you deliver them are very different. It’s no longer just about singing — the show now has some direction.”
During a meeting with Jo, Shanthini was made to sing the first song that popped into her mind when thinking about her theme. The song that escaped her lips turned out to be beloved jazz standard “Misty”.
Shanthini has been performing for Instant Cafe ever since it formed.
“I sang, look at me, I’m as helpless as a kitten up a tree, and she said, that’s the title of the show. I asked, isn’t that a little bit egotistical, and she pointed out that there were many ways to interpret the line,” Shanthini explains.
According to Jo, the words “look at me” bore different meaning and weight at each stage of a person’s life.
Given Shanthini’s place in her life and career at present, her “look at me” served as a reminder of all the people still watching after all these years, as well as all she’s managed to achieve with their support.
Listen Closely, Just Really Listen…
Instead of blazing through her setlist one track after another for Look At Me, Shanthini will be doing a bit of sharing in between numbers.
Her evolution from a young child following her mother to recording sessions to the accomplished, open and warm woman she is today will be touched upon throughout the show.
“I’m sure it has influenced me to a big extent,” Shanthini considers while recalling time spent with her mother.
“She did classical Indian music in various languages — Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam — and I’m sure it’s in the subconscious. It’s always in the subconscious; these things just lie there and when you bring them out they make more sense.”
For the upcoming gig Shanthini will be performing in English, opting for jazz standards and classics which bear special meaning to her. Expect to hear some Nat King Cole, Bette Midler and Frank Sinatra — staple to the crowds of the 60s and 70s.
Under her care, each track could end up with an alternative interpretation, expressed in a way unique to her.
“If I sing a song like “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, people would think it’s a love song I’m singing to a man. But I sing it because of my son, because really, it reminds me of when I gave birth to him and first got to see him,” she tells us.
“I don’t even know what went through Roberta Flack‘s mind when she sang that song, but when you listen to it or any other song for the matter, you take how it affects you.”
Shanthini lives with her son, Hari.
The most important thing to both Shanthini and Jo for the upcoming showcase is for the songs to come through strong and sincere. In fact, for a project with such acclaimed talent, design elements will be kept minimal on the stage.
Accompanying Shanthini under the spot light will be Lynne Chuah on a baby grand piano.
“I’m keeping it very simple. I’m just saying, look at me, come and share my stories and songs, hear me now that you haven’t had a chance in a long time.“
“Some people used to listen to me a long time ago,” Shanthini laughs, “but people now don’t even know that I used to sing!”
In fact, Shanthini takes great pride in her voice. She was last seen in Susan Lankester’s Project Watermelon in which she starred alongside renowned local acts such as Elvira and Junji Delfino.
She got to sing in the play due to unforeseen circumstances, and most of the other cast members had no clue about her talent until performance day.
Shanthini recalls, “One of the performers ended up getting bronchitis two days before the show and had to pull out.”
“We all stepped in and took up her roles; I took some of her dialogue and also her singing segment. I told Sue about it and she said sure!”
Due to the short time she had to work with the newly-added parts, she didn’t have enough time to fully rehearse her song, choosing to prioritise on remembering her lines and lyrics. So when it was time to open, many of her other cast-members were taken by surprise by Shanthini’s vocal ability.
Voices of a Generation
“The good lord has blessed me,” Shanthini nods thankfully.
“I’ve been very blessed to have this voice since I was a child, but back then I hated my voice — kids are the cruelest people in the world.”
Susan Lankester’s Project Watermelon boasted a huge cast of notable local performing artists.
Shanthini’s childhood was a fairly pleasant one, except during moments the other kids teased her for her deep voice. She didn’t feel ashamed as she knew she had a powerful voice, but she did feel alienated from the rest of the crowd.
“I always thought, why can’t I be normal like the other girls? Why can’t I have a normal speaking voice?” she remembers.
Shanthini was eventually inducted into the school choir as an alto, in which her booming, bassy voice was given the respect it deserved. She would still get callers on the phone insisting to speak with a woman however.
“Because I had such a low voice, sometimes I would purposely speak with a higher register. But then the advertising industry came and I’ve never looked back since.”
Almost overnight, her voice went from being perceived as “deep” and “manly” to “sultry” and “husky”. She started singing acapella solo, and then in a group, and finally pushed herself into singing for the hospitality industry. Shanthini went from bars to hotels and continuously mesmerized with her rich and powerful timbre.
Both Shanthini and her sister Sukania have been performing for decades.
“I’ve never trained and I’ve never had any lessons,” Shanthini reveals.
“No special procedures of diets too; I’ve never had any restrictions before I sing either.”
When they were much younger, Shanthini and her sister Sukania had several opportunities to sing thanks to their late father, a true-blue unionist in the police force. One of their most memorable moments as children was performing the “Negaraku” ever year at the CUEPACS and PACSU conferences.
“For us, it was a thrill to be performing for a bunch of delegates. I believe that was the only time we sang together, just the two of us.”
Sukania is known for her work in the local performing arts scene, last embracing audiences at Bilqis Hijjas-curated Tepak Tari, a selection of performances which opened DiverseCity this year. She also won a BOH Cameronian Arts Award for her role in Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical in 2006.
As children, Shanthini and Sukania would have their little arguments, but Shanthini was always in awe of her cool, elder sister. At one point, Sukania worked in a record store in which she used her salary to get records back home.
“All the money she got went to the records and my father still had to give her money for her allowance,” Shanthini chuckles.
Both of them started bonding in their teenage years, but it wasn’t until Shanthini left for Canada and returned six years later that their connection made stronger sense and gained solid ground.
“Coming back, our relationship was on a different level. We were a lot older, with different experiences. To this day, she’s still — yes, it’s cliched — my rock. For anything I can just turn to her, and she can turn to me,” she spoke proudly.
Despite being two weeks away from opening night, Shanthini has already received a number of offers to perform again. Word of her return as a solo performer has spread and as a result, several venues have started approaching her.
In fact, she’s been booked for 18 – 19 December for a soon-to-be launched exciting new venue in Bangsar, and she’s also got a spot at Theatre Lounge Cafe for 22 – 24 April 2016 sealed in stone!
“Look At Me at Space Toccata can only take in 50 people per night,” Shanthini confides in us.
“I thought it would be such a waste to do it just once after all the effort that went into the process. Then these opportunities came to me when I wasn’t even looking!”
Shanthini hopes to bring the show to Penang and anywhere else in Malaysia interested in her work, assuming she can cope with the job. She works without an agent so every little, non-creative task also falls under her jurisdiction.
As the interview session nearly comes to an end, we beg her to reveal to us the one thing that has kept her going strong all these years. Was it her unfaltering voice? Acting skills? Her knack for handling people?
She pauses, thinks for a while, and says, “It’s my ability to survive.”
“I am living proof that you have to go with the flow. When things change — and things have always changed — you have to notice that change and grab the opportunities that come along with it.”
“Dont fight it,” she concludes with a smile.
Look At Me: An Evening With Shanthini Venugopal will take place at 9:00pm from 13 – 14 November at Space Toccata, situated on 39, Jalan SS2/55, 47300 Petaling Jaya. Entry is by donation (RM40 minimum) and is inclusive of complimentary red or white wine, sponsored by D’Legends Bar, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Featured image by JLimphotography. To know more, make sure to call, text or send a message via Whatsapp to 016-3618504.
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