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Entertainer with a difference

Sugeetha Menon is a singer, events coordinator and choreographer

BIG THINGS IN STORE Sugeetha Menon

There are those kind of people who are trained to sing and dance. Then there is Sugeetha Menon, a born entertainer who has found the right niche for herself with a distinct style that sets her apart.

More popular as a stage performer who renders songs by Abba, The Corrs, Avril Lavigne and like she also has her hands full with events coordination and choreography assignments. Sugeetha has sung for the soundtracks of films.

Coming from a musically inclined family, she used to sing with her brother Jayakrishnan as part of a band during her childhood days, which led to her working with musicians like Suresh Peters. She has a number of advertisement jingles to her credit. Sugeetha also composed the theme song for the advertisement on Veega Land. Singing gradually led to hosting shows, which deepened her interest in managing events. She soon set up Mainstage, her event management company. Her first major event was the launch of Toyota-Qualis. Fondly recollecting that day she says, "We had about 56 children participating. It was like a musical based on the Cinderella fairytale and the pumpkin carriage was to transform into a Qualis!" Her list of clientele soon grew. Sugeetha recognises her forte in acting as a compere as this allows her to interact with the audience. Essentially a people person, she includes rounds of karaoke and unplugged sessions in her shows. On the unplugged sessions she says," It gives the audience the pleasure of enjoying music in its purest form without the disturbance of other instruments. I have just the acoustics playing in the background. The unplugged sessions have gone down very well with the audience in Kerala."

The success of the Asianet Singapore Launch brought her commendable skills of direction into the limelight. "They wanted a show as different as possible. I tried to incorporate unusual elements that would capture the viewers' attention. It should be something with ample scope to perform. Whether it is choreography or technical aspects like light and sound I make sure it blends with whatever theme I have in mind, " remarks Sugeetha.

When asked what inspires her themes she quickly adds, "I really don't look too hard for inspiring themes. Music does the trick. But mostly I improvise a lot on the original concept that I might have decided on earlier."

With so much to her credit, she instantly reveals her dream project. "Everyone has read `God of Small Things'. So now I hope to conduct a musical based on the same book. It will have traditional Kerala folk music and Panchavaadyam merged with western vocals. I am yet to finalise all the artistes I will be working with on the project but discussions are on and God willing it should take off pretty soon," she explains. From the looks of it there is no dearth of talent in this jack of all arts and simply no stopping her as well.

SAJNI SAHADEVAN

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