Singer Madhupriya steps into Saichand’s big shoes at KCR’s Asifabad public meeting

ASIFABAD: It was a case of having big shoes to fill for singer Madhupriya, having been roped in to replace Saichand, the popular folk artist, whose shocking demise caused heartbreak across Telangana on Thursday. But the young and popular singer did it with aplomb at the public meeting of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) in Asifabad on Friday.

Saichand, known for his enormous contribution at the height of Telangana agitation in enthralling and captivating the public towards the statehood cause with his powerful rendition and crowd-pulling abilities, was a quintessential presence at all KCR public meetings since then. The trend would have continued unhindered for many more years had the fate not delivered its twist in the form of a massive heart attack to him.

His affinity with the rank and file of the BRS could be felt on Thursday when even KCR paid an emotional tribute to the departed singer with his eyes welled up at the latter’s residence. Even on Friday, the BRS supremo began his public meeting in Asifabad by paying his homage to Saichand.

Deeply devastated by his loss, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also needed to find a quick replacement for KCR’s Friday public meeting in Asifabad. The organisers of the event brought in Madhupriya to fill the huge void left by Saichand and keep the public engaged at the venue. The young woman, who first earned her slice of fame at a very tender age with the heart-rending song ‘Aadapillanamma’ before moving on to sing for a few Tollywood films, seemed to have embraced the task well on her first attempt.

Before KCR arrived at the venue, Madhupriya and the team of folk artists put on a decent show to keep up the spirits despite the sombre mood and the gloom all around, forced on the BRS cadre by Saichand’s death.

Saichand earned friends in hordes and fans in millions right from the days of separate Telangana movement. The BRS leadership and activists always respected and treasured him as a balladeer who weaned off emotionally surcharged students from impulsive acts of suicides with his powerful lyrics and soul-stirring singing.

After the formation of Telangana, Saichand and Mangli shouldered the mantle of revving up the mood at most of the TRS’s events, mainly the public meetings addressed by KCR. After Mangli found a second calling in media and then as a singer in films, Saichand owned this role with ease. Perhaps, it’s Madhupriya’s turn now to emulate the same.